The godfather of skateboarding.

No doubt, one of the few things I regret, is selling this oak, signed by Tony Alva, skateboard. It was used during the making of the "Lords of Dogtown" movie. I bought it during a visit to Cali, a trip that was a reflection of a missed opportunity to start my life over at the age of 12. Yeah, I know. LOL. At that time I was convinced I could and should go live in California to become a professional skater. I always felt like an outlier, people at school made fun of my weird skateboard shoes and my bubble consisted of a tiny crew that preferred riding the vert over anything else. Photo: Yves VdMWhat really kickstarted a life of riding boards, was a plastic narrow skateboard I got at the age of 7. With no friends to share the joy of flowing down the streets, I finally found a partner in crime, Hans Claessens, and I started sharing that board with him. A few years later later he got his first real skateboard, a Schmitt Stix ATV.1987 Schmitt Stix ATV / John "Tex" GibsonThe John "Tex" Gibson (Alva) model was my very own first real board, and all things Alva, still today, give me goose bumps. While the Z-Boys were basically surfers riding boards on the streets, for me it was the other way around, skate was the stepping stone to a surfer life. Unlike me, Hans never quit, and became an icon himself, and the rest as they say, is history. While I didn't dislike the "Lords of Dogtown", this new movie seems to be the real deal, the teaser gave me 100+ seconds of goose bumps. At 61-years-old Tony Alva, the oldest professional skater in the world, is considered by many to be the godfather of modern day skateboarding. Alva’s brand of aggression and bravado in the 70’s set the stage for the way skateboarding would be forever defined. Photos: VansVans’ The Tony Alva Story chronicles T.A.’s humble beginnings on the streets of Santa Monica to his rise to superstardom as part of the legendary Z-Boys, his inevitable drug-induced implosion and his ultimate rise from the ashes to accept his rightful place as a beacon of hope and inspiration for generations of skateboarders. Coming June 12th, 2020. Written & Directed by Rick Charnoski & Coan "Buddy" Nichols/Six Stair Productions Starring: Tony Alva, Jeff Grosso, Wynn Miller, Steve Olson, Shepard Fairy, Gus Van Sant, Josh Brolin, Jeff Ament, Glen E Friedman, Robert Trujillo, Brad Bowman, Pete Zehnder, Jeff Ho, Stacey Peralta, Elijah Berle and more. Music: Josh Landau, Eliminator


Good Vibes Ohmly

GVO is a membership community comprising of both digital and off-line benefits for members. It is important to note that we're not a currency or protocol. We are a membership community that leverages NFTs as proof of membership. Some NFTs’ main functions are to be digital art and look cool, some offer additional utility. Think of ours as a rare piece of art that can also act as a “membership” card that gets you to access GVO founders & members-only perks.


The untold story of dance music

In the documentary "The Sound of Belgium", the filmmakers explores the rich and untold story of Belgian electronic dance music. A production of Visualantics, produced by Steven Dhoedt and Gert van Berckelaer and written by Jozef Deville and Pablo Eekman.The movie takes a trip through time from the grand dance halls with Decap organs to the gold days of Popcorn. It covers cold Electronic Body Music and New Beat to Belgian House and Techno music. The film offers an alternative perspective while showcasing the country's unique popular music. Narrated by John Flanders, the film looks to understand the spirit of a nation, the historical driving force behind its dance movement, its music and the people who danced to it. Full Docu.


83,000 nautical miles. Living Life!

Brian and Karin Trautman have been living on a sailboat for 10 years, and their boat is set up so they can be off the grid in remote places for months at a time with solar and wind power providing electricity, a water maker that turns salt water into fresh water, multiple freezers and loads of storage space for food, and even a small washing machine on board! They've sailed SV Delos – a 53' sloop rig ketch – 83,000 nautical miles which is the equivalent of circling the earth at the equator more than 3 times.  Their latest adventures include sailing as a family with their 6-month baby, Sierra, and outfitting the boat with a heater so they can explore the Arctic this summer after several years in the Tropics. SV Delos is one of the original YouTube sailing channels, they have uploaded over 200 episodes. They amassed over 360,000 subscribers and joined Patreon in 2016, today, they have 1700+ Patrons to pay for the costs of running the boat, fuel, food, diving equipment, video and camera gear. If you want to follow SV Delos, and support their amazing vlog-style documentary project: Instagram / Facebook / Youtube / Patreon


In the forested depths of Congo

If you think you're not affected by events that happen on the other side of the world or in a different continent, you're mistaken. We have to share this plant with animals that are often much like us. So what gives us the right to ignore their plight! If there were only 800 of your kind left, what would YOU do?In the forested depths of eastern Congo lies Virunga National Park, one of the most bio-diverse places in the world and home to the last of the mountain gorillas. In this wild, but enchanted environment, a small and embattled team of park rangers, led by chief warden Emmanuel de Merode - including an ex-child soldier turned ranger, a carer of orphan gorillas and a Belgian conservationist - protect this UNESCO world heritage site from armed militia, poachers and the dark forces struggling to control Congo's rich natural resources. virungamovie.comDirector: Orlando von EinsiedelProducers: Joanna Natasegara & Orlando von EinsiedelEditor: Masahiro HirakuboCinematography: Franklin Dow & Orlando von EinsiedelComposer: Patrick JonssonExecutive Producers: Jon Drever, Maxyne Franklin, Howard G. Buffett (CEO Howard G. Buffett Foundation) & Jess SearchPresented by:The Bertha Foundation, The BRITDOC Foundation and Violet FilmsA Grain Media filmCover Image: Michael Christopher Brown / michaelchristopherbrown.comInterview With Emmanuel de Merode, Director of Virunga National ParkBy Scott Ramsay, Love Wild Africa
Emmanuel de Merode has one of Africa’s most challenging jobs. As director of the 7,800-square-kilometer [3,000-square-mile, a little smaller than Delaware] Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, he is responsible for the management of AfricaNational Geographic Society Newsroom


Grace coupled with tenacity

Lisa Andersen is one of surfing’s few transcendent stars. She is grace and beauty coupled with tenacity and fearlessness. A 4x world champ and inductee into the Surfer Hall of Fame, she is a true icon.She discovered surfing when she was 13, though it was not what her parents wanted. They felt the beach was dangerous. Lisa did nothing to ease their concerns and eventually wound up in juvenile hall. Her father smashed her surfboard, so Lisa hatched an escape plan. She decided to go to Huntington Beach, leaving a note behind that read, “Going to California to become world surfing champion.” She was homeless before being taken in by an abusive local. Unlucky in relationships, she was abused often, and had to runaway time and again. Especially when she felt trapped. In the water, she was something else, and surfed like a gorgeous disaster. But she could never quite put it all together, until career suicide presented itself. An unexpected pregnancy. Over objections, she decided to have the child and in so doing broke through and became a champ. Trouble follows Lisa on her human journey. Surf is a beautiful backdrop but the real story is the epic poem of her life. It is the story of a self-made, American woman. It is a story of today.vimeo.com/troublelisaandersenstory


Docu about Morocco’s surf culture

This journey introduces us to people and stories sharing one common thread: the genuine passion for the art of riding waves.A journey lived through Redouane’s surfing and through the words of pioneer Randolph Benzaquen and shapers Thierry Delbourg and Tarik Zrilida.Morocco has been, for the last half century, a mystical destination for generation of surfers. While in the last years mass surf tourism has exploded, small family businesses and passionate local surfers like the Regragui’s still embody the genuine essence of a young and vibrant surfing culture.Presented by The Surf TribeDirected by Gianluca FortunatoSounds:Armenian Dream - IntroBabylone - ZinaAssaf Ayalon - WordsNass El Ghiwane - Ah Ya OuineCarlos Maria Trindade & Nuno Canavarro - Blu TerraMaalem Mahmoud Guinia & Floating Points - Mimoum MarhabaRiccardo Marino - At Sunset


The ultimate sense of freedom

Kiteboarding is one of those disciplines that’s still young enough to be a novelty for many, while having now seen a few generations of riders and styles along the years.Eyeforce documents the life-changing stories of kite boarders from all walks of life. Presented by WeTransfer, in co-production with Red Bull Media House, this 4K film unites the legends, current champions and future talents of the sport into one cinematic experience. By chasing the toughest storms, riding the perfect waves or performing the most thrilling stunts, these athletes have found the key to the ultimate sense of freedom. Shot in breathtaking locations around the globe using state-of-the-art camera techniques, it shows how they experience the world, push the boundaries, but also witness the lows when they find their lives hanging by a thread.chapteronemovie.comPhotos: Red BullDirected by: Bob van de GrondeD.O.P. Arthur NeumeierProduced by: Bram van Vugt and Egon FeinerCamera: Stefan Jansen, Bas Koole, Phil Arntz, Michael Zomer, Dylan Boerstra, Kim Hoogervorst, Bob van de Gronde.Edit: Johannes de Jong, Dylan Haigh, Bob van de GrondeMusic: Yolanda be cool - A Baru in New York ft. Gurrumul (Flume remix)Photo: Red Bull


A Film about More Love with Carissa

In RISS, a new film directed by Peter Hamblin, Carissa Moore discusses her road to finding more comfort with herself, greater joy, and her fourth World Title.Moore became the youngest WSL champion at 18 in professional surfing history and a four-time world titleist however, following her third championship in 2015, success was met with challenging years ahead.Photos: Ben Thouard / Red BullReturning to her best form in 2019, Moore surfed to victory at J-Bay, Hossegor and Maui to win a memorable fourth World Surf League title after a four-year gap and also secured her place on the 2021 USA Olympic team.The 27-year-old revealed: "I've always been chasing results and other people's validation. In 2019, I was finally like, 'No, none of that matters. I'm a daughter, I'm a sister, I'm a friend and I'm a wife'. I hope this film is something positive that can be a nice escape for a little while from everything that's going on."Photo: Ben Thouard / Red BullDirector Peter Hamblin added: "My goal was to peel back layers and show the person behind the athlete. I wanted to show the depth of her personality."The film will be available on May 11th on Red Bull TV


Integrity is telling myself the truth

Honesty is telling the truth to other people. But this is a story I kept mostly to myself. For good reason. Integrity is about telling yourself the truth, and nothing matters more. To those reading, I am truly sorry. Please know this is not your fault. I want to thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for sharing the incredible journey. History is just journalism and you know how reliable that is. The "facts" below are just how I remember things, a series of events that shaped my perception of the world.1999. A life centred around surf, travel and photography.It all started in 1999, on a hot summer day, sharing a moment of clarity, with the love of my life. I felt like I wasted enough time at university and wanted to explore life in the real world of business. I felt like I found my purpose, at least in terms of what my "professional" life would look like. Joining the surf industry was not an ambition, it was simply the only thing I really wanted, everything else felt like a waste of precious time in a life that is by definition way too short. In my mind I was re-reading the "love letter" I wrote to every single surf company in the Benelux. I was sweating it. Mostly because we were on a bumpy road towards Cabarete, and the humidity was unlike anything I experienced before. I could smell freedom and adventure and while I still had doubts lingering in the back of my mind, my focus started to shift towards the direction of the wind. We“Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly.” ― Gandhi


Machine guns pointed at surfers

Last week, a group of three surfers had snuck out to a peak that is a couple of clicks from a beach car park and thus only accessible through the forest, when a passing Gendarme patrol helicopter seemed to have spotted them and changed course.“As they sheltered behind their boards from all the sand and debris flying in their faces, the cops had machine guns pointed at them and instructed ‘Ne bougez pas!’ (Freeze!) over the heli’s speakers,” reported Paul Evans. “The bird then landed and made the arrests.”The French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced that all French beaches will remain shut until June 2nd, despite the national lockdown ending on May 11.It is unclear as to whether surfing will be allowed again from that point, but the community seems broadly optimistic after some six weeks of strict lockdown, that at least some of France’s famed civil liberties will be restored. Or at least, that they will no longer be pointing machine guns at surfers.Hashtags like #RendezNousNosPlages (give us back our beaches) are being used by mayors and local authorities in open defiance of the central government.From South Africa to Indonesia perfect waves are currently going unridden for the first time in 50-plus years. J-Bay is on lockdown. Surfers in LA are getting $1,000 fines. And in Costa Rica, cops are firing guns at surfers — well, at least one cop did.Enjoying the soothing images is not to downplay the underlying tragic aspect of the crise sanitaire (health crisis) as it’s known here, lost lives and livelihoods, but still, it’s a glimpse of what places like Biarritz & Bordeaux look like, in this new world. We are collectively living through the most harrowing crisis of our lifetime, and as it began to unfold, life came to a standstill. The impact of the coronavirus on the travel industry has already been stark: half the world’s population is under lockdown, while the number of flights worldwide has dropped from some 200,000 on February 21 to 64,000 on March 31, according to website FlightRadar 24.According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), 96% of the world's destinations are currently impacted by travel restrictions and other lockdown measures. European Union Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton estimates the EU's tourism economy could drop by up to 70 per cent and that it should be first in line to be given recovery funds.Across the continent, tourism accounts for up to 27 million jobs, and the industry generated 400 billion euros last year alone, said the UNWTO's Risi."We’re talking about millions of jobs. This is not something that will go away. The social and developmental impact – if we go beyond Europe and look at so many countries across the world that have tourism as a lifeline – can be huge," he warned.France had 89.4 million foreign visitors in 2018 and tourism accounts for 8% of GDP. The government estimates that two million people work directly or indirectly in the travel industry.“It’s going to take so long for the demand to even come close to what it was,” says Rafat Ali, chief executive and founder of travel industry news publication Skift. As recently as two months ago, he says, Skift was reporting heavily on overtourism; now, its coverage has shifted dramatically, to tracking the rapidly changing milieu for airlines, hotels, and all facets of the travel industry.Ali is taking what he calls the long view, expecting air travel to return to early 2020 levels in five years, taking into account that the airline industry took three years to recover post-9/11, and two years to return to pre-2008 revenues after the recession.And in the short term, driveable local trips to vacation rentals can ease shell-shocked travelers back into adventure.


The Mirror House NFT Series

There have been several projects bridging the worlds of blockchain and real estate that make property transaction management, ownership, and liquidity ripe for disruption. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have recently taken the world of art by storm, and although slow to start, there are opportunities for tokenization in real estate. With Fairmint, engaged customers earn ownership in the companies they love & use to build wealth alongside them. Sophisticated investors invest in the private companies they believe in with a clear path to liquidity. Leveraging Defi, Fairmint unlocks secondary trading, lending, pooling, indexing… all natively available. NFTs with Defi mechanics?The RWA Market is the first diversified real-world asset market on the Aave Protocol, bridging DeFi to the infinite potential of the real world. Alchemix Self-Repaying Loans allow you to leverage a range of tokens without risk of liquidation. Imagine a world in which anyone could buy a house as an NFT, borrow against the NFT using decentralized finance “DeFi” products with high-yielding interest rates, and cut out intermediary banks altogether. In addition to many remaining legal challenges, there will also still be a need for property management companies to take care of maintenance, payments, and collection of rents.As an MVP, we might purchase some surf view plots, and install a couple of Mirror Houses with creative office spaces to let your inner artist escape into the sublime. The MVP © LTL/GVO Mirror Houses #snowvibesInteriors have a Scandi vibe with timber floors and ceiling, and adjustable heating and LED lighting. It also comes with custom-designed furniture, a BOSE sound system, a large touch screen, custom surfboards, electric bikes, and a Tesla.The MVP © LTL/GVO Mirror Houses #beachfrontThe size – 6mx3m – is limited, but the views and outdoor decks will make up for that. To add just enough of warmth to the modern reflecting design, the back wall is entirely out of wood.The MVP © LTL/GVO Mirror Houses #junglevibesFloor-to-ceiling glass walls are framed by the steel structure, covering the house on three sides, thus making it blend seamlessly into the surrounding environment. The MVP © LTL/GVO Mirror Houses #snowlifeThe LTL/GVO Mirror Houses are made from steel, insulated glass, and wood, and take less than eight hours to build.  So, what's next you may ask? #countryvibes


The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

The Ocean Cleanup aims to develop a sustainable product made of the highest possible concentration of ocean plastic, with the objective of 100% of the plastic material being collected from the GPGP. "We are on a journey to repurpose this plastic. This will be the first batch that we recycle into a consumer product. We will start with sorting and cleaning the plastic, which will give us insight into the amount and quality of the plastic." We expect to be able to unveil the product in fall 2020. How much plastic did you collect? Today we are bringing sixty 1 m³ big bags onshore with the plastic we collected from the GPGP. Plastic that should be perceived as opportunistic by-catch of a system test that was not primarily aimed at optimization of plastic collection.Why ask for an upfront donation? Is it a down payment and, if so, what is the remaining cost to purchase the product? This is the start of the ‘Plastic Journey’ to repurpose the plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to create unique products. In September 2020, we expect to have turned the recycled material into a product. At this time, we can unveil what this item is and provide full clarity on the quantity of the limited stock - this will also be the moment that supporters can purchase the actual product. The initial $50 donation will aid the Plastic Journey, where we transform trash into treasure using plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and will give supporters one of the first spots in line to access our premier products made of plastic from the ocean. Our aim is to show that this material has value, especially due to its unique characteristics and the story behind it. Since most people will never go to the GPGP, we can bring it to them; once the patch is cleaned, it will be a thing of the past, therefore, giving owners of the product a piece of history. This is something we have never done before, so we expect it to be challenging and our scope of work will be quite extended. All profits made from the sales of the product will be applied to fund our mission and help us remove even more plastic from the ocean. An added benefit of the donation is that supporters will have a front row seat to the entire journey with original content documenting the entire process, giving full transparency to the road in which we are embarking. Should donors choose not to buy the product, or perhaps they are unhappy with the final outcome, after having made a donation, they will be able to get a refund for this particular donation that is linked to reserving a spot for the early movers. Is The Ocean Cleanup becoming a commercial organization with this product addition? An important objective of repurposing the plastic into products, is to show the world that there’s value in the material that is now considered ‘trash’. As we had planned from the beginning of our program, we want to capture this value, to fund our mission to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. All margin we generate from the sales will go directly back into the organization. We are nonprofit – this will not change nor do we want it to change. We are also a project; therefore, we aim to make ourselves redundant - when the oceans are clean, we will no longer need to exist. Why is it important to certify the plastic? Transparency is a form of currency for The Ocean Cleanup. We believe that the more open we are about our work, the more trust our supporters have in us and our work. Since there is no internationally recognized standard to verify plastic sources or certify the subsequent products (yet there is a growing offer of products that state to be made with ‘ocean plastic’), we believe it is important to add this traceability to our product, hopefully leading the way for other organizations producing items from ocean-sourced materials. As a verification by a third-party specialist in our opinion is the only correct way to do this, we asked DNV GL to use their resources and expertise to create this standard. Who is DNV GL? DNV GL is the leading provider of risk management and quality assurance services to the maritime, oil and gas, and power and renewables industries. They are also global leaders in certifying management systems of companies across all types of industries, including healthcare, food and beverage, automotive and aerospace. How does this DNV GL standard work? The DNV GL standard is an Identity Preserved Model, which provides the highest level of traceability and transparency to any product. An IP model ensures that certified material from a certified site is kept separate from other sources. If used through the whole supply chain, it allows certified products to be uniquely traced through the production process from the source of the raw material in the ocean to the last point of transformation into a product. Will I get a certificate with my purchase? At this time and on this material, for technical reasons we will not be producing certificates, but the final product will have a stamp of verification from DNV GL. Will the standard be available for other products? The standard was not made for and does not belong to The Ocean Cleanup. The standard was developed by DNV GL utilizing the knowledge and experience that we, The Ocean Cleanup, have gained in our mission to rid the oceans of plastic. The standard can be followed by any company, regardless of their size, and for any product they wish to use it for. Is recycling into new products (that could end up in the environment again) the best solution? Would it not be better to turn it into a fuel, or bricks, or roads, or burn it? We want to give the plastic collected from the ocean a new life by recycling the waste and developing our own branded durable products with preselected partners. Our aim is to show that this material has value, especially due to its unique characteristics and the story behind it. Since most people will never go to the GPGP, we can bring it to them; once the patch is cleaned, it will be a thing of the past, therefore, giving owners of the product a piece of history. All proceeds from the sales of this product will fund continued cleanup operations and, based on our projections, we expect to be able to remove more plastic (in weight) out of the oceans with the funds received for the product, than what is actually processed into the product itself. From a feasibility standpoint, our objective is to valorize as much of the harvest as technically and commercially possible. The first step is to analyze the catch to understand the type and quality of the plastic. Based on our findings, we will seek the optimal application and way to process the material. Our goal is to have a ‘zero waste’ operation. Throughout this journey, we have and will only select the best technologies that help us achieve our goal of producing durable consumer products, with the least amount of negative environmental impact as possible. Our team has investigated several different types of recycling technologies to process the plastic from the ocean, including thermal recycling. We will partner with commercially operating companies with a proven track record and technologies on an industrial scale. Moreover, whatever product we create, we want to turn it into something that does not go back into the ocean, therefore all products will be designed to be recyclable. Boyan states that the trash you collected was tainted with different contaminants. How can you be sure that there is no health risk attached to this product? We have not yet differentiated the various types nor quality of the plastic that we collected from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch during Mission One. Some of the pieces might have been in the ocean for decades and may contain a variation of contaminants. With this knowledge in mind, a key step in the Plastic Journey is to do conduct all required regulatory testing, linked to the application of the material. If these tests and standards are met, the material is indeed safe for us to use. What will be the next steps with the collected material? Why do you ship this material over such long distances? The next step in the process will be sorting and processing the plastic. We will conduct this step in the Netherlands because, due to regulations, this was the optimal location for this step in the process. Following this, we will recycle the plastic, most likely with a European partner who can accommodate the uniqueness of the material. Despite many efforts, we were not able to find suitable recycling capacity for our material in North America, which logistically (and environmentally) would have been an easier choice. We are currently looking to offset our activities where we can and to have the most beneficial impact on the environment possible. Will System 002 be a larger version of System 001/B? Will it be the dimensions of Wilson, or (even) bigger? Yes, System 002 will be larger than System 001/B, the exact dimensions are yet to be confirmed as the ocean team is currently in the project definition phase for this new system. As they collate the learnings from both systems, they will assess these against the key performance indicators (KPIs) of our cleanup strategy to develop the design for System 002. We will share progress with our followers as we reach these milestones and have a better-defined scope for this fully operational system. Why is this taking so long? When will you be able to extract plastic on a large scale? The aim of these systems was to confirm the feasibility of our cleanup technology and to serve as a testbed to optimize our design thinking. As this is something that has never been done before, we have much to learn about our cleanup technology in its intended destination. As we conduct our tests, we must consider many factors as we do this, such as safety, weather, and environmental impact, and implement these learnings into our next system design. We have had challenges along the way, but these unscheduled learning opportunities have brought us further along in the development of our design. All learnings are applied with the aim of having the most efficient and effective cleanup operations.Support us | The Ocean CleanupThe Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization, fully reliant on corporate and private support. Help us clean the world’s oceans by donating here.The Ocean Cleanup


A 65-year long surfing adventure.

Born exactly at the same time in 1950, in Casablanca, Morocco, with just 10 minutes difference, Emmanuel et Maximilien, spend three happy years in this beautiful country, but don’t remember a lot, except for the exotic smells and the heat.Then, they left for two years to Egypt in Alexandria. They enjoyed the real Arabic desert and a few pyramids, and spent two more years in Lebanon where their father directed a research centre. They were living near Beirut, close to the mountains, in a beautiful village. Sometimes, they got to enjoy Saint Simon, the main beach of Beirut to have a swim. In those times, this town was rich and beautiful, even a lot better than Monte Carlo. The Mediterranean is not flat like everybody thinks. The local beach boys were playing on big hollow boards (something like 17’), made on frames and rib bands with plywood and painted canvas. They were surfing standing, with a double paddle. It was possible to surf with a friend or a girl. It is funny to think that Laird Hamilton reinvented that type of surfing fifty years after. In 55, when the twins were only five years old, they had their first surf experiences on what is now known as a SUP, a standup paddle board. The idea would never leave them.A truly archaic crossing, like the Maoris crossing the Pacific around the 5th century. For the love of the art of navigation, the purity of fraud less individual achievement, to return with beautiful images and a film. To live something unique.LTL EditoYves Van den MeersscheOur initial post was a good teaser, just to get some facts in a row, but there were a lot of missing pieces. Now we present the uncut story. It reads like a movie script!At seven, we came back to Paris because our father was nominated as Professor in the “ College de France”, ( The oldest college of the world, where the 40 “best” professors of France are teaching). Our come back to the civilisation was very tough, and we were the worst boys ever in school, except in design, music and gymnastics where we were the best ! Twins often have big problems in school...Very early, we loved to make things by hand. We have shaped our first sailing boat in a piece of oak at 8, and never bought a pre-shaped model in a box . We started photography on an old 6X9 bellows camera. Life in Paris, was a dream. As our grand mother was living on the coast, in Contis, the small village of our family, 50 miles north of Biarritz, we spent all our vacations (4 months) in her old house.Contis Plage. Photo: LiveTheLifeTVIn 1960, everybody was scared by the ocean, and the rips. The beach was like a beautiful desert. Our brother Augustin was friends with the two lifeguards who swam like dolphins in the big waves. He was 10 years older than us and inspired us, big time. The game was to swim outside and back to the shore, even in the rough seas. That's how we became very good swimmers. We bodysurfed, or we used a belly board made of curved plywood. But we never called it surfing. At 14, or something like that, in 1964, Augustin had bought an American book: “Men who ride mountains” with Bob Cooper and Midget Farelly, and discovered Greg Noll and Eddy Aikau in LIFE magazine. We learned the word “SURF”.In 1966 we saw “The Endless summer” on a big screen at “Les Champs Elysées” in Paris. We had a lot of books because of our father, and we read a lot, mostly about voyaging. We just adore adventure, famous explorers logbooks, Jules Vernes and Edgar Allan Poe! We were crazy about hand made powder, bombs and rockets, we just loved the fight between US and CCCP to go to the moon. One time, we nearly died in fire, because we had 2 lbs gun-powder in our pocket on our way to college, and it ignited! Since this day, we stopped to play with powder! We started making our own designed planes and boats, always dreaming of the ocean and the waves.In 1967 we saw a real surfboard for the first time. An old German friend, had bought a 10 footer Barland Rott moulded Malibu. He lent us his board and we became the first surfers at Contis. The leg rope did not yet exist and so we had to swim, a lot. Then in 1969, we shaped our first surfboards. In those times, the boards were pretty big and we decided to make short boards. 2m X 0,5m must be enough! Square tail, twin fin, round nose… Very thick, enormous boxy rails, very sharp down… Really good boards with no tail rocker, to be as fast as possible…At age 20, around 1970, we were the kings of the beach (which means kings of peanuts!), the courageous “Surfers”, different from anybody, and reading Surfer Magazine from time to time, the magazine was hard to find back then. Emmanuel was studying mathematics and physics, and Maximilien learned cinema, and later on, deep-sea diving. Emmanuel quit Paris to live in our little paradise, while Max was diving for oil in the North Sea. Photo: Emmanuel et Maximilien BerqueWe were not too bad looking and the early seventies were nice like a wet dream! After the pill and before aids! Living in a small garage under the dune, at a few meters from the beach, we founded our own surf club in 1973 called the “ Banzaï Pipeline” (we loved the style of Gerry Lopez) because we now had some friends surfing with us. We participated in our first French championships in 1975, but we disappeared in the first tour ! Our way of surfing was always to drop the biggest waves, not to make embroidery … It was the time of freedom, sex, music, surf and above all: never work in summer. Sometimes, we drove down to Hossegor to surf when it was too big and closing out at home. Max was selected to dive for the world record 1672’ (510 m) deep in open sea for COMEX (this record still stands today), breathing Heliox, a mixture of Helium and oxygen, and the pressure 25 time higher than in a tire! That means a lot of money! And so, he was crazy in big surf, always alone to try to go out when it was pumping.  Being really good swimmers, we have saved at least 50 people, each! Anyway, by December 1976, Max quit the Comex with enough money to go surfing and he bought an old big van. The sea was huge and the wind was incredible strong during the next two weeks. Two big boats got shipwrecked in the same night on our local beach. Unbelievable ! They arrived only 0,5 mile from each other. One was a 70 000 ton tanker and the other a cargo ship, 400 feet long, stranded on the bottom of the dune, nearly dry ! It was too much ! Such an event only happens once in a lifetime! We had to go check it out! So, the next low tide, by night, we decided to go onboard to have fun. Once onboard we couldn’t believe our eyes. We thought we were allowed to take anything on a shipwreck, as in our adventure books! So, we took a ton of everything : 42000 Dunhill cigarettes, tonnes of food, butter, gorgonzola, rockets guns, 150 bottles of Cognac Remy Martin, and a lot more… But it was very difficult to carry all those goods over the dune in a force 10 wind, and we had unknowingly made a track in the sand. The police came, and caught us. Followed by a nice little “vacation” in jail and a lot of money to pay to the customs. On top of that, they found some friend's weed in our house, so we were also accused of dealing (impossible to say the truth, because of our sense of honour…) So, we got in trouble in our little village and lost our good reputation. We were no longer heroes of the beach, and sons of a famous professor.July 77, we already were something like 25 surfers all together, all very good friends, and the next surfer on the horizon immediately became our friend. We met 4 good surfers in an old yellow van stuffed with surf magazines. Two Aussies, Greg Taylor and Barry Mc Grath, and 2 pommies, Julian and Danny, all coming from Perth, and we invited them immediately to eat with us under the dune. They surfed a lot better than us, and had real nice boards shaped by Cole Adams. We became friends, although they did not speak a word in French and we started to learn English. They were a bit boring, completely crazy about Mark Richard and Ian Cairns (we were more into Hawaiians like Gerry Lopez, Reno Abellira, Rubbermann…), talking about the power of Hawaiian waves, and saying all the time that French surfers were so bad and our waves also... So we had a big void between us, although we were good mates, and we learned a lot...We know we had some huge waves in France, like 30’ or more, because we had always watched the sea with binoculars and big lenses, properly evaluating the distance of the break and the altitude of the eye … In September, we had such a marvellous big day in Hossegor and we went surfing the picture perfect "North outside Peak". It was really big, something like 20’ waves on the sets. On the top of the dune, it was impossible to see the horizon during the big sets… Nobody in the water… My brother and I paddled out first, with everybody staying on the beach, watching… We had a few vertical drops and we still remember how heavy it was, with bottom turns 30 yards after the drop. The thickness of the wave and the sound of the waves breaking were mind-blowing.We are French Cartesians, we admired the big waves riders, but we always thought if Hawaiians can surf big waves, so can we! To quote Larry Bertelmann: “Anything is possible !”Jean-Claude, a rich friend working in USA came with a Hobie 16 and we started having good fun sailing in the waves …  In late November 77, we decided to go surfing to the Canary Islands. (Now known as the Hawaii of Europe)We took Greg, Barry, Julian and Danny with us and also two more French friends. So we were 8 in the van! The first day, we were so drunk that we nearly forgot our boards! We arrived in Cadiz and had a nice little surf near Trafalgar, waiting for the ferry. But somebody stole Julian’s board on the top of our van while we were eating. Bad vibes… We did discover Confital in Las Palmas, a real beauty with top to bottom crystal tubes, but too crowded for our taste. So we went to Tenerife, with its 12198 feet Volcano and good surf in Punta del Hidalgo on the north shore. It was uncrowded except for a few very good locals. Before surfing, my brother and I, went spearfishing and invited the locals to eat with us. So we never had problems with them… And they taught us to eat their traditional food, the “Gofio”, a pre-cooked corn, that you can mix with pretty much anything, milk, soup, wine, crushed bananas … It is very cheap and useful, perfect to keep you surfing the whole day long… We then drove to the South Shore, in Los Cristianos, a perfect left close to las americas and, and all had a great time in the touristy city, full of pretty German and Dutch birds… We had our camp in a desert, very close to the wave, between the old Canarian village and Las Americas. In this time, 100 surf-freaks were living there, all together, smoking hash and living in the dust during winter time… Alcala / K16. Photo: LiveTheLifeTV (2000)With Max, we were the first to surf Alcala, a little bay with his fantastic really powerful left hitting a 6 yards underwater vertical step (Anglos call this wave K16 now). Our pockets completely empty, we had a beautiful cutback 9 days on a ship back to France, incredibly cheap, aboard a banana cargo with the van on the deck.Then, everybody disappeared to get money somewhere… In 1978, we were so poor, Jean-Claude proposes us to make fortune in the Persian Gulf, working for Arabs. The job would be to start up a business exporting very nice tiles made in France. J-C was a super merchant, already working in Saoudi Arabia, and we trusted him.But here's the most interesting part: he bought a 33 feet sailing boat, and we had to get there by sailing his boat. During those days, there was no GPS and he wanted us to learn astronavigation, as we were really good in mathematics. We bought a book and learned to use a sextant, and all the resolutions of the terrible trigonometric formulas… Since those days, we became real astro-fanatics…After surfing all summer, we started the trip in September, from Marseille to the Red Sea, trough the Suez canal… A few months after, we started a company in Jeddah, but we had a lot of troubles with Jean-Claude. He was simply boring, too much into money… So we came back to Paris in a frizzing cold March, without a penny in the pocket. Max found a job as cameraman for a TV news channel, and I, started working in an iconic wine shop on the Champs-Elysées (I had learned oenology in Bordeaux to be closer to the surf). But very fast, we saw that it was impossible to stay in Paris, too far from the surf, and we decided to try to be surfer journalist and photographers.In 1979, there was not yet one surf magazine in France, and we tried to write for a windsurfing mag. We already had a good portfolio, and they accepted our first article. And so, we became the first surf journalist and photographers in France.Our way to speak about surfing was to talk about freedom, that surfing is cheap and for everybody, we wrote about surf trips and that the surfing way of life is the best… But we have made a mistake, we tried to make the photos only in France, to show to everybody how good and big it gets. For the magazine, we had the opportunity to try the first new Hobie 18 coming in Europe. We took it out into the waves. Since that day, we wanted to cross the ocean with this fantastic toy and we tried to be sponsored by Hobie Alter, but he refused… Our articles were simply talking about our own surfing adventures and trips, like those of Kevin Naughton and Craig Peterson… The magazine cut our story short, again, so we could not earn enough money to cover costs.At the same time, we were designers at Barland to shape new prototypes in windsurfing. The fashion was 12’ boards, horribly thick and heavy, and we decided immediately that the good size must be 8 to 9’ max, a surfing shape, to ride the waves, not only jump… A iconic French TV station showed interest and with some windsurf champs, we have covered the news, talking about these incredible fast boards. But one day, some Hawaiians (Mike Walze and others) came to Barland and said we were wrong.  They made horrible jump boards with an enormous bump on a very wide square tail! Barland believed them because they were from Hawaii, and we, only Frogs…. It was so silly, we were incredibly disappointed and quit windsurfing and never saw Barland again …A good friend gave us a big US army tent (like in the movie M.A.S.H), and we lived on the top of the dune in Contis, 6 month long. Paradise! 100% surf and love…In September, Hossegor received all the best surfers of the World for the world amateur championship. We saw Terry Richardson, Mark Scott and Glen Rawlins but the best was the 14 years old flying Tom Curren! We tried to make a good reportage on it, but the mag chose to publish the shots from Sylvain Cazenave, documenting a big day in Waimea. We went to Tenerife again, driving our old 2 CV Citroen for 4 months to make yet another article, but the magazine cut our story short and disappointed us, yet again, so we quit. Contis Plage. Photos: LiveTheLifeTVNow we were living off nothing, just some very short, shitty jobs, and we decided to make a surfing school for the grommets, so we could still surf and make a bit of money. It was good, but we realised that it would produce too much surfers. So we stopped the school. During the cold winter of 1983, we were living in an old destroyed Mobil Home like poor freaks and real ascetics. We realised that we were very free, but our poorness destroyed this freedom, everybody was talking bad about us. A very paradoxical life, as everybody thought that we were very rich.We are now 33 years old and our brain started to run a lot, we were getting depressed... It cannot be enough for us to live like that! We can and must do something better! But we refused to take any more shitty jobs, just to survive. So, we decided to make a movie.Because the sea is our speciality, it would be a super adventure in the sea. A sea crossing on a canoe… And to be interesting, we had to do a crossing like nobody had done before! The smallest boat possible, but also without life raft, no distress beacon, no radio, like in the olden days! To earn a bit of money, we started to shape some surfboards, and at the same time, we started to built our boat in our old family-house... We designed the Micromegas 1 without any calculations, just drawing the lines on a 5mm plywood, like shaping. The 16’ boat would be very small, a sort of raft, with 3 square hulls, a flat bottom and a net between. 3 big guns. As simple as it gets! Just a surfboat to take on strong winds and surf the big waves on open sea. After only one month of work, the surfboat was nearly finished ! In march, we put the thing on the beach because we don’t have a port in Contis. Surfing all the time, living under the sky, we were black like Africans but also poor like them! We went fishing to have something to eat when the sea was not too rough. We had our first try sailing along the north coast of Spain, with a dog and 4 surfboards onboard, just in case… We decided to sail to the Canaries the following summer. After only 2 days, we had a big depression right in the middle of the Gulf of Biscay, with very strong winds like force 8 to 9 and have lost our tiller… It was hell! But we surfed a lot of big waves, trying to escape in front of the wind, each one of us with a paddle. 4 days later, we were back home in Contis, happy to be alive. We never slept and we were horribly burned by the salt water. Of course, we had missed our target, but it was simply fantastic. We never had such a big feeling in the heavy surf! And no crowd up there! We felt stronger and invulnerable, like after a primitive initiation !Finally, we succeeded to reach the Canaries 2 years later, with a beautiful German girl onboard. We explored the whole coastline, rock after rock, beach after beach, living one full year outside on the tiny net. The boat was quite okay, but we were too poor again and really famished. We decided to stop our adventure as our 8 mm camera was out of order and our brain was destroyed. We needed to have a real job and forget our dreams of sailing for a few years… We found a 6 months job in Berlin during winter, not very pleasant! But it was followed by 6 months of surfing in Contis during summer… During the winters, we always worked geometry, searching good lines to draw good rockers and templates, designing boats with a lot of geometry, programming on little pocket computers and dreaming about surfing and the sea…In 1987, Danny bought a Bar and we had a fantastic summer. We were a lot of surf mates and the beers flew by barrels… “It’s always six foot offshore in the bar” !!! We were completely crazy. No sleep and too much surf. Really tired. Max had an heart attack while surfing and nearly died on a perfect day. It was terrible. The docs said : “Now, you have to live like an old man, super slow…” Impossible to listen to that! No way! Without any medicine, 8 days after the hospital, Max was again in the waves, moving like a slow jelly fish… We both had  a terrible winter, he could not sleep, feeling his heart hitting in his chest, with horrible nightmares of death… I was feeling his worries as well, as twins do.Those days, everybody had mostly 6’ boards. The next spring, we have made 2 big boards, a 8’6” for Max and a 9’ Malibu called “Moby dick” for me to go surfing again in a different way. More Zen, taking the power with you, never fighting against it… We started very progressive every day, and a few months we were again surfing 10 foot waves in the good conditions, taking advantage of a good channel to paddle out, taking all the big waves breaking on the outside. It took us at least 5 years to recover confidence and loose our fears …We tried again to write for the brand new French “Surf Session” magazine. We had enjoyed a surf trip in Morocco with all of our friends and made an article about it. And yet another surf trip, this time in Portugal, during spring, but the mag destroyed our writing. Since the beginning, we always thought that a surf mag must be interesting for any reader, not only surfers, to be open for everybody. That it must talk about geography, about the beauty of the world, something like National Geographic, but with the surfing way of life and point of view…After that article, we stopped writing. It was interesting perhaps to be the first journalists, but now with the surf fashion, it quickly became boring! They paid us not enough and very late, we decided never to work with the surf media again. Finally, a luck break. The government in France was now "left" and we suddenly received a little bit of state-money because we were sick. With this money, we tried again to be normal, studying computing to get a normal job. But the call of the sea was too strong. We still had the “Go for it” mentality, and the normal working life doesn’t satisfy us at all!At 42, we decided to chase our dreams, once again. Inspired by the famous Mickey Dora’s quote: “I have never worked in my life man!” and we were always thinking “We have only one life to live, we have to follow our dreams! Or life gets too boring to live, very quickly!” We did miss the crossing on a 16 footer, but we did not care much! This time, we will succeed on something even smaller!Since 10 years, we were working on our own program to design boats and boards. With this program, we needed only 2 minutes to draw a boat, with all the displacements, the areas, the volume calculations! We draw a 13’ 8” little dory with a Lug-Yawl rig to make it a real classic boat. It would be a wooden masterpiece, specially made to be different to all the other adventurers who crossed the ocean on horrible floating buoys to break records… And also to show to everybody that we can be good marine carpenters … The aesthetic is fundamental for a surfer! Two years after, Micromégas II was born in Barry Mc Grath’s garage , nice and perfect, shinning like a marvellous wooden toy ! Then we had a terrible first journey to the Canaries, caught by a big storm close to Madeira. In a force 8 consistent storm, with some sets 15’ to 20’ big, with 5’ white water on the top breaking … With such a small boat, you were of course very slow, and we had terrifying super late takeoffs. It was so vertical that sometimes, we started the drop without water under the nose of our ridiculous toy and rock into the vacuum! Without radio, life-raft, GPS, distress beacon, such type of surf gives you serious vibes!!! We missed reaching Madeira but went to Casablanca, and then Lanzarote a month later. Our good friend Greg Taylor was now working for Quiksilver and presented us in this company. Since this day, they helped us for our clothing. The company ROLEX gave us also 2 Submariners as a gift, with “Micromegas expedition” engraved on it… The biggest French TV came to make a movie about these 2 crazy twins, and after 37 days, we reached the West Indies. We came back to Paris to make a 13 pages in a big mag, and the cutting of our movie “Twins of the sea” with our rushes for an important TV channel. The money was not bad this time around… The year after, we continued the expedition, visiting the coast of 100 different islands, all the way to Miami. We had never been flying or sailing on a real boat to the US, except on our 14’ wooden lugger without electronics!!! So we had reached America like nobody has done before us, even the best pirates of the 17th century!We became quite famous in France, after many interviews for different TV and radios and we wrote a few more articles. We had the honour to be invited by Quiksilver for the Surfmaster festival in Biarritz. To show something of our work, we took a 17 ft wooden paddle board we had made. A pure masterpiece with 2500 copper nails on 25 frames, made with only 0.2” red cedar planks. A beauty! After staring 15 minutes at the thing, Greg Noll said to us : “You must never go to the water with it, just put it in a museum!”. Billy Hamilton also asked us to try our board and he said: “I promise, I don’t put wax on it !” We became good mates of Scott Dillon and Mark Cunningham who also tried the machine. A few days after, Midget Farelly and Mikey Dora came surfing with us in Contis and “The Cat” slept in our house…A few days later, our dad died and let us some little heritage. But money is not enough to be happy. We wanted to do better!We decided to cross the ocean like Phoenicians who sailed in the Mediterranean, 3000 years ago, or the Maoris in the Pacific, to understand more about seafarers and their antics.We heard about the experiments of the Hokulea in Hawaii, but we wanted to do better, on a smaller boat, without any trick and no escort boat… This time, we designed a very light 21’ wooden proa, with a beautiful old fashion rig, a lugger schooner, in reference of old sailors of Brittany. We built the beauty, it took us two years of hard work, and we wrote a book of our crossing called “The mutineers of the sea”. A famous editor in Paris, Robert Laffont published it.We became a lot more comfortable with our life. In the summer of 2002, we sailed to the Canaries to try our prototype with instruments. We had very bad seas along Portugal. One day, the wind was blowing, something like force 9, and we have had a rogue wave, so vertical that we nearly fell aside of the boat!End of march, in 2003, we took the big take off on our 600 pound outrigger. The target was a very small island (La Desirade, only 2 miles wide) and we had to sail through a big 3000 nautical-miles wide water-desert. We had no compass, no watch, no sextant, no GPS, no radio, no log, no map, no book, no cooker, no radio receiver or transmitter, no star guide, nothing onboard ! And no sponsor to stay pure without stickers! On board, 90 litters of water in bottles, 90 tins of sardines, 35 lbs of gofio, 13 lbs of milkpowder, 17 lbs of sugar and… 30 bottles of Tabasco! We took an Argos beacon, to study our track after the expedition. Although we had 20 cloudy days bearing only with the wind and the swell direction, we succeeded to land on La Desirade, just watching the sky by eye, after 27 days! We had some success in France, but really, not enough to pay all our expedition’s expenses. During 2 more years, we edited our new movie “Huis clos sous les étoiles” (“Inside Outside”). This movie won 5 big festivals and had success in San Francisco during the Ocean Festival, in Moscow and plenty of other places…By now, we were 57 years old and we had built yet another boat, a real wooden dory inspired by Grand Bank working boats for Cod-fishing. The flat bottom is just a 18’ rhinochaser… There is no deck to live outside under the sky, and film the sea, the winds and life onboard, all together that's 100% of our shoots! We will try again to cross north Atlantic, to meet a lot of new friends and shoot a new film.We are poor again, but still surfing, because that is our life.


The world’s largest living structure

“The Reef Beneath” follows professional freediver Kimi Werner as she meets up with surfers Belinda Baggs and Wayne Lynch for a sailing journey along the Great Barrier Reef.  The reef is the world’s largest living structure and yet over half of its coral has been lost or damaged, mostly because of human impact.  On their journey the three sailors witness how time is running out to save it."How can we let it be threatened by something as obviously dangerous as the Carmichael coal mine? Proposed by giant Indian resource company Adani and located adjacent to the reef on the Galilee Basin in central Queensland, it will be the largest coal mine in Australia, and one of the largest in the world. It is the first in a number of coal mines proposed for the area that would cover a surface area five times bigger than Sydney Harbor. All of that coal would be shipped out from the Point Abbott terminal straight through the Great Barrier Reef, ...""The benefits of the Carmichael mine to the country are negligible. Adani has exaggerated the number of potential jobs the mine will create. At most the figure is around 1,500 jobs, if the mine reaches full capacity over 60 years. Meanwhile, much of the revenue generated by this mine will be leaving the country and going into overseas tax havens. Adani has also been under serious criminal investigation in its home country of India for corruption and breaches of environmental guidelines. Countering this, tourism on the reef currently generates six billion dollars annually and employs around 70,000 people. For the sake of what I feel is political expediency it’s not necessary to mine up there. There are other ways to create jobs in Queensland."Full Story: patagonia.com/the-reef-beneath


Cost of living on a boat year-round.

There is nothing more enticing, disenchanting, and enslaving than the life at sea. It's impossible not to dream of selling it all and living on a boat, year-round. In theory, it sounds like an affordable way to live life as close as possible to the ocean, especially in areas where prices of real estate went through the roof. But I wonder, what if we turn this daydream into reality, how much would it actually cost?When a big ship and a small boat come together, you will see that the latter is happier than the former because it has much less problems!With real estate prices of tiny studio's in the South West of France starting around 100,000 euro, I started wondering how much boat this would buy. And more importantly, how much it would cost per year to own a 12 meter plus boat. There are a lot of mysterious things about boats, such as why anyone would get on one voluntarilyupdate: this post is 18 months old but being pushed back up, stay tunedBordeaux or Biarritz ?Bayonne’s port is mainly a commercial port, but there is a good marine for yachts because of its proximity with Biarritz. Access is safe and easy during any season through the south, with low winds. The port offers every possible service and includes repair facilities. North of Anglet, you will find beautiful sand beaches bordered by the very famous Landes pinewoods. More to the South, you can explore the breathtaking landscapes of the Basque Corniche.What about Port Medoc, near the stunning city of Bordeaux?  On the seafront, just a few miles away, boaters will be able to discover the lighthouse of Cordouan (5 miles), La Rochelle (60 miles) or even Arcachon (70 miles). Inland waterways will allow to reach the city of Bordeaux and to explore the beauty of the estuary islands. On the landward side, Médoc port is situated near the state-owned forest of the Pointe de Grave, starting point of several bike paths.If you leave your boat in a marina, then rates vary, but should not exceed 2,000 euros for the year. Unlike the Mediterranean coast, the Atlantic coast is best suited for people looking for an adventure. The Atlantic coast doesn’t offer as many marinas and ports as the Côte d’Azur. Depending on the season, winds and tidal streams can be quite strong. The sailing season for Atlantic France goes from May to October. During the winter, winds are too strong and the temperature is too low. To dry dock your boat during winter, you should budget around 700 euro.Death and Taxes ?If the boat (regardless of country of registration) is kept by a french resident (regardless of nationality) in France then the yearly tax is due. The required equipment for French registration is not particularly onerous.French annual boat tax (DAFN)?274 € : 11-12 m458 € : 12-15 m886 € : 15 m +Reduction on the DAFN rates based on the age of the boat:33 % : 10 - 20 year old55 % : 20 - 25 year old80 % : 25 + year oldInsurance ?Your boat insurance becomes compulsory in most of the ports and marinas worldwide, especially because of legal liability. Therefore, it is important to subscribe at least to the minimum cover called "civil liability". Insurance companies in France generally base their rates on the value of the boat. The premium should be around 1% of the value of the boat. Maintenance?Budget 1,000 up to 4,000 a year for any unexpected maintenance costs that may come up. It's like a car, where you don’t spend anything for a while and then you spend a ton of money.Benefits ?Well, the total bill seems to be hovering around 500 euro per month. Pretty much the cost of water/electricity/tax/insurance and maintenance bills that come with owing a small apartment. However, take note, not all marinas allow full-time living, but most set aside roughly 10% of their slips for liveaboard residents. These slips are hard to come by. Aside from the the challenge of finding one in your destination city, liveaboards can pick up anchor and move whenever they want a change of scene. The benefits of living on a boat are all about freedom. We all know that's priceless.Bordeaux or Biarritz are places of dreaming, but they are not perfect to live year-round on a boat. In my mind French Polynesia is the ultimate place to do that. With real estate rocketing in cities like San Francisco and Vancouver, more and more people are ditching their pricey digs for a more adventurous lifestyle. Boat living tends to attract some interesting people: artists, musicians, engineers, surfers… Below are some numbers from a couple that ended up buying a pre-owned 40' Catalina cruiser for $150,000. They moved to San Diego, where the climate would be mild enough to live on the boat comfortably year round.How much would this cost in San Diego?In an average month, it costs them around $2,200 to live on the boat.  By comparison, they would spend $2,500 to $3,000 to rent an apartment in a similar area of San Diego. (You could rent a huge villa for that money in the SW of France)Their largest expense is paying to keep the boat at a marina, which costs $1,050 a month, including the $250 "live aboard" fee. That covers utilities such as water and electricity, and also allows them to keep their cars in the parking lot, use the pool and laundry facilities, and receive mail and packages there. For $25, a pump-out boat empties their sewage tank, which usually needs to be done once a week. He maintains the boat's mechanical systems himself, but the couple hires a professional to wash and wax the boat's exterior once a month, which costs $80. Every six months, they pay a diver $50 to clean the bottom.Liveaboard boats can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $200,000. If you finance your boat, you will have monthly mortgage payments. Boat property taxes vary by location. E.g. Californians are assessed 1.1% of the vessels current value annually.Liveaboard insurance is more expensive than recreational boat insurance.$800 a year for liveaboard insurance (sailing in local waters)$1,800 a year for liveaboard insurance while cruising (sailing internationally)For liveaboard moorage you should expect to pay $550-750 a month.The bridge between the two hulls of a catamaran creates plenty of open airy living space up top with bunks down below in the hulls. You can expect near house-like amenities. However, they aren’t just expensive to purchase, they also take up twice the space and pay twice the rent and maintenance. ConclusionThe cost of the marina in San Diego is much higher compared to the South of France. But so are the house rental rates. For now, we"ll stick to living in our old house in France, but it's not gonna stop us from dreaming about a new chapter in Central America or French Polynesia. Maybe, one day, we'll be living that dream.Photos: Du Toit Yacht Design "The idea of making do with less is something that I hope we can take with us, wherever we go next," the couple said. "Even if it is a house."Oh, and in case you have the budget of a luxury home, we highly recommend a company we got to know through living seven years in South Africa. Designed by World Champion catamaran racer Phillip Berman and Award Winning naval architect Anton Du Toit, the Balance 482 is a brand new piece of art!!The Balance 526 was the first model designed by Du Toit Yacht Design, produced by Phil and manufactured by Nexus Yachts in St. Francis Bay, South Africa.Nexus Yachts, is run and operated by legendary South African professional surfer Jonathan Paarman, along with his brothers Roger and Mark."We have pre-sold the first 6 of the 482. Our boats take at least three times the labor of any boat made in Europe for size. The 482 is running about $400,000 less than a 526 and yet she carries most of the same equipment. A 482 built in France would have to cost considerably more to sustain the same hand crafted nature." What would be the ultimate surf charter yacht?South African builder Robertson and Caine offers specifically designed, award-winning catamarans. The Leopard Catamaran factory is located in Cape Town.Similar to real estate, it's all about location, location, location. As we said earlier, Central America, especially Costa Rica and Nicaragua, are on top of our list. To avoid the worry of buying a boat, there's always the opportunity to simply charter one.Booking: pete@playgrounds.cr / +506 8705-7638Captain Pete, the full time captain on PLAYGROUNDS, has over 15 years of experience navigating, fishing and surfing in the Costa Rica oceans and will give you an experience of a lifetime roaming the crystal-clear waters. A surf trip will take you to surf the best spots in Costa Rica, such as Ollie's point, Witches Rock, and the south of Nicaragua with more than 30 miles worth of surfing spots.


Summer, 1946. The Cousteau Story

Summer, 1946. The Cousteau family - Jacques, his wife Simone and their two children Philippe and Jean-Michel - live in their beautiful house by the Mediterranean sea. By day they dive, by night they watch the stars. It's paradise on earth. But Jacques is never content. He lives and breathes adventure and believes absolutely in the virtues of progress. With his invention, the aqualung, his recently acquired vessel the Calypso, and a crew of free-spirited adventurers he is ready to cross the world's oceans. Ten years later, back from boarding school, Philippe finds his father greatly altered – an international celebrity with megalomaniac dreams of grafting gills to humans and creating underwater cities. Jacques cannot see it yet, but Philippe already understands that progress and pollution have begun to lay waste to the marine world. Despite their mutual love and admiration, conflict between these two passionate men is inevitable. Starring Lambert Wilson as Jacques Cousteau, Audrey Tautou as Simone, and Pierre Niney as Jean-Michel, THE ODYSSEY is a visually spectacular film.


Longhaul travel can be tiresome

Who would have thought that over 3.9 billion people worldwide could be confined in their homes and that most long-haul transport could be frozen? The C19 lockdown is hitting the long-haul transportation industry pretty hard. In just a few weeks, the world’s busiest airlines have grounded nearly all the planes in their fleet. Even once lockdown and travel restrictions are lifted, the industry will suffer massively from the fear of a second pandemic peak. In this new reality, we will witness a dramatic restructuring of the long-haul transportation industry. This crisis will trigger a new wave of investment in the sustainable travel industry. The aviation industry will move towards a greener future by investing more in green synthetic fuels, liquid hydrogen, energy efficiency, and electric aviation. At least, we hope so.It was fantastic to be able to go on an overseas surf trip. A bit tiresome? Sure!There are plenty of ways to improve your situation, though. Here is some practical advice as to how to overcome the long haul blues. Maybe we will travel less, maybe we will travel differently, but we will not stay confined forever.You can skip everything below, if you get a Casey Style UpgradeSleeping tabletsThere are many kinds of sleeping tablets. The herbal type, the over the counter snoozers, the prescription-only types, and then the 'powerful' prescription-only types. Well, forget the herbals and the over-the counters. They don't work. If they did work then why would people pay doctors to get prescriptions? Well, maybe melatonin works, but more on that later.The prescription-only tablets are the way forward, something like Dormonoct. Puts you to sleep for a few hours and doesn't make you feel like a drugged elephant when you wake up. The strong prescription-only tablets work like a charm but do have a severe side-effect – deep-vein thrombosis.If you take a strong one and fall asleep on your arm or your hand, and stop blood flow, this can precipitate deep vein thrombosis - the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein - that can be fatal. So speak to your doctor and get some standard sleeping tablets. Wash them down with some fine Chianti.Bonus: Travel Pillow,  Noise-cancellation earplugs & a good bookAlcoholEveryone tells you not to drink while flying. The alcohol at high altitudes makes you three times drunker and dehydrates you three times as much. I beg to differ. The booze is free, it relieves stress, it can help break the ice with people crammed in next to you. So have some of the free alcohol. A couple of Gin and Tonics, enjoy some fine red wine, have a couple of beers. It'll help you to sleep, but don't overdo it, because there's no dancefloor later.WaterPeople do say that you should drink loads and loads of water while travelling, but not everyone agrees. The best advice is to have some water with you at all times, especially if you're going to drink alcohol. You might wake up with a raging Brandy and Coke-induced thirst in the middle of the night, so it's good to have a bottle next to you when you fall asleep. There's really no need to down litres of the stuff though. Just drink what you need, and drink when you thirsty.FoodThe general consensus is to not eat while flying. The way around this is to have a good meal at the airport just before leaving, and have another good one when you arrive. Also sounds feasible. Aeroplane food often leads to constipation and worse.BathroomsIf you're usually a clockwork sort of person, long haul travel can quite easily mess with your movements. It's one of those things that you have to deal with, however. Here's how to deal with it. Wake up early and check out the toilets. Eventually, people will start moving about, and the older people will begin lining for the bathrooms with worried looks on their faces. This is your cue. Jump up and join the old people. Many will think that the queues will subside but they won't. The oldies take forever in the toilets doing their morning ablutions. Join them in the line. At least that way you're on the toilet program. You will be laughing eventually.ClothingPut some essential clothing items into your carry-on luggage. A few pairs of spare underpants, two tees, a pair of socks and a light tracksuit. A small bottle of cream in case you get a bit of a rash, and some roll-on deodorant.The clothing items will ensure that your flight is a lot more comfortable than those wearing jeans with big belts and belt buckles, and even more so those that might be wearing suits.The cream and deodorant will see you to the first place you can have a shower, and that's all you need when you get to your destination. A shower and some waves, and it'll all be fine.


The colorful story of Coco Ho

Her rich surfing family history, ups and downs on the Championship Tour, and everything in between. Including exclusive interviews with brother, Mason Ho, father, Michael Ho, and world champion surfers John John Florence and Stephanie Gilmore.Coco Ho comes from surfing royalty, but living off the cachet of her family name is not how Coco rolls. She’s confident in who she is as an individual, and she’s using her light to encourage others. From landing her first sponsorship at the age of eight to becoming the youngest female to qualify for the World Surf League Women’s World Tour at 17, Coco has deftly carved out a serious name for herself in the world of competitive surfing. That winning spirit exists in stark contrast to Coco’s insanely approachable and bubbly personality. Her larger-than-life social persona isn’t a front—she really is that Dope.Coco Ho is Hawaiian surfing royalty. She’s the daughter of pro surfing pioneer Michael Ho, the godfather off the North Shore surf scene on Oahu. During his illustrious 25-year career Michael won two Triple Crowns, appeared in five Pipe Masters finals (winning in 1982), eight Duke finals (winning in 1978 and ‘81) and finished No. 3 in the world. Her uncle Derek was the 1993 World Champion and a four-time Triple Crown winner. Yet it was Coco’s older brother Mason who coaxed her into the lineup when she was nine; he wanted a surf partner. It didn’t take much convincing, and she was soon joining him at amateur events all over the state. Competing or not, Coco is always found with a huge smile on her face. She’s a relentless seeker of fun who’s often described as a blonde bundle of joy, and her surfing matches her spirit. It’s fast paced, bright and bold. After a solid amateur career she joined the Championship Tour in 2009, won the Rip Curl Search event in Portugal, and nabbed the rookie of the year honor for finishing No. 4 in the world. While this is her tenth season on Tour, and her surfing has evolved dramatically, she’s yet to top that first go around, which is a testament to how competitive the women’s field is getting. Over the past eight years she’s appeared in three more finals, but fell short of victory in each. She’s had a tough time surviving the CT cut over the last four years, but has dominated Qualifying Series events to keep her spot on Tour intact. In 2017 alone she won three QS events in Portugal, Spain and Japan, giving her nine over the course of her career. Despite her big smile and her warm Aloha spirit, Coco is a scrapper. In a remarkable decade on the CT it wasn't until J-Bay in 2019 that she missed an event. That year was also the first time that Ho failed to make the cut.Coco Ho Talks About Her Journey Through Injury RehabCoco candidly opens up about what she learned from her first injury last year at the Waco wave pool.World Surf LeagueWSL


Sex in the city or Sex on the Beach

A Sex on the Beach is such a classic cocktail. Containing vodka, peach schnapps, orange juice, cranberry juice, and a somewhat funny name, but honestly, I much rather enjoy some good old Bordeaux wine. At the end of the lockdown, you start wondering if you should still stay inside or waste time watching Netflix while the rain is pouring down the streets of the Landes. Starting today, our bubble has expanded to 100km from our home in Europe's biggest forrest, so a trip to Paris to spice up my abandoned Instagram account is not yet on the maps ...Living in the city has its perks, no doubt. A small space, but a big public life, and access to areas full of vibrant culture and gastronomic delights. You have everything within easy access via public transportation, a short drive, or even walking distance. Whether you’re looking for a coffee shop, a delicatessen, or the best fish tacos in town, city dining has it all. You’ll typically find craft breweries and food trucks paired together for a cheap, delicious meal with your favorite local beer. Delivery service is also an added benefit, maybe that's what I missed most during this lockdown.“Paris is always a good idea,” declared Audrey Hepburn. I never expected Paris to be like a movie (like some starry eyed Americans), but a lot of people come here anticipating it to be a dream full of champagne, the Eiffel tower, pretty dresses, macarons, and romance. But living in Paris is not like visiting Paris. Paris is so instagrammable, but instagram isn’t always pretty behind the scenes. As the housing market is so tight, a filthy furnished apartment can be rented for an obscene amount of money because it’s a good neighborhood and an old building.Is COVID-19 the end of the city dream? If cities ebb, they will surely spring back to life in the future. Still, people born in Paris are increasingly likely to move away from the French capital, a new study reveals, with many opting to start a new life in the sunny south of France. At whatever age Parisians decide to leave their home, they are overwhelmingly choosing to ditch it for the sunnier climes of southern France. The Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in the south west of France drew 14 percent of Parisians moving away from the capital.The word “Aquitaine” is of Latin origin and means “land of water”. The ocean, countless lakes and three huge rivers tell us that the Romans’ impression of the region is equally valid today. With its long and rich history, many will be familiar with place names such as Biarritz, St.Emilion and Arcachon, or have probably consumed its iconic wines, Margaux, St. Julien, St Estephe and Pauillac.Aquitaine offers a magic lifestyle and great value for money in terms of surf real estate. It has an abundance of varied landscapes and natural spaces such as mountains, lakes, forests and an amazing coastline of long sandy beaches. The sunny and temperate climate also makes the area a favourite for those who want to live a more tranquil lifestyle surrounded by the beauty of such natural diversity.The Landes is particularly well known for its forest, la Forêt des Landes, which is the largest forest in Europe and covers 67% of the area. It also has miles of beaches, which have been safeguarded from excessive development and as such are great favourites for summer tourism as they offer superb surfing conditions. As a general rule, prices are higher the closer you get to the coast and around the main urban hubs, and start to taper down as you move slightly inland. 100K to 250K gets you a small studio near the beach. 250K+ gets you a renovators dream slightly inland and you should expect to pay 500K+ for a small sized house near the beach. Prime location, surf villas, start from 750K up to a couple million euros.


Truly the golden age of surfing

Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Shane Dorian, Taylor Knox, Kalani Robb, Benji Weatherly, Ross Williams, Pat O'Connell and Taylor Steele are the Momentum Generation. In the 1960s, surfing in America was known primarily as a California- and Hawaii-based phenomenon associated with surf instrumentals and Beach Boys songs. In films, it was a vehicle to infuse all-American romantic comedies with action or zany antics. Although equipment and skills evolved, the public’s perception of surfing as a novelty sport remained constant until the 1990s, when a group of punk rock-loving teens, many from troubled homes and backgrounds, found its way to a house on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii, in the process changing their lives and the sport itself.After relocating to Oahu, the young surfers courageously followed each other into Mother Nature’s most dangerous waves. When some of them didn’t make it back to shore, they found a way to mourn together – and adapt. Fuelled by camaraderie and a deep-seated competitiveness, the tight-knit crew became known as the “Momentum Generation” after being featured in Taylor Steele’s groundbreaking films. Its members went on to win world titles, break records and redefine the world’s perception of the surfer, youth culture and what it means to be free.The Momentum FilesThirty years of surfing evolution, all in one channel. In 1992, high school senior Taylor Steele released his VHS surf movie, MOMENTUM, featuring an up and c...YouTube


Living it up, all the way down

Bunker77 is the wild true story of a young American rebel seeking freedom, love, and authenticity in a chaotic world. Bunker Spreckels, Clark Gable's stepson and heir to a sugar fortune, turned his back on expectations and grew into a controversial surf star who expressed complete originality, like a cross between James Dean and Andy Warhol. He danced on the sea like no one else even as his mysterious and surreal persona exploded to consume him.Bunker survived off the jungle while pushing the limits of Hawaii’s most dangerous waves, raced across remote Africa in a Mercedes waving cash and a handgun on a pioneering expedition to J-Bay, and churned his way through a Los Angeles filled with passion, decadence, and reckless experimentation. While Bunker mentored skateboard legend Tony Alva to his world championship and dove headlong into collaborations with film auteur Kenneth Anger, his dynamic life blazed to uncontainable proportions.Photos: Art Brewer“Using never-before-seen footage from famed surf photographer Art Brewer taken during Spreckels’ last years, Takuji Masuda tells the story of the young wave rider while trying to put his extravagance in its proper cultural context.”Photos: Art BrewerTakuji Masuda’s captivating documentary traces the steep arc of enigmatic ’70s surf punk. Buy the movie at Vimeo. Currently available on Amazon Prime and iTunes.Amazon.com: Watch Bunker77 | Prime VideoBunker Spreckels, Clark Gable’s stepson and heir to a sugar fortune, turned his back on expectations and grew into a controversial surf star who expressed complete originality, like a cross between James Dean and Andy Warhol. He danced on the sea like no one else even as his mysterious and surreal p…Prime Video


Standing eight to 10 hours a day

In the early ‘70s, a young lady in Hawaii was interested in photographing surf. It took handshakes with the right people, the perfect lens, a sharp eye, the right moment, good timing, a lot of running around and a little luck to be that young lady. Shirley Rogers would be the first to tell you so. She was that young lady. She said, “It wasn’t easy, but it was fun. I was the only girl doing it at the time. When I moved to the North Shore in 1971, there were very few women living out there. It was like the Wild West, and even being local didn’t help – my first Nikon setup was stolen from my house!" Being a local, female surf photographer in those days offered Rogers a little advantage when it came to behind-the-scenes access: “The boys were more open and available to ham it up for me,” she recalls. “I was able to get some really great candid shots of them.” But scoring action shots from the beach was intensely competitive. She had to prove she was serious about it. Standing eight to 10 hours a day in the hot sun and dragging 50 pounds of camera equipment, tripods, and lenses through the soft sand for miles earned. Even more so when her pictures were published in the magazines. By the mid ’70s, the entire professional surf world descended upon the Seven Mile Miracle every winter like clockwork, and it was impossible to miss her behind a massive lens. Her  colleagues used to joke with her that were more shots of her in the magazines than by her. Certainly, she was an unusual presence on the beach in the 1970s, the best woman surf photographer within that pivotal era. But despite her work being published throughout the 70s and 80s, and her name being listed on the Surfing masthead for years under contributing photographers, little is known of her. As a girl, she took classes and won a national award for her work. Shortly after high school, her parents decided to move back to Texas but Shirley wasn’t coming with. She was best friends with Jeff Hakman’s girlfriend, so after high school they all moved in together on the North Shore and she started to shoot surfing.“I dunno, I lived on the North Shore, spent all my time on the beach, I already had a camera, so I figured, what the hell.” It was during a massive day at Waimea Bay that Jack McCoy and Dick Hoole were shooting from the water for their forthcoming film, Tubular Swells. They wanted another angle for the new Aussie surf magazine Backdoor. They handed Shirley a 650 Century long-lens and Shirley was hooked.They handed Shirley Rogers, a young woman from Ewa Beach barely out of high school, a Century 650mm lens and asked if she could help.  A 650mm Century is no easy piece of equipment. Originally designed for Hollywood cinematography, it was paired with slow  high-resolution slide film. This required tedious framing skills, not to mention the ability to pull focus while panning on a moving surfer, but Shirley learned and began submitting her work.“The thing I remember most was how quick to learn she was, and how soon she was taking great photos that were published not long after she started, which was saying something,” said McCoy. It was a real art to learn to follow focus manually to get a sharp shot. If it wasn’t crystal, absolute, frozen-water sharp…the mags wouldn’t use it.While she kept to the beach, she’d take notes from photographers like Dan Merkel and Brian Bielmann, describing Colonel Albert Benson to be particularly helpful. Besides shooting the rising stars of the time like Shaun Tomson, Gerry Lopez, and Rory Russell, she brought lesser-known, local heroes into the spotlight like Marvin Foster and Louis Ferreira. She also quickly realized what every successful surf photographer eventually discovers—that in this field of the craft, no matter what art school you graduated from,  your relationships with the talent trumps everything. The surfers have to like you, never the other way around.With stories to tell, she mentions several - like the time Jeff Hakman came home one day with Quiksilver’s first prototype.“‘They’re called boardshorts,’ he told he. They just looked like swim trunks to Shirley, but that’s how they were marketing them in Australia. She's still kicking herself for missing out on that deal. Also, Da Hui started in her kitchen, but that's another story.Text: John Prickitt


Justin Mauvin. Sibu Manaï.

Born in 1993, Justin Mauvin first rode waves as a baby on her mom’s board, entering her first contest at 13 years old at Les Roches Noires. A couple of years ago we enjoyed a live performance of Justin at Jo&Jo during the Quiksilver Pro Press Event in Hossegor. A couple of months later she performed at the Ancien Belgique (AB) and to this day, we regret we didn't go watch that show in the city of my birth, but we did start following her musical career from a distance. Below are a couple of music videos that showcase her talent & vibe. Katrien and I share a strong emotion about all thing "La Réunion" as we came very very close to making it our new home, after years of battling with getting a South African permanent visa, the French tropical island seemed the perfect base to live life near Jeffreys Bay and still enjoy the liberty of having a European ID.Justin Mauvin went on to win the titles of French Longboard Champion, Vice European Longboard Champion, Pan-American Champion, and is part of the Roxy team. For the past few years, she has been based in Biarritz, a place where she can fully express her skills in the water and in her music."Music allows me to release my emotions and express them. In the water, I often have music in my head that accompanies me. When I surf, my whole body becomes the vector of my expression. I dance to a rhythm imposed by the waves, my environment and my state of mind. I juggle between the surfing and music scenes to find a balance, but there are not many differences between the two disciplines. They are all about creation and spontaneity, and go through me in the same way." "Surfing is like playing music or writing a song. You're free to do what you want, and this massive feeling of freedom is addictive. Whether I am in the water or playing music, I feel closer to my inner feelings because every feeling is more profound. Being able to express and receive between deep inside and what you hear (music), what you see, watch, and touch (nature)... " Source: insideoutwomenSibu Manaï is Justine Mauvin. She has always been singing and writing music while traveling around the globe. Growing up on a tropical island where diversity is key, her music is where tradition and modernity meet. Justin is really willing to express her inner feelings through this mix of modern Soul and traditional Pop. During the 2017 international surf film festival in Anglet, the jury’s deliberations were more than heated. “It could have ended in a fight,” joked Wilco Prins, President of the Jury. Two hours of discussions took place before all seven members of the jury agreed on a winner. The Best Film Prize was awarded not to one film, but to two films: 80 e Tal, and Biarritz Surf gang. To warm the ceremony from the beginning, the public award was given to Kaleleo, Justine Mauvin and Damien Castera!Cover Image: Cecile ChabertCheck out the brand new album "Vavanguer" on Spotify!!!


The waves looked like mountains

After Winter Storm Hercules unleashed the Black Swell onto the old continent, a host of the world’s best big wave surfers, including Shane Dorian, Benjamin Sanchis, Jamie Mitchell, and “Twiggy”, tackled some extraordinarily big waves. Quick and dirty edit less than 12 hours after the paddle session in Belharra, France on January 7th 2014. A historic event, very much like the fact that we will be allowed back in the water starting the 16th of May. Hope we're not going to face a second C19 wave. Stay safe!Cinematography by: Vincent KardasikEdit & Post Production by: Julie KardasikCover Image: Aurélien Laborde !!!Soundtrack:She's Gone by The Ragged Jubileefacebook.com/theraggedjubileeBuy it here itunesSurfers: Shane Dorian/Benjamin Sanchis/Jamie Mitchell/Grant "Twiggy" Baker/Peyo Lizarazu/Pilou Ducalme/Stephane Iralour/Justine Dupont/Seb Saint-JeanSpecial thanks: François Liets/Seb Saint-Jean/Yann Benetrix/Fifi le "Bop"/Thierry/Krawiec/David Dubes/Benjamin Sanchis/Shane Dorian/Justine Dupont/Laurent Pujol/Vincent LartizienShot on Red Epic. ©L/K-rtel 2014


Reshape the impact of surfing

The 10th episode in the Driven series, by Belgian filmmaker Wim Bonte, tells the story of the Basque board-company Notox. Driven to reshape the impact of surfing on the environment. Pierre Pomiers and Benoit Rameix, create a generation of boards that match the sustainable values and spirit of surfing.Cover: PROTEST X NOTOX QUANTOM 7’0 SURFBOARD7’0   x   21 1/4   x   2 3/4   =   46.5 L100 % recycled EPS Foam, Flax Fibre wrap, finished with a vacuum lamination process over a high performance Bio-Epoxy resin. A NOTOX surfboard will produce around 1kg of waste; 75% of which is recyclable. Traditional surfboards generate around 6kg of waste in comparison.www.notox.fr/en/


Seventy meters above sea level ...

Rion des Landes is located in the heart of the forest. The porch of the neo-Romanesque church dates from the 12th century. The Country Feeling Classic?Bordeaux Wine - Biarritz TimeThe altitude of Rion-des-Landes is approximately 70 meters above sea level, the surface is 118 km², slightly bigger than Paris (105 km²). The population density is around 20 inhabitants per km², about a 1000 times less than Paris, and it's strategically located right in between Bordeaux and Biarritz. Solar powerA French solar power producer installed a 10.5-MW solar park in Rion that required a total investment of 13 million euro. The facility consists of 35,280 solar panels which produce 12.8 GWh per year, enough to meet the energy needs of 8,000 people while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 6,100 metric tonnes per year. Retail power rate has been fixed at EUR 0.1108, one of the lowest in France.Photos: Yves Van den MeersscheLa Cave Du Bon VivantAround seven years ago, we bought a property in Rion des Landes. We have been renovating the old house from the mid 70's ever since. It's an ongoing wine tasting project called La Cave Du Bon Vivant, and it has been keeping us busy and happy. One million hectaresThe low population in Les Landes, about 300,000 people, has not changed much for the last 150 years. Before becoming the greatest extent of forest in France during the nineteenth century, it was known as the French Sahara. Below you will find some historical background about this magic region we now call home.120 € for a 30 min flight / Learn to fly: 06 33 86 18 24AerodromeThe ICAO code is LFIL. The "airport" in Rion is open to public air traffic. It is used for the practice of leisure and tourism activities (light aviation and helicopter). The Nord Aero association was created to refurbish and fly legendary planes. It offers baptisms, plane rental and ULM. The grass runway is oriented east-west and is 1,075 meters long and 60 meters wide.Horse riding? Stéphanie - 06 87 56 11 91 / Sailing? Bernard - 06 80 16 74 59 / Yoga? Iza - 07 67 00 02 24Nearby lac d'Arjuzanx offers a swimming beach and is not lacking in charm.The main asset of the movie is its location: the LandesCinematic "The movie "Landes", shows the 1920s, with a huge industrial forest and a social crisis brewing. 35-year-old Liéna loses her husband and inherits his vast properties and his crazy dream to have electricity throughout his lands. Liéna wants to make this electrical dream come true, no matter the cost. Except no one else wants it, neither her family or associates, nor the unions. So she fights, ever more stubborn and determined, only to finally understand that another dream exists, a social and emotional realm beyond the country's stalled and suffocating reality." Cinema ContisThe historyAt the sea edge, the moving dunes, eroded by the sea breeze and the ‘currents’, invaded, suffocated and buried villages and the forest. It was in order to protect themselves from the steadily encroaching sand, that the locals stabilised the sand and channeled the ‘currents’ - the little streams that run down to the Atlantic Ocean.It took many decades before the work to dry the Landais marshes and plant them with forests was finished. The law imposed by Emperor Napoleon III in 1857, ordered all the communes of Gascogne Landes, not just the coastline, be drained and then planted with maritime pines, making the land useable and rich. Bit by bit, pines covered Les Landes, changing the landscape and reducing the expanse of more than 100,000 hectares of moors. This made room for what would become one of the largest forests in Europe.Since then the forest has played an important role in the economy, first of all with the tapping of the resin, then with the lumber industry. Contrary to all the other major countries that produce lumber, here the owners of the forest are not industrialists, but foresters, and they own 90% of the forest. The forest is made up of four main varieties – mostly the pine tree, but also the common oak, the cork tree and the strawberry tree. Photo: Yves Van den Meerssche / Lac d'UzaLa Table Du MarensinThe story of the Lur-Saluces family is well known but another part of the story is at Uza, the little village on the scenic way from Rion des Landes to Contis Plage, aptly named "La Route de l'Océan". Here you will discover "La Table Du Marensin". Photo: La Table Du Marensin Welcome to the heart of the bucolic Uza estate! Property of the de Lur Saluces family, already at the head of Château de Fargues, this private estate has been home to an organic asparagus farm since 2009 and the Epicerie de la Forge. The bistronomic restaurant quickly became our favourite place to spend some quality time. With its elegant décor, large bay windows and terrace offering a superb view of the lake, it has already earned its stripes as a place to live the life.Photos: La Table Du Marensin. 09 70 22 90 21 / reservation@latabledumarensin.comWith the advice of chef Benjamin Toursel, who earned a Michelin star for his Auberge du Prieuré in Moirax, and his second Johan Laval, a gifted young man in his thirties, who has worked with the two stars Michel Trama and Sylvestre Wahid, they have created a true heaven for foodies like us. Photos: Yves Van den MeersscheContis PlageWith Contis being only a short drive from "La Table Du Marensin", we always deeply enjoy visiting the magic beaches ... Nothing but gratitude to call this home.