North Finistere known for its picturesque coastlines and dynamic Atlantic coast, is set to host an exhilarating surfski event that promises to bring together enthusiasts from around Europe. The annual Finistere surfski Festival, a celebration of paddling prowess and ocean adventure, will showcase the beauty of the Finistere coastline while challenging participants with its dynamic waters. Whether you’re a seasoned surfski pro or a novice eager to dive into the world of ocean paddling. The Finistere Ocean Racing Festival is a must-attend for those seeking the ultimates surfski experience.
Organiser Helen Trehoret from Barrachou Paddle introduces the event, that is becoming a mainstay on the French Surfski Calender.
Hi Helen, can you introduce the event to our readers?
This year the Finistere Surfski changed its name to embrace other paddlers in the ocean racing community. The hope is to attract SUP paddlers, and OC paddlers to try out surfski paddling, which is an ideal crossover sport for them.
Can you give a brief outline of the event?
The 3rd annual Surfski Ocean Racing Festival sponsored by Rogue takes place on the 7th to 11th June. Registration opens at 4.30 PM on the Friday and kicks off with an opening paddle session in Guisseny Bay. Saturday is split into morning and afternoon sessions. Paddlers can chose between distance paddle sessions or coaching sessions with Spanish Coach Nacho Soler Fabre. Saturday will finish with the traditional and famous BBQ at the Curnic Cafe, Guisseny.
Sunday session is the same format, paddlers will be able to chose from sprint, downwind and technique session with Nacho and myself. On Sunday night there will also a presentation by Nacho in preparation for the Monday morning race.
Then on the Monday we will have the Surfski Race, a 10 KM race for fun.
Why should people register for this event?
This festival is designed to bring those who are addicted to surfski paddling together. The format of this event is slightly different to others. Surfski is built around training and racing. But this event places itself at surfski paddlers who are passionate by the sport, and wish to have fun whilst progressing their technique. Finistere Ocean Racing Festival is open to beginner to intermediate paddlers, we are here to bring all surfski addicts together to grow our sport, a true Surfski Festival!
Can you introduce the area?
Finistere is the extreme North West France. It is about 6 hours West of Paris. Finistere has some of the best paddle conditions in France. We have winds from the South West so this makes it ideal terrotiary for downwind paddling. This combined with the Atlantic swell gives us some of the best conditions you could wish for as a surfski paddler. The event is based around Guisseny, North Finistere. But we are likely to explore areas in the area in order to get some ideal downwind conditions. For example the Rade in Brest has a great downwind run. This would be an ideal 10 KM downwind for the paddlers!
Why is this the more exciting place to be in June?
This is the ultimate paddle week for surfski geeks. We have moved the festival to fall before the Breizh Ocean Race, which will take place the weekend after our festival. This was done to give paddlers the opportunity to get the most of there paddling in Finistere, by combining the 2 events. For more information for the Breizh Ocean Race head over to their facebook page. This is the ultimate downwind event, 40 KM of pure downwind on the Atlantic coast.
How can we register for this event?
All details are found at the website Barrachou paddle Tickets are 250 euros for the weekend, which includes coaching, bbq, presentation and downwind sessions. Which is a bargain compared to other iniatives. If you are interested then register now and you won’t be disappointed!
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