Words by Ian Fontaine
It all started when the Manera brand asked me to take part in a rather special adventure with this true legend of cold waters, Peter Devries. At first, I didn't believe it. Raised in Brittany and loving winter because I am able to find confidential spots there, I was going to meet the ultimate taste of cold water surfing, for ten days, during a search trip in South America. I reverted to childhood at the idea of participating in this adventure.
The preparation was all in all quite simple: hats, coats, slippers, balaclava, gloves — except perhaps to put the 6/4 mm in the luggage! It is the first time in my life that I have a 6/4 mm with the integrated hood and the first time in my life that I leave the Finistère sun in the middle of June to reach the other hemisphere and find freshness there. It's a super strange feeling, normally it's the opposite way: when it's cold, we seek warmth!
Finally, I love this concept of the endless winter. After a night on the plane and a mystical kind of awakening above the Andes mountain range, accompanied by clouds and a stunning sunrise, I landed at the airport. I met the whole team there: Marcus the photographer, Nate the cameraman and Peter the legend. All three are from the Tofino region in western Canada, where, even in summer, you wear slippers. They are used to extreme conditions. I received all my luggage. My boards were intact. Unfortunately, this was not the case for Peter, he had not been able to recover his board bag. This one had apparently not made the connection in Toronto.
Too bad, now we have to chart the course. The bag will surely arrive a few days later. After half a day of travel, we arrive at the surf zone. The landscapes are dazzling. We are very close to Patagonia and it shows. There is green everywhere, the bays and beaches are beautiful, it's cold but I feel good there. It looks like a mix between Canada and Mexico, it's funny but that's the idea I get at first sight: black sand with large pine and eucalyptus forests.
We begin the search and identification of spots. I am freewheeling, Peter who has already come several times with Nate directs the operations. He is very meticulous about his decisions. Our improvised guide tries to grasp the weather maps and the different orientations of the spots. It reminds me of my own experience at home when I try to surf the best break between Carnac and Perros Guirrec, in winter. I get caught up in the game of search and cartographic study. Here everything takes on another dimension, you get lost in forests and dirt roads, the coast is still well preserved and access is sometimes difficult. A good session is earned.
It is at the end of a dirt road and a small fishing port that we find our first waves. It's magical, the water is super clear and seems to be very clean. There is life and the waves are there. Not many people are on the horizon, we chat with two or three locals, seals, and sea lions. After our sessions, we usually meet at the local café near a wood fire, to warm up our bodies and our souls.
It really feels good to discover new cultures, to meet new people, to adapt to their way of life, to try to understand the local situation and attitudes. I am blown away by the coast. I love wide-open spaces and backgrounds that have character and character. I am served in this sense. We surf a lot. Three sessions per day between 6/5/4 mm hood in the morning and 5/4/3 mm hood in the afternoon. The water is at 8° and the air varies between 0° during the first session and 10° a few hours later.
We test the products in all their forms, in intense sessions near the edge and in sessions with a lot of paddling on the point breaks. I expected to suffer from the cold, but in fact, when you are well-equipped, everything is fine. I am very surprised by the flexibility of a 6/4 mm integrated hood, I can really row easily and I am super comfortable in it. I think I will wear it more often at home.
The search takes us to my favorite spot of the trip: the Jesus light wedge. It is a wedge between two rocks that forms a rather punchy straight line, super fun, with enough to push with power in the wall and also to take off in the shorebreak. I like. We cruise on the beach all day, we picnic and we re-surf in the afternoon. I introduce Henaff Pâté to western Canadians, they love it and become addicted to it.
We expect a swell for the end of the ten days. It's a rather special swell that arrives with a lot of wind. We hope that we will be able to score a particular spot. Peter Devries is still without boards. He surfs mine, made in Europe, it's pretty crazy to see the Cold Water GOAT evolve on my own gear. He rips the spot even if he is not used to this volume. Devries is really a legend, he is from the same generation as Parko and he managed to make a career as a pro surfer coming from a not-so-glamorous spot where it is always cold. He made it a strength. The character is super inspiring, especially for a Breton like me.
I try to store as much information and learn from this trip companion, he is really strong and he breaks the spot with a smile. I would like to be like him at the same age, that's for sure! In addition, we have a good laugh with the Canadians, they are very humble and very polite people, they are approachable and easy to live with, and they integrated me very quickly into their crew. I feel a little bit the same atmosphere as my Breton counterparts, by evolving a little far from the star system, we take ourselves a little less seriously and it's easy to mess around, it's nice.
The swell is coming, but it's a little less than expected. We get our teeth into this famous spot on this coast where the wave rolls over hundreds of meters on a sandbank. It's quite amazing to see this with your own eyes. I find it hard to believe what I see, a place well preserved because of its cold climate, but of world-class quality. At the end of a bay, over the last few days, we can see a few tubular peaks. We are getting closer and luckily there; we come across a beach break of the Landes type, with right and left tubes, full offshore. It's not big, but we are alone and we enjoy ourselves.
The atmosphere at the peak is crazy: the offshore wind is super powerful and it causes a light drizzle which accompanied by the contrasts of the sky, the colonies of sea lions and sea lions make the moment totally special — the animals that surf the wave with us verify that we are friends and not predators. They are very curious, it's really funny, I tell myself that maybe I look like them with my integrated balaclava jumpsuit and my mustache sticking out. I make friends with them and they let me score some tubular jewelry.
The end of the trip is approaching, it's time to say goodbye to this team and to this magnificent and no less secret place on the planet. I am delighted to have this chance: to discover these waves, these characters, and this culture. I would come back to this region, I really fell in love with Chile.
Thanks to Manera for taking me on this trip, thanks to Pete and his team of bosses, thanks to the Chileans and the local surfers we met there, thanks and Kenavo Ar vechal!
Various images were utilized for Manera Wetsuits, Surf Sessions Magazine, Surfline, Surfing Life Magazine, and Waves & Woods Magazine.