La Rochelle is the capital of the Charente – Maritime department. It is a port city connected to the Île de Ré with a 2.9 km / 1.8 mi long bridge that was completed on May 19th, 1988. The harbor opens to a protected strait, the Pertuis d'Antioche. La Rochelle is situated in western France and is seaport on the Bay of Biscay which is a part of the Atlantic Ocean.
La Rochelle is a port city in the vicinity of many beaches where many sea sports can be performed. One of them which is very popular in the area, is surfing!!! The ideal place to practice it is at Aytré – Lopette Beach. The beach is situated between La baie d’aytré and the Minimes harbor.
It is very easy to find the location as it is at a very short distance from the city. The beach is appropriate for surfers of all levels of ability, with a sloppy wave quality which sometimes can break. The type of the wave is reef – rocky and it comes from the right. The bottom of the sea is beautiful with corals, sharp rocks etc. Power of the wave is fun and in its normal length is from 50 to 150 m / 164 to 492 ft while on good days it reaches up from 150 to 300 m / 492 to 984 ft. The swell direction in its optimum form comes from the west and the wind’s direction comes from the east, northeast.
Swell size starts at 2 – 2.5 m / 6 – 8 ft and holds up to 1+ m / 3+ ft. The best tide position is mid and high tide and the tide movements is raising tide. It is a rather empty beach with a few surfers but you should bear in mind that is a nudist colony. The beach is also called the Gas Chamber, however, it can’t be compared to the Hawaiian spot though.
Sometimes works and sometimes works very well and then comes a real right point break small but long. It is a perfect spot for learning or training. So if you are in right time in the right place, you will definitely enjoy the ride. You can go with friends and have fun by just showing off some of your tricks.
When it is huge outside this is only thing that works in this region. Keep in mind that there a lot of rocks so you should pay extra attention.
