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ROAD TRIPPIN’

Autumn in europe in your van is the dream. the carvan and motorhome club have a bunch of surfer friendly sites near great spots. read on...

The Caravan and Motorhome Club are longstanding supporters of Surfing England and its adventurous community, and surfing's development from grassroots to Team England and sponsors for the English National Surfing Championships. They also have numerous campsites through France, Spain and Portugal - perfect for a surfing road trip with the crew or with a family. Here are 15 of the best for surfers. If you join the Caravan and Motorhome club you can save up to 10 percent on Brittany Ferries to France, save on campervan and motorhome insurance and save up to 50 percent on pitch fees. Hit the road this autumn!

Areas
■ Brittany La Torche and La Plage were popular surf spots back in the '80s, but as travel changed from van life to cheap air flights from the UK to Bordeaux, it got bypassed by a lot of travellers. With lots of beaches and fewer crowds, the area provides plenty of options and a distinct cultural difference from down south make the region a great stop off or destination in its own right.

■ Vieux Boucau Just to the north Hossegor this area is well known amongst seasoned travellers as a family-friendly surf destination. Nearby beaches offer quieter opens than further south, but you can still get to the hub of Hossegor during the Quik Pro.

■ Biarritz La Grande Plage, Anglet, Cavaliers and the historical sights of Biarritz are a great stop off for travellers. The big wave spot of Guethary is just south and with St Jean de Luz, and Lafitenia and San Sebastien are all within easy reach.

■ Northern Spain What can you say? Waves, cerveza and tapas and some of the coolest surf towns and cities in Europe. San Sebastien, Mundaka, Zarutz, Sopelana, Santander, Gijon, lead out across the pine backed coast to the quieter reaches of Galicia.

■ North Portugal Take the slow road out from Spain and rediscover breaks like Figuera de Foz and the surrounding area of Nazare in north-west Portugal.

■ Guincho Further south Guincho used to host several high profile surf contests. Easy access to Santa Maria, Cascais, Estoril, Carcavelos, and of course Lisbon.

■ The Algarve Much loved and a great stop-off or destination. Camping in the Algarve. Sound good?

■ Southern Spain A quiet stretch of coast that used to serve as a van life stop off on the way to Morocco, but is a great autumn and winter destination in itself. Long stretches of beaches and occasional secret spots. Worth a drive!

FRANCE
1. La Plage
La Plage campsite has direct access to a lovely sandy beach. It's a large and family-friendly site, buzzing in high season but quieter off-peak.
2. Camping Bel by La Tranche sur Mer
An established, family-run site, Camping Bel is located just a short walk from the seaside resort of La Tranche sur Mer and 5km from Plage de la Terrieré - a surfer's paradise.
3. Le Vieux Port - Messanges
Close to the beach and boasting the largest water park on any campsite in France with five outdoor pools, water slides, waves and a heated spa. Highly recommended for families.
4. Le Pavilion Royal
A stone's throw from Biarritz and with direct access to a sandy beach and pine forest. Some pitches overlook the cliffs and beach, affording spectacular views, particularly at sunset.

NORTHERN SPAIN
5. Playa Joyel
Set on the stunning Costa de Cantabria, a short walk from the town of Noja. Close to the ports of Santander and Bilbao, it's ideal for first-time visitors to Spain.
6. Caravaning Oyambre
Located on the north coast near the ferry port of Santander and open all year. The beautiful beach is a 15-minute walk, and the spectacular Picos de Europa mountains are easily reached from the site.
7. O Muiño
Offering stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean, this site is situated in an unbeatable location in Galicia, surrounded by sea and mountains.

PORTUGAL
8. Angeiras
This charming site near the western coast of Portugal is the perfect getaway for families and winter sun-seekers. With fantastic swimming and paddling pools, tennis and mini-golf if it's flat.
9. VagueIra
Within easy reach of an extensive sandy beach hidden behind impressive dunes, Vagueira is a fairly large site shaded under tall pine trees.
10. Vale Paraiso Natur Park
A warm and pleasant, well-managed site situated near long beaches of white sand perfect for water sports. Nearby is Nazaré is an old fishing village you may have heard of! Nazare is pretty cool with a harbour, a lift to clifftop Sitio and many outdoor bars and cafes at the marina.
11. Guincho
Situated in the dunes of Guincho, it is ideally placed for a mix of surfing, and exploration of Lisbon, 30km away. Play area, swimming and paddling pool provide plenty of entertainment for families.
12. Turiscampo
Based outside of Lagos, one the main surfing hubs of the Algarve, with excellent access to the south coast beach of Burgau, Luz, Zavial and Sagres, and west coast beaches. Large California swimming pool complex and new covered pool.

SOUTHERN SPAIN
13. La Rosaleda
In the beautiful Costa de la Luz region, it is surrounded by charming little villages and just a short drive from Conil de la Frontera, a picturesque seaside town.
13. Valdevaqueros
Set at Tarifa on Andalusia's southernmost tip, this friendly site is great for active families or – being open all year – it also has plenty of scope for day trips to the Med on swells, Gibraltar and Morocco.
14. Roche
Situated in a pine forest near to Andalusia's beautiful sandy beaches on the famous 'Coast of Light', Roche is close to Conil la Frontera, a much-loved destination for UK campers, especially in winter. Its rural location makes it tranquil.

Caravan and Motorhome Club sites through europe
for more information and membership
go to camc.com or call 01342 318813

To find out more about Surfing England, head to: surfingengland.org or check them out on social @SurfingEngland. You can directly support the English Surfing Community and become a member from as little as £15/year!

MOCEAN: A film by Chris Bryan

It’s Fri-yay so let Sir David Attenborough and Chris Bryan slide you into the weekend with this mesmerising edit. Chris worked on the Blue Planet with the living legend Attenborough, if it’s signed off by Sir David, it’s safe to say its wise to watch it. You won't be dissapointed.

I love filming in the ocean more than anything, its not just a job, its a passion. And sometimes its nice just to document waves without surfers riding them. The feeling of jumping off the rocks in the dark by myself just to capture the very first rays of light hitting the ocean without another sole in sight is unexplainable, its one of the most amazing feelings ever, its like my own personal therapy.
And to realise that you're the only person on this planet that got to witness these rare moments of absolute beauty as they happen is a really special feeling.
And now im excited to share my experiences with you through my latest passion project "MOCEAN".

Chris Bryan

London Surf / Film Festival Shorties Go Live

Swell is on the horizon, the wind is threatening to go offshore, Autumn is here. To coincide with this, the most glorious time of the year, London Surf / Film Festival presented by Vans has just dropped the longlist for the 9th Edition of The Shorties short film contest. Peel back your eyelids, grab some liquid refreshment and settle in for some 60 minutes of surf movie magic over on the LS/FF site.

And, if you like what you see and want to support independent filmmaking, vote for those films you’d like to see on the big screen at this year’s festival.

The hotly contested ‘homegrown filmmaking’ category at the heart of this international festival features 11 outstanding shorts from some of the best British & Irish filmmaking talent. The longlist is a mix of big wave charging, soundscaping, super 8 traveloguing, documentary filmmaking, sick editing, cautionary tale telling and everything in between from both established names and new talents.

London Surf / Film Festival needs your help in selecting The Shorties to be premiered on the big screen at this year’s festival. They are asking you – the esteemed surfing community – to support your favourite films by watching and voting for them.

Voting is open now and will run until midnight 22nd September. Check out the longlisted entries at londonsurffilmfestival.com and cast your votes.

The shortlist is decided by a combination of votes cast by the surf community and votes cast by the screening panel which includes influential names in the world of surf, media and filmmaking, from photographers and producers to commissioning editors.

The selected films will be shown on the big screen as part of the 9th Annual London Surf / Film Festival x Vans hosted 9 – 12 October at the iconic Regent St Cinema.

London Surf / Film Festival is a celebration of the cream of international surf culture. Bringing to the UK the best surf films from around the globe – documentaries to inspire, travelogues to stir up the wanderlust and cutting edge action to blow minds, all accompanied by talks, live music, gallery shows, workshops and more it is a must attend for saltwater aficionados.

Head to londonsurffilmfestival.com to vote.

Boardmasters confirm full refunds.

Boardmasters confirm full refunds for ticket holders, cateres and traders.

"Following our update on 22nd August we have been working with our ticket agents and insurers to process refunds as quickly as possible.

We are pleased to confirm that all refunds for the face value of festival tickets and festival extras have now been processed by our official ticket agents – SEE Tickets, Verve/Pollen and Festicket. If not already received, funds should show in your account in the next few days depending on your payment method or bank.

We are aware that some customers received a partial refund from SEE Tickets. This was due to refunds being issued by ticket type e.g. litter bond or parking rather than as a whole. We are as disappointed as you are at the alarm this caused some of our customers and have raised this with SEE Tickets. Please be assured all refunds have now been issued.

We have also been able to confirm that we will be refunding all traders and caterers their pitch fees and recharges.

Following a festival cancellation of this scale, it takes time to work through a claim and receive the funds from insurers in order to process refunds. We know that this has caused frustration and disappointment for some of you. Please be assured, refunds have remained our priority and we worked as fast as we could to get these to you via our ticket agents.

A huge thank you, once again, to all of our fans and business partners for your patience and support whilst our ticket agents processed refunds.

If you have a question or require any help with your refund please get in touch with the applicable agent directly. Their details can be found at www.boardmasters.com/refunds

We will continue to communicate directly with our business partners, including our suppliers, traders, caterers and sponsors.

For other enquiries outside of the above, please contact
[email protected]

Le Chéile

Le Chéile is a short film about how individuals living in an Irish town help shape the area, people and society around them.

The film features Lahinch Local surfer Ollie O Flaherty and a host of his friends that live in Lahinch. Filmed on location in Lahinch, County Clare Ireland.

The music for this film was recorded live in Kennys, the local pub by The O’Connell brothers who are good friends of Ollie.

The name of the song is ‘Liscannor Bay’. Liscannor Bay is the Bay that Lahinch is located in and contains some of the counties best reef breaks.

Supported by C Skin wetsuits.

Ah, miss Kennys…

Aussies Claim Gold Medals in ISA Aloha Cup Team Relay Event

Team Australia displayed the well-balanced attack of their men and women surfers on Wednesday and took the ISA Aloha Cup Gold Medal at the 2019 ISA World Surfing Games presented by Vans in Miyazaki, Japan.

Ryan Callinan's 7.33 wave score led Australia in the Final and along with solid performances from teammates Owen Wright, Sally Fitzgibbons and Nikki Van Dijk, their team total of 38.19 points narrowly edged out Team South Africa for the Gold.

"It's a great feeling to be a part of a team, It's so different for our sport to be here representing Team Australia and to get a win is amazing. It had a relaxed vibe to it and all of the other countries involved looked like they were having a lot of fun. We really embraced the opportunity." - Ryan Callinan

Ryan Callinan (above), Jordy Smith (below)

Team South Africa was anchored by Jordy Smith, who earned the two highest wave scores of the heat with 7.47 and 8.5. However, South Africa's team total of 38.11 came up just short of Australia, awarding them the Silver Medal.

Team USA was in position to take the Gold Medal with Kelly Slater looking for a final wave in the dying minutes of the heat. Slater found a meager 3.2 wave score that was enough to push USA into the lead, but he fell on his final maneuver that forced him into a long sprint to the beach. Coming up just seconds short crossing the team box, Team USA was charged with a 5-point penalty for not finishing the relay in time and therefore dropping to Bronze Medal position with 35.38 points.

The ISA Aloha Cup is a team relay event that features two men and two women from the top eight teams from the 2018 ISA World Surfing Games in Tahara, Japan. There are two semifinals and a final where each surfer catches two waves in their leg of the relay before tagging in the next teammate. The total of all surfers' waves becomes the final team score.

The first Semifinal featured Japan, South Africa, Peru, and Argentina, while the second Semifinal featured Australia, USA, France, and the defending Aloha Cup Gold Medalist, Spain. Teams Japan, South Africa, USA, and Australia advanced through to the Final, making the most of the clean, knee to waist high conditions at Kisakihama Beach. Australia's Ryan Callinan stood out in the Semifinals with the highest score throughout the entire Aloha Cup, scoring an impressive 8.5 point ride to take Australia to the Final.