November sessions on the Rhone river – Video
This is a short clip about 2 sessions of Pierre Garambois (F-990) and Benjamin Panel (F-770) filmed this November on the river Rhône at Chasse sur Rhône & Saint Alban sur Rhône, France. The November was surprisingly warm in France and the guys from the La Bar team had a few good sessions.
“Personally I was really happy to be back on the water after an injury, which kept me off the water for 3 months!” (Pierre Garambois comment on the clip).
Out of our view the clip transports the beautiful colours of the late fall combined with nice solid freestyle action.
Guillaume Durand filmed the footage and Pierre himseld edited the clip. If you interested in reading their websites check Pierre´s blog or the La Bar website!
November was hot – La BAR on the Rhône again from Pierre Garambois on Vimeo.
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the video quality is not that good i would say, but the music is soooo nice.
got it on my iPod since a while. Listening it up and down every day
hi pierre nice video! you were on oahu right?how is it there?are there good freestyle spots and how often is it windy there?and is the waveriding only starboard or also port?and are there good spots for jumping?
btw: who else is getting pissed of this stupid bmw advertise?
meeeeee !!!!
freestylin on a waveboard +1
@ Snemelc Tfuah -> Click on the HD button!
But i must admit that the quality is not that good when HD is off.
@ felix -> Yes man, i was on Oahu for 6 months between august and january.
To be honest, Oahu is far from being the best place for windsurfing. The wind is light, most of the time between 10 and 15 knots, sometimes 20 knots, but it’s not so usual. Actually, it’s ofen 5-10 knots less than on Maui, which means you miss almost half the sessions you could have on Maui!
Of course, since the wind is light, the good freestyle sessions are quite rare, and it’s kind of the same for jumping. If you’re going over there, you better find a medium waveboard with a 5.0m² and go wave sailing (surfing mostly)!
But still there are 2 mains freestyle spots:
- Wai’alae beach park on the south shore (most people call that “Kahala” because it’s all along kahala avenue). It’s a lagoon so it’s completly flat. There is almost nobody over there: 2/3 windsurfers maximum, and 2/3 kitesurfers, but i was alone 50% of the time. For me it’s the best freestyle spots on the island, because, as it’s flat, you can enjoy ome frestyle tricks with only 15 knots (and remember, 15 knots is a normal/good sessions over oahu!). Be careful with the tide: sometimes it’s so shallow that you can’t even go out (or you try, and break your board, as i did!)
- Kailua on the north east coast. It’s the beginners place, where 80% of the windsurfers go. It’s choppy, the wind is a little bit stronger than on the south shore, but in my opinion, there’s no point windsurfing over there: it’s a bad wave spot, and a bad freestyle spot…
You also have to know that, if you go over Oahu, you’ll be the only freestylers on the island (except one nice guys called Sam who lives in Kailua). No kidding, no one knows what freestyle is, and no one wants to try!
Oahu is the place for surf sailing. The wind is 95% of the time nort-east (same on Maui) which means spots are Port tack on the south shore and starboard tack on the north shore. Usually, the south shore is good during summer (swell from the south) and the north shore is good during winter (big swells from the north, same on Maui).
The mains wave spots on the south are:
-Diamond Head (side-shore mostly, side-on shore sometimes): there is ALWAYS some waves to play with (all year long). Quite nice for surfing and ok for jumping (if you have at least 15 knots, always the same problem, remember). The landscape is amazing on that spot, just in front of the vulcan. That’s where i was leaving (snif, back then)
-Toes (side/side-off): really good during summer, ok sometimes during winter. That spot is AMAZING for surfing. That’s where i learnt how to surf. You can do 3/4/5 turns on the same wave. If you live on the south shore, for sure it’ll be you’re favorite spot.
The north shore also has good spots, but only during winter time. Waves are a lot more powerful and bigger than on the south shore. It can be HUGE. Nevertheless, it’s more of a surfing place, and it can hard, even impossible to catch a wave:
- Mokuleia (side-one shore): most popular spot, quite easy: cool for jumping, not really for surfing
- Backyard (side shore) and revelation: it can be like Ho’okipa, but more dangerous because it’s amazingly shallow in front of the wave. It’s an amazing and extrême surf sailing spots. Doesn’t work so often, but when it does… man your heart is gonna beat fast!
To be honest, I didn’t go a lot on the north shore because i was leaving and working on the south, and because I didn’t want to sail alone over there and rarely find someone who wanted to come with me.
Anyway, remember about Oahu: don’t go over there if you want to progress freestyling or jumping, because you probably won’t. But i you want to surf like Robby (who was born and raised on Oahu
), it’s the good place.
Oh, and something else i wanted to add: there are only a few windsurfers on the island. Wherever you go, the spots never exceed 5-10 riders (and often 2/3 riders), and always the same guys. You’ll know everybody within 2 weeks!
Don’t hesitate if you have more questions!
Aloha. Pierre
@PIerre
thanks a lot you took the time and gave such a nice answer!seems like it’s a nice place to live.and kahala sounds a bit like bonaire with light wind and flatwater.for surfing everybody knows it’s good for sure but is it really as crowded and localized as everybody’s saying?and how is the island or the town honolulu for living?is it a nice town with nice people and lots of things to do beside surfing?and is it possible to go to maui for a weekend if the forecast is good,like with a ferry or something?so if maui would be easy to reach there’d be also a good chance of getting some stronger winds.and what about surfshops?is it easy to get new stuff if you break something?sorry if that are too many questions…but thanks again for the detailed info you gave already
aloha
Felix
@felix
** Surfing: it’s as everybody’s saying: crowded and it’s hard to get a wave. I was a complete beginners when i went to Oahu, i had never surfed in my life, so i pretty much learnt everything over there.
On the north shore: there are big waves, spots for a good to extrême level. Surfable especially during winter, sometimes during summer but small.
On the south shore: better during the summer, waves are not as big as on the north shore, but really good and fun waves (sometimes really big as well). On Diamond Head, you can surf all year long, every single day! If you are a beginners, the south shore will suit you all year long. (from august to january i surfed the south shore)
** Living on Oahu: you can either
- live in town (the only big one is Honolulu, south shore): it’s expansive and full of tourists. For sure you’ll find more bars and stuff for night life, but still, it’s not european night clubbing. People over Hawai’i are used to go out at 6 or 7 p.m and end the party at 11 or midnight. The don’t drink a lot and party late, because they want to wake early the next day to go surfing (except tourists sometimes). I guess it’s just not their kind. There are more people out at night on friday night, but nothing as crazy as Europe. Except on “first friday” (of the month), everybody go out and it’s like a normal saturday night in Europe. Oh something else: if you windsurf, you need a car, and parking in Honolulu is… a nightmare! (i’ve been towed 2 times and paid 300$ fees)
- live out of town: on the south shore you’ll be close to Honolulu, still a little bit “urbanized”, whereas on the north shore, it’s really life in nature, it’s more beautiful and the landscape are incredible… Honestly, my advice is to live out of town! (as the life in town is not that crazy)
About the things to do beside surfing: to be honest i pretty much surf or windsurf every single day i was over there. There are so many posibilties for such a life that i didn’t want to miss it. Still, there are a few things to do… always around the ocean: snorkeling, kayaking, underwater spearfishing, SUPing…. Also you have activities like hiking (amazing landscape), dancing course, biking for some, but man, you’re not on Oahu to do anything else but surfing/windsurfing/SUPing/spearfishing/hiking. (90% of people over Oahu have activities related to ocean, and for 90% of them, it’s surfing!)
** Reach Maui: for sure it’s ok for a week-end! But you can’t by ferries. Would be perfect but they cancel all ferries a few years ago because, basically, rich people used to go to Maui, Kauai or Big Island with big trucks and lots of surfers (beginners!) for only a week-end and locals riders from those smaller island got pissed off. You have to take the plane (Hawaiian airlines, interisland flights, go mokulele…): 130-150$ for the 2 flights and about 100$ for your windsurf bags (also for the 2 flights) (can be 40$ and can be 150$!). You only need 1 bag with 1 board / 2 sails (i would say 75/80 liters + 4.5/5.0). A little bit expansive but definitely worth it!
** Surfshops on Oahu… you better go shopping on Maui, or get something sent from Maui. There are only 3 windsurfshops on Oahu (that i know) and really smalls ones:
- “Hawaiian watersports” in Honolulu: there’s like: 1 wishbone / 2 sails / 1 board. It’s ok if you need harness line but nothing more.
- “Hawaiian watersports” in Kailua: almost the same, a bit more stuff, but nothing intersting
- “Naish pro shop” in Kailua: not a lot of stuff: 7/8 boards, a few sails… and a lot of really old stuff (it’s more of a kitesurfing and SUPing shop).
If you’re not very selective, you’ll find stuff on Oahu, but you won’t have enough choice. You better shop online with Maui shops (shipping for only 50$!!). The only problem is you don’t know the conditions of the boards and sails…
Let me know if you need something else! Happy to help!
Pierre.
whats the name of the song please tell me!
Ben Howard – Black Flies (Remix by Nixon)
hi pierre.
thanks for your help and one more question:is there a lot of crime?like break ins in your car while you’re on the water?
thanks again for your answer. http://vimeo.com/14226254 is this clip filmed at backyard? and your video “lagoon’s day” looks sick!how often per month do you get this good freestyle conditions on oahu?and how often is it possible to get planing and do some moves in kahala with my biggest sail being the pure 5.4?and is it true that you can sail all year long in boardshorts?i want to progress in wavesailing and surfing a lot and at least keep my level in freestyle and with maui being not far i even could progress in jumping while going to school,so sounds all good
Hi felix!
** Yes, the video is filmed at backyard. By the way, the guy who made the video is Bruno Sillac, a french waverider who lives near diamond head and kahala. He is really nice and knows the island and the spots really well. By the way, i wanted to tell you about Bruno: he’s a good friend of Fabrice Beaux (pro rider Neilpryde/RRD who lives on Oahu as well) and keeps all Fabrice’s stuff at his place. Since Fabrice has a lot of stuff to sell and since he is not often on the Oahu, Bruno is taking care of it. So if you need a sail, a board, a mast, an extension or anything else, don’t even go to the few surfshops of Oahu, you better ask him first. (i bought him a RRD Twinzer Wave 82 liters in perfect conditions for cheap, a mast, an extension… he’s the best surfshop on the island)
** How often you’ll have conditions on Kahala: it’s hard to say to be honest. On “Lagoon’s day” the wind was about 20 knots (which is good over Oahu). During 6 months, I had maybe 10 sessions over 20 knots(except on Maui, i’m just talking about Oahu here). But i would say you’ll have about 5 sessions between 15-20 knots per month, and a lot between 10-15 knots with a few gusts (but remember, with 10-15knots, i think you better go to Toes if there are waves, instead of catching only 10 gust at Kahala… up to you). But when i was over there, it was more like: 10 times during november, and 0 during december… it really depends, it’s hard to say, but for sure you’ll have enough freestyle sessions to keep your level (even though you probably won’t progress). But as I said, you can have a good year (mine was not so good for windsurfing I heard)
** Bordshort all year long….
Yes man, this is paradise, and it’s not fake. I sailed in board short 90% of the time, and put on a shorty the rest of the time (for jumping sessions for example, to protect my back).
** “Progress in wavesailing and surfing and at least keep your level in freestyle”: that’s exactly what happened to me…
** Crimes like breaking into your car? Didn’t happen to me, I only heard once it happens to a friend. It’s homeless guys most of the time. (on Oahu there isn’t bad guys who just hang out and try to find someone to rob). But it depends on where you go:
- kahala: rich neighbourhood, no problems
- Toes: pretty ruch as well and far from town, so no problems i think
- Diamond Head: can happen because it’s close to Honolulu. That’s where it happened to my friend. (but i think it’s rare.
- North shore: never heard something like that
But i think my friend was unlucky, crimes are pretty rare on Oahu (my house was opened all the time for example).
It’s my turn for the questions!
Why do you go over there?
hey pierre,
thanks man!you helped me a lot
I maybe have the chance to do the last two years of school in an english speaking country and as i am a freestyle and wave windsurfer and surfer I would love to combine school with surfing and windsurfing 
Oahu seems to be the best place to do that as there are no matching schools on maui.thanks again for the info 
now I have to arrange everything to be able to sail perfect waves in boardshorts soon.