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FULL BORE
Riding tides in Europe's rivers
Photos: Story and photos: Antony "Yep" Colas
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September 1, 2006
2457 visits
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The ocean isn't the only thing that makes waves.
Seas, lakes and as you can see to the right, even rivers do as well. A bore is a tidally generated wave that goes up certain rivers at precise moments.
In Bordeaux, among France's finest vineyards, a "Mascaret" occurs -- a tidal bore that was born 75 miles upriver at the mouth of the Gironde. The Gironde estuary actually splits into two rivers -- the Dordogne and the Garonne -- which both produce tidal bores for a stretch of about nine miles. |
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Before the passage of the bore, the current intensifies itself towards downstream and then reverses violently once it's passed. The bore appears every six hours 25 minutes on average, as soon as the tide's right. Among all those breaking waves, St. Pardon hosts the most famous section that kayakers have been riding since the late 70's. A guy called Roger Marcel was the first to catch the wave with his kayak, before the surfers came. Today's so-called bore riders can surf six waves over an area of 15 miles, mostly rights. The longest ride goes to Christophe Reinhart on his first wave of about five minutes and the most handsome wave goes to Fabrice Colas on 56-second, glassy, hollow one towards the end of the trip. On these nice days during August and September, it isn't unusual to see up to 100 pretenders on surfboards, kayaks, wave-skis, and rarely bodyboards. About half of them don't catch the wave (not well placed, too slow, unsuitable board). The other half makes an incredible human chain. Regardless, everyone has a good time before, during and afterwards -- when pubs welcome without distinction those who have been dropped off or picked up. Those who think that the spot is too cluttered have gone on to look for other sections. And there are many, whether you are on the Gironde, the Dordogne or the Garonne. After having identified and surfed other sections, techniques for keeping the stoke alive are varied. Here's one option: Surf the first section downstream and get out of the river while the level of the water can permit it. Then jump in a ready car to catch and get ahead of the bore. Finally, get back in the water upstream and try to catch a new section. Between the car full of mud, the danger driving in a record time and the live hazards, the best idea was to use a boat to follow this phenomenon. But it's not as easy as just checking the surf forecast or camera. The unique hour of passage at the Libourne, if it's fixed on a tide table, changes according to a vast number of criteria. First, the real tide hour at the mouth changes according to the atmosphere's pressure which is not foreseeable. Secondly, according to the level of the water in the river, the bore progresses more or less slowly. When the level is low, the progression of the wave slows down, so the bore is late. Also, the way that the wave rebounds on the banks and the way it coils up in the bends determine an uncertain breaking with a tide coefficient that changes every day. At the same place of the river, one day the wave will break right and the next day left. Like a billiard ball, the wave rebounds on each side of the banks. The opening of the break develops in between that bounce and the profile of the water's deepness at that moment. If this gibberish doesn't mean anything to you, just remember that the phenomenon changes according to many variables and that it's as fleeting (and fun) as ocean waves. SURFLINE HOME PAGE MORE SURF NEWS |
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