Antonin de Soultrait
The Pure Challenge
Antonin was born in the wave, of the wave. Direct heir of a famous French surfing pioneer, of the dream of the ultimate wave, and of the Surfrider Foundation too, Antonin keeps this torch, that of the pure link with the ocean and the wave. He also took his classes as a teenager with a sacred monster of big surfers, Peter Cole, one of the first to have tamed Waimea Bay.
From Guethary, his family stronghold, he observes the elements every morning,
its waves, its emotions and often shares them with us.
There are the nearby breakers, Parlemantia, Avalanche, but also a little further away its ultimate wave Belharra, the mythical Basque wave. It comes out of the shallows 3 km off Saint Jean de Luz, sometimes once or twice a year. It can be gigantic, reaching 20 m.
Antonin comes from the line of purists, from tradition.
He does not reject those towed by jets,
the new areas in the big waves, that of the foil,
but he keeps this real challenge for himself, that of paddle surfing.
He places himself in a relationship closer to the sea, to dreams, to purity.
The risk and stakes are higher. You have to be prepared, meticulous, mentally and physically well, and also able to stay at the bottom without panicking.
The fear is there. But in action we no longer feel it, because Belharra is a gift from the Atlantic, because the view is magnificent,
because it becomes our space of challenge and resources.
The oceans are in ever greater danger. Also Antonin today wishes to concentrate on his space which is an opportunity, that of the Basque Country, not chasing the waves by plane. And Belharra is a blessing, magnificent.
We must learn to read the ocean, its resources, its suffering, as we must learn to read Belharra...
To understand Antonin's permanent challenge,
watch this magnificent film "Belharra, resilient spirit"