Guethary is truly an international big wave surfing Mecca. Many expat surfers now call this quaint but crowded village home and have staked their claim in the line-up. Miki Dora spent many years here surfing, skiing at the French resorts or simply sitting at his favorite bench watching the surf roll in while sipping coffee and hatching his next scheme.
When the big Northwest winter swells start to roll-in the wave can build to a remarkable double overhead Sunset Beach type right-hander and just like Sunset the paddle out can be a very long and brutal traverse through the boneyard as the wave shifts around looking for victors or victims.
On a BIG DAY the A-frame type wave easily holds the size but requires a surfer to approach the line-up with certain amount of refinement and practiced judgment.
It’s all about wave selection, long wide bottom turns, beating the whitewater, sweeping cutbacks and finding that full-on Dora trim to make the walled-up sections that demand a full tilt speed line to make. When Guethary is macking-out you’ll be “living from rail to rail” until your legs give out.

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