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TRIpPIN’ DoWN SoUTH AT TH E E X TR E M E CO R N E R O F EU RO PE

TRIpPIN’ DoWN SoUTH AT TH E E X TR E M E CO R N E R O F EU RO PE

J OÃO B R ACO U R T

D E D I CATE D TO A LE X A N D R E “X A N A“ M A RQ U E S 1975 — 2 013

CONTENTS FOREWORD

14

INTRODUCTION

15

SOUTHCOAST

17

WESTCOAST

77

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

195

BIOGRAPHY

197

F W

R O R O

E D

IN TRODUCTION

The Costa Vicentina, in the south of Portugal, has been a fishing playground for ages so rich my granddaddy would rent a donkey to carry the fish back to the car. Since I was a kid I religiously explored it’s divine coast, this time searching for perfect empty surf. Most of the time my mother wouldnt drive me here when i was a kid because she said the air was too heavy. It’s a place of cult since prehistoric times as you can understand from all the menhirs scattared around, there were human sacrifices made in the church of the crows, by the sacred promontory, they say. History aside this harsh place can get can get beautiful worldclass surf. Although temperamental with fickle conditions, often windy, tidy, shifty, if you are patiente enough scoring an epic swell within it¥s dramatic landscape, pristine water and magical atmosphere will definitly make you feel the gods presence here.

After surfing my brains out for almost 3 decades I decided to step my board aside and capture the spirit of this unique place with my camera. Welcome aboard my Renault 4L, let’s go for a ride: from Lagos to Aljezur.

SOUTHCOA ST

A COMPLEX CROSSROAD OF SEVERAL DIFFERENT OCEANIC MICROCLIMATES

L AGOS: TH E INTERR AIL LAST S TOP

IN MODERN DAY SUMMER’S,

THE AREA IS A PLAYGROUND FOR PINK NORTH-EUROPEANS FLOCKING TO THE ALGARVE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE LOWPRICES AND THE SUNSHINE.

P S

E

R U

F

E R

C

T F

TRIPPIN’ DOWN SOUTH

TRIPPIN’ DOWN SOUTH

TRIPPIN’ DOWN SOUTH

TRIPPIN’ DOWN SOUTH

I’ve been to Sagres many times and I think it is the place I did my first real surf trip when I was 14. It was with the Biarritz surfclub and 20 other kids and back then we got perfect Tonel and surfed all day everyday for two weeks.

Since then I’ve been back so many times and each time conditions were so different, it seemed like a total different place. Summertime we would go to Amado for the junior comp every year. The ocean was a lake and I can remember standing next to my surfboard in the water, praying for a 1 foot wave that I could possibly stand up on, and making heats with a 2 point total. But even when it’s flat I always have a blast going to Portugal.

I decided to go back to Sagres this year for new years, because it had been massive in France for a while and I felt like a bit of warm portuguese winter sun. From France all you have to do to go to Portugal, is making some good CDs, put some boards and wetsuits in your car and start driving.

With all the swell that has been coming through this winter the set up was super different again, and I am lucky I met Joao because I would of been a bit lost otherwise.

We surfed waves with names I can’t remember, long right hand point breaks breaking next to cliffs, that reminded me of Mexico.

I think Sagres is such a great surf destination in winter time because of all the options, it’s a lot warmer than France and local surfers are super mellow.

TRIPPIN’ DOWN SOUTH

TRIPPIN’ DOWN SOUTH

OUR ARRIVAL IN TOWN WAS SOON SPREAD TO THE LOCAL SURFERS (ALL SIX OF THEM) WHO DROP IN AROUND MIDNIGHT TO DRINK BEERS AND TALK STORY.

Historically Freighted

You’de need an internationally recognized creative license to say that this reef once ran red with blood.

But it’s no stretch to call this coastal municipality emabttled - at least historically. Moors and Christians fought to death here in devotion to their respective One True God. Islam was eventually beaten back to the desert, wich goes a long way in explaining why th place names aren’t in Arabic.

In later centuries the local ports coughed up some of the world¥s great seaborne explorers, most notably Henry the Navigator. Today moderns in the region navigate the dirt tracks in small, eficient diesel wagons, intent on finding protection from the cape winds, wich can be significant. Scenarios like the one pictured provide relief.

The whole south facing coast is cut with rocky coves, offering protection from the big western blows.

Between the headlands you’ll find golden, large grained beaches - suitable for the apreciation of the area’s wine, shellfish, and fierceely protected dark-eyed denizens. And if your skills are especially honed, you can zero in on an empty day to remember, with sand-bottomed barrels pouring through from exactly the right direction.

F R A N C I SCO CA N E L A S

WE S TCOA ST

SMACK! BANG!

CR ACK! SIXTY MILES AN HOUR DOWN A MUDDY DIRT ROAD WITH PUDDLES YOU COULD DROWN IN AND ROCKS THE SIZE OF BASKETBALLS. You’de need an internationally recognized creativelicense to say that this reef once ran red with blood. But it¥s no stretch to call this coastal municipality emabttled - at least historically. Moors and Christians fought to death here in devotion to their respective One True God. Islam was eventually beaten back to the desert, wich goes a long way in explaining why th place names aren’t in Arabic.

WE’D COME TO A PANORAMIC VIEW OF THREE SURF SPOTS; ON THE SOUTH END, WAS A LONG OUTSIDE LEFT REEF POINT. ABOUT THREE QUARTERS OF A MILE TO THE NORTH OF THAT WAS A SHORTER LESSER QUALITY RIGHT SLAB. THE TWO REEFS BEING SEPARATED IN THE MIDDLE BY A GNARLY LOOKING BEACH BREAK.

TRIPPIN’ DOWN SOUTH

TRIPPIN’ DOWN SOUTH

BLASTING THROUGH THE TURBULENCE

AND WE CONTINUE OUR JOURNEY...

FLYING AND BOUNCING ANOTHER 10 OR SO MILES DOWN THE ROAD, THAT AIN’T NO ROAD, FINALLY SLIDING TO AN ABRUPT 180-DEGREE PHSYCHO STOP JUST TEN FEET FROM THE EDGE OF A FOUR-HUNDRED FOOT CLIFF.