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We will be at le pin parasol site in the vendee hopefully in a weeks time. Does any body know if the beaches are any good for body boarding, and if so which are the best ones?

Thanks

Quote: Originally posted by tim s on 15/7/2006

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Should be good because you get some reasonable waves there. My own preference is for the beach just south of St Gilles Croix de Vie but there are lots of nice beaches there

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........ and as the whole coastline borders the Atlantic, anywhere is never far from a good beach with good waves.  My kids have bodyboarded most of the Vendee and Charente Maritime coastline and had a great time. They will be doing so again near Talmont St Hilaire in a few weeks!  It's not so good for us sedate old swimmers but the bodyboarding kids enjoy the waves! 

I would add that some beaches are incredibly popular with bodyboarders/surf boarders and also training schools.  The pupils at some schools just don't seem to think about anyone else except themselves and often they don't seem to be versed in the etiquette of bodyboarding.  Likewise some bodyboarders.  So, a mix of people who do know the unwritten 'rules' with those who don't can lead to the odd accident.  With powerful waves and heavy boards (they are not all polystyrene!) these can be quite serious, so it may be adviseable for anyone going to such popular areas to be aware of the etiquette of boarding - which can easily be found by Googling.

I would also add that many beaches have life guards due to the rip tides that can cause grief.  It is essential that kids and others are aware to listen out for the whistles/klaxons used by life guards (not those used by instructors!) and follow the instructions 'waved' to them to move in a particular direction.   Occasionally I have been out with my kids just within the boundary and still found the currents incredibly strong - and I've been a very strong swimmer.  Much better to stay in the middle of a 'safe' area than at the extremity IMHO - so people need to keep checking with the lifeguards by watching movement of flags on the beach and watching out for instructions.

Personally, with our kids we've always stayed at the water's edge to watch that they are OK ......... whilst other parents have been sunbathing in glorious oblivion. We've only seen a handful of accidents in all our years of enjoying beaches etc (so it's not a major problem) but on one beach we witnessed 3 chaps drown within a few minutes when a squall blew up and they couldn't get out of the water, and we've also seen some nasty injuries from collisions that have occured.  Not many, percentage-wise, but if it was my own kids involved I'd have been pretty upset.

So, no great problem, just something for anyone taking to the sea to be aware of perhaps. 

Oozat

Sauveterre, maybe 20 mins drive south of St Gilles Croix de Vie was fab last year in August .. going back this year with my new board!

You approach car parks through a forest and then walk or cycle through sand dunes ... get a board back if you don't already have one.

Warning ... although the car parks are big they do get full - arrive around lunchtime and you'll be OK.

Also, the tide comes in really high - don't be one of the families frantically moving backwards away from the incoming tide ...

Just back from a week in St Davids. While there my daughter & I hired wetsuits & body boards for a day & we had an absolute hoot  . We are going to France for 3 weeks next year & hope to do some body boarding on the Vendee.

Is it cheaper to buy a wetsuit & board in France? The shorty wetsuits, for kids, seem to be about £35 over here.