Culprit: Jetty

La Barre, France RIP early seventies

The beach at the mouth of the Adour River mouth used to produce waves that were likened to a sand bottom Pipeline during the short board revolution. Similar to the original pipeline La Barre could hold its shape in big surf also. It was a world-class wave that was home to international surf competitions in the late 60’s.

The wave received lots of video coverage in famous films such as Evolution and Wave of Change too. The spot used to be very consistent too. This wave was ruined by the extension of a jetty in the early seventies.

The jetty was built in order to protect big boats navigating through the mouth of the river. With the construction of the jetty the sandbars that focused the wave disappeared and the break was ruined forever. The effects of the jetty are still being felt because sand is still leaving the shoreline and clogging the river mouth requiring more and more dredging to keep the area navigable. A series of smaller jetties have also been built in an attempt to prevent sand loss.

Nowadays the water is heavily polluted from the construction. There is a lot of backwash caused by the armoring especially during high tide. It is barely surfable and only during rare conditions due to the wind protection that the jetties provide. However, the wave can no longer hold any significant size without closing out.