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MARC PARÉ: CHASING SURAZO

Marc Paré recounts a windsurfing adventure at the end of 2022 to discover what lay south of Matanzas and Topocalma, on the Chilean coast. Armed with nothing but Google maps and the help of friendly locals, Marc Paré was on a mission to find perfect waves in Chile. He readily admits on these kind of trips you don’t really know what you will find. It can be the greatest feeling of discovering a gem of a spot, or the deep frustration of driving hours to find nothing! Read on as Marc gives us an insight into the highs and lows of his journey south and keep an eye out on his YouTube channel for a video of his epic trip!

Photos – Xabi Azcarate // Words – Marc Paré

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Why?

I decided to go as I had heard rumours from some locals and fellow competitors about good windsurf conditions further south in Chile than the main spots, and also that the prevailing ‘Surazo’ wind moves further South during the hotter summer months, making it stronger in that area. That awakened my curiosity and exploration instinct, and made me start looking into new possible locations in Google maps and I started checking up on them with some of the locals too!

The best spots were found by guessing some possible locations that we pinned in Google maps, and luckily our camera guy was aware of some waves that he’d surfed before, and we went to check if the wind would be good enough to windsurf them. At almost all of them, rocks or mountains were unfortunately blocking the wind, but there was one spot that was mind-blowing!

Challenges

Like any exploration trip, the most frustrating thing was the expectation of finding good spots, but then being let down. It’s pretty tough when you go around chasing wind and waves and everything seems against you, but when you do find it, the reward is indescribable.

Memorable moment

It’s hard to pick one really memorable moment, as there were so many small moments that made this trip special. But I think finding two of the spots we sailed and some of the people we met, such as Seba, a local surfer that makes custom surfboards out of wood, whose way of being and life approach is absolutely captivating and unique. Not only was Seba incredibly talented at crafting beautiful surfboards by hand, but also his passion for the ocean and his commitment to sustainability were truly inspiring. Seba was more than just a surfboard shaper, he was a true artist and a wonderful human being. It was also heart-warming how happy and helpful the people in the smaller towns were, definitely a super fulfilling experience!

Sketchy

There were definitely a couple of sketchy moments in the trip. The first time being when we arrived at the port of Lebu, and a group of guys tried to break into our car right after we went down to check the spot. Fortunately, our friends Richard and Vicho were 10 minutes delayed and just arrived at the right time; they yelled at them and they just ran away. The second time was driving around the southern area where the Mapuche conflict was happening, and we were told that it was better not to go through certain villages. Chile is overall a very safe country, and you just need to be careful at certain places or times, like everywhere.

Preparations

During an exploration trip there’s only so much you can prepare. So besides the information the locals gave us and the pinned locations in Google maps, we were pretty much just improvising and adapting along the way.

Locals

It was a super positive experience with the locals, they welcomed us really well and they helped and shared with us as much as they could, which was amazing! Actually we visited a couple of ‘locals only’ surf spots and the local surfers turned out to be the first ones to explain to us how to get in and out, and shared their waves with us.

Kit

I didn’t take an excessive amount of gear for this last trip, just the basic ‘Chile quiver’ of medium and big board (in my case 81 and 87 Fanatic Grip), Duotone Super_Hero sails from 4.2 to 5.0, a couple of booms and a few spare masts.

Logistics

There are plenty of ‘cabanas’ where you can stay all along the coast, they cost around 50-70 euros a night for a 6-person cabin. For accommodation in Matanzas, we stayed with our friends, Richard and Vicho; they are great hosts and also joined us for our journey south. Sleeping at night by a campfire at the beach is another option and can be really cool, but also a nightmare, especially when your tent mate is having some kind of stomach ache!

You need to have your Covid passport up to date to enter the country and Covid measures in Chile are exactly the same as you would expect in Europe.

Vibes

The vibe and atmosphere in Chile remained as special as I always remembered it! In this case though I got to see the culture and the local people more in depth, which was an incredible experience.

Final thoughts

Trips like this are always super rewarding and it’s just like a big wave of happiness and excitement hitting you all the time! But in the end, it’s always hard leaving that location knowing it might be going off without you being able to be there. I wouldn’t do anything much different if I were to do it again, besides going to the places I now know work with a certain forecast! I think it’s the sort of trip you should definitely do at some point in your windsurfing life. But you need to be prepared, conditions are harsh and a reasonable wave riding level is needed to really enjoy it. My top tips are buy yourself an ION wetsuit because the water is freezing, and be respectful and friendly with the locals!

Thanks

I’d like to thank my partners – Fanatic, Duotone and Ion that made this trip possible, as well as Red Bull Chile, as they were a great source of energy! Also thanks to my friends Vicho, Richard and Willy, that joined me in this journey and made the whole adventure an unforgettable one.

Protagonists

Marc Paré @marcpare334

Pro-windsurfer & explorer.

Vicho Rodríguez @_vichein

Local windsurfer & the guide.

Richard Rodríguez

Local windsurfer & host.

Willy Losa @willylosa

Marc’s nightmare & sparring partner.

Xabi Azcarate @xabiazcaratephoto

Camera & the good vibes.

Seba @rewelnchile

Surfer & wood artist.