It was early in October 1961 when an envelope mailed from the Pl. Victor Hugo in Paris was delivered to my dad at his newly launched restaurant supply business that had set up shop in a small building on the corner of Atkinson Drive and Kona Street.

The letter turned out to be from Joel de Rosnay, a young surfing enthusiast in Paris, describing what he called the “surf fever” in France.

He wrote after seeing the brief introduction my father had written for a book about surfing by O.B. Patterson, now considered a classic.

Here is a transcription of de Rosnay’s letter, followed by the photos that had been enclosed. And you can view the handwritten letter here.

JOEL DE ROSNAY

1 RUE CHARLES LAMOUREUX
PARIS 16
FRANCE

22 September 1961

Dear Mr. Lind

I have just read Mr. Patterson’s book- Surf Riding – Its Thrills & Techniques— which a Peruvian friend brought me.

I was amongst the first to surf at Biarritz in 1957. It was one of my friends, Peter Viertel (who is married to Deborah Kerr, the film star) who brought the first board from California to Biarritz in 1956. He lent me his board during the summer of 1957 and I rode my first waves with great enthusiasm, although I was not sure exactly how to go about it.

With the help of a young carpenter who lives in that part of the country and who made his own board, we looked for all possible photographs and films to help us know more about surfing. In 1958 Peter Viertel sent us 3 Balsa boards from Hobbie, and with these good boards we began to make good progress. The number of surfers getting bigger, he made our own boards in Biarritz.

In 1959, profiting from the presence of Mr. Carlos Dogny, President of the Waikiki Surf Club at Lima, Peru, we founded The Waikiki Surf Club at Biarritz, which had at that time, roughly 15 members. In 1960, The Club had 30 members, and organized the first French Championship of surfing, on the rules that the Peruvians had sent us. This year the Championship has again been held, and the Club has approximately 65 members. The first champion of 1960 was myself, and this year, Jack Rott. All the boards are now made in Bayonne (next door town to Biarritz) in foam and fibre glass, and cost approx. $80.

Michel Barland makes them in Bayonne, and Jack Rott in Dax. One can surf in 4 beaches at Biarritz, and if the sea is too strong and we cannot get out past the breakers, there are 2 beaches in St. Jean de Luz where the surf is very similar to that at Waikiki beach, being in a bay. Sometimes one can ride a wave for 500 metres. At Biarritz the waves are anything from 4 feet to 15 feet – for the most part of the time, they are 9-10 feet. The distance varies between 80 & 300 feet. But the surf is extremely irregular, and when the wind turns off the earth – which is rather rare, we hurry as there are marvellous hook type waves.

Sometimes, 4 or 5 days pass when the sea is like a lake, and everyone tears their hair out with impatience. There are two kinds of surfers at Biarritz. Those who live there all the year round, and who surf from March until November, wearing a wet suit when the sea is too cold, surfing Saturdays and Sundays, and after their work at 6 pm and the Parisiens like myself, who can only enjoy their favourite sport during the summer holidays. The surf in France has become very popular, and the News Reels and Television, and all the big glossy magazines have written articles about this new sport in France.

I would very much like all the American surfers who come to Europe for their vacation to know that our Club at Biarritz exists, and I would be only too glad to meet them, and to correspond with them. Enclosed are a few photographs taken 2 years ago, which aren’t very good, but the best ones are stuck in my press-book, but they will give you an idea of the kind of waves we have.

I hope that all this interests you, and know that after California, Hawaii, Peru, Australia, Britain, Mexico and Israel, France now with Biarritz has caught “Surf Fever”! And this is all thanks to your great enthusiasm for this sport.

Yours sincerely

Joel de Rosnay

Click on any photo to see a larger version.