Summer is fast approaching, and the desire to go to the sea is felt? Enjoy the beach differently by trying your way to one of these best water sports in France!

If you take the sea path (or the ocean) for your summer holidays, the beach will necessarily be part of your daily life! Why not set aside the traditional sand castle, put down the kite and beach snowshoes, and try one of the many water sports that can be done in the open sea?

Travelvibe offers you its selection of the 10 best water sports to try this summer!

The 10 Best Water Sports In France To Try This Summer

1. Surfing

Surfing is a sliding sport whose practice requires good wave conditions. Surfers, therefore, practice their discipline on spots, that is, beaches or specific places on a beach where wind and swell conditions are optimal.

Thus, this discipline aims to “surf the wave” or slide on a wave while standing on a surfboard. 

Be aware that a surfer who stands on his board with his right foot back is said to be regular. Conversely, a surfer who puts his left foot back is goofy.

Surfing is practiced worldwide, from California to Tahiti via France. But let’s not forget to mention Hawaii, which is considered the birthplace of surfing. This sport has indeed been part of Hawaiian culture since time immemorial.

Good To Know: Surfing has been added to the program of the 2020 Olympic Games (which will take place in 2021)

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2. Kitesurfing

Kitesurfing is also a sliding sport that evolves on a board on the water’s surface while being towed by a kite, called a wing or sail. The kitesurfer is connected to the wing by a harness and has a bar that allows him to fly.

The wind is the sine qua non condition for the practice of this sport. In the absence of this element, the sail cannot tow the kitesurfer, and the kitesurfer is stopped. Moreover, in the jargon of kitesurfers, it is said that there is “petole” in the absence of wind.

Good To Know: French kitesurfer Alexandre Caizergues hold the 500-meter kite speed world record with an average of 57.97 knots (107.36 km/h).

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3. Wingfoil

It appeared in 2019; wing foil is the latest in board sports. It consists of surfing on a foil board using a wing held via a wishbone. It allows you to move with maximum freedom on a body of water using the energy of wind and swell. The hydrofoil under the board allows you to take off above the water and surf above the surface.

4. Wakeboarding

Wakeboarding is a water sport that combines the techniques of water skiing, surfing, and snowboarding. It has its origins in skurfing, the latter having been born in Australia and New Zealand in the late 1970s. The wakeboarder glides on the water while being towed by a motorboat or ski lift using a wakeboard.

Good To Know: The traction speed is 30km/h on average!

5. Skimboarding

This sliding sport was born in the 1930s in the United States and Polynesia. Accessible to a wider audience than surfing, skimboarding consists of surfing a wave launching from the beach.

There are two practices: the flat, whose objective is to slide on the wet sand at low tide thanks to the phenomenon of hydroplaning, and the shore break, whose goal is to surf on the small waves near the edge.

Good To Know: Its name comes from the English verb "to skim," which means to skim, to brush

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6. The flyboard

The flyboard is a hydropropulsed lift machine connected to a jet ski. The pilot stands on a platform, his feet fixed by a pair of boots. The machine is equipped with flexible piping connected to the jet ski to obtain the thrust necessary for its propulsion. Indeed, thanks to the pressurized water produced by the hydro-jet of the jet ski, the practitioner can “take off.”

Good To Know: There is a variant of the flyboard: the hoverboard. Franky Zapata holds the record for the longest distance. He has indeed traveled more than 2 km (2,252 km) at 60 km/h, all at 15 meters high!

7. The seabob

The seabob is a motorized aquatic craft that moves both on the water and underwater. It allows you to tow at impressive speeds (20km/h). You will have the impression of being a dolphin! You’ll have to hang on!

The piloting of the machine is intuitive, and you have to swing your body in the desired direction. To explore the seabed, lean the seabob forward! Be careful not to go too deep to avoid decompression problems.

8. The bodyboard

Bodyboarding is a wave sport close to surfing that is practiced on a shorter board. This sport is mainly practiced in a prone position and requires wearing a pair of short fins to facilitate the start of the wave.

However, some bodyboarders opt for other positions such as drop knee, which consists of getting up and putting one knee on the board and the other foot flat. Finally, the most adventurous practice stands up, that is to say, the standing position, but it is much rarer.

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9. Windsurfing

Windsurfing is a sliding sport, but it is also the name of the sailing boat used to practice this discipline. 

Windsurfing comprises a board and rigging articulated to the board at the mast’s base. It is characterized by the absence of rudder and listening and the standing position of the windsurfer (that’s what they are called).

Therefore, in the absence of a rudder and listening, it is up to the windsurfer to lift and then hold the mast and sail in an active position while orienting himself on the water. 

It must tilt the rigging back and forth or change its supports on the board to do this. Once again, the wind has a crucial role in the proper execution of this sport.

Good To Know: We also use the English term windsurf

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10. Stand up paddle

More commonly known as paddle or SUP, the stand-up paddle is a water sport. The goal is to stand on the board and propel yourself with the help of a paddle. The paddle can be practiced at sea as well as in the river.

Polynesian kings once practiced this discipline. Indeed, they used huge planks carved out of tree trunks to explore and trade in the lagoons of their archipelago.

Good To Know:  There are two types of boards: rigid and inflatable, easier to carry

Among these sports, which one will make you capsize?