Surf: Tucked behind a headland on the west coast is not ideal for consistency, but when the winter N swells wrap around Grande Terre, the triangulation of the reef north of pretty Souffleur Plage makes for a long point-style right and shorter faster, lefts. Soft, forgiving, evenly-paced walls taper and shoulder down the line for what can be a very long ride, especially when a bombing N swell can sometimes link up with the Pointe de Antigues section to the north. You won’t have it to yourself and everyone will be there when the forecast dictates, but the line-up handles a fairly large crew and there is lots of paddling to be done. Environment: The northwest coast is almost always offshore, but a moderate-sized N-NE groundswell is essential, so consistency is down around 4/10 while crowds can hit 5 or 6/10. Spiky urchins and locals.