Video by Claudia Lederer
This past Winter, Lee-Ann Curren traded chilly French breaks for warmer waters in the sleepy fishing town of Taghazout, Morocco. As a popular annual migration for many salty Europeans, the West African nation offers some of the most perfect right hand breaks, although with waves labelled – Mysteries, Killers and Dracula’s (for its razor sharp teeth like rocks below the surface) you might think twice before paddling out. Forget about the Souks and the Sahara, make your way to the rugged Moroccan coast for some incredible surf.
Photo: Roxy
We caught up with Lee-Ann recently to hear more about her adventure, what we can expect from her band Betty the Shark this year, and where her board will take her to next.
Lee-Ann, tell us about your trip to Taghazout.
Taghazout is probably the main destination for Europeans in winter, as Mexico is for Californians. It’s warm, often offshore and just a short plane ride away. We met up with my friend Tom at the hotel he works at (Paradis Plage) and he took us surfing everywhere. My favorite moment was when we surfed perfect Dracula’s for a few hours, and when we came in starving we went straight for an Oreo milkshake in Taghazout with a few local friends.
Photo: Roxy
We love the clip, where are you headed to next?
Thanks! Claudia (who filmed it) did a really good job, and I am stoked I randomly found this song that my dad recorded in Morocco 2 years ago! My computer was on shuffle and it just came up, as we were struggling to find some music for the video. Right now I am getting ready to go to Portugal in a campervan with 2 skater friends (Sam Partaix and Victor Pellegrin) and one longboarder from Biarritz (Margaux Arramon), so we are going to surf and ride all kinds of boards and explore the coast of Portugal and meet up with friends along the way.
Photos: Roxy
What are your plans for this year?
This year my plans are to surf a lot and try to evolve my surfing by riding different boards and opening my mind when it comes to surfing. I’ve realized that being a free-surfer you have to learn to surf differently and have a beautiful approach to every wave you ride, so alongside my high performance boards I want to get a quiver that allows me to change my approach. Also my band will be taking up a lot of my time, as we are planning to release a new EP this year followed by an album. All I can say is we are playing with space sounds and disco grooves, and that the music has a lot of love in it.
Photos: Roxy
What can we expect from you band, Betty the Shark, this year?
So the plan is to release some really good music videos (the first one is due in June), get some good remixes and create a real universe around our music. We have a lot to say and we want people to hear it when it comes out 🙂 Play as many gigs as we can, and release our EP in September. We’ll see where we go from there! Stay tuned by following us on Facebook!
Photo: Roxy
Stay up to date on Lee-Ann’s adventures by following her on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook
