L'histoire de One Eye
Mathieu tient ce récit de Thierry Château, surfer local. L'histoire - qui tient presque du roman - vaut le détour, c'est tout simplement l'explication de l'origine du nom de One Eye. Voici le résumé en V.O...
A paradise island in the early 1970’s, Mauritius was hardly known from foreign surfers. Only a few Mauritians - among them the de Rosnay brothers, Joel and Arnaud - and some travelers from Australia, South Africa and the United States were enjoying the perfect waves of Tamarin Bay. It was during the 1960’s that surf was first introduced in Mauritius.
On days when the swell would drop down, some surfers would explore the coast further south. They thought that the south west point of Le Morne could catch even more swell than the protected Tamarin Bay. They were convinced that they would discover THE perfect wave. They were right. At that time, Le Morne was a very remote place, something close to paradise… Only one hotel, no access road, a 5 kilometer-long beach and a vast grazing land surrounded by a fence and protected from the tropical sun by hundreds of filao trees (or casuarinas). You had to walk for more than an hour to reach the south-westerly point, also known as Pointe d’Amour (lovers’ point). But as soon as you got there, you would be overwhelmed. No one around, only some cattle breeding, a sandy beach and crystal clear water. And just outside the reefs, in a narrow pass, a hollow wave opening like a big eye. THE perfect spot. `
The only drawback was that the place was a private property and the landlord was a very aggressive man. He used to chase all trespassers. The man carried a gun. But the thing that was even more scary, was the fact that he looked like an old pirate. He had only one eye…
From that time, the spot at Le Morne, off Pointe d’Amour, was known as “One Eye’s”. A select group of surfers, Mauritians and Australians mainly, used to go there. The place did not open up until the early 1990’s when a hotel was built and a road was constructed. Between the early 1970’s and the mid 1990’s, One Eye’s remained a secret spot. The only other people to go there were… lovers!
And it’s not until the mid 1990’s that the place began to attract funboarders and, later on, kitesurfers.