Some say, the winds on Fuerteventura are only useful for kite and windsurfers and drives us surfers crazy. Well, to be honest, it took me quite a while to get used to that constant ‘sea breeze’. But after living on the Canaries for quite some time now, I’m learning more and more about how the wind helps us surfers catch those perfectly shaped waves. Today, I’d like to share some of my insights with you!
During the winter months, the wind directions here on Fuerteventura are mostly southeast which leads to sick offshore conditions (unlike the summery ‘alisios’, Spanish for the trade winds). So, what does that mean exactly? Well, El Cotillo, home of our surf school, surf house and apartments, lies in the Northwest of Fuerteventura. If it gets hit by winds from Southeast, the air is moving from the land towards to ocean, which kind of stops the wave and makes it bigger and, most importantly, steeper. The result is a wave that forms a tunnel while breaking, a so-called barrel.
This is exactly what happened last week here at Cotillo Beach, where the beginner surf lessons for our surf holiday guests are held, and meant THREE DAYS of surfing in THE MOST PERFECT CONDITIONS for EVERY SURF ABILITY! Our Star surfers had a blast with our new surf instructor Jaime in the white water, while more experienced surfers, such as Star founders Sami and Pablo, disappeared behind a transparent curtain of water. A great show not only for our surfing guests, but also for our surf photographer who got some amazing shots from out of the water.
