Windsurfing El Médano

Wind

The Canary Islands have been the last stop of sailors travelling from the European mainland to the Americas due to the Trade Winds going from east to west (fun fact: we also used to be the layover stop for planes, like the Concorde, going from Europe to America, but for refuelling, not for food and fresh water).

• Our usual wind direction is side-onshore 90% of the time (north-east)
• About 14 days of side-offshore wind a year
• 35% of full power winds (6 Bft and over)
• 37% of planing pleasure winds (4 – 5 Bft)
• 22% of playing about (3 Bft)
• Only 6% of winds under 3 Bft
• Only 1-2 days a year of “too much” wind (as in Red Bull Strom Chase style)
• More detailed values in our Wind Archive (Chronicles since 1987)
• Old facion grafic in our Wind Chart (Chronicles since 1999)
• Daily wind forecast
• For a breakdown of the different sailing areas you can check out Arne’s article: Windsurfing El Medano

Waves

The limiting factor for most people new to El Medano are the waves.

• Shorebreak can be overcome easily on a beam reach and a little technique
• Ocean waves are fun for cruising and racing down on a broad reach
• El Cabezo waves are not forgiving to unexperienced sailors

Wetsuit

• Shorty in the summer
• Long/short arm – long legs in the winter
• We only have a limited number of wetsuits for rent as they are mainly for students

Shoes

Shoes are not really necessary unless you plan to windsurf in El Cabezo. Our beach is mainly sand with only a few areas with rocks which are easily avoided. Only on a few very rare occasions is the sand carried away by currents during unusual conditions.

Storage Options

• Naturally here at our SURF CENTER
• In the Hotel Playa Sur next door
• In the surf shop Canarian Surf Fruit (site is in German)
• At TWS – Tenerife Windsurf Solution
• In the town or in the El Cabezo bay

Surf Shops

• Canarian Surf Fruit is directly at the windsurf beach
• Kite Azul is the next one along the prommenade
• Bahia Surf Shop is next to the main plaza
• Cabezo Surf Shop is closest to the Cabezo spot
• Godzilla Surf Shop is located close to the harbour
• El Picacho is in the centre of El Médano

Repairs

• To get your sails or kites repaired the best place to go is Mike´s Sail Repair
• For board repairs we have our main man Indy