Why is Gran Canaria the European windsurfing capital?
The best windsurfers in Europe can’t be wrong. They all dedicate a large part of the year to surfing on the island. In Gran Canaria they have everything they need: wind, beaches and good weather. As far as wind is concerned, there are few places in the world offering the conditions you’ll find on beaches such as Pozo Izquierdo or Vargas. They are a real Mecca for windsurfing fans, where the very best meet up.
You don’t have to be a professional however. If you want to have a go at one of the most addictive sports and you are looking for good beaches, there can be no doubt that Gran Canaria is the perfect place. Whatever your level, you can always find the right spot with ideal conditions whether you are trying it for the first time or you’re the most radical windsurfer.
But if you have already been bitten by the windsurfing bug, you’ve experienced the sensation of speed on a board out at sea even just once, if you have only the smallest idea of what you are missing by not being in the water with your board right now, then you have to come to the island. All windsurfing addicts know that their destination is inevitably Gran Canaria.
And if not, then ask the experts. For example, we have the greatest windsurfing champion, Björn Dunkerberck or the Daida and Iballa Ruano sisters who live on the Island most of the year. They don’t think twice about it: to be able to go out everyday, you have to be in Gran Canaria. This was their secret for success in the World Circuit, which made them among the very best. You’ll only understand once you’ve surfed here.
If you come here to windsurf in any month of the year, even if you’re not the most talented, you must go to the Pozo Izquierdo zone. It is the top spot for windsurfers. The trade winds and the sea currents in the eastern zone of Gran Canaria have made the beach the centre of world championships year after year. Here you will find the Pozo Izquierdo International Windsurfing Centre where you can learn and practise this sport at all levels. It is also a meeting place for the top riders during competition days.
But you don’t only have wind and beaches. Don’t forget the island’s good climate will encourage you to get outdoors.
Join the locals in their peculiar passion to put your board and sail on the car and drive round the island looking for wind. They go out weekend after weekend because high speed surfing is easy to find in Gran Canaria. You can also use any which way to cross waves one to three metres high, in more than twenty locations. You don’t have to limit yourself to Pozo Izquierdo. You can cover a route of beaches: Ojos de Garza, Tarajalillo, Bahía Feliz, Playa del Águila, San Agustín, Playa del Inglés, Tauro or Puerto Rico. It depends on your level and the adrenaline you’re after.
The question you’re doubtlessly asking yourself right now is: When can I get in the water?
