Vassiliki is situated at the Southern tip of Lefkas. The island is attached to the West coast of mainland Greece by a bridge.

Flights are to Prevesa on the mainland. There are tour operators offering “package’ holidays to the resort:

Club Vass www.clubvass.com 0844 463 0191
Ocean Elements www.ocean-elements.com 0844 770 4070

Alternatively there are many web sites offering flight only. Try www.flymonarch.com and www.cheapflights.co.uk Expect to pay upwards of £125.

The package holidays start at around £400 for a week in May and rise to around £700 mid season. Look for the special deals early and late season for the cheapest holidays. These prices include flights, transfers and accommodation.

I know there is nothing like “sailing your own kit” but the windsurf centres have brand new kit every year surely cutting out the need to lug yours all the way to Greece.

Flying with equipment is fairly straight forward and charter flights will normally charge £30 per bag. Some Taxis at Prevesa do have roof racks but it can be pricey to get to Vass, sometime upwards of €90! Always agree the price before you get in.

The wind in Vass has been a mystery to scientists for years. No studies have been conclusive of how this amazing occurrence materializes on most afternoons.

The morning will see a Force 1 – 2 onshore breeze fill in at around 10am, perfect for the beginners, skills training for higher levels and those who fancy their chances at taking on the instructors at light wind freestyle.

The afternoon will bring cross shore winds, anywhere between force 4 and 7. The best months for wind are June, July, August, but May and September can also be good with cooler temperatures and less people.

Visit the club vass web site for daily wind stats here.

Vassiliki Bay

The afternoon wind generally works when there is a light NE prevailing wind, between 8 and 15 knots which is most days in the Ionian. This brings perfect cross shore from the right (starboard tack out) from force 4 to 8.

There is no tide and no hidden obstacles under the surface and although the beach is pebbly, the sea bed is sand with a bar stretching the length of the beach to around 50m out. It is waist deep and provides an excellent opportunity to learn how to beach start, safety for kids and a perfect coaching platform for the instructors to work from.

Safety cover is provided by the various centres. There are many eyes checking the water at all times keeping the bay super safe. If sailing on you own kit and you do get stuck (the wind sometimes drops completely in the evening) you will always get a lift to the beach although it may cost you a few beers. You will obviously have to wait for the specific clients to be rescued first.

At Club Vass, included in the holiday as standard is instruction from one of their highly talented coaches (!) This means you get the most out of your windsurfing. The groups are tailored to your ability and in the summer months the kids arrive in force learning water skills supervised by an instructor, leaving the parents to chill out or enjoy their own windsurfing.

Club Vass are available for walk ins, now other clubs require previous booking. Club Vass also have brand new equipment every year for you to use.

Local hire starts at around £125 for beginner kit for a week and £150 for all others.

Kit hire on a daily basis is as follows;

> 20 Euros/hr 
> 40 Euros/morning 
> 60 Euros/afternoon 
> 25 Euros for 1hr private tuition & kit hire.

The windsurfing rental is fairly abundant along the beach but don’t just expect there to be availability as it does get busy.

Kit storage is around £50 for a week.

Club Vass has 3 main places to stay:

The Hotel, right on the beach overlooking the centre with excellent child care facilities, pool, air conditioned rooms and of course right next to the beach.

Andromeda, 500m from the club, slightly set back from the beach making it quieter and slightly more picturesque. It is also self catering with a fridge, dual hob and sink.

Neilson has its own hotel with a bar and a pool.

There are others nearer to town that are perfect for windsurfers, mostly studio flats with self-catering facilities. You can find a few of these on www.dilos.comand www.greeka.com

The camp site is situated further down wind and there is no need to drive to the beach. Most campers have their sails rigged next to their tents and walk them to the water from under the shade of the many trees. This camp site also gets very busy so book to avoid disappointment.

Tel: 26450 31308 or 26450 31335. Add 00 30 if calling from Europe and 011 30 if calling from USA/Canada.

Eating in Vassiliki is easy, there is an abundance of options!

The town itself is situated at the far down wind corner of the bay and has many restaurants lined up on the harbour edge all reasonably priced as well as being very good quality. The town is within walking distance of most places being at the end of the bay. The best snack in town has to be Gyros. It will cost about €2 for a pita filled with meat, chips, onion, tsatsiki and tomato. Eating 2 was recommended for a filling meal although going overboard after a long day on the water has been known. Big Will still holds the record of 5!!

There are many supermarkets dotted along the road and are a mixture between large commercial ones and small local shops providing everything you need. There are also butchers and places to buy fish being a fishing village so eating in is also easy.

The nightlife of Vassiliki has been known to go off. The local bar, the Zeus Bar, generally houses all the instructors form the various centres until the early hours. There is also the Tunnel Bar and Vass Bar which can be slightly quieter. They all stay open until the last person leaves, are all in town, near the restaurants and are within easy walking distance of all the accommodation.

There are some European beers, namely Mythos, Amstel and Heineken. They are all reasonably priced at around €2 a bottle. Ouzo is obviously a Greek speciality, only for aniseed lovers.

The terrain on Lefkada is fabulous for mountain biking, walking, day trips in a hire car or moped. Club Vass and Neilson provide mountain bikes as part of the package and have guides to take you on varying difficulties of routes.

There are dinghies and catamarans in the bay at various centres and waterskiing and wakeboarding is offered in the morning glass. There is diving, sea kayaking, snorkelling and rib safaris are a great way to explore neighbouring islands and coastline.

The town is a typical Greek waterside settlement with a harbour full of restaurants and souvenir shops.

The sort of permanent tourist was…..Simon Hurrey

Fly

You can get to Dahab through a couple of tour operators: http://www.clubvass.com/pages/club-dahab Tel. 01920 484121, www.sportif.travel Tel.01273 844919 andwww.planetwindsurf.co.uk. Tel. 0870 749 1959

Prices per week start at about £425 off-peak and go up to about £685 during peak season including flights, transfer and breakfast or half board. Flights to Dahab go from either Gatwick or Manchester to Sharm El Sheikh and take about 5 hours.

Flights only websites

www.meridianlinetravel.co.uk with charter flights from £300

www.cheapflights.co.uk with charter flights starting from £250

Transfer

The transfer from Sharm El Sheikh takes about one hour. Make sure that when you leave England you have plenty of pound coins as the trolleys at the airport in Egypt cost £2. The local Egyptians will help carry any windsurfing equipment you have to your transfer vehicle, but will expect a tip of a pound or so.

Taking your own kit

If you plan on taking your own windsurfing equipment, Britannia airways charges you £30 per board. Make sure that you weigh your baggage before you get to the airport because they are now really strict about the weight limit. You must ensure that each bag is not so much as 1 kilo over the 32 kilo limit, otherwise they will not take it.

All the windsurfing centres in Dahab have ample storage for private kit, but do pre-book. (See centres details in instruction) Kit storage costs about thirty pounds a week.

The wind in Dahab is a thermal wind, and because the climate changes very little throughout the year, it is pretty much windy here every day.

The wind usually starts to blow at about 6am in the morning and will last up to at least 2pm. On a good day it can blow right up to sunset. A good indication that it is going to be very windy the next day, is when it starts to get windy just after sunset on the previous night.

The average wind strength in the summer is a force 5-6, but it can sometimes get up to as much as a force 7-8. The windiest months are July and August, but it is windy here all year round. The wind blows from the N/NW and is off shore to the main beach. However, since the bay is horseshoe shaped, getting back to the beach is never a problem, even for beginners.

Go to http://www.clubvass.com/pages/club-dahab for weekly wind stats.

Lagoon

The protected lagoon is directly in front of Club Dahab and, with its flat water and gentler winds, is ideal for total beginners and the less experienced.

Speed Strip

This huge expanse of flat water with superbly clean winds is ideal for perfecting carve gybes and high wind freestyle manoeuvres without crowding.

Outer Reef

Beyond the outer reef, the truly hardcore will find a perfect wave playground of big rolling swell, ideal for getting the hang of wave-riding and of course plenty of air.

The water state in Dahab is predominately flat. The Lagoon is fairly flat water but can become choppy as the wind builds. On the other side of the sand spit that borders the Lagoon, you will find a very flat-water location called ”Speedy”. Since it is further away from the land it is much less gusty here. There is a floating pontoon out here, where you can take a rest and tie up your boards. There is also a flag on the pontoon that can be raised if you get into any trouble or spot anyone else in trouble. This will notify one of the many rescue boats that will come to your assistance. All of the centres constantly keep a look out for anybody in difficulty.

There are many centres in Dahab, all of which have very good instructors. Whether you are a complete beginner or want to learn to vulcan or spock, these guys can help you.

• Club Dahab are based at the Ganet Sinai Hotel. You can book from the UK or you can turn up and book lessons and kit. A 10 hour beginner course costs 140 euros, one hour’s private lesson is 55 euros. One week’s kit hire is 175 euros. One week’s storage of private kit is 45 euros. They can also arrange kitesurfing and lessons http://www.clubvass.com/pages/club-dahab
• Fun System Center at the Swiss Inn Hotel: one week rental of board and rigs is 185 euros, 2 weeks 299 euros. 6 hours of beginner lessons is 100 euros. Go to www.fun-system.com for more details.
• Happy Surf Dahab: one week rental of board and rigs is 185 euros, 2 weeks 330 euros. 8 hours beginner lessons are 165 euros, 6 hour advanced lessons are 110 euros. Emailssh.4u@web.de

There is a huge amount of accommodation to choose from in Dahab, all of which welcome windsurfers. They are all furnished to a high, Egyptian quality.

Some examples:

Hilton Dahab Resort: Go towww.hilton.com/worldwideresorts or Tel. +20 69 640310

Coral Coast Hotel: double room with halfboard is 44 euros per night,
www.coralcoasthotel.com

Iberotel Dahabeya: Go towww.iberotel-eg.com or Tel. +20 27 381125

Swiss Inn Hotel:goldenbeach@swissinn.net Tel. +20 69 640054

Khattab Hotel: double room with aircon is 25 US dollars per night
hossin3@hotmail.com

Blue Beach Club: double room, sea facing is 30 US dollars per night
reservations@bluebeachclub.com

Most of the hotels in Dahab offer half board and the food is incredible. At the Hilton, where I stayed, the restaurant follows a specific theme each night. Throughout the week, you have the opportunity to sample food dishes from all around the world. On a Monday night it is particularly worth coming to the Hilton for dinner. This night is called the Streets of Cairo and all the food is cooked outside. There is also traditional Egyptian style music and dancing.

If you wish to eat out, the local town of Masbat is only a five-minute taxi journey away. The Taxis are very cheap but you do have to barter. Pick-ups are cheaper than taxis and you should not expect to pay any more than five Egyptian pounds (fifty pence) per-person each way. In Masbat you are spoilt for choice, as there are restaurants all over the place. Food here is relatively cheap and a large meal, including wine, will cost about ten pounds.

There aren’t any night clubs in Dahab, but the hotels have many bars, all within a short walking distance of each other. In addition, two of the centres actually have their own bars. The Harry Nass Centre has a great bar with views overlooking the bay, as does Club Dahab’s Centre. The town of Masbat has many bars to choose from and if you wish to party through to the early hours, you are in luck! The bars appear to only close as the last person leaves. Taxis will still be operating at this time; however, you will have to pay a little more, perhaps ten Egyptian pounds per person (one pound).

Diving: The conditions in the Red Sea are unrivalled worldwide with exceptional visibility (up to 30m). Dahab is also home to some of the worlds most famous and challenging dives such as the Blue Hole and the Canyon.

There are lots of diving schools associated with the beach hotels. A good English company is Club Dahab Diving. One dive costs 22 euros, a PADI 5 day Open water course costs 180 euros. You can also rent diving and snorkelling equipment. Tel. 0844 463 0191,http://www.clubvass.com/pages/club-dahab-padi-diving

Snorkelling: Aqua Sports Centre do 3 hour snorkelling excursions to the Blue Hole dive site for 7 euros per person. Book out there.

I have been going to Dahab for about four years now and thoroughly love it. The windsurfing is just incredible, the food is amazing and the Egyptian people are so friendly. If you have never been to Egypt before and want a holiday that can offer you great windsurfing every day, I recommend that you go to Dahab as soon as you can!

Name: Terry Luxton
Local beach in the UK: Exmouth, Devon
How many years sailing: 15 yrs
Last windsurf move you cracked: one handed flaka
What you’re working on now: switch stance everything

Charter flights run direct from all major European hubs and are your best option. Scheduled flights do run but are often not direct and usually incur heavy excess baggage charges. I flew from my hometown of Bristol in the UK with Airtours for £315 return. (From London, it was £40 cheaper). My equipment, weighing in at 70kgs, cost £30 return. This is standard with most tour operators and I would suggest phoning the reservations department for the airline and book it on. Windsurfers get the best deal, as you pay the same price for a complete windsurfer as a surfboard. If you can pack two boards in one bag it passes as one board bag, so is a very economical way of taking your kit abroad.

Please note: You can’t rent any equipment in Madeira. There is also no windsurfing shop so take everything plus spares.

Using www.charterflights.co.uk

Current Quotes for 1-2wks (flight only) in September ’06 are:

• Bristol -> Funchal, Portugal -> £69 return
• Bournemouth -> Funchal, Portugal -> £89 return
• Birmingham -> Funchal, Portugal -> £119 return

Scheduled flights: British Airways fly from London hubs to Funchal, approx. £300 return. Air Portugal also go direct.

May-September (Summer)

Northerly to North-easterly trade winds blow, with very good reliability. During the month of August 75% of the days were force 5 and above. The island is like one giant mountain so wind doesn’t really flow over it at all rather it is squeezed around the outside and accelerated at these points so only certain beaches get the wind in a certain direction. A Force 4 north-easterly will usually produce a Force 7 at Canico (see below). The wind is very dependant on cloud cover. If it is cloudy then the wind is much lighter, and when the sun appears the wind fills in again (that quickly). This can be explained by very strong wind high up not reaching ground level without the aid of mixing with the heat from the sun.

October-April (Winter)

The wind is very similar to that in the UK during the winter season. Madeira is very lucky to be in the path of most of the North Atlantic storms which often don’t go down as far as the Canaries. But as the storms pass, the weather can change very rapidly. Waves can build from 4-8ft in a matter of hours and the wind may swing round 360 degrees over a 24 hour period. This is the best time for surfing and wave sailing, but conditions are very technical and only for the very experienced with lots of time to drive from beach to beach to find the spot that is working. The weather, in terms of air temp & sunshine, is still very pleasant in the winter so it’s not a bad time to come if you want some full on wave action without freezing your knackers off!

Water state

Wind driven swells are standard for the summer months with an average wave height of 2m. Any of the flat water venues were often so gusty that sailing was far from enjoyable and very frustrating. This is not a freestyle friendly venue.

Safety points:

» You need to come here with other windsurfers and provide safety cover for each other. If something does go wrong, there is a coastguard, well, a navy vessel and some local boats.

» If you are not sailing in big waves then choose a board that has enough volume to get you back to the beach where you launched. Windy conditions are often 50-100m from the shore due to the high cliffs.

Wind directions: No beach works in an onshore or offshore wind. The beaches that can actually be sailed in certain wind directions will always have cross-shore winds.

Canico

Beach faces: South-east
Best wind direction: North-east (summer trades), East, South-east.
Worst wind direction: Anything else.
Tide: Better at high tide for launching, since you can launch from the pier.
What’s on the bottom?: Large, slippery boulders/pebbles.
Any hazards?: The wind can die close to the shore especially if it’s more northerly.
The current/rip goes from left to right down the beach along with the wind but further out the current flows in the opposite direction.
Other water users: Swimmers, fishermen.
Suitability/levels: Competent windsurfer. Waves get bigger and bigger as you sail out, and when you jump the wind increases phenomenally at the apex of the jump.
Wipeout factor: 7/10. Launching and landing are pretty hard. You can easily paddle back if you ditch your rig but remember the wind & rip run the same way!

Funchal (The small, sandy beach nr harbour)

Beach faces: South.
Best wind direction: South-east.
Tide: Not that obvious.
What’s on the bottom?: Sand and pebbles.
Any hazards?: Shipping.
Other water users: Fishermen, ferries, yachts.
Suitability/levels: It can be really windy here and provide some exciting sailing in big swells. But on the whole it is more of a slalom, freeride venue in the flat/choppy water.
Wipeout factor: 5/10. It can be hard to get back to launch point as the wind becomes shiftier and lighter.

Achadas da Cruz

Beach faces: North-west.
Best wind direction: North-easterly (summer trades).
Worst wind direction: Anything that brings an offshore or onshore breeze.
What’s on the bottom?: Large pebbles, rocks and boulders!
Any hazards?: Wind dying on the inside.
Other water users: Surfers.
Suitability/levels: Competent windsurfer. Good wave riding, but often the wind is too light on the inside for jumping.
Wipeout factor: 6/10. The wind can get light on the inside making for some big beastings!

Other potential windsurf spots:

Canical: Launch from the beach next to the harbour. Only suitable for Formula or big board sailing as offshore winds are standard during the summer trades. It is very windy here and provides good access to sail around to the north side of the island, where the swell is massive. This is where we launched to train on the Olympic RSX kit.

Paul do Mar: Faces south-west, long pebble/stone beach, gets some of the biggest waves on the island. Good luck!

Cabo Giroa: Vidar Jenson sailed here a few times when he visited the island in the spring of 2006. He’s quite good though!

Windsurfing Event

Each year there is a race from Porto Santo to Madeira which is 3 hours by ferry. This is a pretty wild affair with the race being started by a Navy warship and launching from the back of the car ferry. It is currently only run for locals but plans are being made to make this race into an international event. It normally occurs in October and Boardseeker will let you know if this becomes an open event.

Non-existent!!! Don’t forget your harness – or you will have to join the Madeiran EBay fraternity.

Cheap accommodation can be hard to find. The hotels on tourist beaches (twin room + breakfast) are 70 euros per night. It may be a good idea to take the accommodation package offered by the tour operator back home as staying in a hotel without a deal is expensive. There is no accommodation near any of the beaches suitable for windsurfing, so it doesn’t matter where you stay on the island. To drive round the whole island takes only 4 hours. However, we never drove for more than 30 minutes each day to get to the beach of choice.

We didn’t find any B&B’s, as tourism on the island is mainly for the rich and super rich! There isn’t a youth hostel but there are two campsites on the island at Porto Moniz & Montado do Pereiro.

Campsites: www.madeira-camping.com

Hotels : Try this site www.madeiraguide.com. They also do car hire.

Or these guys: www.atlanticholidays.net

If you’ve just won the lottery, go here:www.reidspalace.com

Car Hire: Yes, you need to hire a car/van to get around. Go to www.holidayautos.co.uk. They have killer deals but book early. These guys do van hire:
www.e-sixt.com

Food is good here, and very cheap if you search for it. We always managed to eat for under 10 euros each, including drinks in Machico where we were staying. Avoid harbourside restaurants in Funchal: the prices are only suitable for people with yachts!

If you must, there is a McDonalds in Funchal (3.50 euros for a Big Mac meal – bargain- definitely the cheapest meal we had).

Lunch Tip: We bought tin-foil from the supermarket and made up sandwiches at breakfast in our hotel which saved a lot of money. However, steak sandwiches are well nice, filling, and available at all cafes for 3 euros!

Eating in: There are a few supermarkets (SA & Pingo Doce) and most have a hot food counter where you can get decent take-away meals like rice & stew, chicken and chips..etc.

There is no shortage of nightlife on Madeira , as it has a vibrant local population. It feels very safe at night and is a very pleasant temperature for romantic strolls along the beach!

This island thrives on Fiestas on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Another day to note is Tuesday, which is Ladies night in the capital. Religious holidays and Saints days are a big thing here, however, drinking is a huge part of the local culture after Mass! Fireworks go off all day and night, and everyone spends the evening in the public squares and along the beach.

Hiking is huge here as the island is so mountainous and most of the centre of the island is inaccessible by car. There are some famous waterfall walks and outstanding views.

Mountain biking is also popular and you can rent bikes at the tops of the main hills and just ride down. The city centre, Funchal, is beautiful and has some good shopping. It does get very hot here though. Kids spend the evenings jumping steps and public monuments so watch out for them.

Scuba diving is also very good here and readily available from most hotels and several dive centres.
Game fishing is a big pastime on the island but we didn’t see any advertisements for trips. It is probably best to talk to a local fisherman to see if he knows who will take you.

Top Surf Spots

Because Madeira is so renowned for surfing, I also packed my surfboard. You won’t be disappointed.

• Porto da Cruz: Two awesome spots here. Use the rip to get out but you won’t get back to the beach from the same point as the rip is so strong. Just come in where waves are breaking. Sandy bottom (for a bit!)
• Sao Vincente: Swell all year round + the only surf shop on the island that do rent surfboards. Also all surfers go to café over the road for cakes after a good session.
• Ribeira da Janela: Near the campsite, works with a North or North-easterly swell.
• Achadas da Cruz
• Jardim do Mar: This is where Billabong Odyssey was filmed. The waves can be huge in January/February. Go to magicseaweed.com for some cool photos & latest surf forecast
• Lugar de Baixa: Was one of best waves in world but then they built the marina. A smaller break is still accessible on the left when looking out to sea.

An awesome island for someone who loves surfing and is very proficient at windsurfing.

Name: Hugh Sims Williams.
Local beach in UK: Weston-Super-Mare.
How many years sailing: 12.
Occupation: Skandia Team GBR Windsurf Team & student at Bristol Uni.
Your equipment: Starboard Evo 83 and Tushingham Rocks.
Last windsurf move you cracked: Flat water forward.
Sponsors: Windsurfer’s World, O’Neill, Starboard &Tushingham.

Europeans love their two week package to the Canaries and consequently there are dozens of charter companies offering flights from national and regional airports. We travelled from Birmingham with MyTravel Airways. Our flights cost £150 each and we booked about 2 weeks in advance. However beware, they don’t have a clear cut policy on windsurfing kit and initially tried to charge us £150 each. In the end we paid £30 each a double board bag and a quiver bag and explained that one bag was the boards and the other the sails. Make sure each bag weighs UNDER 32kg. (This is very important!)

Possible Flight Companies:

Note: Do check the policy of the airline on windsurfing kit before buying your ticket.

• www.charterflights.co.uk
• www.flight.co.uk
• www.dialaflight.com
• www.flymonarch.com

PACKAGE DEALS

Sportif have been sending clients to Sotavento for 23 years! They currently send 25 sailors every week. Their prices start from £477 staying at the 4 star Sol Gorriones for 7 nights, half board, flights AND car hire as there is no transfer available from the airport www.sportif.travel Tel. 01273 844919

CAR HIRE

You will need a car. The cheapest way is to book is online before you get there.www.holidayautos.co.uk is a cheap company with cars available from £99 for the week. We rented a car without a roof-rack. It was a VW Polo and the roof held the weight of 4 boards and 2 quiver bags for the week without denting the roof at all. But to be on the safer side we found that you can get a roof rack with these companies: www.cicar.com Tel. + (34) 928511126

www.flagbeach.com (They can also act as your holiday agent and organize everything for you other than flights, but we are not sure how cheap it would work out)

You will load/unload the car many times, and will have to commit the whole afternoon to going windsurfing in order to get the best conditions. But with the effort comes the reward of absolutely amazing conditions.

The trade wind blows from the north or north-east. It is most reliable from in June/July but is predominant from May till late August.

The wind normally kicks in at lunchtime, but there is sometimes stronger wind as late as 8pm. The wind splits in its route around Fuerte. This means that there are two different wind directions at the east and west sides of the island. If the wind is dropping on the east side of the island, it’s probably due to a stronger wind on the west side so get that kit in the car and off you go! The wind does ‘switch off’ come September and the autumn months are great for swell but not so for wind; however, it can get good. Best to go for a couple of weeks to guarantee some sailing. February has been known to be windy every day. Simply said, you chance it in the winter and autumn with wind.

Flag Beach

Glass Beach

Punta de Blanca

El Cotillo

In the summer months most of the swell is trade-wind driven. Thus, after a week of no wind, the waves are smaller. The average wave size produced by the trade winds is boom-to-logo high. During the winter the swell is almost always driven by Atlantic storms, so you only need to look for a low pressure system to ensure you will have wind. A good option is to phone up Witchcraft Boards, based on the island and ask what the conditions are going to be. Tel. + (34) 660382646 or email:info@witchcraft.nu.

The only place we found to get instruction and rent decent kit once you’re out there iswww.flagbeach.com (which is literally on the beach!). They stock North Sails and Fanatic Boards from 3.3m to 7.8m. Prices: 45 euro a day, 185 euro a week. They do allow you to take their kit to other beaches if you have the means to do it but they wouldn’t provide sail/board bags for the kit, straps or roof pads which we found a bit strange.

Instruction:

• 3 day Beginner Course (12hours): 120 euro
• 2 day Improver Course (8hours): 90 euro

Advanced Courses are 30 euro per hour and can cover anything you want from vulcans to spocks to looping. Coaches include local Pros Will Ward and Steve Gibson.

We stayed at a hostel; it was cheap and basic, but did the job. The hostel atmosphere gave us instant local knowledge of the local spots and lots of folk to go partying with who all speak English.

Here are some options:

Sol y mar Hostal: Contact www.flagbeach.com. Costs 15 euro/night including breakfast.

Ineika surf Hostal: Another surfing hostel in Corralejo.

Corralejo Hotel: In front of Corky’s bar and frequented by the Pros during July.

Go to www.fuerteventura.com which provides details of all of the above + many more apartments and villas on the island.

Also try www.corkysbar.com for accommodation info.

PrimaSol Self-catering apartments and hotel .

www.primasol.com or email las.res@itc-spain.com

Talk to Angela Saffino for a deal if staying for more than a week. A two person apartment, self-catering costs 40 euro per night. A four person apartment, self catering costs 60 euro/night. This is based on prices for June and will increase slightly for July/August. Rate for a two person apartment for the month of June is 500 euro so definitely ask for a deal by email. The apartments are really nice and the location is good, if a bit far from the town. Tel. + (34) 928535097

EATING OUT

Thai Salsa is on the Harbour Front, next to a crap restaurant called Sotavento. The Thai restaurant plays quiet dance/trance music which is quite amusing. The service is very good and in typical Thai style, they are very polite. The portions were large and tasted good. Prices were as low as 8 euros per meal, so if you could eat without buying a drink then it worked out at about £5 each.

Gibson’s Restaurant and Bar is run by Steve and his wife. They produce some amazing food for a good price, with portions big enough to fill the hungriest windsurfer after a long days sailing. The menu has some very English dishes, e.g. lasagne, cottage pie etc. We decided on “turf and surf”(scampi and steak). It cost 12 euros and was absolutely massive and a mission to finish. Meals here are slightly more expensive but are of a much higher quality. The restaurant is situated further up the high street, away from the harbour and up a side street on the right.

Paneho Villa Mexican Restaurant is a little more out of town near Sol y Mar hostel. It has really nice food at a very reasonable price. It is found on the road, “Calle Pizariez.”

During our stay we found that most of the restaurants on the Harbour were overpriced and did not have the greatest portion sizes. The best restaurants were more tucked away down side streets or further up the high street. The three restaurants above were the most reasonably priced and had the best portion sizes for a hungry windsurfer.

EATING IN

All the hostels have good self-catering kitchens.

Supermarkets: We used the HyperDino in Corralejo at the Harbour end of town. This seemed to be very reasonable priced. There is also a British Foods Supermarket on the way in to El Cotillo, which sells fruit squash and other British essentials. This is more expensive.

Corralejo has plenty of nightlife action but you must remember nothing starts happening until late!

Corky’s Bar (closes 2.30am): This is a true windsurfer’s bar with the latest DVD’s being played, a forecast on the wall and plenty of pool tables. Corky is always around and he will always know where the best break will be for the following day.www.corkysbar.com

Kiwi Bar (closes 2.30am): Found in the same complex as Corky’s. Loaded with hot South American girls who just love English windsurfers. (At least this was the case when we were there!) This is a much quieter bar than Corky’s.

Mafasca Club (kick out 6am if you’re man enough!!!): After Corky’s the best place to go is straight upstairs to The Mafasca Club which doesn’t really get going until 3 or 4am . There is another club but it’s very expensive and has a lot of attitude which I would avoid.

Local beer: 3.50 euro/pint. You can also get most English beers.

Check out Corky’s for some wicked cocktails that will get you nailed.

1. Vulcano Biking: Tel: 928 535706. Trek Mountain Bikes from 6 euro/day to 12 euro/day for a full suspension. You can also hire Inline Skates at 3 euro/day. This is located in the Corralejo town centre.

2. Dolphin Safari: A guided safari on a 40ft yacht to Lobos Island marine national park. Snorkel and swim in the famous waters. Buffet provided on board with unlimited wine beer and soft drinks.

3. British Dive School: www.abyssdivers.com, 1:1 ratio in training, 1:2 during dive

Two dives all included costs 60 euro. Open water padi course costs 335 euro. They also run snorkel dolphin trips and game fishing trips. Tel. 928537297 Mobile : 661731414. Padi Dive school with English instructors. Tel. 686725327, Mobile : 928863207

4. JEEP Safari day excursion, including lunch. Adult 48 euro, child 42 euro. Tel: 928771740, Mobile : 696083598

5. Quad adventure: Runs every day at 10am for a 4.5hrs, 42miles trip and at 4pm for a 2.5hrs, 30miles trip. Sundays only: full day special tour including 75 miles on untouched territory. Tel: 928866552 Mobile : 660099694 or 637239229

6. Ferry to Lanzarote for the day. Corralejo to Puerto del Carmen 10:15 16:45. Puerto del Carmen TO Corralejo 08:45 15:15. Boarding 15 mins before departure. Trip takes one hour. Booking Tel: 928516113, Mobile : 629731293

7. Helicopter tour of island: 50mins trip costs 266 euro per person. 30mins trip costs 166 euro per person. Tel. 676701693

This venue has a huge amount to offer all year around but the wind is more consistent in the summer. However if you’re a surfer as well, an autumn or even Christmas break is better than the cold seas around Northern Europe. It is a great place to learn new moves due to the reliability of conditions and has just the right range of windsurfers to help you progress.

Name: Oli Woodcock
Local beach in UK: Avon Beach, Christchurch .
How many years sailing: 11years
Last windsurf move you cracked: Loop and Vulcan.
What you’re working on now: Back Loop and Spock.
Other: RYA National Junior Squad Coach.
Sponsors: www.spotonwater.com, www.604distribution.com, North Sails and Mistral Boards.

Name: Hugh Sims Williams
Local beach in UK: Weston-Super-Mare, Bristol.
How many years sailing: 11years.
Last windsurf move you nailed: Loop
What you’re working on now: Flat water loops, vulcans.
Other: 1st National Formula fleet (<11m), 2005
Sponsors: www.windsurfersworld.com, www.star-board.com,www.tushingham.com, O’Neill wetsuits.

Tenerife is extremely easy to get to with frequent flights from most UK airports. We flew from Bristol and had a choice from BA, Excel, Thomas Cook, Thomson, etc. The charter flights vary hugely in price from about £60 to over £340 depending on the holiday season. BA’s scheduled flight can work out cheaper in busy periods. George’s BA ticket for a flight in the week before Easter was considerably cheaper (at £260) than any of the charter flights when booked two months before. Graham’s ticket leaving a week earlier however was just £60, so pick your dates carefully! BA’s new baggage restrictions (23kg per bag) make it difficult to take your own kit, so bear that in mind when choosing a flight.

You arrive at Reina Sofia (TFS) airport which is a short ride to El Medano.

• www.ba.com
• www.xl.com
• www.flythomascook.com
• www.thomsonfly.com

Tenerife’s awesome reputation has come about from an extremely consistent North-east trade wind which allows all year round cross-onshore wave riding. When checking forecasts for the area, a key tip is to double whatever Windguru is predicting when in a north easterly direction, as the wind accelerates around the huge volcano of Mount Tiede. However, as we found out, the entire bay can be transformed into a freestyle paradise with the arrival of southerly winds. Southerly winds can also be a lot stronger than what is forecasted.

Unlike many other places in the world, Tenerife is lucky enough to boast excellent conditions in all disciplines from super-flat freestyle territory to world class wave sailing locations, all located relatively close to each other in four main sailing areas.

South Bay

This is the largest of the four playgrounds and offers excellent bump and jump conditions with everyone from intermediates to experts enjoying the friendly atmosphere while they blast endlessly back and forth through playful chop and rolling swell. A huge positive for this area is that the trade winds allow almost completely undisturbed wind right to the inside of the bay onto a vast sandy beach making for ideal landing and launching. Although you do see beginners in South Bay, it is not ideal for learning because of the chop and sometimes tricky shore dump when the wind is in the prevailing North-east.

Muelle (Harbour Wall)

The harbour wall marks the upwind edge and windiest part of the bay and in just a few tacks you could be enjoying an extremely playful wave (with cross-onshore winds) which breaks onto the reef on the outer edge of the wall. Do not fear: due to a sharp drop off, the reef is relatively deep, meaning wipe-outs rarely result in an encounter with the reef and if you do make a wrong turn a strong current, which runs along the edge of the wall, will ensure that you will be taken out of harm’s way and into deeper water. This perfect combination produces conditions that all can enjoy from entry-level wave sailing to hot shots.

Cabezo

Those experts among you – listen up! Cabezo is in theory the next bay round but can easily be accessed by taking a few more tacks past the harbour wall. Once there, you have entered a professionals’ playground with the highest local standard I have seen; forward loops are basic and manoeuvres seen on the PWA are common place. Everyone gives 110% as this is what Cabezo requires, otherwise Mother Nature punishes you and your kit on the various reefs and rocks. However, when it is going off you can be blessed with the moments that stay in your minds eye forever. In fact it has even held various PWA events in years gone by.

La Tajita (la – ta – heater)

The fourth and final area is just around the corner from El Medano and takes a maximum of 2 minutes by car to get to. It is a freestyle paradise, offering perfectly flat water and a slightly stronger wind than South Bay. Whereas it might be 5.2 weather in South Bay, La Tajita will be 4.7 or smaller. It can provide absolute perfection when cracking those first carve gybes or nailing the latest mind-boggling freestyle trick.

The Official Test Centre (OTC)

This British-run centre is the first of its kind, offering an extremely friendly, professional atmosphere whilst boasting 8 board brands and 7 sail brands! Not only this but all the sails have been rigged on their manufacturers recommended 75-100% carbon masts meaning every centimetre of performance has been squeezed out for maximum pleasure! Unfortunately they are unable to offer tuition at the moment due to beach regulations, however it is possible to hire kit from them and get tuition from their next door neighbours.

The Official Test Centre (OTC):

Web address: www.otc-windsurf.com
Email: info@otc-windsurf.com
Tel (uk): +44 (0)121 288 9965
Tel (Tenerife):  +34 922 179 382

The Surf Center:

Next door is the German owned centre, apply named “Surf Center” (‘er’ not ‘re’!) and they stock everything as long as you like sailing Naish gear! From here you are able to rent kit and receive lessons. As said before, it is possible to rent kit from the OTC and receive lessons from the Surf Center.

Surf Center:

Web address: www.surfcenter.info
Email: SurfCenter@Medano.com
Tel: (+34) 922 176 688

There are endless hotels and apartments available, however, your best bet would be to get in contact with OTC or Sportif and they will be able to sort out an entire package for you. If this is not your cup of tea then you can easily sort out your own apartment. By far the biggest hotel that takes pole position on the water’s edge is the very popular and originally named “Hotel Medano”.

• www.sportif.travel

Apartments

• www.martinez.ch
• www.el-medano-tenerife.com
• www.roho.co.uk/windsurf/windsurf_holiday

Hotels

• www.hotelmedano.com
• www.hotelplayasurtenerife.com

Literally everywhere you look or go in El Medano there are restaurants and bars! Many of them are filled with good natured locals, and I do believe it is possible to take your taste buds on an exclusive round-the-world trip in the space of 50 yards; from an “all day” cooked breakfast to traditional Spanish foods such as Tapas and the Spanish omelette. One place that we used a lot for this type of active holiday was a takeaway called “Neptuno” directly opposite Hotel Medano. Here, to save the complications of ordering and speed up procedures, you order and pay at a ticket booth (just up the street) which spurts out a ticket that you take to a counter where your food is prepared. We strongly recommend any of the Spanish sandwiches called Bocadillios.

Eating out is not hugely expensive, the food is good and due to the variety you can always find somewhere that grabs your attention. If your have a soft spot for Japanese cuisine then make sure your talk to Ben at the OTC as he might be able to sort you out a bit of a discount if you’re lucky!

For nightlife, there is not much in the way of clubs, however there are multiple friendly bars offering various happy hours and hosting many live music nights. An extremely popular place to go is a bar near the harbour wall called “Manfred’s Restaurant” which has many live music nights, extremely friendly bar staff and the most elaborate décor we’ve seen in a bar. If you’re a cocktail sort of a person head on down to “Cha Cha Cha” which runs a happy hour between 10:30 and11:30 where effectively it is buy one – get one free! If you fancy yourself as a bit of a party animal undergo the short drive to Las Americas, where you will find yourself in club central. Remember that all eating out and nightlife starts very late in Spanish resorts.

In the unlikely event of no wind or you get bored of windsurfing, there are loads of other things to do, here are a few ideas:

• Check out the awesome mountain biking that Tenerife has to offer. A good rental place in El Medano is Bike Point www.Medanobike.com
• Try you hand at some surfing. www.K16surf.com
• Have a go at kitesurfing at www.theshinncentre.com
• Diving or Whale watching are also very close by and popular days outwww.divetenerife.com
• Go to the top of Mount Teide: Spain’s highest mountain and the third highest volcano in the world.
• Visit Loro Parque a world renowned zoo and aquarium. Great for the family.

Anything wrong with the place?

El Medano makes an excellent location for a windsurfing holiday. Tenerife is a large and varied island with some stunning scenery to explore, and it’s cheap and easy to get to so really, it’s pretty well ideal. However, you might think twice if some of your party want to learn to windsurf, if you aren’t keen on volcanic landscapes or if you object to little yappy dogs with doting owners!

Team AirBorn: Adam Lewis, Graham Woods and George Shillito. Adam is now working at OTC. Graham will soon be joining him there.

Photos: AirBorn/Pentax and Jon Harvey

Team AirBorn is sponsored by Pentax, O’Shea, Windsurfers World, and supported by Tushingham and 604 Distribution.

By Car

Driving will take 4 days at least, and includes a mammoth trek through Europe to Cadiz in Spain, where you can cross by Ferry to Gran Canaria and then travel again by Ferry to Lanzarote. For a 2 week trip, you would have to be slightly mad to go by car. For an 4 month Canary island summer adventure it might be worth it. But trust us on this one and use a plane.#

By Plane

Flights to Lanzarote can be stupidly cheap ranging from as little as £69.99 on some good deals: www.flythomascook.com

But if you want to go at peak season then expect to pay anything up to £300 especially if you are late to book. Shop around and book early to get a good deal. On arrival to Arricefe, Costa Teguise is only a 20 minute drive away. Hordes of Taxi’s wait to pounce on you to take you to your destination and then shout “arriba los manos, dame dinero, ote mato” (but only in extreme circumstances).

Useful Travel companies:

• Airtours
• Monarch
• Thomas Cook
• British Airways
• www.sportif.travel

When to go

The best wind is in July, but July has the least swell. Spring is better for waves and your holiday will certainly be cheaper outside of school holidays. The wind backs off in the autumn and the swell returns. However, you can get lucky and get a winter week away with awesome wind and waves and it’s a lot warmer than mainland Europe.

Renting a car

If you stay in Costa Teguise and plan to hire kit then a car might not be necessary. The beach is, at the most, a 15 minute walk away from the hotels. However, if you want to explore the many beaches and the features that the island has to offer, then hire a car as it will work out cheaper and more comfortable than a camel.

If you take your own windsurfing kit then a car is essential as you will want to check out some of the other beaches.

Car Hire Companies at Lanzarote airport

• Recordrentacar (from £80 per week),
• Carjet (from £108 per week),
• Direct car (from 18 – 30 Euros per day),
• Carhire Express (from £88 a week)

The trade winds that affect the whole Canary Island chain come from the N/NE and hit Costa Teguise in a cross-shore to cross-offshore angle. (The wind is called the Passat in Lanzarote). The wind also has a thermal effect so will be at it’s windiest during the hottest part of the day. Unfortunately, there is a very inconveniently placed hotel right on the beach making the winds as gusty as possible near the beach, even more so in a northerly. Head further out for cleaner winds (see below).

Costa Teguise weather forecast, outlook and webcam

http://www.icanarias.com

Other Spots close to Lanzarote:

Near Costa Teguise

Playa Honda: Freestyle flat and windy, this spot is 3km south of Arrecife.
El Tiburon: The trade winds blow cross-shore to cross-off here, and it is generally quieter than the other spots. The waves are quite consistent.
Playa Matagorda: Similar to Costa Teguise, Matagorda is perfect for flat water blasting and bump and jump.

Further Afield

Orzola: A rocky break that will get good waves. Only for advanced.
Famara: A quiet spot that is dead cross shore in the Passat trade winds and has good waves.Jameos Del Agua: 20km north of Costa Teguise you will find several reef breaks. The launch is hard to get to and will make mincemeat of bare feet even before you deal with the punchy shore break. On an incoming tide you can get waves that you should simply leave to the professionals!

For Blasting, Cruising and Freestyle…

If you can imagine yourself standing on Las Curachas, the main Costa Teguise beach, in your boardies and looking out to sea, then directly in front of you will be flat and sheltered. The only problem here is that the wind will be very gusty, thanks to a massive hotel that confuses the wind. However, as you look out to sea you will see rolling swell and chop; this is the windsurfers’ playground. Don’t worry about being far out as you will be surrounded by fellow sailors and if you need a rest, there is a conveniently placed platform amongst the fun conditions that a lot of windsurfers use for a quick break or for a heave ho on their downhaul.

For Bump, Jump and playful waves…

A couple of tacks upwind and you will find yourself on the main reef. If the swell is small then you will be having the time of your life in the playful waves which are perfect for a bit of jumping and waveriding. If there is an exceptional swell, as there was when I visited, the waves can be absolutely enormous, bigger than a house. Break your kit on the reef on a big day and you will find yourself questioning some of the decisions you made just 2.5 seconds earlier!

An infrequent but smackable lip…

Even further upwind there is a harbour entrance. On occasions this will produce a very nice short wave and a smackable lip. A lot of locals sail from this harbour. There is a car park and sand to rig on but the launch is a little tricky over a slippery reef. It is the nearest spot to the Sands Beach Villas Resort.

What kit do I need?

When I visited for a week in July, I was battling away with a 4.2 for 4 days and then just cruising on a 6.2 for the rest, so there is a lot of variation. For boards, a 100 litre freestyle board and an 80 litre wave board covered my needs. A little bit of extra volume is useful to get out through the gusts. I’d say 4 sails and 2 boards should do it. If you hire the choice is yours as there is so much to choose from!

There are several hire centres with kit from most of the major brands. It is worth booking your kit early to avoid any disappointment. We recommend the following:

Nathalie Simon Windsurfing Club:

This club offers kit hire from AHD, Bic, Tabou and Neil Pryde. There are also several instructional courses on offer from beginner to advanced. Owned by the lovely Nathalie Simon it is part of her chain of centres.

Windsurf Paradise:

Windsurf paradise is a one minute walk away from the launch at Las Churachas and as an official JP/Neil Pryde test centre hosts the full JP and Neil Pryde range. They offer a rescue service and a full range of instructional courses.

There are too many hotels and apartments to mention; probably the most luxurious is the hotel that messes up the wind right on the beach front! Costa Teguise is a popular tourist area, so accommodation is very easy to find for all budgets.

Sands Beach Villa’s Resort

I stayed at the above resort in a very nice apartment. The resort itself caters for groups and families. It works out to be quite reasonable if you share an apartment between 3 or 4 people. It is far nicer than a lot of the older apartments that I saw. If you book the beachside apartments then you are less than a 10 minute walk away from the sailing area. The resort itself is complete with restaurant, gym, shop, bar, pool and games room.

Prices are in the range of 88 Euros per night based on two people sharing and booked through the internethere.

A useful list of Lanzarote Hotels and apartments can be found here.

Package Deals

Search the Internet. Off-season deals can be had for £180 (250 euros) for 7 nights for flight, accommodation & food. See:

• www.lastminute.com
• www.cheapholidays.co.uk

Eating Out

British food is all over the place and very cheap. It’s as if the Spaniards think you are so homesick that you need a good ole English fry up every morning. Consequently, a fill of bacon, eggs and the rest comes at only 3 euros. There are Spanish restaurants and there are also Indian, Italian and Chinese. I really recommend that you leave the town and go and find a small Spanish village where you can have a typical Tapas style meal and an ice cold Doroda. It is much tastier and so much more Spanish. As with all of the Canary Islands, if you are into seafood then it is the only option for pure taste bud pleasure!

Eating In

The prices are slightly less than the UK and mainland Europe and there are several supermarkets. But unless you eat pasta and sauce every night, eating out is not much more expensive and a lot less hassle. Note: the supermarkets close on Sundays.

If you have been to a Canary Island resort then you will know what to expect from the bars and restaurants; long siestas and late openings. To be truthful, Costa Teguise is not a major night spot. There are plenty of bars for late night drinks and also a few clubs but if you want ‘full-on, all night’ partying then get a taxi to Puerto del Carmen, 15 minutes away.

There is one night spot that you should visit, although I have no idea how to get there or even where it is! It is the old house of Omar Sherif, part of it is a nightclub come bar and is it built into the mountainside caves. It is a very cool place, with very cool music, and until I went there, very cool people!

Surfing

Situated somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic, it is only reasonable to assume that Lanzarote experiences epic surfing conditions. Most of it is over volcanic reef breaks and most will only suit fairly advanced surfers. For the less experienced Playa de Famara is a sandy beach break and less intimidating when the swell is small to moderate.

Learn to surf, or make the family have a go:

• www.surfschoolanzarote.com

For more information on surfing breaks:

• www.wavehunters.com

Cycling

Lanzarote is a popular destination for cycling and mountain biking.

Fire Mountain Biking

Phone:             +34 928 512 267       Puerto del Carmen

Timanfaya Bike Rental

Phone: +34 607 754 876  Puerto del Carmen

Tommy’s Mountain Bike

Phone: +34 928 592 327  Costa Teguise

Parque Nacional De Timanfaya

The centre of the island is host to the Volcano Timanfaya. You can drive to the top and then watch as the guides set fire to wood just a couple of feet below your feet. There is also a guided bus that is not particularly exciting unless looking at volcanic rock is your thing!

Go to Fuerteventura

You can see Fuerteventura from the southern tip of Lanzarote. It is so close you could almost swim it (mind the sharks if you do). To find out about day trips, click here.

I could have done with a bit more time to fully appreciate the conditions of Costa Teguise and Lanzarote in general. I have to admit that I found the winds annoyingly gusty when they came from the North. But when the wind is a bit more consistent and less strong it is a really fun place to sail. Not my favourite location in the Islands, but lets face it, it is cheaper than a week in Cornwall and it’s hot and windy for most of the year! Book a package deal now and you could be there next week! #

Bueno Viaje!

Clyde Waite is sponsored by Proof, Naish, Reef, O’ Neill Wetsuits, Skisurf and Fibrespar.

Fly

Dial a Flight have great flight only deals. This summer (2004) you could fly from Gatwick to Fuerteventura with British Airways for £100. They also do charter flight bookings. www.dialaflight.comTel. 0870 333 4488

Monarch Airways also go to Fuerteventura and charge £60 per windsurfer. Flights cost between £150 and £250 depending on the time of year.

www.flymonarch.com

Tel. 0870 458 2861

Car & Ferry

If you want to drive then you can travel from Portsmouth to Bilbao every Tues and Sat with P&O Ferries. The journey takes 32hrs. Tel. 08705 20 20 20

Then drive across Spain to Cadiz to get the 48hr ferry to Gran Canaria which in a van costs around £600. Then get an inter island ferry to Morro Jable on Fuerteventura which is only 20mins from Sotavento by car! If we haven’t put you off then check out

www.trasmediterranea.es for ferry details.

Transfer from airport

Quite surprisingly, the hotels or centres don’t pick up guests from the airport for the hour and a half journey to Sotavento. However there are plenty of airport taxis or you can rent a car which you will need during the week if you are staying anywhere but the Sol Gorriones Hotel.

Car rental

We booked an economy car at £99 for the week plus insurance through www.holidayautos.co.ukwhich is part of the Lastminute.com group. They assigned us a car from Hertz which we picked up at the airport.

Tip: if you are travelling with windsurf kit, don’t tell them and don’t load the kit on the car in view of the car hire desk. They don’t like windsurf kit on the roof and have been known to refuse to rent you the car. Also don’t order roof racks as this makes them suspicion! The Sportif package includes car rental.

PACKAGE DEALS

Sportif have been sending clients to Sotavento for 23 years! They currently send 25 sailors every week. Their prices start from £477 staying at the 4 star Sol Gorriones for 7 nights, half board, flights AND car hire as there is no transfer available from the airport.

www.sportif.travel

Email: info@sportif.travel

Tel: 01273 844919

Planet Windsurf also go to the 4 star Sol Gorriones right on the beach. 2004 prices start from £415 for 7 nights including flights and half board. www.planetwindsurf.com Tel.  0870 749 1959

he island of Fuerteventura has a prevailing NE trade wind which is more consistent in the summer. This NE wind blows over the land between two mountain peaks at the narrowest part of the island. As it does this the wind backs giving a very localised, cross offshore breeze at Sotavento. Coupled with a sea breeze as the day heats up, the resort is consistently windy with most of July and August spent on a 4m or less.

But the wind is always cross off shore and therefore will ALWAYS be gusty.

Outside of summer the wind can also blow from the east and south which is generally onshore and is not as reliable.

THE BEACH

Beach face: east
Best wind direction: north east
Worst wind direction: west
Tide: not a lot and it doesn’t affect the windsurfing area
What’s on the bottom?: sand
Any hazards: other windsurfers. It can get busy but head upwind and the bay will be all yours.
Other water users: kitesurfers have their own area downwind of the windsurfers

SUITABILITY/LEVELS

Beginners and maybe even intermediates should go to the Pro Centre II with the flat water lagoon that is tide dependant. Those getting into the footstraps and learning to waterstart will struggle in the choppy and gusty conditions at Pro Centre I. For those beyond the carve gybe, it depends what you are working on.

For blasting/speed, sail downwind from the Pro Centre I but watch out for the kitesurfers.

For aerial freestyle, go upwind of Pro Centre I where it is quieter and look for the small, flattish patches closer to the shore to pop the board out.

For non-aerial freestyle (monkey gybes, 360’s etc) go some where else!! It is not the place to learn carving tricks.

For wave sailing go to Pro Centre II where shoulder to head high waves can break on the sand bar. But if you want proper wave riding, head north.

WIPEOUT FACTOR

Your only issue is if you break your kit and slowly drift offshore back to Spain. But rescue cover and look outs are maintained throughout the day. Even if you’re not using the Rene Egli Centre, their rescue services will help you out. Just buy them a beer once you’re shore side!

You can get a real mixture at Sotavento even in one summer week. You can get up to head high waves from random Atlantic swell or if it’s been strong NE winds for a few days. Most of the time it is described as flat but this is rubbish!! It is choppy and during our week it was awful death chop, making gybing a bouncy experience with the only “flat” water a few feet from the shore line. However, during our week we had a lot of north in the wind, which made it more gusty and offshore.

Down the road at the Pro Center Rene-Egli II, there is a proper flat water lagoon but it is mainly used by beginners.

Outside of summer, the NE trade wind is less consistent although you can get a good week. You also get onshore winds producing “home from home” chop and mush conditions, but at least it will be warmer than the UK.

Sea Temp

We went in June and you can sail in just your swimwear. But if it’s 4.5m weather and less it can get a bit chilly in a bikini. In the summer take a shortie, and at all other times take a 3mm/2mm summer suit.

Firstly, let’s make one thing clear. Sotavento is the Rene Egli Centre and the Rene Egli centre is Sotavento. There is no other alternative to hiring kit or getting a lesson and knowing the politics in the Canaries, there never will be!

He has two centres: Pro Centre I and Pro Centre II, five minutes drive apart.

If you are a beginner then go to Pro Centre II with its shallow lagoon. Carve gybers and beyond tend to sail at Pro Centre I. You can sail and reserve a board at both. I don’t think they will take your own kit in the shuttle bus so unless you have transport you are stuck at one. Don’t even think about sailing down as you will never get back.

Kit Hire

Rene Egli Centre stocks JP boards (full range), F2 boards (Eliminators, Styles, Stokes, SX110 Slalom boards and Power Glides) and Neilpryde sails (3.3m to 7.9m Cores, Zones, Search, Jets and Sabers).

Daily rental: 60 euro for F2/Neilpryde kit, 67 euro for JP/Neilpryde kit

They will also hire you a wetsuit and harness for the day at 20 euro.

Just turn up at the centre on the beach.

6 days rental (pre booked): £160 for F2/Neilpryde £180 for JP/Neilpryde
14 days rental (pre booked): £259 for F2/Neilpryde £305 for JP/Neilpryde

On all of the above, you choose a board and that becomes yours for the hire period BUT you can change it or try other boards if they are available. You help yourself to whatever sails you require from the rig pool. No one was short of a sail when we were there.

Note: you can’t take the kit away from the centre for a quick wave sail up north.

Bringing your own kit

The Centre charges for storage of personal kit but this includes use of all their facilities like showers, toilets and rescue boats!

7 day storage: 59 euro 14 day storage: 105 euro

Instruction

This can be pre booked, or for a one off lesson you can book once you are there.

10hrs Beginner Package over 7 days (pre booked): £119
6 hrs Refresher course (waterstart, footstraps etc, pre booked): £95
Individual 1 hour lesson booked when you get there: 51 euro

For all of the above contact Rene Egli centre direct: info@rene-egli.com Tel . 0034 9 28 54 74 83  (They speak good English)

Or book through Sportif (01273 844919) or Planet Windsurf (0870 749 1959)

For swanky accommodation then stay on the beach at the Sol Gorriones near Pro Centre I. All other accommodation is in Costa Calma, a fine German resort 2 mins drive away with plenty of hotels and apartments for rent.

Sol Gorriones 2004 hotelprices for guests using the Rene Egli Centre and booking directly with the hotel:

12th April to 12th July: 37 euro + 5% local tax (per person per night plus breakfast)
13th July to 9 th Dec: 45 euro + 5% local tax

sol.gorriones@solmelia.com Tel. 0034 928 547025

Or book through Sportif or Planet Windsurf (prices above in Package Deals section)

Apartments in Costa Calma: Sergio Becker is an English speaking local who seems to know everybody and everything that’s going on in Costa Calma. He has some apartments to rent but if they are full or you want a hotel, he will help you out.

His apartments sleep 4/5 and cost 30 euro a night for the whole place. He can also arrange car hire for 25 euro per day.

roby77@mixmail.com Tel. 0034 655 474494

Top Tip: you can get good discounts if you say you are a World Cup sailor training for the PWA event in July. It may not work in every hotel but give it a go!

Costa Calma accommodation websites

• www.godirect4holidays.co.uk
• www.tripadvisor.com
• Cheap Holidays to Costa Calma

If you like German cuisine you’re in for a treat as Costa Calma is more German then Spanish. Lots of cheap cafes and restaurants in the town and the supermarkets are small but well stocked. There are also McDonalds and Burger King’s but obviously as healthy, fit windsurfers you won’t be eating in those establishments!

Costa Calma is a lot quieter than the resort of Corralejo in the north but it still has plenty of cheesy nightclubs playing the latest in German pop music. The Sol Gorriones Hotel has its own nightclub which apparently gets quite busy.

If you don’t have a car then it’s sunbathing and massages on the beach (sounds perfect!). If you do have a car then after buying some tacky souvenirs in Costa Calma you will become bored with the town and want to explore elsewhere.

Here are a few ideas:

• Visit the famous British resort of Corralejo with its tacky shops and British pubs.
• On the way you can have a look at Glass and Flag beach. The journey takes just under 2 hours.
• Have a diving lesson: apparently the north coastline has some of the best diving sites in the world. Try Abyss Divers (PADI recognised): 0034 928 537 297
• Take a catamaran cruise from Corralejo. Ocean Cat: 0034 928 163 084

Go to Lanzarote! The Fred Olsen Express takes 12mins to travel from Corralejo to Playa Blanca on Lanzarote. www.fredolsen.es

Well equipped centre, plenty of accommodation choice, warm, sunny and lots of wind BUT not the easiest place to sail. Awfully choppy and some days were so gusty that it was hard to enjoy yourself on the water. There are better places for flat water sailing, but the wind stats seem to convince people that this is the place to go

Name: Chris Audsley, Richard Audsley and Louise Emery
Local beach in UK: Hill Head and West Shore, Llandudno
How many years sailing: 13 yrs & 6yrs
Last windsurf move you cracked: A ponch for Chris, a spock for Richard and a vulcan for Louise.
What you’re working on now: Switch stance grubbies for Chris, normal grubbies for Richard and more vulcans for Louise.

Drive

We drove from Portsmouth to Moulay Bouzerktoun. It took 7 days at quite a leisurely pace. The ferry from Portsmouth to Le Harve costs around £150 depending how early you book for two people and a van. The ferry from Algeciras (near Tarifa) to Ceuta (Spanish soil in Morocco) cost £230 for two people and a van.

Fly

There are now charter flights with companies such as Easy Jet and Thomson; some fly to Marrakech, some to Agadir. Cost can vary from £90 to £300 depending on time of year, or you can go for the expensive option of flying schedule with the likes of British Airways. Excess baggage on the charter flights is £30 per windsurfer, but you could end up paying per kilo with scheduled airlines.

• Easy Jet Flights from £90 if you book in advance
• Thomson Flights from £120 from Agadir.
• British Airways

Windy season is the summer, with June and July blowing force 6-8 from the North making it starboard tack. The end of July until September sees a continuation of the wind, but a force less in strength. These are thermal winds and are not always on the Wind Guru forecast! It can be windy from 10am but many choose not to rig until later because it continues to increase until lunch time. At around 5-6pm it often drops another sail size, so if you still have the energy it could mean rigging down.

They only tend to get wind in the winter upon the arrival of storms, and when this is the case it is a south-westerly wind (cross-on port tack).

Moulay Bouzerktoun

Beach faces: West

Tide: Easiest launch is at high tide making it sandy but it is a reef break and as the tide goes out the reef appears. It’s not a particularly sharp reef, but there are waist deep pot holes and the odd sea urchin which can catch you out.

At mid to low tide be careful how close you sail to the beach – it is shallower than you think and your fin will suffer!

Hazards: High tide presents the only hazard whilst sailing if there is a decent swell as the waves, just downwind, break and wash into the rock cubicles on the beach, so if you dig a rail you want to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Wipeout potential: The waves aren’t ridiculously heavy but they aren’t that light either. Moulay is notorious for taking noses off boards but none of us (party of 20) had any problems whilst there. There is no rescue cover so if you break something very far out you could have a very long swim in and could get carried down the coast quite a distance.

Essaouira

Half an hour down the road is the fishing town of Essaouira; a long sandy beach with an easy launch. It can get a little choppy in the summer thermals. At some times of year waves break by the harbour wall and there have been reports of it reaching mast high. The Mistral and Fanatic centres have rescue boats who I’m sure would rescue you if you were in imminent danger!

Sidi Kaoki

This is a sandy beach break half-an-hour away from Essaouira further south. However, here the wave packs quite a punch and on bigger days shore dump can be an issue.

Moulay can get decent swells during the winter and spring which can reach over double mast high. The summer is when it is flattest but we only saw it actually flat on one occasion when there was absolutely no wind. On average the waves will be boom height throughout the summer, and as you move through August to September they will get larger. We averaged head high but had some logo and mast high days at the end of August. The water temp is a little chilly. You could sail in boardies if you wanted but you wouldn’t last more than half an hour! It is far more comfortable in either a shortie OR a summer suit.

Moulay has no kit hire or instruction. You can hire kit from Essaouira and they will let you bring it here but if you break something it is not covered under the rental insurance. If you want a proper instructional trip to Morocco than go through Sportif and book a package deal to Essaouira.

If you are not driving and therefore not camping on the beach then there is only one place to stay in Moulay – and that’s Lawama’s. Owned by Fettah (a windsurfer who totally rips) they rent out three rooms in a Moroccan style house. It is very basic and you must remember that there is no running water or electricity in Moulay, so although there is a toilet you have to flush it with water that they provide you with from the well. There isn’t a shower in the house but there is a shower in the village which opens during summer months and costs around 50p to use.

It costs 10 euros a night to stay at Lawama’s including a delicious breakfast, and they have kit storage. To avoid disappointment during peak summer book ahead: lawama@hotmail.fr

Essaouira however offers a huge variety of accommodation. You can rent a flat from as cheap as 10 Euros a night, stay in cheap hotels for the same price or stay in the 5 star Sofitel right on the beach!

Moulay:

The local kids bring round crepes and bread to the beach in the morning for less than 10p so that’s breakfast sorted!

The only restaurant to eat in is Lawamas where main meals average £3.50 (50 DH), and it is delicious. The local dish is Tajine which is full of vegetables, potato and either meat or fish. If you spend a lot of time at Moulay and stay on the beach the locals may approach you and offer to cook for you. They will often provide Couscous or tajine of your choice followed by mint tea and fresh fruit. It is certainly something not to miss out on. Both Arby and Masjid managed to cater for 14 of us at a time. It costs around 50 Dirhams per head (£3.50).

Essaouira:

There are tons of little stalls lining the streets that are the equivalent of a fast food chain. You can get steak/sausage/chicken baguettes with chips for 20 DH (£1.30) and any of us would recommend the steak baguette. There are quite a few little restaurants hidden away in the Medinat and you can get a 3 course set menu including tajine for around 75 DH (£5.00). The Moroccan food is great, but you do have to be careful with salad, often only washed with their tap water which isn’t the best. It’s a good idea to only eat fruit which you know had a skin on, and not buy fruit on the street because it could have been sat there for days. Morocco is notorious for getting the shits but as long as you are sensible you are fine – I didn’t get it and I have a really sensitive stomach!

If you are self-catered there is only one supermarket, but you will not necessarily have to use it. You can buy meat, veg, spices, pasta etc all from the market stalls in the Medinat and it is extremely cheap. Just try and make sure you shop early so that what you are buying hasn’t been sat in the scorching heat all day.

Drinking isn’t big in Morocco and if you are going to do it then it will get expensive. Beers from the shop in town are pretty much the same price as back home. There are a couple of bars near the waterfront and the windsurf centres sometimes run club nights but a vodka coke costs £6.00!

Surfing at Moulay is great and if you have a car then you can explore the coast for other surfing spots.

You could spend hours wandering round the Medinat discovering street after street, the place never seems to end!

I believe there are quad biking excursions that run from Essaouira along with organised surf trips. If you have a car then a trip to Marrakech is a must: the town is huge and comes alive at sunset. Temperatures can reach 50 degrees though so one day is plenty!

Surf Trip Companies: www.morocsurf.com,www.surfmaroc.co.uk

Car rental: www.carrentals.co.uk, www.e-sixt.co.uk,www.easycar.com

This place is amazing! I don’t think I have ever been to one beach which is so good for both riding and jumping. There was a whole range of abilities in our party and all were catered for. Various people learnt to waterstart, waveride, forward loop, back loop, aerial, vulcan etc etc!! The people are lovely and the culture is very different to ours so it’s fascinating to learn about it & be amongst if for so long. We shall be back!

Name: Tanya Saleh
Local beach in UK: Hayling Island
How many years sailing: 8 yrs
Last windsurf move you cracked: Forward loop
What you’re working on now: The loop of the back variety.
Competition results: Student Nationals Champion 2004-2006

The Photographer Was….

Chris Hughes

The driving option is detailed in the Moulay Bouzerktoun report here moulay_bouzerktoun. It is a very, very long way.

Fly

To fly, I really can recommend Ryanair. They are cheap: off season is about £50 all in, whereas peak is about £150. You have to book on kit; this works out at £15 a bag. If you are going wavesailing then you can get away with just one board, a boom, mast and two sails in a bag and you will be fine every afternoon.

Ryanair fly from Luton to Marrakech. The flights are early in the morning.

Easyjet fly from Gatwick and have similar if not a bit more expensive deals. The allowance for kit is about £30 a bag.

• www.ryanair.com
• www.easyjet.com

Book a Taxi!

If you fly, then make sure you book a taxi from Essaouria itself. The taxis are about 70 euros each way with kit.

• contact@transport-essaouria.com
• www.transport-essaouria.com

If you do not have any kit then jump on a bus, it is much cheaper.

Car hire

Car hire is the most expensive part of the trip. Unless you want to explore the area, you really don’t need one as the beach is on your doorstep.

• Essaouira Transport
• www.essaouira-transport.com

I ended up windsurfing so much that I needed time to rest. I am 80kg but my biggest sail I used was a Simmer 5.3. I could have windsurfed more often if I had a bigger sail, but I didn’t need to. If you are taking your own kit then scale it up and down accordingly to your size and ability. I took two boards; a Fanatic Newwave 74 and a Fanatic Freewave 86. I had two fins for each board. Sails wise I took three; a 4.2, 4.7 and 5.3. This was a perfect combination; the larger freestyle wave dealing more than adequately with the lighter wind wave riding. I would generally start sailing at around midday on a 5.3, have a break and then need the 4.7. Some days it would just build and build but only once did I want a 3.7.

The fact that I mainly used wave orientated kit should not put off anyone. That is just the type of windsurfing I prefer, as said before Essaouira has something for all abilities.

Club Mistral

This is a professionally run centre with a range of Mistral Syncro’s and waveboards all powered by plenty of brand new North Sails, right on the waters edge

• morocco@club-mistral.com
• ++ 21 (0) 22 47 83 934

Magic Fun Afrika

The guy who owns this is super friendly, he also has a hire centre just up the road in Moulay. Run from a trailer the best advice is to get there early. He also repairs kit.

• www.magicfunafrika.com
• ++ 21 061 103 777
• ++ 061 170 410

As mentioned before, as you approach the city there are plenty of, erm…agents selling you good accommodation. For a really nice apartment, slightly back from the main beach that gives you a taste of Moroccan life then try this guy. We used him and he was an amazing host. They also have a garage for all your kit.

• Mouhamed_hamaini@hotmail.com
• Tel: 072 84 95 58 or 068 56 06 22

Also recommended is the Al Jasira hotel, which have free wireless broadband.

• aljasira@menara.ma
• www.aljasirahotel-mogador.com

If not then give these a try:

• Ocean Vagabond hotel
• Ryad Watier
• Jack’s Apartments
• Chateau Mogador

The food is brilliant. Expect to pay about 65 Dirams for a three course meal in most restaurants (this is about 6 euros). The best dishes are the Tagines in various flavours which is a traditional Moroccan stew or the famous couscous. Fish is also a speciality, lookout for the blue and white alfresco fish stalls as you enter the medina. Eat as much as you can! There are so many restaurants in the Medina that it is best to eat out every night until you find your favourite one.

The Muslim way means that drinking is not that common. It is hard to find a restaurant that serves alcohol. When you do the food is not so good. Although there are some great Italian restaurants run by Europeans. If you fancy a cold beer then go to the Vagabond beach restaurant, next to the Mistral centre. (Although you will never get served as the waiters are generally rude, and the service is terrible. The food is nice though). There are some backstreet Polish Liquor stores, although I never found them.

There is so much to do; amazing markets and shops, café’s to visit. Then there are camel and horse rides all found on the beach. You can hire a surf board from the Mistral centre and Fanatic trailer, or just chill out and absorb some friendly African culture.

Essaouira is a brilliant place and really cheap flights can be had from Ryanair early in the season. Whatever your ability you will improve and have a great holiday that isn’t just about windsurfing.

Clyde Waite 

Local Beach: Southbourne
Years Windsurfing: 20
Last windsurf move cracked: Should be last windsurf move forgot!
Working on: Pushloops
Clyde is sponsored by Simmer Sails, Fanatic Boards, Reef Clothing and Boardseeker.com

Flying is the only option. There are as yet no direct flights from the British Isles to Cape Verde, butTACV-Cabo Verde Airlines will begin operating a direct flight between Birmingham and Praia (Island of Santiago) from November 2000. This will of course still mean taking an internal flight.

The fastest and cheapest route is via Portugal. Air Portugal (TAP) is the main European carrier to Cape Verde, and fly scheduled to Sal, Amilcar Cabral International from London Heathrow andGatwick via Lisbon. Flights to Sal leave late evening and return early the next morning.

TAP has high and low season fares in three price bands, with cheap seats selling to early bookers. Prices rise considerably after 9th December and drop again in January. We paid £460, booking as late as we could before the price rise on the 10th December, returning on the 12th February. We booked our flight through Travelocity. Generally we’ve found it slightly cheaper (£30) to book through an agent, as apposed to booking directly with an airline.

TACV also operates flights to several European cities. Check out Cape Verde Travel.

TAP Portugal:

Or try the following agents and compare prices with those of the airlines:

• Travelocity
• ebookers
• Just the Flight

Transfer from Airport

Book your accommodation from the UK and a pickup can be arranged for you for around 14 euros. Otherwise get a taxi (an alugar Hiace bus if you have kit). This should cost no more than 10 euros (1000$). It’s a twenty-minute journey to Santa Maria.

Package Deals

Check the links below for all-inclusive package deals to CV.

Taking your Own Kit:

I often try to put the thought of excess baggage to the back of my mind, but it never goes away and the harsh reality is that it can end up taking a significant chunk of your budget before you’ve even left the country. Now when we fly, we prefer the security of knowing beforehand the costs of excess baggage rather than the ‘will we, or won’t we get away without paying’, so flying with TAP suited that end.

TAP operate a fixed rate policy for certain sports equipment with surfboards costing €100 and windsurf boards costing €150. We took three boards, two sail bags (seven sails), two booms and a mast bag (six masts), weighing around 85 kilos and managed to get the whole lot through as surfboards, as the person on the check-in desk didn’t know the difference between a surfboard and a windsurf board. This cost us €300 one-way. Coming back, however, we were given a great tip: at the check-in desk, state that TAP has a policy allowing one windsurf board per person free and to call head office to validate this fact. This is obviously a policy TAP advertise little, because after calling head office, and much to the check-in person’s obvious horror seeing how much kit we had, our kit made it through free of any charge. We can’t guarantee this will work for everyone!

So what kit?

We took 9 sails from 4m to 5.5m sharing the quiver and three boards: a 70L Starboard Acid wave, 67L Mistral Beast wave, and a 78L RRD freestyle wave board. I weigh 67k and the Beast, a more traditional down-the-line board, was ideal in 4m to 5m conditions. I used Sam’s 70L Acid a few times to float out at some wave spots like Canoa with a 5.2m sail. The RRD was good on flatter days with a 5m to 5.5m sail. Ideally though, we could have done with a higher volume board at around 85/90L that would have been better for freestyle and blasting with a 5.8m sail.

What it Cost

Cape Verde lies within the northeast trade wind belt. The belt of high pressure in the Azores forces air to move towards the belt of low pressure air along the equator creating the prevailing north easterly trade wind that blows over Cape Verde consistently from October to June, but strongest from February to June. However, between November and February the NE trade wind near CV can become interrupted by the Harmattan wind from the Sahara giving more E to ENE Force 3-5. With high pressure over about 1030 hPa, the Harmattan can become very strong and because this wind blows off the Sahara it is dust-laden and can reduce visibility creating some very overcast and chilly days. The trade wind slackens in the summer.

Typical daily wind: The forecast proved to be pretty erratic while we were there with given forecasts not materializing. In general, the wind needs a forecast of 20/22kts for it to properly kick in at that strength. And although this sounds a little strange, a 15kt forecast just might not produce the wind. In which case expect to be on a 6m sail. Often the wind drops a few knots around 1pm, but increases again later.

So how much sailing can you expect to do?

We spent sixty days in CV, and although December wasn’t good for wind, Jan and Feb saw some good conditions with it blowing 20kts+ for five days straight; so in total we scored 34 planing days, three 6.0m days, eight 5.5m days, three 5.2m days, eight 5.0m days, four 4.7m days,two 4.5m days, two 4.2m days, and four 4.0m days. I weigh 67 kilos. If we’d had a larger volume board we could have sailed a few of the lighter days too. After we left on the 12th February it blew 20kts+ for virtually one and a half weeks with good swell. So Jan and Feb are definitely the best months to go.

Note: Some of the names of spots vary, and often have more than one name like “Salinas”. The beach at the east end of the bay where Planet Windsurf is situated doesn’t have a name and is often described as “Albatross” because of the hotel behind. But as that has now changed its name and, anyhow, is not very visible from the beach I have given the Leme Bedje hotel as a landmark.

Santa Maria

The main windsurfing area on Sal is at the southern end of the island at the small fishing town of Santa Maria. The bay here has a fine-grained, white sandy beach stretching for some 4km with general wind direction of left cross-off offering great windsurfing conditions from October to June, and includes the following spots:

1.Beach east end of bay (Leme Bedje)

This is the beach east of the town in front of the Leme Bedje hotel. Great spot to sail with the wind being left cross-off to crossshore. The wind is a bit messed up in front of the beach here because of the new buildings behind, but cleans up thirty or so metres offshore and is cleaner also as you sail up towards Ponta Leme. Depending on the swell this spot can be flat, or have waves from a foot to boom high wrapping around onto the beach. The waves, however, require a little work to make the most of them. It is advisable to use a slightly larger sail, than you might use sailing on the outside, for attacking these waves due to the gusty conditions. Watch some of the local guys make the waves look easy, like Sidnei, as he goita’s or 360’s off-the-lip, if you’re in need of a bit of inspiration.

2.Beach west end of bay (Mistral centre)

Sandy, rock-free beach great for beginners and blasting. Can get choppy at times when the wind is blowing more E and most prefer to sail upwind towards Ponta Leme Velho for the waves and freestyle/blasting conditions in cleaner wind, or towards Ponta do Sino for the waves there.

3.Ponta do Leme Velho

Where the beach ends to the left of Leme Bedje, the shoreline is boulders, with only one small bay as an exception, right through to Ponta Leme. From the beach you can sail upwind to Ponta Leme (usually just one or two tacks required) for the point break when the swell is up. You can also head outside beyond the point where there are often a few good ramps for jumping. When the waves work the swell is, in general, wind-generated but wraps around the point running perpendicular with the shore, creating waves of up to 2.5m. The wave is not long, being a point break. In order to get the best from the wave you have to cut in pretty close to the rocks, so keep an eye out for any submersed boulders. Here you can score a couple of nice bottom turns with some decent lips. Stick with the wave as it often reforms fifty metres further on, although again, you need to be tight into the rocks to make the most of it. Alternatively when there is less swell this area is excellent for its blasting and freestyle potential. The water state gets choppier the further off the shoreline you sail, but is still flat for the first 200-300 metres.

4. Salinas or Shark Bay “los tiburones” aka “Kite Beach”

Don’t get freaked by the name. No, not kite beach, but shark bay. Get a pickup to this location, which is on the north east side of Santa Maria and costs about 1000$. The best spot to start is at the northern end of the bay just in front of the house on the beach. Even on a small day, when there is little swell at Ponta Leme, there can be some fun-sized waves that are great for port tack jumping and reasonable starboard tack riding that break fifty metres from the shore over the reef. Either arrange for the pick up to return at a set time or you can sail back to Ponte Leme (a few km), as there can be better waves downwind. Good spot also for kiters although they sail further downwind so there is no conflict.

Heading now west of Santa Maria…

Ponta do Sino

This spot is at the far end of the bay, west of Santa Maria. Either sail the two kms downwind from Leme Bedje (depending where you’re staying) and get a pickup back, or you can sail it back. Get some starboard tack wave riding in front of the luxury yacht that ran aground and foundered here a few years ago. Shorebreak can be a bit dumpy.

Ponta do Preta

This spot is 1 km further on from Ponta do Sino. Surprised to find this spot introduced as a speed run or great for freestyle. When many of the other spots on the east and south coast are firing, Ponta Preta can be as flat as, and fun for blasting when other spots become too intimidating.

But forget flat water, what PP is all about is big waves. Ponta Preta offers the challenge of world-class waves and is the backyard of Josh Angulo, 2003 PWA world champion, and other regular visitors like Bjorn Dunkerbeck. The waves here are truly awesome and start to break a few hundred metres out from the black rocks and roll clean and hollow over a length of 300 metres until they hit the white sandy beach in the bay. These waves are definitely for those that know what they are doing. They are big and powerful and can easily reach 5m!! The cost of any mistakes is high. The rocks are sharp and gnarly and it may not be just your kit that pays. The wind can often be light and gusty adding to the difficulty factor. If this spot is beyond your limit you at least have to come and watch the pros ripping it up. The best direction for swell is N-NW, while any swell from the west produces faster waves. Swell needs to be minimum 1.5/2m for it to work here otherwise it’s flat. Get a pickup to this spot.

Rife das Tartarugas and Calheta Funda (Canoa)

These two spots are quite close to each other where the wind blows right cross-off to cross shore and are port tack wave riding locations. Take a pickup (should be no more than 2000$). These spots can be reached from the road leaving Santa Maria on the way to the airport. After about 11 km you will see a sign on the left pointing to Calheta Funda. This dirt road will take you to the small sanded beach at the southern end of Baia da Murdeira, with Monte Leão dominating the background. This is not a beginners spot, and requires some skill when big. The waves can reach three metres and are fairly fast. This break only works when the swell is 1.2m or more. Swell has to be generally from the NW. There is a small launch area to the right of the beach, where there is an opening in the reef. There is a channel here through the waves with a fair amount of suck that accelerates you out. You need to land in the same spot. There are two waves here. The right-hand wave is easier to ride as you can use the channel to exit the wave after two or three bottom turns. However, the left-hand wave will give you by far the better ride with the possibility of a two/three hundred metre, and more, ride with some good aerials. Choose the largest set as these will peak further out, and be ready to exit off the back once you’ve finished your ride. The whole shoreline is rocky and reefy and not a place you want to get washed. Highly recommended spot with great waves.

Rife

For the point break at Rife, head left at Canoa along the dirt road for about half a kilometre over the point until you come to two bays. Drive to either bay to launch, depending on wind direction. Launch from the sandy beach and sail out of the small bay for the waves. An excellent spot to sail.

If you fancy some pioneering type sailing there are certainly a few other spots, secret and otherwise, on the island. One secret spot is said to be larger than Punta Preta. It was certainly as big as PP the day we looked at it, but you will have to investigate these for yourself. 

The great thing about CV is that it offers waves and super-flat conditions to suit all levels of sailor and on occasion, at the same time.

West coast wave spots like Ponta Preta work best with a NW swell but westerly swell also works. A minimum of 1.5m is needed (1.5/2m at Ponta Preta). The swell is generated from Atlantic lows and hurricanes that hit America. Best time of year for this swell is mid-Jan to March.

Swell on the east coast is, in general, wind generated but wraps to create some nice waves at Ponta Leme Velho, Salinas and in the bay of Santa Maria. However any storm driven swell from the south can also produce some waves.

The Santa Maria bay can be described as flat to choppy to big chop depending on the swell and wind direction. At the eastern end, it can be super flat near the shoreline in N to NE winds but if there is too much easterly, it can get pretty choppy right across the whole bay.

There is definitely no shortage of instruction and kit hire in Santa Maria. If staying for long periods it is possible to work a deal for either kit storage or kit hire. Try one of these centres.

Planet Windsurfing

Located conveniently on the beach east of the town in front of the Leme Bedje. Rent North rigs and Fanatic boards. Normal rental: one week’s hire €200, two weeks €310, kit insurance €35, storage for one board, two rigs €59 one week (includes safety cover and full use of facilities). Provide instruction: 3hr beginner lesson incl. board €60.

Club Mistral

Located west end of town offering tuition for beginners, intermediate and advanced plus private lessons. Hires Mistral boards and North sails. One week’s hire €180, two weeks €300, storage for one board, two rigs and safety cover €50 one week. Comprehensive tuition packages.

Josh Angulo Centre

Located east of town just back from beach. Check this out for heaps of links for everything Cape Verde, hire and accommodation etc. Rents Ezzy sails and Angulo boards, such as the Amigu, Chango and Sumo. One week’s hire €195, two weeks €330, kit insurance €30. Kit can be taken away from the centre to other sailing locations. Instruction available. Kit storage possible.

Fun System

Located east of town next to Angulo Centre. Rents JP boards and Neil Pryde rigs. One week’s hire €185, two weeks €295, kit insurance €28, board storage €46 per week. Kit can be taken away from centre. Provide tuition.

Shops

There is little in the way of windsurfing kit shops. However, Josh Angulo’s surf clothing store offers a few of the basics like Neil Pryde booms, Ezzy sails and masts and fins, etc. Josh will also offer you the chance to demo some of his boards from his centre if you’re interested in buying. The other centres, like Planet Windsurf, also occasionally have some of the latest new boards, sails and masts for sale, so it’s worth asking around. There are a few other surf shops in town that sell some of the smaller accessories like harness lines and board repair kits.

In our view the best place to stay is at the eastern side of town (Zona Tanquinho), putting you close to the beach there, and the better sailing conditions. We stayed in an apartment on the main beach road with a view to the sea. That made it relatively expensive, but apartments are also available further back starting at €250 per week (from about €350 per month if staying for longer periods. Gas, electricity and water is extra on long lets, so budget an extra €50 a month). We arranged our accommodation through Kim Lark,owner of Aqui Sal, who is the only English letting agent in Sal.

Web: www.aquisal.com email:info@aquisal.com . Super-helpful and can sort most problems for you.

www.capeverdeportal.com - for self-catering rental apartments.

ApartHotels

Leme Bedje , at the eastern end of town. Complex of apartments directly opposite the main windsurfing beach. 48 apartments with small cooking corner. Single bed from €56, double €76 breakfast included. Restaurant. Rua 15 de Agosta; Tel: (00238) 421146; fax: (00238) 421684; email: lemebedje.caboverde@tiscalinet.it ; www.lemebedje.com

Aparthotel Santa Maria Beach at eastern end of town. 21 rooms, bath, balcony and sea view. Single room €34, double €48. Nice aparthotel in good position on beach road. Tel: (00238) 421450; fax: (00238) 421478; Email: santamaria_beach@yahoo.com.br

Sab Sab Hotel (Albatross) eastern end of town behind Angulo centre. Fifty rooms all with view of beach. Single room from €56, double €69. Tel: (00238) 421301; fax: (00238) 421161; Email:cabo.campo@cvtelecom.cv

Odjo d’Água Just east of the pier. Live it up at around €80 per night for some classy beach apartments. Tel: (00238) 421400 fax: (00238) 421415; email: odjodagua@mail.cvtelecom.cv

West of Santa Maria are the big touristy beach-resorts like Belo Horizonte , Morabeza , Crioulaand many others. Check Capeverdetravel for these hotels and more.

Restaurants

There are a large variety of restaurants in Santa Maria catering for most tastes from top restaurants like Odjo d’Áqua, to some great, local back-street ‘barbecue’ restaurants. Seafood dominates the restaurant menus with much of it caught fresh that day. You have to love fish to enjoy the food here. Yellow fin tuna, serra (wahoo) and smaller fish like garopa (reef fish) are the main catch. Good steak and other meat, such as chicken, are hard to find. The lagosta (cray), either grilled or in one of the many other ways it comes (seafood risotto), is worth trying if only once, although costs from 1200$ to 2500$.

The local food offers a variety of exotic dishes strongly influenced by African and Creole cooking. One of the local dishes is cachupa rica - a stew of hominy corn, beans and meat. Cachupa guisadabeing the best, which is just the beans fried with either tuna or fried egg on top.

Try the pinchos 150$ (fish or pork stick kebabs) and frango 150$ (chicken) that are cooked on a barbeque out front of the restaurant, where you can take a table. If concerned about becoming ill eating at some of the more ‘local’ restaurants it is worth considering that you may well get ill eating a lukewarm buffet at a good hotel, as opposed to well-cooked ‘street’ food.

Eating out you need to bear in mind that service Cape Verdian style is very chilled, and can take an hour or so.

Where to eat

Americo’s: Popular place with good seafood, and one of the few places with decent steak, although it is one the pricier restaurants. On the main street by the Calema bar. Slow service. Accepts visa.

Cretcheu: Recommended for their very good pizzas, pasta and starters. Well priced at around 800$. Close to the pier by Morabeza. Good service. Accepts visa.

Hibisco’s: Sumos and sushi bar. Good sushi and freshly made juices. Also own-made filet mignonburgers and chicken pie. Reasonably priced (juices 250$, sushi around 250$ portion). Located behind the cinema at the west end town.

Nha Ihla: Local, great little restaurant. Good place to fill up cheaply. Try the Cachupa guisada,carbonara and many fish dishes. Good service.

Tam Tam’s: Irish run cafe-style bar. Go for breakfast or just take a coffee. Well priced – goodhamburguer completo (egg, bacon, etc). Good service. Find on Rua Amilcar Cabral.

Kreoul: Try the lagosta either grilled or seafood style. Best chicken and chips (600$). Good menu. Reasonably priced. East of town by the stadium. Good service. Leonardo’s: Italian restaurant. Sit either upstairs on the balcony or in the courtyard. Try either one of the excellent fish dishes, roast pork loin, pizza or the Parma ham as an antipasto. More expensively priced. Good service. Find near the Angulo shop down a small road off the Caixa bank.

Nocturna: Great, well price food. Fish, seafood, chicken. Small but popular restaurant – the owners are very accommodating and will fit you in if busy. Good service.

Odjo d’Áqua: In need of a treat then check this place out. The restaurant is behind the hotel, set right at the waters edge, and is open to non-hotel guests. The food is excellent, but get there early (7/7:30) to get a table as it does get busy. Also go for breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and many other courses. Quite pricey, but not seriously so. Find behind the municipal market. Accept visa.

Sab Sab bar and Leme Bedje are both good places for a spot of mid-day ‘power eating’. Pizza, tuna paninis, etc. Just off the beach east of town.

The diet here is mainly protein and carbo based. Don’t expect to find too many vegetables. Most meals are accompanied with rice and chips. The best place to go if you are in need of some good quality green stuff (plus cheeses, salami, etc) is Americo’s, who run a deli under their restaurant. It’s expensive though.

There are plenty of bars at which to drink coffee. Coffee in CV is very good, due to the Italian influence, and most bars have big espresso machines.

Cost of living

Self-catering is limited due to the availability of food stuffs, and because what little is available is imported it’s quite expensive. It is generally cheaper to eat at some of the ‘local’ restaurants; otherwise you could be cooking tuna pasta every night. Most apartments come with hob but no oven. Bread, grogue, bananas and papaya (from street vendors) are some of the few cheap food items available. Food can be bought at mini mercados. Don’t expect much though.

Go to the pier (if just for the experience) where you can buy freshly caught fish straight from the boats. The fish is cheap and you can get them to clean it for you. Don’t expect to be able to buy any of the yellow fin though as most of it goes straight to the restaurants.

Two people can eat at a restaurant for a little as 1200$. Coffee 150$.
Other general costs: Bottled water costs 300$ 5L; French stick 30$; pack Pringles 450$; wine 800$.

Santa Maria isn’t a party town. However, there are still plenty of bars in which there is a sociable scene. If you stay east of the town start with a sun downer at the Leme Bedje happy hour where they serve ‘two for the price of one’ drinks (starts at 5:30pm) and/or the nicely placed Sab Sabbar next to the Angulo centre, which runs until 7:00pm (both 70m from the sea). Try a caipiriña, which is fresh lime juice, sugar, and grogue. Costs around 250$. The main beer is Sagres, either bottled or on tap. Bottled $150 at most bars and restaurants. The Sab Sab show windsurfing videos, and also hold movie nights.

Heading into town for a meal? On route try the local grogue. Grogue is distilled from sugarcane and can be a little rough on its own. Ponche is (literally a punch), made by adding honey and fruit, and much more drinkable. An evening wouldn’t be right without a stop at one of the small grogue shops around town and back streets of Santa Maria. It’s a chance to meet some of the local people, who we always found to be friendly. A shot of ponche costs around 50$.

If you have energy left try Tam Tam’s, Calema’s, the Chill Out bar, or one of the many other bars around town, where you can usually drink until midnight. Looking to offer yourself up as a wind sacrifice then Pirata’s (bar discoteca) kicks off after midnight .

Surfing

Ponta Preta: This wave has three sections and breaks vary in size. There are left and right handers and Apex frames. Ponta Preta is one of the best right handers in the world that breaks for 150 to 300m, wrapping into the bay, and starts working at 1.5m-2m/5ft-6ft and holds up to 4m+/12ft+. The best swell is from N-NW, whilst swell from the west produces faster waves. This wave is for the pros and the kamikaze with any mistakes resulting in serious pounding and visit to the rocky shore.

Ponton: Located between the pier and hotel Odjo d’Áqua. Has great small wave perfect for beginners to the right and a larger left hand 3/4 ft wave to the left. No current. Ideal for beginners, especially at high tide, the waves remain nice even when the rest of the bay is windy.

Other spots: Sal’s west coast has a succession of world class lefts and right surf spots on offer to the advanced surfer, many of which require a 4WD to get to. The secret spots you’ll have to work out for yourself, but start at Mont Leon, Ali Baba and Murdeira…

Ponta Preta surf watch: When Ponta Preta is working the word will go out – either take a taxi, or walk, but go watch Josh Angulo windsurfing, or surfing, and other local surfers ripping in some awesome surf.

Car hire: Rag a 4WD around the island, see the salt pans and take a bath in the concentrated saltwater atPedra de Lume, Buracona natural swimming pool and nearby the blue eye, an underground pool. It also worth checking out the other windsurf/surf spots around the island. It’s a great drive. This is the only country in which I’ve hired a car where off roading is actively condoned. There are few main roads to take you around Sal, and the only way to reach most surf spots, and tourist sites is via dirt tracks. However, half a day of bumping over corrugated surfaces soon sees off the initial excitement of off roading. Car hire from €45 to €65 per day, with an excess of €1000. Traffic drives on the right-hand side and an International Driving Licence is required.

There is a choice of rental through:

HERTZ RentaCar : Located at the Hotel Crioula. Email: hertz_sal@cvtelecom.cv Tel: 00 238 421661. Daihatsu Terios 4WD for €62 per day.

ALUCAR : Email: alucarslrc@cvtelecom.cv Tel: 421187 book through places like Sab Sab hotel.

Quad biking: Take a guided tour and see the spots. Can be arranged through most hotels. 1 person €40, 2 person €60 for a 2 ½ hour trip.

Rent a scooter: €15 2hr, €25 4hr, €35 9hr.

Kite surfing: Sal is becoming a popular location for kiting with exclusive spots like “kite beach” there is, as yet, little conflict between the sports. There are a number of places offering kite hire and lessons.

Deep sea fishing and boat trips: Grouper and yellow fin tuna are plentiful inshore off Sal and Boa Vista and further out marlin, wahoo, barracuda and tiger shark can be caught in Cape Verde waters. Bookable through many hotels or wander down to the pier and book there for as little as €35 for three hour trip on a catamaran and if you’re lucky you’ll come across some dolphins.

Marine turtles: The turtle is the national symbol of Sal, and every year, from late May to September, more than 3,000 loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) come ashore on Cape Verde’s beaches, with Salinas on Sal being one of their last breeding grounds. The area is now protected from any further development within 300m of the beach. If you’re lucky enough to come across any remember that these species are endangered and under great pressure from tourism.

Diving: Diving in crystal-clear warm Cape Verde water reveals brilliantly coloured reef fish and there are three wrecks off Santa Maria at 10m to explore.

Take a trip to one of the other islands: TACV – Cabo Verde Airlines is the main domestic carrier. There’s a network of expensive daily internal flights between the islands; Praia, Mindelo and Sal. Private charters are available from Cape Verde Express air-taxi service.

Barracuda Tours can organise many of the above activities for you including trips to other islands like Boa Vista.

Local culture

Although the official language is Portuguese, Crioulo is the language most widely spoken, which is a blend of Portuguese and West African languages. With Crioulo not being a written language, and few phrase books available it can be confusing trying to learn the language and communicate. However, using Portuguese or Spanish seems to be enough. For a list of useful Crioula words and phrases check the back of the Bradt Guide to CV.

Apart from fishing, the islanders’ main source of food and income, music also plays a key role in Cape Verdeans’ life, with international artists like Cesaria Evora.

Money

Few hotels and even less restaurants accept credit cards so it may be better to pay for accommodation in advance. You will need either Euros (€) or Cape Verdian Escudos ($/CVE) to pay. Car hire companies, and those providing excursions do accept credit cards, but for everything else you will need cash. You can change travellers’ cheques at one of the two banks in Santa Maria (Caixa and Banco Atlantico). There are also ATM’s at the western end town. Commission is approx 500$ and is charged based on the denomination i.e. if you have e.g. €200 and €100 cheques it will cost you 1000$, so try and get one denomination. Also, some branches apply some unfair charges, for example, you will charge again if the serial numbers on the cheques are not consecutive! Cape Verdian Escudos are only available in Cape Verde. If you bring Euros it is possible to change money at a friendly bar, which may give a better rate of exchange than spending euros in stores.

Banking and business hours: Banks 08:00-14:00 Monday to Friday; Shops  08:00-12:00 and 15:00-19:00 Monday to Saturday.

Health

No vaccinations are required for entry to Cape Verde, however it is recommended that precautions be taken against cholera, typhoid fever, polio and Hepatitis B. Water is unsafe to drink without prior treatment. Medical facilities are limited and some medicines in short supply. Visitors receive free hospital treatment in general hospitals on presenting their passports, but health/travel insurance is strongly advised, with coverage for emergency repatriation.

Crime

Wherever there is a huge disparity between the wealthy and poor there is inevitably some crime and it is no different here in Cape Verde. The same rule applies: don’t leave valuables on display and bags on the beach. There had been a spate of crime while we were there with opportunistic individuals climbing in through open windows and making off with whatever they could. It is advisable while there to not sleep with windows open or leave doors open even though you might be in the apartment.

There are some secluded areas in and around Santa Maria and generally it’s pretty safe when out in the evening but like anywhere try not to wander around alone.

It is rare for windsurfing kit to be stolen in CV, as there is no way of getting it off the island, and anything that is stolen is quickly located and the individual is ‘black listed’.

Phones and Internet

If you use Vodaphone, Orange or O2 you will be able to use your mobile phone in Cape Verde. Internet is widely available in most hotels. Try the Cyber Café near Calema’s where you can use their machines or plug in your laptop. Connection is broadband, so there is no problem sending those great pictures of you sailing Ponta Preta to all your mates. About 300$ an hour to use a laptop.

Much as we loved Cape Town, we went to Sal in search of a less hectically windy and less crowded venue, where we wouldn’t be changing location, because it had become blown out, and changing down sail size every two hours! Sam wanted some wave riding without being stupidly overpowered all the time. In terms of wind Sal definitely fulfilled this desire, there was rarely a day in Jan or Feb when we weren’t planing on the same sail all day. And crowded? Not really. There might have been about 40 sailors out at its busiest (Leme Bedje beach) but as the sailing is so spread out across the sailing areas you certainly were never fighting for somewhere to even gybe like at Big Bay, in CT. Sal has been one of the most chilled places I’ve sailed for its lack of crowds. But in terms of waves, we would have liked some more wave action.
In reality, although the waves we had were great the NW swell only worked a couple of times in the time we were there and often when the swell was working the wind was a little light. That said, we had to leave early Feb and a long period of swell kicked in for about two weeks after. So that was just our bad luck. If we’d stayed to the end of Feb we would have felt differently. As it was we left with the feeling that we’d not quite had enough time in the waves. We’d certainly give it another shot but perhaps for a shorter trip and on the strength of a good forecast, in or around February, which definitely seems the best month for swell. But overall Sal has proved itself to be ideal for the wave hungry with some quality waves, as well as offering perfect blasting conditions from the beginner through to advanced. Other islands such as Boa Vista also boast excellent conditions for both wave riding and blasting, which certainly will be the subject of future visits.

Your long stay tourists were… Stew and Sam of the Aqua Sports Company in Surrey.

Local beach in UK: Shoreham, Hayling.

Time sailing: 14 years and 11 years.

Last move cracked: back loop for Stewie, and monkey gybe for Sam.

What we’re working on: everything for Stewie, and back loops for Sam.

Your two-week tourists were… Josie Gibson andPaul Gliddon, who currently live in Southampton.

Local beach in UK: Hill Head, Lepe, Boscombe.

Time sailing: 13 years for Paul, and 1 year for Josie.

Last move cracked: spock for Paul, and waterstart and gybe for Josie.

What we’re working on: everything for Paul, and forward loop for Josie!

Article written by Stew. Photos and movies were taken by Josie Gibson and Stew.

Fly into Hurghada or Mars Alam. The transfer from Hurghada takes about one hour, from Mars Alam about two hours. Taxis are available for this transfer if it’s not part of your package. You can also fly from Cairo on Egypt Air which operates five flights a day between Cairo and Hurghada.

Airlines that fly to Hurghada:

• British Airways,
• Airtours,
• Lufthansa

Most windsurfers go on a package holiday to Safaga. Try www.sportif.travel or phone them on +44 (0) 1273 844914

The Safaga wind is basically a thermal wind which increases in strength with the temperature different between Cairo and Luxor. This is most prominent in the summertime. Therefore the most regular winds are from March to the end of November with wind speeds between a Force 4 to 7. The best month in this period is September. In December & January the wind is a bit more inconsistent, but still up to a Force 4 for 40% to 50% of the time. February brings very strong winds from the desert but they are mainly cross offshore. During the season Safaga has two wind directions; in the morning it’s cross offshore but from lunch time onwards it goes side shore, all from the LEFT.

Local wind forecast: www.windfinder.com

Tobia Island: The Island is a little known sand bank located in the middle of Safaga Bay surrounded by coral reefs. The windsurf centres runs excursions to the island and you can windsurf the 3.5km across to it.

Safaga doesn’t have pure flat water – it’s always a bit choppy, but it can actually get quite good waves. It all depends on the strength of the wind but in a good blow you can get waves up to 1.5 metres at some parts of the bay. In normal wind conditions the waves are perfect for freestyle and chop hops.

Club Mistral has their oldest and largest centre worldwide in Safaga. It is the main windsurfing centre in Safaga. Their Mistral boards include the NTrance, Explosion, Screamer, Joker, Syncro and Beast. The sails are North including the Voodoo, Duke, Disco and Crossfire ranges. You can check out all their prices for pre-booked holidays here: » Club Mistral

(To turn up on the day, the prices are about 10% higher)

Taking own kit

Club Mistral will let you store your own kit for £35 per week. You will be charged £15 to transfer your kit from the airport.

There are several along the beach but with varying standards. The Shams Hotel has recently been re-furbished and is probably the best of the lot. 
» Shams Safaga.

You can stay on an all-inclusive or half board package. The accommodation consists of a main hotel building and bungalows all with sea views right in front of Club Mistral. You can book through www.sportif.travel or www.club-mistral.com.

Cost: £400-£500 per week, half board with flights & transfer and kit hire.

The other hotel to recommend is the Sol Y Mar(Safaga Palace) which is a 5 min walk down the beach to Club Mistral. Prices with Sportif start from £444 per week.

Others

Lotus Bay Hotel: lotusbay.com
Holiday Inn: www.ichotelsgroup.com

There are a few restaurants available in Safaga but the majority are located in Hurghada which, on the new highway, takes less than 40 minutes to drive to.

There is a supermarket just outside Shams Hotel but most windsurfers eat in the hotels for dinner.

Safaga has one “bar”, so if you’re after nightlife, head to Hurghada.

Try kitesurfing

If you must, then go to www.myskyriders.com

You can get a 6 hour beginner lesson for 185 euro!

Go diving

The Red Sea is one of the most famous diving destinations in the world. You can also go snorkelling to Tobia Island with the following company.

Go to: www.shams-dive.com

Take a trip to Luxor

Go to www.sultanatours.net

Play golf

For golfers there is the Cascades golf course in Soma Bay, a Championship18 hole course a 20 minute drive away.

Go to: www.somabay.com

Get a massage

Go to the Spa & Thalasso Centre also in Soma Bay – perfect for those aching windsurf shoulders.

Go to: www.somabay.com

Safaga is well established as a place to go for consistent thermal winds and conditions to suit all levels. The original Red Sea gem!

Report by Boardseeker with help from Wolfgang Svoboda, Center Manager of Club Mistral Safaga.

There are many charter & schedule flights to Sharm el Sheikh. From there the transfer is about one hour by transfer bus which can also transport your kit if required.

The centre has since 2007 been taken over and completely updated by Oceansource.net who can be contacted direct on  1243 374615  for all-inclusive ground packages. Flight-only prices vary between £250 – £500 and can be booked direct with the following airlines:

Easyjet - www.easyjet.com
First Choice – www.firstchoice.co.uk
Thomson – www.thomsonfly.com
Thomas Cook – www.thomascook.com
Air France – www.airfrance.com
Alitalia – www.alitalia.com
British Airways – www.ba.com

The wind is thermal and the peak windy times are between May and November, but the wind stats show that this is a good all-year-round venue.

The wind is cross-off where you launch from the windsurf centre. It increases during late morning, with early afternoon being the strongest and then it decreases a force or two by mid/late afternoon.

There is not much tide and the launch is from a sandy beach. With the wind being cross-off the water is very flat inside the bay. If you want more bump & jump then you can sail out to the swell outside the bay. However, please note that the wind can be slightly different strength outside the bay, sometimes stronger, sometimes a little less, but generally a lot more stable. It will take you a couple of upwind runs to get back to the centre from the bump & jump area.

The Wave Beach

You can get a taxi (ie. a pick up truck) which will drive you 1-2km up the road to the wave beach. Again it is a sandy launch with the waves cross-on, starboard tack rather like the south coast of the UK (think West Wittering). The waves build with the wind, so later in the day they can be better although its worth noting the wind is usually at its best between 10am-3pm, so you don’t want to wait too late! You can either sail back to the centre or get the taxi back. Be sure to get the correct route out if you’re sailing back as there is a reef following the shoreline on the way back to the centre, easy when you know where it is but for first timers always get local advice before you go.

There are two windsurf centres (one British, one Russian) and one kitesurfing school attached to the Russian centre. The British centre has RRD boards, covering a range of Wave, freestyle wave, freestyle and freeride boards The sails are Severne, Ezzy and Tushingham, with sizes from 3.5- 8m, all rigged on skinny’s or 75% carbon SDM’s. There is rescue cover and a look out at all times. Instruction is from Centre Managers Phil, Danielle and the other European staff. You can also go on a clinic in El Tur, with many of the pro coaches choosing it as a location to run their courses.

Taking your own kit

The centre is well stocked so there really isn’t any need to bring your own gear. However, should you feel the need to do so, then we would recommend boards between 85-110 ltr and sail sizes between 4.0-6.0m.

This is at the Moses Bay Hotel. The windsurf centre is located within the grounds.

The hotel is basic but all 56 rooms have air conditioning, satellite TV, showers and fridges, for those cold beers!!

A new hotel is set to open shortly at the wave beach which is expected to be of a higher standard and consist of 24 detached suites (photo left of work in progress). This hotel sits right on the wave beach and will suit more advanced windsurfers and kitesurfers.

We were on half board; breakfasts consist of authentic Egyptian and Continental, evening meals are a buffet with selection of various Egyptian & European dishes.

Lunch can be ordered from the beach bar at the windsurf centre for around £4. There are no other restaurants in the area. other than in town

Make your own! However, if there are any Polish staying in the hotel you are assured of a party! If you do want some organised night life, head to Sharm el Sheikh, an hour away.

Alternatively, El Tur town centre offers a true Egyptian experience untouched my tourism where you can eat delicious fresh seafood, kebabs, falafils all rinsed down with a local cup of tea and a shisha without ever feeling intimidated or short-changed.

The centre has some SUPs for rent and there is good snorkeling available on the surprisingly impressive local reefs (no wind days only).

Activities further afield include sunrise at Mount Sinai, a Bedouin dinner in the desert, an evening or diving in Sharm el Sheikh or a visit to Egypt’s stunning National Park, Ras Mohammed.

All can be arranged through the Moses Bay Hotel.

A laid-back, bohemian windsurfing experience for those wanting to get away from mass tourism. Most of the windsurfers stay inside the harbour and close to the centre so it is rarely crowded. The wave beach is a great place to practice your onshore wave riding and jumps with very little tide and rip to worry about so staying upwind was not a problem.

This is fantastic venue offering so many various water states, with the conditions being on offer most of the year.

To be full ATOL protected, contact Sportif for package holidays including hotel, flights, transfers with prebooking rental and instruction to guarantee availability.

Plane

The main airport is Heraklion which has daily charter and scheduled flights from most European cities with flight costs between £100-£300 (140-430 euros) depending on the time of the year. From Heraklion it is a two and a half hour drive to Palekastro. There is also a bus service, which will take you from Heraklion to Palekastro; it goes approximately every 2 and a half hours and costs 14 Euros.

Recommended airlines:

• Easy Jet, Two flight a day
• Thomsons

Rental Car Cost: around 175€ per week

• www.athenscars-crete.gr
• www.west-crete.com
• www.crete-car-rentals.gr

Ferry/Car

There are many alternative routes to get down to Greece depending on where you’re starting from. We’ll leave you to browse the web for that but this website is a good place to start for that final hop over to Crete - www.allgreekferries.com. The port of Sitia is closest to the resort but Heraklion is the main port with more routes.

Palekastro is a meltemi spot. The wind increases its power through a local thermal and a funnelling effect. It blows side shore from the left and blows anywhere between a Force 4 and Force 7. During the summer season (May – October) this averages out at a nice Force 6 with the most used sail being between 4.5 and 5.3m. The wind blows the whole day and starts to drop down at 5pm.

Secret Spot

Faneromenis Beach is 45mins drive from Kouremenos Bay. The wind is not as consistent but when it happens some say it is the best wave spot in Greece. However, it is a tricky place to sail with lots of kit breaking potential. Not surprisingly, the Freak Windsurf Station does NOT let you take their kit there. However, they will provide lots of tips for sailing there on your own kit.

Flat-water near the shore, small choppy waves further out. Temperature wise you’ll be sailing in 20 degrees in May up to 25 degrees in August, so definite rash vest & shorts weather.

You can take lessons & hire JP boards and Neil Pryde sails from the Freak Surf Station which is open from 10th May through to 20th October (2009). The centre teaches from beginner to those wanting to learn spock 540’s!

Lesson Prices:

Beginner Course including kit –30 € per hour
Step Course (4 hours) including kit – 110 €
Step Course (4 hours) excluding kit –80€
Private Lesson (1 hour) excluding kit –40 €
Private Lesson (1 hour) including kit – 50

Kit Hire at Freak Surf Centre (€)

Notes:

The high tech package allows you to rent a more expensive model of board. On both packages you can change the board during your stay for no extra cost.
If your partner also windsurfs then you can share the board & only pay 50% extra. Insurance is an option at 35 euro per week.

The centre often has low season deals. For 2009 these were between 10th May – 15th June and 15th Sept to 20th Oct.

Private Storage of kit:

• 1 week 65€
• 2 weeks 90€
• 3 weeks 115€
• 9 days 75€

For more info: office@freak-surf.com OR phone (0030) 6979 253861

Camping

There are no official camping sites in north-east Crete, however, free camping has been tolerated in the past, even though it is illegal in Greece. Try it at your own risk.

Holiday Apartments

1. Glaros Apartments 

These are situated right by the long beach of Kouremenos. The apartments are surrounded by olive trees and enjoy a sea view. There are 3 studios for 2 people and 3 apartments for 2-4 people all with sunny verandas.

2. Cassa Di Mare Apartments

Situated in a quiet olive grove with swimming pool. 150m from Kouremenos Beach and 300m from the Freak Surf Station. The complex of two buildings consists of six apartments, each apartment with a large balcony.

3. Flamingo Apartments

The impressive new Flamingo complex is situated in the small traditional village of Agathias, between Palekastro and Hiona Beach. About a 20 minute walk from the station and 2 minutes by car. The apartments are of a high standard and apart from two studios every apartment has a view of Kouremenos Beach.

4. Castri Village

This is near Kouremenos Beach on a hill with a spectacular view, 300m from the sea and 2km away from the village of Palekastro. The complex has 15 apartments up to 4-5 beds and 17 studios up to 2-3 beds, fully furnished with big verandas. For relaxing there is a restaurant, swimming pool, and pool bar.

5. Hellas Hotel

This hotel is situated in the middle of Palekastro town, right next to the main square. It provides 24 beds in newly renovated single and double rooms. You can just have the room or B&B.

6. Dretakis Villas

These three villas, built in traditional Cretan style, are situated on the slope of a hill with a spectacular view of Kouromenos Beach and the surrounding mountains.

Accommodation costs: 15€ to 35€ per person. For more information & to book contactoffice@freak-surf.com or sales@roho.co.uk

Palekastro is an authentic, friendly village – like Greece was 20 years ago. It is still a secret spot hidden far from mass tourism. Eating out is the cheapest option in Palekastro. You will not pay more than 12€ per person including drinks.

» Here is a list of a selection of restaurants for you hungry hikers.

1. Glaros, Kouremenos Beach Front

Beautiful setting in the olive trees overlooking the sea, serving fresh Cretan food, good for lunch and dinner as it is just by the surf station.

Price: 15€ with Drinks

2. Pablo Tavern, Kouremenos Beach

Conveniently set just behind the surf station and great for a quick snack at lunchtime.

Price: 8€

3. Hiona, Hiona Beach

Very romantic, quaint setting – authentic Greek Style with lots of fish.

Price: 20€

4. Mythos, Village Square, Palekastro

Friendly, family atmosphere, traditional Cretan food, this is where to go to soak up the local village life. Try the fish soup.

Price: 9€

5. Gyros, Opposite Mini Market On Way To Kouremenos Beach, Palekastro

The ultimate Greek kebab.

Price: 4€

6. Itanos, Village Square, Palekastro

Basic Restaurant in the middle of Palekastro with great whole grilled chicken cooked on the grill.

Price: 10€

7. Finistrini, Opposite Mini Market On Way To Kouremenos Beach, Palekastro

Great Cretan food with a twist. Run by two lovely couples. Try the sarikopita, hot aubergine pies with feta, aubergine slippers, seafood pasta and Yirourtlou.

Price: 10€

8. Hellas

Village Square, Palekastro. Newly refurbished restaurant, great outside seating to enjoy your meal.

Price: 10€

9. Vaios, Agathia Village

Superb home cooked food. There are no menus – you chose your food directly from the kitchen. The octopus is good.

Price: 15€

10. Maridati, Maridati Beach – On The Way To Vai Beach

A beautiful setting in the middle of a wild landscape with concerts every Friday and Saturday night.

Price: 25€ with Drinks

11. Balcony, Sitia

Funky, stylish restaurant in the side streets of bustling Sitia, offering a different cuisine – Chinese to Mexican. Try the mixed fajitas.

Price: 25€

Easy going night life with a few bars in the village and one disco plus lots of beach parties in high season. If you want a hardcore night out join the Freak Surf crew to Sitia (20min by car/15€ taxi/ 4€ bus). They go at least once a week!

The local beer is Mythos (2€ each).

1. Toplou Monastery: Impressive 14th century monastery with a museum and café.

2. Vai Beach: The largest natural palm grove in the whole of Europe, with crystal-clear waters.

3. Valley of the Dead: A two hour walk through the beautiful gorge (with marked out rock climbing possibilities) and at the end you reach the tiny fishing village of Kato Zakros, where you can have lunch at the fish taverns.

4. Chrissi Island: A boat leaves Ierapetra (1 hour drive away) in the morning and after an hours cruise you reach the uninhabited island of Chrissi renowned for it’s beautiful white sand beaches. There is a tavern for lunch and drinks and the boat comes back late afternoon.

5. Finally: Mountain biking can be arranged through the Freak Surf Station.

This spot offers the perfect wind conditions, loads of sailing hours and is in a really beautiful unspoilt area – what more do you want! 

With thanks to Hannes and Davina from the Freak Surf Station for helping us with the Travel Feature to Palekastro.

Sportif (www.sportif.travel) can help you book your travel, accommodation and gear rental.

By plane: The main airport is Mytilini, which has daily charter and scheduled flights from Athens and some European cities. Flights are between £100 and £300 depending on season. It is a two hour transfer time from the airport to Sigri (taxi, bus or rental car).

Airline from UK: British Airways
Airline from Athens: Aegean Arlines

Transfer from the airport to Sigri:

• Taxi from the airport to Sigri (one way: 100-120 €)
• Rental car: from 175 € per week (www.lesvoscar.com;www.alfarentacar.gr)
• Bus service: Leaving from Mytilini or Sigri twice a day; From Mytilini: at 11.00 am and 1.15 pm From Sigri: at 2.30 pm and 6.00 pm;

By ferry: The best connection is the ferry from Thessaloniki (Northern Greece) to Sigri (30 € per person). Also ferries from Athens (Pireaus) to Mytilini. Lavrio (South of Athens) is only 15 km away from Athens airport and it takes you 8 hours to get to Sigri.

Blue Star from Thessaloniki and Helenik Seaways from Athens. (www.ferries.gr)

Meltemi is the name of the summer wind (thermal wind) in the Aegean Sea and it always comes from north-northwest. The wind blows from May to October. Normally Force 2-3 in the morning and gets stronger during midday (about force 4-7). On some days the Meltemi can even reach up to force 8-9.

Wind Stats (force 4+): May: 60% / June 70% / July 80% / August 85% / September 70% / October 65%

Water state: Flat water in the bay, small chop further outside. On stronger days, there are waves in the channel (very close to the surf centre)

There are 5 spots within 5km:

Sigri bay: The Sigrisurf Windsurf center is situated on the north end of the bay. The wind blows side-offshore so the water is very flat in front of the centre. It’s an ideal spot for cracking gybes and flat water freestyle. There is an island called Nissiopi opposite the centre that makes the bay very safe – going downwind does not mean you are blown out to sea. There is a channel between the island and Sigrisurf that produces waves.

Faneromeni: Faneromeni beach is only 2km away from Sigri and is definitely worth the journey. It is a very long, sandy beach with a special bar that has a very personal Greek touch. The wind comes from the right and can produce waves up to 1.5m.

Limena 1 and 2: Limena beaches are in the south of Sigri. Both beaches consist of very nice sandy bays with shallow water and side-on wind. The water is very flat near the beach but further outside it is choppy. Both beaches are well known for their very consistent wind.

Andromaki: An onshore beach break with the wind from the right. Waves get up to 2.5m. It is a beautiful, sandy bay with a fantastic view.

www.sigrisurf.com
info@sigrisurf.com

The SigriSurf Windsurf Centre has all the latest equipment from RRD and Simmer Sails as well as mountain bikes and SUP Boards. There are also sun-loungers and a nice bar where you can get a drink

Hotel Orama

Small hotel that give a very personal service. It serves a great breakfast and has a big outdoor pool. It is only 800m from the water’s edge.
Contact: oramahotelsigri@yahoo.gr

Villas Anastasia

Very close to the water (only 20 metres). Only a stone’s throw away from the SigriSurf Centre. Plenty of space for the whole family. It’s perfect for people who want to cook themselves or who want to be very close to the centre.
Contact: info@villa-anastasia.de

Sigrion Villas

Idea for families. 2 floor apartments with plenty of space and a great outdoor pool. Only 700m from the water’s edge.
Contact: sigri4rent@yahoo.gr

Aeolis Maisonettes

Ideal for families. 2 floor apartments with a separate bedroom. There is a balcony with a sea-view and it’s 600m from the beach.

Evangelia Apartments

Evangelia offers you either studios or apartments. Perfect for 2-4 people sharing and 800-900m from the beach.
Contact: sigri4rent@yahoo.gr

Although Sigri is quite small there are seven restaurants in the centre. “Remezo” is definitely worth the visit but also the restaurant at the harbour is a great choice for those in the know. Both restaurants have a picturesque view and serve delicious fresh seafood like lobster, fish or calamari. The rest of the village is well known for its delicious sea-food.

There are two small supermarkets where you can stock up on Greek delicacies like cheese, olive oil or local olives. Sigri also has a bakery that offers cheap, tasty bread. There is also the Sigri vegetable van which brings fresh fruit and vegetables to the village every day.

For those on a budget, we would recommend eating local fresh fish and buying and cooking your own food from the supermarket.

There are three bars in Sigri, one of the best is the Sunset bar where you can party away until sunrise. If you want more than that, you can go and party in Eressos – 20 minutes away from Sigri by bus or car.

It’s worth going to check out the Petrified Forest, Petra, the harbour of Mytilini or the picturesque Molivos with its markets, antique souvenir shops and Greek taverns.

Sigri offer some great mountain biking. You can hire bikes at the Sigrisurf Centre. If you are renting your gear there, you are also free to use the SUP boards – perfect for exploring the coastline.

There are some fantastic beaches in Sigri, so it is an ideal place just to hang out and sunbathe!

Local Events

This (2011) season Sigrisurf are running:

• Tricktionary Camp with Michael Rossmeier (author of Tricktionary)
• Go Fast Camp with Marcel Simon in June
• Freestyle Camp with Andraz Zan (PWA freestyler)

Greece as it was in the 60s. Traditional lifestyle; flat water and waves; four spots in 5km and beautiful, clean, empty beaches!

Name: Bastian Fischer
Local beach: Achensee
How many years sailing: 10 years
Last windsurf move you cracked: Spock
What you’re working on now: Back Loop