Windsurfing Tarifa
ely...@bellatlantic.net
Just got back from Spain a few days ago with a brief sidetrip to
Tarifa. With two days available to sail, I was able to sail just one
afternoon for about 45 minutes with a 5.7 sail and 91 liter board at
the Mistral Center next to the Hurricane Hotel. The winds were
poniente at the time (from the west) and there were some fairly nice
chest high waves breaking close to the beach in water that was a bit
too shallow and windshadowed. It's a beautiful place with lots of
potential for some great sailing, and not just the typical flat water
that the place is so well known for.
My question is this, who in this group is familiar with sailing in
Tarifa during the winter? One of the Mistral center employees told me
that there were mast high waves and 3.5 wind the week before. Can
Tarifa go off in the winter as a potential wavesailing destination with
somewhat consistent wind? And what's the sailing like in wave places
like Canas de Meca? Are there only waves when the wind is poniente?
And do waves break far enough away from the shore to have decent water
depths and exposure to the wind?
I have lots of questions. If any of you have winter wavesailing
experiences in Tarifa, please share! I usually spend Christmas in
Cabarete and was wondering if it's any more consistent in Tarifa.
Thanks!
Ely
Alan
Alan
--
Windsurfing Club: http://www.ibscc.org
<ely...@bellatlantic.net> wrote in message
news:1136408573....@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
LeeD
Anyways, it's not wavesailing, it's sailing along a swell caused by
local wind, more bump and jump in straight onshore waves.
For true wavesailing, you need side-sideoff wind directions, waves
coming straight in 90 degrees to wind.
Like Hookipa, Davenport, Cayucos, Backyards, Moks on Easterlies,
PSCarlos, Tunnels/Dumptrucks, and plenty of undiscovered, but seldom
coming together spots....
ely...@bellatlantic.net
As I mentioned,
Poniente=wind from the west
Sorry it wasn't that clear. By the way, the other wind is Levante,
from the east.
I disagree with what you said Lee, and I think I know what I'm talking
about. After all I've spend about 6 weeks a year (February, April and
August) in Maui for the last 7 years. First of all, you can have
decent wavesailing when the wind is not directly side to side off.
Just ask the guys that kill it in onshore wave places. It's just a
matter of adjusting technique. Secondly, the wind at Tarifa is side
shore-- a south facing beache coupled with east/west winds.
Thanks for your comments guys. I was trying to direct my post to
sailors who know Tarifa in winter conditions.
Ely
LeeD
Side onshore is Euro waves sailing, done riding waves backside,
shoveit's OTL's, and mostly jumping and loops heading out.....
But you know it all, so nothing surprises you.
Florian Feuser /FF/
> But you know it all, so nothing surprises you.
A pleasant surprise for most of us would be if you kept your fingers off
the keyboard for once, especially when someone asks about conditions at
a location you have obviously never visited.
/FF/
LeeD
And you have to ride every board before you can comment on it, use
every sail before you can answer anything about it, and it's possible
to tell you which Formula board is going to be the fastest next
year.....
You don't like my answer, just ignore my ignorant rants!
Florian Feuser /FF/
I am trying, but you seem bent on wasting my bandwidth with your
opinions about every single venue or piece of WS equipment regardless of
your lack of personal experience therewith. oops... complicated word.
Florian
kike
I would post in the Starboard forum, actually in the Spanish Starboard
forum, some locals from Tarifa post there, even better, if your spanish
is OK post at www.totalwing.net, lottsa wavesailors from southern Spain
there. I can't be of help since I've done all my windsurfing in Cali
after moving from Spain about five years ago but my understanding is
that Tarifa and Caños de Meca are not that consistent for winter
wavesailing, you can get skunked. Again, try www.totalwing.net, if
writing in spanish is a problem let me know and I will post in your
name.
madspaniard
Dan Weiss
thought. He lives in Tarifa and knows it as well as anyone. Or at
least better than someone else.
-Dan
kike
ya know, wind, wing, winter...gosh darn english
madspaniard
Dan Weiss
rule that one should adjust equipment to suit one's own needs and
conditions ("Ignore sailmakers printed specs, just outhaul and downhaul
till the sail barely touches the boom") or golden nuggets like that for
which you have a worldwide following ..er, reputation. Not that
generalizations have no place, but harldy consistent with your oft
repeated ethos of dishing advice outside presumed definitions.
Wavesailing is like windsurfing, lots of things to lots of people.
Backside riding certainly qualifies. See Robby Naish sailing Lanes on
his video RIP. You can also check out Kevin Pritchard tearing the
faces of Euro-waves in dead onshore conditions, a distinctly common
condition in most of the world, which says nothing about the challenge
or even the raw size and power of the waves. I mean, holy crap, if
it's onshore at Peahi would you still say onshore is not wavesailing?
Seems to me that the best wavesailors can sail most any wave in most
any direction.
In the spirit of Wardog, feast your eyes on these wavesailing pics from
Tarifa, none of which are onshore:
http://www.tarifaspinout.com/assets/images/esp3.jpg
http://www.tarifaspinout.com/ assets/images/esp4.jpg
http://www.windtarifa.com/admin/images/windsurf.jpg
http://www.windsurfing.qc.ca/pp/article/Voyages/tarifa4.jpg
http://www.loftsails.com/photo/05-lipw-01/index.php?zdjecie=02
http://www.loftsails.com/photo/05-lipw-01/index.php?zdjecie=04
LeeD
Is that the same beach, or is Tarifa a general area with several
different beaches depending on wind direction or sailor preference.
EVERY spot has it's day. That's pretty crappy conditions for wave
sailing done by pros, especially by pros.
You could easily pull up better pics of wavesailing at the spots I
named, Sardinia, Spain, Portugal, and of course, Morocco.
All this talk about nothing. We're not there.
And that IS crappy conditions for wavesailing!
JM
the point anyway? That's the decision I came to regarding Mr. Lee and
my local spot a while back.
Tarifa has some great wave sailing. Bolonia nukes sideoff and gets
decent swell from time to time, and Canas de Meca is pretty
consistently decent for sideshore wavesailing. My issue with both is
the port tack thing... I'm not used to that :) I've never sailed
there in the winter, but a good friend of mine has quite a bit... I'll
point him in the direction of your post.
JM
kike
They are all different beaches/spots along the same stretch of coast
(Almeria and Cadiz):
* Zahara de los Atunes
* Caños de Meca
* Bolonia
* Tarifa (wide beach)
* Cortadura
* Sancti Petri
* Barrosa
* Retin
* Cadiz Bay
You really have plenty of good spots in the area, and beautiful ones.
madspaniard
Ed
outbound tack. I agree that you don't have to have side or side-off
winds for wavesailing, you can do it in onshore winds like you can here
in No Cal. Backside waveriding or local windswell riding isn't real
wavesailing, though. You can do it for short periods of time, and it's
fun, but it doesn't beat true down-the-line wavesailing.
I do like the pics of port tack down-the-line wavesailing. How much of
Tarifa is that? I'm a goofy foot and have been looking for some places
that have the same. Yeah, I know, Diamond Head is one option.
And no, I haven't been to Tarifa either.
-Ed
In <1136422529.5...@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com> Dan Weiss
wrote:
Lev
Dude!.. what are you doing telling LeeD the names of the spots! Let
him sail Davenport with waves up to his, hmmm... waist, among 200 other
people, fighting for every caricature of a wave. The beautiful and not
yet so crowded beaches don't need to be advertised! :)
Guys, Tarifa rocks. You can get skunked and sit for weeks with rain
and cold weather, eat tapas and fresh dorada, drink espessos and cafes
con leches, smoke wonderfully light cheap hashish, and enjoy your life.
Or you can get Waddell-like logo-high 5.0 side-on at the Hurricane
hotel. Or Levante kicks in and you get blown off the water on your 3.5
wishing you had a 65 liter board. For 3-4 days straight. 9am to 5pm.
Or, after a few days of crazy 3.5, once the swell is up, head-high
side-shore at Canas (fighting for each little wave with 200 other
people, and hitting your fin on the reef every other ride :). Tarfia
has it all. It's a magnificent place to be in the winter, when it's
fresh and not crowded. The nightlife is wicked, and if you need more
Cadiz is pretty close by. Go and enjoy!
- Lev
mo...@loftsails.com
BIG.
Strong Levante (hot, dusty and dry, like living under a hair dryer) can
blow for days on end with winds for 3.5. The Levante blows ENE from
the Med into the Atlantic- our Med coast has very few accessible launch
sites, the Levante makes for side-on along the Med coast. There is a
launch in the Med at Punta Mala (40 min away from Tarifa) that we visit
if the Levante is nuclear. The waves can be excllent at Punta Mala but
it is easy to be radically worked there if you go too far downwind.
La Caleta is a small rocky beach just NW of Tarifa, not a nice launch
but it is the only one on the NW side of Tarifa on the Med.
Playa Chica is the small beach just at the point of Tarifa- where the
Med and Atlantic are divided. With Levante Playa Chica often has good
waves and is an ideal site for aerial photos- Tarifa appears behind the
action when the camera is on the point looking north.
http://www.loftsails.com/photo/05-lipw-05/index.php
Wave riding at Playa Chica with Levante is possible but very limited as
the beach is only some 500m long, one must jybe every 20-30 seconds! A
real work-out!
On the Atlantic side of Playa Chica the wind is side-offshore with
Levante.
http://www.loftsails.com/photo/05-fri-02/index.php
The breakwater behind in these images is the causeway that divides the
two seas.
At Playa Chica one can windsurf in the Med or the Atlantic- your
choice!
Playa Los Lances is the big beach on Tarifas west side- this is where
all the "action is" in the summer with Tarifa visitors.
Los Lances is an excellent location for speed runs as it is a very
broad reach down the beach on starboard tack with the Levante.
With Levante winds are side-off and we normally have only a short stiff
chop. In the winter it can be that real waves come in from the SW-
when there is low pressure over the Canaries. It happens usually one
week a year- logo-high and maybe mast-high waves that arrive despite
the Levante doing its best to flatten them. The best spots with waves
and Levante are Bolonia (15km west of Tarifa)- and especially the upper
Bolonia spot "Piedras Negras" where there is a reef of sorts that sets
up a very good left break. My best Tarifa wave riding sessions have
been at Piedras Negras.
The Bunker, Playa Chica (Atlantic side) and Benivides (all three along
the Los Lances beaches) can have relatively well formed waves. These
are the Tarifa wave-riding spots should the wind drop.
Farther west is Zahara de los Atunes
http://www.loftsails.com/photo/05-lipw-01/index.php
Joss is riding with the Levante in these shots.
Beyond Zahara is Barbate that is mostly a surfing spot for the
geographics which tend to remove the wind near the break. Barbate can
have very good wave riding although I have never windsurfed there.
Next is Caños de Meca, the place most known for waves around Tarifa.
Caños has normally less wind than Tarifa and has better waves,
especially with Levante.
The Poniente is the cool moist WSW winds that are so welcome in the
summer. Not as strong as the Levante, we often sail with 5.2 up to 7.4
with Poniente winds.
In the winter the Poniente can arrive very strong from the WSW which
brings onshore close-out waves to most of the Tarifa beaches. There is
a turn of the coast to the south near the dune at the west end of Los
Lances- "Casa de Porro". In this corner one can launch even with the
most severe winter Poniente waves/winds, and the waves up at the
Benivides break can be excellent. It was only a few weeks ago we had
logo-high waves and excellent down-the-line rides at Benivides despite
the rain and cool temps (15centigrade).
Saludos desde Andalucia,
Monty
D T W .../\...
NAME DIRECTION LOCATION
Amoka Big Wind -
Hawaii
Autan SE Toulouse, France
Avre France
Berg NW Natal, South
Africa
Bise NE Lac Leman,
Switzerland
Black Southeaster SE Cape Town, South Africa
Blue Norther N Texas, USA
Bora NE Adriatic
Bran
Breva N Lake Como,
Italy
Brickfielder
Burin NE Northern
Adriatic
Cape Doctor SE Cape Town, South
Africa
Chamoisine
Cheyenne Rocky Mts. USA
Chinook Rocky Mts. USA
Chubasco Baja, Mexico
Cordonazo
Derecho
Dusenwind NE Dardanelle Mts. -
Agean Sea
El Norte Baja, Mexico
Etecians eastern
mediteranean
Foehn S Australia
Freemantle Doctor W West Australia
Gregale E mediteranean
Haboob
Harmattan ENE West Africa
Hatu S Utah, USA
Helm NE Crossfell Range,
Alaska, USA
Ibuki Oroshi NW Japan
Jugo S-SE Adriatic
Joran
Kamakaze Japan
Kaus
Khamsin Egypt
Kona SW Hawaii
Kossava ESE Carpathian Mts.
Kloof SW Simmons Bay,
South Africa
Knik SE Palmer Alaska,
USA
Levante ENE Gibraltar, France
Leste
Libeccio W Corsica, Greece
L'uberre SW Lake Neuchatel,
Switzerland
Maloja SSW Silvaplana,
Switzerland
Marina
Meltemi Greece
Mistral NW France
Mogetis
Monsun
Montreal Express NW New England, USA
Nashi NE Persian Gulf,
Iran
Nevera W-NW Adriatic
Nuclear Planet Earth
Ora S Lake Garda,
Italy
Ostro SW
Adriatic
Pampero Argentina
Peler N Lake Garda,
Italy
Poniente WSW Tarifa, Spain
Purga
Rockoh Oroshi NW Japan
Rebat
Santa Ana E Mojave dessert,
California, USA
Sechard Lake Geneva
Shamal Persian Gulf
Sirocco
Stikine Alaska
Taku Alaska
Tehuantepecer NNE West coast, Mexico
Tivano N Lake Como,
Italy
Tramontane NW France
Vent Blanc SW Lake Geneva
Wasatch
WillIwaw Alaska, USA
Washoe Zepher W
Sierra Mts, USA
--
DTW .../\.../\.../\...
I've spent most of my money on mountain biking and windsurfing.
The rest, I've just wasted.
Brian M.
> I ditto Alan....
> Anyways, it's not wavesailing, it's sailing along a swell caused by
>local wind, more bump and jump in straight onshore waves.
> For true wavesailing, you need side-sideoff wind directions, waves
>coming straight in 90 degrees to wind.
OMG, according to this, I've never wavesailed (well maybe once in all
my life)! Damn, guess I'll have to send all my gear back to Wardog!
I can't believe I've been living a lie! Well maybe ignorace is bliss
in my case! :-)
Bri
ely...@bellatlantic.net
Thanks for your wonderful advice. Monty, Lev, Kike, JM special
thanks to you. DTW thanks for your wind list, maybe we can tatoo it on
LeeD's forhead. And thanks Alan, Ed, Florian and Dan for standing up
to to LeeD while I was away from my computer. Florian, I hope we'll
still see you in Maui this April despite the lack of wavesailing there.
And LeeD, what can I say, you're a fool and an idiot! I
especially liked the way you assumed that I only sail at Kanaha and
Sprecks, that's a good one. I've also had a great time in Kihei (with
nice south swell), Kuau, Sparta's and that place with an "H", what is
it, Hapa's?
Thanks again, guys!
Ely
Alan
Thanks!
Alan
--
Windsurfing Club: http://www.ibscc.org
"D T W .../\..." <vze3...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:Rk7vf.6606$tJ1.4280@trndny01...
Florian Feuser /FF/
> Foehn S Australia
Good one...
You mean that warm south wind that gives Austr(al)ian skiers a headache
when it melts all the snow in the Alps?
;-)
Thanks for the post. Very cool.
/FF/
WARDOG
>> Thanks for the post. Very cool.
Hi Florian,
Here is a descriptive list of winds that I like...
http://ggweather.com/winds.html
It's called "Names of Winds"...
There are some gems there to research windy areas...
Wikipedia also has a nice collection:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Winds
http://kith.org/logos/words/lower/w.html
It would be nice to only see one wind...the Wind of Peace...blowing
across our planet...:-)
http://www.surfingsports.com/images/world_peace.gif
WARDOG
http://surfingsports.com
uglyjiber
J/K, W - I'm witcha.
LeeD
This is a windsurfing forum, not a jackass forum for you.
But still, I PROMISE I will not invade your spots, I will NOT fly to
Spain, I will not steal all your wind, I will NOT spend my money in
Spain and help their economy, and we all know there are NO rentals, no
brochures, and no tourist attractions anywhere near where you windsurf.
You fricken, retarded ass idiot!!!
Jens...@gmail.com
LeeD
I do have a couple of Loft sails, excellent, rangy, and most
tuneable.
I just couldn't understand any windsurfer having an attitude like a
local surfer, as I've been surfing since 1966. Surfer's aren't all
like that, only the jerks.
I hope lots of windsurfers not only go to Tarifa and have a great
time, but also use and embrace the sails you designed.
Some background, I shaped surfboards for a living from '73 to '78,
worked retail at WiseSurfboards until 1986, worked at
SausalitoSailboards, Windsports, and BoardsportsBerkeley until '99, and
for KineticSailboards until '03.
Once again, thanks for the info, and thanks for sharing.
Vince B
gusts without an issue. Now, how do you do a Europeon Delivery program
like the old Volvo/Saab/M.B. car deals - Order your new quiver here in
the States and sail it for a month in Tarifa before heading home: plus
get a free Loft ballcap or Tee Shirt for free. The 2006 sails look
even better.
Vince B
gusts without an issue. Now, how do you do a Europeon Delivery program
like the old Volvo/Saab/M.B. car deals - Order your new quiver here in
the States and sail it for a month in Tarifa before heading home: plus
get a free Loft ballcap or Tee Shirt for free. The 2006 sails look
even better.
Tom - Chicago
You go from FULL FLAME to A** KISSING mode in quite a hurry.
Amazing.
Tom - Chicago
Post #1:
Post #2
LeeD
I respond kindness, like Monte and mad spaniard, in kind, and idiots
like Lev in kind.
I"m not mad at, or group huggin anyone, as I don't really care....
mo...@loftsails.com
Thanks for your comments!
Please note the name of our slalom sails is "O2", the name a reference
to the O2's "breathing feeling".
...recently Benji Bard of Wind mag France was here in Tarifa, he
commented to me that the 5.9 performed for him in his recent 06 sail
tests, I look forward to the Wind results. He commented that the O2
stood out for its huge windrange and soft, usable power. He commented
that the O2 is "fresh air".
I would like to develop further our selling strategys, thanks for your
suggestions!
Saludos y buen vientos,
Monty