TENERIFE TRAINING WITH CATERINA AND SARA

BY SARA SOMMER & CATERINA STENTA
This spring we could escape from our home countries and we both chose Tenerife as our training destination.
Sara is from Denmark, where the water and air temperatures are too cold in the winter time for practicing and learning, a destination like Tenerife is easy to afford over winter as a training spot with good winter conditions for both waves and wind. “I had to be able to find a flight within a few days notice, at an affordable price, Tenerife is perfect. After finishing my degree, i took a holiday where I could be applying for jobs with conditions on my doorstep!”.
Caterina is from Italy, living in barcelona, as with Sara and other europeans Tenerife is an easy and close destination. If you have a flexible calendar and are ready to search for last minute flights, as soon as a nice forecast comes you can pack your bags and enjoy a fun week in the blue warm water!

Without even knowing each others plans, we met by chance on the beach at El Cabezo. Sara: “I was on my way from Sandros garage with my equipment to sail The Harbour wall as I see Caterina carrying her big boardbag, she had just arrived an hour ago, and was all keen to go one the water with me, I was super stoked as sailing alone i don’t have as much fun as when saling with friends”

We met each other sailing the PWA competitions last year, and lived together at the Sylt event. Sara: “The first time I met Caterina last summer was when I almost catapulted onto her on my way out as I was too busy watching someone riding a really nice wave!”.

Going in the water with another PWA girl is always somehow motivating. Caterina: “I was sailing and keeping an eye on Sara’s waves, in order to look at how she was doing and trying to do better”. Sara: “The first day we went in the water Caterina was doing a few frontloops on her first run, This really motivated me to do some more jumping, as normally I spend most my time waveriding, when I see another girl trying and doing good I really try harder too”.

Not only is motivation on the water important but also off the water; training, technique analyzing and getting a basic tan so you can handle all the hours in the water!
Off the water training is necessary to avoid injuries and maximize performance on the water. During our training in Tenerife, off the water sessions included cardiotraining, stability training, and strength training with primary core exercises and legs. Sara: “Every time I go to Tenerife, I do classes with Thomas from Medano training center, This is a mixture of exercises that’s based on cross fit. The combination over a week of training with Thomas, doing interval running, swimming or pilates in turn each day together with two maximized sessions on the water works perfectly”.
Using photo sessions is another great way to speed up the learning process. We analyzed and studied photo sequences of ourselves, and compared our technique with other riders. It is important to look at yourself on the wave to understand how you move on the board and control the sail to improve technique.

Cabezo has been our main spot in Tenerife, we started to get pretty familiar with the wave, to know where the rocks are and to get better every session at analyzing how the waves break. You can’t learn to sail Cabezo without loosing some fins and making some holes in your board 😉 But with some damages it’s easier to remember where the dangerous rocks are, because you have more personal feeling for them!
At low tide, upwind of Cabezo gets good for jumping. Having a focused jumping session, training on one or two jumps and chasing each other, pushes your ability and the number of jumps you try in a session. You put that extra effort into it, as you know somebody is watching!

We tried to go on the water as early as possible, being able to check cabezo.bergfex.at from the comfort of bed means you never miss the conditions or the chance for a little extra sleep.

Our riding playground was the Harbour Wall, where you can catch some really fun waves without ending on the rocks:) This wave is safe to improve on, as anytime you get washed, the current pushes you away from the reef and the wall. Here we could really push each other and our limits.
Sitting at the wall high above the water looking down at the waves or on top of the bunker at Cabezo you get a perfect view to study technique from good local sailors on the water, like Adam Lewis, Alex Mussolini or Dany Bruch. Also studying the waves, the tides, the rocks and where the locals ride the waves helped to improve our ability on the water. Discussing the spot together, where is the best to ride or to jump, is better with a windsurf buddy as you have different perspectives and ways of analyzing the conditions.

“In the water you have a nice perspective of the other person sailing, it looks pretty radical if you are behind the wave cause you just see the spray and the board/fins coming out. As competitive girls, you see the other on the wave and you think you can do better! That’s the pushing between ourselves”. It’s nice and motivating to train with a friend who is as motivated, active and strong as you are.

El Medano has been our little home town for the trip. It’s a town that has everything you need within 10 minutes of walk. Small cosy streets with bars overlooking the water. Caterina is Italian and loves her morning coffees at the local Creperia. After a full on session a recovery cake is a must at Bar El Medano in the south bay or at Bar Medano which is owned by a local windsurf girl Greta Benvenuti. You can enjoy the warm evenings on the Plaza overlooking the water if you not in the water.
We had a lot of late evening sessions on the water together just a few sailors out, as when you bring your own gear you get more quiet hours on the water to yourself as the rental shops will be closed. The late evening session is amazing also you get to watch the sun disappear in the mountains.

On the days without wind or in the early mornings before the wind picks up, you can have a fun SUP wave or nice and calm water for a longer paddle. During our two weeks stay we were somehow in the water enjoying the conditions everyday and having fun together. The most important thing to become a better windsurfer is to spend a lot of fun time on the water with friends pushing and learning from each other.
Caterina sponsors: RRD, Reptile masts, Koru swimwear, Maui Ultra Fins, Rougj
cosmetics
Sara Sponsors: Mystic, Severne Sails, Århus Windsurf Klub