Words John Skye // Photos Antonio Del Toro Sánchez (Action), Julio Leon (Landscape) & Daniell Bohnhof (Water shot)
Gran Canaria is largely known amongst the windsurfing fraternity for the beach of Pozo. Lying on the south eastern corner of the island, together with Vargas and the flat waters of Arinaga, they make up the key windsurf spots of Gran Canaria. Port tack, onshore, high wind and a focus on jumping has made Pozo one of the most famous stops on the PWA wave calendar since the early 90’s. However lesser known in the windsurf world is the other side of the island, home to the waves of El Paso. John Skye tells us more.
Situated on the other side of the island, and providing the complete opposite conditions wise to renowned Pozo, is the big wave spot of El Paso. It can handle the biggest swell on the north shore, so whilst the main surf spots get out of control, El Paso is just starting to ignite. Offering a short left and a much larger right, the A frame has a heavy section to get the party started, before peeling off down the line and eventually breaking onto some vicious looking rocks that make the infamous Ho’okipa rocks look like a sandy beach. To the east lies the town of El Roque, which as the name suggests, stands high on a rocky and cliffy headland, poking out almost into the wave itself. The spot, working in an east or to a lesser extent west wind, is a rare treat.
I first tried to sail El Paso around 10 years ago with Nayra. The island was new to me and I wanted to explore all the options. We spent the first 5 years together chasing conditions around the island, but it almost always ended in failure. 1 or 2 degrees change in the wind direction can increase or decrease the strength by up to 15 knots. As an example you will be out surfing in the north with glassy conditions and the wind angle at say 95 degrees east. The wind will turn 5 degrees and within minutes increase from zero to 20 knots, perfect side shore. You paddle in, rig your windsurf gear, hit the water… and then the wind will either turn back to 95 degrees and drop back to zero, or turn 5 degrees to the north and drop to 5 knots onshore. The end result meant most of our sessions ended up with a long swim and normally a few dings on the inhospitable rocky coastline; such was our first and last attempt to sail El Paso previously.
Gran Canaria produces most of its wind thanks to the geography of the island. It’s basically a big round mountain sticking up in the middle of the Atlantic. As the wind streams across the ocean, it hits this big lump of rock and is forced to go either over it, or around it. The result is that in any given wind direction, if you go to either side of the island it will be howling. For example, with a standard summer 15 knot trade wind from the NE, you head to either the NW edge or more typically the SE edge and you will have up to 3 times the wind. Same goes with an east or west wind. If you head to either the north shore or the south shore, it will be 10-20 knots windier. The landscape on the south shore is generally much flatter, meaning it can handle a larger variation of directions. Pozo for example is sailable from straight north through to ENE. However the north shore is lined with steep cliffs and this is why the wind angle is so critical. So after more or less 5 years without even trying to sail the north, I saw some photos of PWA ripper and Gran Canaria local, Josep Pons, sailing the mast high waves of El Paso whilst I was away in South Africa. When I got back he was frothing about it, but with the NE trades kicking in early this year, I never got the opportunity to give it a second chance. That was until this December. Having arrived back from Maui I was pretty psyched to get out there. Maui had been a trip of huge waves and very light winds, so whatever El Paso had to offer would be child’s play…. or so I thought.
Our first attempt came a week after I arrived home. Everything was in place with perfect east winds and a decent sized swell being sent down from one of the many low pressures tracking across the UK. On arrival at the beach Pons was already rigged and told me to launch in the upwind bay. I was a little dubious as 200 metres upwind and perched 100 metres up, is the town of El Roque, sending an enormous wind shadow across the whole of the bay. However as Pons was the master and confidently set off on his own, I sceptically followed after taking my favourite RRD Hardcore Wave 88, which is my light wind Ho’okipa board that floats in nothing.
It quickly turned into another one of my classic north shore sessions…..swimming with my windsurf gear. The wind was VERY light, and worse, still coming through the bay in random puffs. Not only random in strength, but also in direction. Add to that head high white water steaming in and it was almost impossible to make any headway in the 0-5 knots of wind. I quickly assessed the currents and worked out how to avoid getting destroyed on the rocks, but after 30 minutes of constant swimming I gave up and used my best front crawl to get back to shore. To be honest I was ready to chuck the gear in the van and drive home, but I watched Pons continue in his fruitless mission and decided to give it one more go. This time however I gave myself more of a chance and grabbed my big board’s big brother…. the 98 litre Hardcore Wave. It floated like a boat. It was still hard, but at least when the wind dropped to literally zero knots I could stay standing and wait for the next puff. Thankfully that next puff coincided with a gap in the sets and next thing I knew I was out back. Seeing me (and not knowing I had taken a big board to help) must have spurred Pons on, because within 5 minutes he had joined me too. Once out back the wind was still light, but at least now it was a consistent 10 knots and enough to get in position and catch waves. The first waves took tentative to new levels, but little by little I started to get the feel for the place and for the conditions. The peak is a very heavy, sucky, dredging bowl, and I will be the first to admit I didn’t want anything to do with it on this day. Add to that a few random rocks poking up unexpectedly and sets well over mast high, this was definitely on a par with the worst of Maui’s danger zones and not the walk in the park I had planned.
At one point as I bobbed about out at sea, an enormous set appeared on the horizon. I was a long way out and thought I was well clear of any trouble. Pons was 50 metres ahead and as the set neared, it suddenly dawned on me the potential bad times ahead. When I saw Pons scrape over the mast and a half high feathering lip I knew I was in for a beating. Using my Maui learnt technique I catapulted the sail forward, sinking the mast as deep as I could and clinging to my boom for all I was worth. The wave unloaded straight onto my head, but thankfully being so far out it was not the same heavy, dredgy, sucking peak, but a somewhat more amicable bomby style beating.
Luckily I could hold onto my gear and even more luckily there was nothing too threatening behind, but it certainly had the heartrate lifted to new levels! As time went on, we both moved closer to the peak and the wave was just unbelievable. As it hit the reef, it lined up perfectly giving 2 or 3 turns on a fast and perfect wall, then gave just enough space to escape before slamming itself into the rocks. I saw Pons having some amazing turns and by the end of the day we were pushing each other closer and closer. Eventually the inevitable happened with a late hit getting punished heavily and worst of all putting me back on the inside in the shadow of El Roque. By this point I didn’t have the energy to fight back out, so reluctantly I called it a day. Anyway, with the forecast for the next few days the same, this was just the warm up.
The following day the word had spread and we were joined by World Champion Philip Koster. Unfortunately however the wind was refusing to blow. Despite a windier forecast, the direction was a fraction too offshore and it was literally glassy. Philip grabbed his sup and caught some bombs, whilst I grabbed my 98L beast to give it another go. Philip’s choice proved to be the best as Pons and I returned to the beach empty handed, with no waves to count and a lot more swimming.
Fast forward a week and we had another chance. A perfect 15-20kt wind forecast and more importantly, the angle looked like it would be spot on. Once again Pons and I headed north and this time were joined by 2 times PWA youth Champion Moritz Mauch (another Spanish/German to make GC his home) and PWA sailor Eric Sanllehy from Barcelona. By the time I arrived the boys were already on the water and this time fully planing out the back. I don’t think I have ever rigged so fast, and decided on the safer downwind launch spot, knowing with a bit of breeze I could be upwind in 2 or 3 tacks.
What a difference 5 knots makes. Instead of bobbing around waiting to catch a wave, we could fly out back, get in position and arrive ready to attack the wave. Suddenly that gnarly peak looked like a fun place to be. To be honest the waves were nowhere near as good as the first day.
With 2 swells and a load of chop from the previous day’s onshore winds, I soon started to appreciate the perfection of the first day.
However with wind to plane, I wasn’t complaining and slowly started getting dialled in. Unlike the first day where the wave had a predictable nature to it, today you had to be much more on your guard. Add to the mix the lower tide state and those rocks were not only much closer, but the chances of being smashed against them were now considerably higher. Still with a week to think about how timid our first rides had been, it didn’t take long before Pons and I were attacking the lip.
The photos don’t really do it justice to be honest. On a couple of waves it felt like the water would disappear as it sucked up the face. Rather than the wave building from behind, it was like the ocean falling away in front. This second day was smaller for sure, but there was still so much power. I had one mistimed wave where the lip literally barrelled into my rig, but thankfully I came out unscathed. It helped having the others around too. Pons was ripping like always with some huge airs and a super late hit on one of the biggest sets of the day and right in front of the rocks. I don’t know if he planned it like that, but it was ballsy for sure. If that had gone wrong, I don’t think there would have been much left of his gear, or even of him! Eric had some beautiful flowing rides but eventually ended up caught on the inside and pulled into the current right under the cliffs of El Roque. Thanks to some frantic swimming, he and his gear survived, but it was enough for him to call it a day. Moritz looked great as usual. He has such a good style on the wave, and for me leads the way in the riding from the newer younger generation. With big airs and a couple of aggressive hacks he looked to be loving the conditions.
For me it was a great day too. Being on the smaller board and with the previous day as a warm up, it seemed a lot more playful. My day was eventually cut short when my UJ broke. In the desperate rush to get on the water, I had grabbed an old base that was so old, I think I may have used it the first time I sailed here 8 years before! Thankfully, the tiny bit of safety string held firm and meant my board wasn’t mashed into a pulp on the rocks and I could swim back to shore unharmed. That day I had some of the best waves I have ever ridden and certainly in my top 3 of best ever sessions in Gran Canaria. Best of all, I love the contrast. One of the best parts about growing up in the UK was the variety of sailing. You never know which direction the wind will blow next, and there are so many spots that every day stays fresh. Here is the total opposite with an almost groundhog day reliability to the conditions that can leave you feeling stale. However if you can add to the head high, port tack, onshore days with the occasional mast high, starboard tack, cross-offshore session, suddenly everything feels great! Now it’s just the waiting game until we get it again!
Sailing a new spot on the other side of my adopted home in Gran Canaria reminded me of my love affair with windsurfing on islands. Over the last 15 years I think I have spent more time on islands than off them: Canaries, Maui, Tiree, and Great Britain! Mostly I like them because of the possibility of conditions. Canaries and Maui speak for themselves, but what’s great about somewhere like Tiree is that no matter what direction of wind, you can always find somewhere that suits you, whether it’s cross offshore riding, or a perfect flat water bay. Off the water I think I would go a little bit crazy living all year on one of the smaller, lesser inhabited islands. Firstly it seems that the smaller the population of an island, the lazier it seems to be! I love Fuerteventura for a few weeks holiday, but the year I lived there, it drove me mad! One month to repair a brand new phone for example, or 2 weeks to fix something simple on your car! Plus everyone knows everything about everyone! Thankfully I have ended up in somewhere I would call the perfect balance. Gran Canaria is big enough in population to mean things run efficiently, and big enough to not know everyone’s business. However at the same time, it is small enough geographically to be able to drive from north to south in less than an hour. No matter what the wind, or swell direction, you can normally find something to do in the water, which is what I love. It also seems that when you have so many options of windsurfing, surfing, mountains and beaches, you really don’t need much to live on, which means life is both cheap and happy…. until there is a tsunami, and then we are screwed!!!
