El Cabezo Bay
El Cabezo Bay is the next bay north of the harbour wall. It is where the best wave sailors in Tenerife are to be found, and every year in August the PWA windsurfing world cup comes to visit Cabezo for its excellent jumping and wave riding conditions. The spot works 200 days of the year, and is best in the regular north-east trade winds which are cross on-shore. It is very much a spot for expert wave sailors only, and the locals don’t take kindly to anybody getting in the way who don’t know what they are doing.
The bay can be accessed by sailing upwind from the launch beach at South bay, or launching in Cabezo Bay itself where there are two narrow areas to launch from.
Cabezo Bay does have its hazards. The waves are powerful, and if you land near the rocks the wind is very unreliable due to the buildings that are downwind. The rocks at the left hand side next to the beach launch spot can be dangerous at high tide, and there is also a protruding rock called “Godzilla” located around 20 meters to the right of the launch spot which can be hard to spot in time and can damage equipment.
Cabezo works with every tide, although the best conditions usually occur three hours either side of hightide. Often the wind gets stronger after hightide is reached and the waves are cleaner.
Summary
Launch: Sandy beach.
Wind Direction: Cross-onshore from the left (NE) 90% of the time.
Wind Type: North-East Trade wind throughput the year with 70% planing winds.
Shorebreak: Slight shorebreak at low tide, but can be big in strong winds and southerly swell.
Water Conditions: Wind chop with whitecaps in strong winds. Sometimes swell. Big waves in El Cabezo.
Suitability: All levels.
Wetsuit: A Convertible wetsuit with long legs and short arms is recommended in winter, and a shortie in summer. Booties: Optional.
Best Suited To
- Beginners and improvers in the mornings and at low tide.
- Freeriders.
- Bump and jump sailors.
- Slalom.
- Freestyle.
- First time wave sailors.
- Intermediate and advanced wave sailors.
- Professional level wave sailors.
Best gear to use
The wide variety of conditions experienced at El Medano mean that many types of equipment are suitable, depending on the requirements of the sailor, from high wind low volume wave boards to large slalom boards and wide beginner boards. However, the most used equipment sizes are listed below:
- Most popular board size:
90 – 106 L. - Most popular sail size:
4.7 – 5.3 M.
