A World Of Activity On The Canaries

For a group of islands situated out in the Atlantic Ocean you would expect water to feature highly in the leisure activities of the islands. There are several harbours and marinas around the coastlines of the different islands but sailing is not the primary water sport activity in the Canary Islands. But the Canaries are quite remote and a quite a voyage from the popular sailing location in Europe like the South of France and the Balearic islands. Any yachtsman sailing to the Canary Islands would need to be confident in their abilities, very experienced and happy to deal with the weather systems that the Atlantic can throw at them from time to time. Those conditions preclude many leisure sailors, so most of the yachts and motor cruisers in the Canaries are there permanently.

Far more suited to the islands are the sports of surfing, windsurfing and the newer sport of kitesurfing. The stronger Atlantic winds can create perfect conditions for surfers of all abilities, all the islands have surfing spots but both Fuerteventura and Lanzarote in particular have thriving surf locations.

Famura on Lanzarote is a location that is often missed by the many tourists who come to the island and remain in the main resorts, but surfers know this spot very well. The beaches there are wide and impressive, not just for surfing but for anyone who enjoys a slightly more dramatic element to their holidays. There are nothing like the facilities of the bigger resorts here, but that makes it all the more attractive in terms of landscape. Costa Teguise is another windsurfing location on Lanzarote and another spot that attracts high level competitive events, with the San Juan beach having been used for the world surfing championships. The wind and waves around this part of the coast make it suitable for freestyle events rather than course racing. This type of windsurfing is not a straight race as you may see in the Olympics but sees the competitors performing jumps and tricks to impress the judges who watch from the shore. The surfers try to complete as many moves as possible within their time period, with judges awarding points for difficulty, creativity and style. Gran Canaria is another of the islands to attract top level windsurfing with professional calibre competition using the beaches at Confital in the north of the island.

Canoeing or Kayaking in the sea is also a favourite sport here . There are numerous locations around islands that can be explored by kayak with several companies offering day voyages. One popular choice is to set out from Corralejo on Fuerteventura to explore the wonderful beaches to the south and to travel across to the small protected island of Lobos. There are also tours that take paddlers right around an island, stopping off in different locations each evening. Again Fuerteventura is an ideal island for such an adventure and every year around 30 kayakers undertake the 300 km tour of the island which takes them 8 days to complete.

Triathlon is another sport synonymous with the Canaries and the annual Ironman race in Lanzarote is one of the best known events on the sport’s calendar. The weather in the Canaries make the islands the perfect location for year round training and competition and with so many athletes coming to Lanzarote during the winter, it was only a matter of time before one of the many competitive events grew its international status. The Lanzarote Ironman event takes place in May each year and will celebrate its nineteenth edition in 2010. A maximum of 1500 competitors are allowed and the event is now always fully subscribed. Even though next year’s event is still eight months away it is already fully subscribed. Triathletes of all standards will compete but there are always a large number of the world’s top professionals on the start line. The thought of swimming 3.8km in the sea, cycling 180km and then running a marathon would be beyond the capabilities of most people, but these elite athletes revel in the challenge and the fastest competitors will complete the task in less than nine hours.

Car racing is another activity that makes good use of the geography of the Canary Islands. They all have volcanic origins which have provided them will hilly and varied terrain that provides several options for off-road rally events. On Fuerteventura the La Oliva Car Rally in May attracts around 50, largely amateur, teams. The Rally de Lanzarote is a newer event that ran over its 1000km route for the third time in 2009 and is part of the Spanish Rallyes Tierra four race series. On Tenerife a number of rally events take place each year, with several hill climb events and three multi-stage races, the Adeje Rally, the Tenerife Rally and the Granadilla Rally.

There are many sporting activites that have found popularity on the islands including swimming, tennis and golf, so for sports participants of all types the Canary Islands always have something to offer.