Cotillo – the very name used to strike fear into mast manufacturers. Its notorious waves gave birth to many fledgling pro careers and death to many rigs in wave sailing’s formative years. Located on the NW shore of Fuerteventura, it’s a beach break with a reputation as one of the heaviest in the archipelago and deservedly so – when it comes to Canarian beach breaks, Cotillo is the boss. On their final day of a four-day stint in the Canary Islands, John Carter and Timo Mullen on a high from an epic session with current men’s world champion Philip Koester in Jameos Del Agua in Lanzarote decided to go 2 for 2 and sail with women’s world champion Iballa Moreno and take on the challenge of Cotillo! John, Iballa, Timo and Corky Kirkham tell us more about the session and their relationship with the island.
JOHN CARTER
Located just a twenty-five minute ferry ride from Lanzarote, the crossing to Fuerteventura is relatively simple if you are organised. Our only slight issue was that we were not allowed to drop our hire car on a different island to the original pick-up. Fortunately Cicar (www.cicar.com) had an office right at the ferry port in Playa Blanca so we were able to drop it there and then rent another car from www.cabreramedina.com in Corralejo port in Fuerteventura, who also allowed an airport drop off. That saved us a lot of money not having to pay for a car on the ferry and also made the whole multi-island adventure much easier; it was just a matter of hand carrying our luggage on and off the Fred Olsen ferry. As for the board bags, they have a luggage vehicle that easily fitted all the equipment and made the journey relatively effortless. A passenger single on the ferry is around 30 euro and there are plenty of seats inside and out on deck for you to enjoy the scenic journey between Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Lobos island. Just to make sure we were not leaving behind a totally epic day in Lanzarote, we had woken at 6am, driven to Jameos and checked the spot before making our final decision to head to Fuerteventura. The swell had dropped slightly from the previous day, so we headed to Playa Blanca for the 10am crossing, to hopefully score a session at Cotillo in the afternoon on the building tide. There are three ferry companies that operate between the islands and with a very short crossing time, a day trip would not be out of the question.
Denne historien er fra Issue 387 - August 2018-utgaven av Windsurf.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 387 - August 2018-utgaven av Windsurf.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
New School
Slingshot’s windsurfing brand manager, Wyatt Miller, has noticed that kids are drawn to playing with wings and puts forward an interesting case as to why he thinks this could help entice them and others into windsurfing.
Changes
Wave sailor Flo Jung reflects on our changed world during his lockdown in Germany.
THE LAST WAVE
Lockdown stirred the creative juices of reader Björn Alfthan, who peers into the future to present a fictional story set in the wild waves of Norway, five years from now.
STILL IN THE GAME
After a horrific fracture in his leg from a crashed aerial in 2018, Alessio Stillrich is back! John Carter talks to the highflyer from Gran Canaria about his move to the Simmer team, recovering from injury and how he learned to windsurf in Gran Canaria!
MOVE ON UP - GET ON THE FRONT FOOT
This month we look at how our front foot weighting can affect and improve different aspects of our main windsurfing moves.
SOUTH' KIPA
Nik tweaking it over home waters.
A NEW NORMAL
On a trip to La Tranche-sur-Mer in France last year, Tris Best estimated over 80% of the windsurfers were foiling. This summer in Portland Harbour, foiling activity has increased dramatically too he reports. With the market offering plenty of choice to recreational windfoilers, our test team check out some of the latest foil offerings.
TACKING – THE SEQUEL
Having given you time to practice, Harty concludes his tacking series by critiquing various tacking options, including the carve tack, as well as offering solutions to common slip-ups.
‘NO VAPOUR TRAILS TO SCAR THE SKY' *
Realising we may be about to enter an extraordinary period in our lives, Harty decided to keep a windsurf-centric lockdown diary. Here are some of his choice excerpts.
REDEMPTION DAY!
Renowned for its windsurfing and variety of spots to sail at, Kimmerdige Bay is a wave sailing jewel on the south coast of England. Timo Mullen gives a guide to its shores while reflecting on why a recent session there was a reminder that there is no place like home!