Surfing is a very seasonal sport. It doesn’t matter on which place of the earth you want to surf – there are always facts of the climate, swell and weather that you should check in advance before going there.
To understand a bit better, what I mean by that, let me give you a short introduction about the Canarian archipelago.
Due to our subtropical latitude and the Canarian cold currents, the Canary Islands have a very pleasant temperature all year round, with just a few degrees variation of temperatures between seasons. The Canary Islands are microclimatic, especially the islands with more altitude. The well-known Trade winds blow from the subtropical areas to the equator. Most of the clouds get trapped at the North part of the islands like on Gran Canaria and Tenerife, creating a humite, green north part and desertic south part.
Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Graciosa don’t have that phenomenon, because they are very flat and the clouds are passing without any resistance, creating a sunnier and dryer climate.
Let’s focus a bit more on Fuerteventura:
It is true, that you can surf all year round because the water temperature is more or less 17-18 degrees in winter and 24 degrees at the end of autumn. The most common wet suit you can surf in all the year-round is a complete 3/2mm. Shorties or boardshorts from July until the end of October.
What about the surf seasons in Fuerteventura?
Autumn is from September to November, the water is around 22º and 24º. It’s my favorite surf season because of the warm water and the first consistent swells arriving. Also, the trade wind that had been blowing strongly during summer is going down and giving space to a soft offshore breeze, which is perfect for the spots located around the North Shore. These three months are my Canarian unofficial summer
Our Winter is from November until March. We get a lot of swells from the Northwest, also the trade winds are never as strong as in summertime. During those months the water temperatures drops a few degrees and also the weather gets a bit fresh. ( Fresh meaning, that I spent Christmas-time here with a t-shirt during the day and a sweater in the evening). The NW and North Shore will be on for the good intermediates and advanced surfers. The beginner surfers generally are going to spots with a sandy bottom with mellow waves and a bit more protected from the big swells.
Spring is a good time as well because the swell from the North Atlantic still arrive and the temperatures are even nicer than during winter. Though with the arrival of spring also the trade winds of the NE are popping up making the East coast surfable. It is a good moment to come here because the West, North, and East can provide good surfing for all levels.
Summer is the time, that the island receives more tourism and the nightlife is more active. The Swells arriving from the NW are generally small but frequently surfable with boards with a lot of volume. In summer the trade winds from the NE are working giving good surf on the NE and E of the Island.
Honestly, I am a winter and autumn lover, because of the quality of the wave and the tranquility of the island. Independent of which season you visit the island sure you gonna have options for surfing, because the morphology of the island always gives you the opportunity to find your little paradise.
Thank you for watching the video I hope it is interesting and you could learn something new. If you want to continue surfing and discovering this wonderful island visit my homepage www.hisurfcoaching.com . If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me.
See you soon!
Jordi
