Water Sports

From kite-surfing in the Canaries and sailing in Sussex to kayaking on the Continent and diving in the warmth of the West Indies - introducing the wet, wonderful and sometimes weird world of watersports.

Surfing in Lanzarote
Maggie Davis catches the waves in Lanzarote
The Canaries may have a bit of a bad image (involving beefy Brits in England shirts swigging copious amounts of lager), but thankfully that’s only a tiny part of the equation. Up on the rugged and gloriously windy north coast of Lanzarote the Atlantic Ocean crashes on to the long sandy beaches in fizzy white waves. A strong northeasterly wind and constant groundswell make the beach at Caleta de Famara one of the best places for surfing and kite-surfing in Europe, while down on the west coast at Costa Teguise, the conditions are excellent for windsurfing (championships are held here each July). Eager to get a piece of the action, I headed out for a long weekend of surfing and kite-surfing organised by Zoco Boardriding Adventures, a British company that specialises in tailor-made surf holidays for both fully fledged surfers and keen novices like me.
Lesson one begins at 10am on a sunny and windy Friday morning. After donning my wetsuit and performing half an hour of extremely vigorous warm-ups, the instructor Sergio teaches us how to stand up on the board while still on the beach. So far so easy, I think. That is until I attempt to stand up from a lying position in the same fluid motion that Sergio has just demonstrated. I realise this is quite impossible because a) my upper body strength isn’t a patch on his and b) my bottom and thighs are somewhat heavier. Still, an hour later as I hit the surf with butterflies in my stomach, I’m feeling positive. I WILL stand up, I will. And after a few failed attempts I manage to do so for a whole two seconds. ‘Whooooahhhh!’ I yelp to my pal Karen who looks on aghast but somewhat impressed. I’ve caught the bug – I haven’t felt this elated since I first rode a bike without stabilisers.
Day two: a kite-surfing taster in the desert, a terrifying but enthralling prospect. The kite is six metres wide and I’m worried about taking off (it does happen), but after a nervous half-hour of trying to keep my feet firmly on the ground, I begin to find a way of controlling and manipulating the kite. It’s two or three days before I’ll be allowed to take my kite out to sea, but I still get a thrill at the thought of combining my two new skills: zipping around on the ocean on a board with a kite dragging me around at great speed. If you opt for a whole week of kite-surfing, you can expect to obtain an International Kiteboarding Organisation (IKO) Level 1 or 2, which will enable you to go on to become an independent kite-surfer. I get a certificate to say I’ve done a day and learnt the basics which is recognised by watersports clubs around the world.
I finish my weekend with one more day of surfing. Coasting on adrenalin, I begin to ride, staying upright for a few seconds longer each time. Until, crash, bang, crack! I jump off my board into shallow water to avoid a collision with a teenager and leave the beach with a fully fledged extreme sport injury: a sprained ligament. But as any surfer chick knows, it’s all part of the game – I’m planning my next trip already.
Zoco Boardriding Adventures (www.surflanzarote.com). A four-night Surf and Kiteboarding Camp Surfing Taster package costs from €299 (£206) per person based on two people sharing. Includes self-catering accommodation, four days’ car hire and three-day introduction to surfing course, including tuition, all equipment and beach transfers.
Getting there: London Gatwick to Lanzarote from £129 return with GB Airways (www.britishairways.com).


Surfing in Kent

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Andrew Staffell tries surfing in the UK
Saturday mornings normally involve drinking lots of water, not being thrown around by it. On an early train out of Victoria, on my way to Broadstairs, Kent, to go surfing for the first time, I wonder what I am letting myself in for. I’ve never stepped on any kind of board before: the closest I’ve come is splashing around on a ‘bodyboard’ on a summer holiday – the sort of thing you do when you’re learning to swim at primary school. Will I finish the day battered, bruised and comprehensively ridiculed by my fellow surfers?
Glorious summer weather and the picturesque scenery of Broadstairs – a jewel on Britain’s coast – quickly assuage my fears. And when I arrive at Joss Bay, the breeze is gentle and the sea fairly calm – perfect conditions for the cowardly amateur.
A short talk on safety, board dynamics and how to move and manoeuvre precedes my first attempts in the water. At my level, and in these conditions, I can only attempt to ride the wave perpendicular to the beach. Later, I can attempt turnings. The attitude here is to let learners get on with things: once they know about the safety procedures, they’re encouraged to get stuck in.
Few people associate Kent with surfing, but on good days the conditions are as favourable as in better-known surfing hubs. And there are good reasons for coming to Broadstairs instead of, say, Cornwall. For a start, it’s much closer to London, so it’s perfect for a weekend break. The beaches, peaceful little coves, are extremely clean. And the town is a wonderful place to explore and relax in. Have dinner at The Tartar Frigate and stay at The Fayreness Hotel, overlooking the splendid Botany Bay.
Far from being scarred – physically or emotionally– I was rejuvenated by the whole adventure. I’ll definitely return.
For information and advice on surfing in Broadstairs contact Thanet District Council (0870 264 6111/ www.tourism.thanet.gov.uk) or Joss Bay Surf School (01843 868171/ www.jossbay.co.uk).
The Fayreness Hotel, Marine Drive, Broadstairs, CT10 3LG (01843 868641/ www.thorleytaverns.com).
The Tartar Frigate, Harbour St, Broadstairs (01843 600999).
Getting there: Victoria to Broadstairs, one hour 15 minutes, from £15 return.


Kayaking in France
Kate Riordan takes the laidback option in Normandy
For a non-driver who hasn’t owned a bike since doing ‘no-hands’ was the height of cool, being in charge of any kind of vehicle is a thrilling novelty for me. In the pelting rain somewhere on the wild(ish) waters of northern France, it was a revelation. With the region’s lack of potentially fatal rapids, kayaking here is suited to the novice who wants a good (upper and lower body) workout and doesn’t mind getting a bit wet: you’re unlikely to capsize and experience the washing-machine spin-cycle effect in these waters.
As someone who likes their exercise in short, sharp bursts, what’s even more appealing about this break is that you don’t have to do anything at all. You stay at the ‘lodge’ (actually a large stone house on the river at pretty Pont d’Ouilly), where you get plentiful hot water, comfortable rooms, and delicious home-cooked food. All of which leaves you pleasantly aching, sated and glowing – and ready for a kip in the garden hammock. The contrast between this and the accommodation I have previously endured on ‘adventure’ holidays, epitomised by the fusty whiff of other people’s walking boots and hair underfoot in the shower, cannot be overstated.
Easygoing mother-and-son team Dea and Russell, don’t mind whether you want to be up at daybreak (not only for kayaking but for coastal sports and mountain-biking too – the local trails are top quality and Russell, a former personal trainer, is an expert guide) or do nothing more strenuous than dip a toe in the river. If you’re a lazybones going out with a fitness freak, this break was made for you.
Rock n Roll Adventures, Le Relais des Amis, Rue de la Liberation, 14690 Pont d’Ouilly, Suisse Normande, France (0033 231 69 83 34/www.rocknrolladventures.com). Prices vary: a long weekend (Thur-Sun/Fri-Mon) in Sept, full board (three meals a day) costs £175 per person.
Getting there: Dover to Boulogne, 50 minutes, from £50 return for one car with up to five passengers with Speedferries (0870 22 00 570/www.speedferries.com).
Boulogne to Pont d’Ouilly, two hours 30 minutes by car.


Diving in Mustique
Karen Robson learns to dive in Mustique
I love the sea, but I’ve always had a slight fear of scuba diving. I decided I had to overcome it while working on the Caribbean island of Mustique, a beautiful, tiny, privately owned island just south of Barbados. Surrounded by crystalline turquoise ocean (the Caribbean on one side and the roaring Atlantic on the other), it’s not exactly a ‘dive destination’ like, say, the Maldives or Belize, but that’s what makes it so special. Like most things in Mustique, diving is safe and small and you can do it all year around.
The diving school, run by Dianne Wilson, has been catering to the needs of laidback holidaymakers for 14 years now, working with small groups (usually fewer than six people) with two instructors and one dive master on staff as well as a rescue diver. Unlike more popular dive destinations, where the seas are often overfished, the ocean here is heaving with life and there are stretches of now scarce black coral and staghorn coral. For the experienced diver, there are dozens of speciality courses like underwater photography, deep diving, navigation and a unique shark diving programme.
I plonk for a standard five-session PADI course. On day one, I feel a jangly mix of nerves and excitement, and worry about my oxygen running out. Dianne tells me this is normal: lots of people hyperventilate a bit to start with and I soon begin to feel at ease. In the second session, the wetsuits and gear, which seemed to weigh a ton out of the water, suddenly became light and manoeuvrable. I start to feel like I’m flying underwater. Next I have to learn how to take my mask off and clean it underwater, sharing my breathing apparatus with my dive ‘buddy’, which is easier than it sounds.
I’m soon confident and enthralled by this new underwater world full of parrotfish, eels, eagle rays, nursing sharks and beautiful, friendly Caribbean turtles.
Mustique diving school lessons from $60 (£35) each. Cotton House Hotel, PO Box 349, Mustique (001 784 456 4777/www.cottonhouse.net).
Doubles from £257. Gatwick to Barbados, from £399 return with Virgin (www.virginairways.com). Barbados to Mustique, from £218 return with SVG Air (www.svgair.com).


Wakeboarding in Middlesex
Fiona McAuslan gets on board at the Princes Club
When it comes to extreme sports, there are those who do and those who watch from a safe distance. As a card-carrying member of the latter camp, learning to wakeboard would definitely be a challenge. Somewhere between waterskiing and snowboarding, wakeboarding is a relatively new extreme sport. With both feet strapped to a single board, you’re pulled along behind a speedboat that generates a ‘fat wake’ to surf.
Thankfully, all the teachers at the idyllic Princes Club near Heathrow Airport, where I’m due for an introductory lesson, are well versed in idiot-proof instructing and assure me it’s easy. First thing to master, even before I stand, is balance. With arms straight and legs bent, I let the moving boat pull me up to a crouching position and then cling with a death grip to the tow rope as it speeds off. Even skidding across the water on your backside is exhilarating.
Next step is standing up. Same start then you let your weight roll over the front of your board before you straighten up. My first attempt lands me face first in the lake but two goes later I’m up, away – I’ve done it. At the end of my session I’m left with an ear-to-ear beamer and a thirst for more. Extreme sport? Extremely satisfying.
Princes Club, Clockhouse Lane, Bedfont, Middx, TW14 8QA (01784 256153/www.princesclub.com) Hatton Cross tube then H26 bus. Open Mon-Fri
9am-dusk, Sat, Sun 9am-8pm (subject to change; phone to check). Prices start at £40 for two 15-minute sessions midweek and include wetsuit, lifejacket and wakeboard equipment.


Sailing in Rye
Kathryn Miller sets sail in East Sussex
I’d never tried sailing before, but by the end of just one day I was happily zig-zagging across a lake in the afternoon sun wondering why I hadn’t tried it years ago. The fun had begun as soon as I’d taken my dinghy into the water for the first time. Chugging alongside in his motorised boat, my instructor had explained how to ‘tack’ – that’s turning into the wind in sailing speak. The feeling once you’ve mastered the rudder and got the hang of controlling the boom (the pole connected to the sail) is exhilarating.
I spent the day at Rye Watersports in East Sussex, a small, friendly, family-run business set up in 1986 by Margaret Meadowcroft, who now runs the company with her daughter and son-in-law – my instructor, George. The centre – which includes a cosy beachfront-style building with a shady veranda that would be equally at home on a cool British surfing beach – is positioned just inland in a former quarry on the outskirts of the small medieval town of Rye.
With its sea breeze and calm waters, the centre’s lake makes the perfect place to learn sailing, as well as kite-surfing and windsurfing. My day had started with a lesson in rigging the boat (which I was to sail single-handed, yikes!), learning to tie knots and getting to grips with the terminology. It all seemed mind-boggling, but George assured me I’d pick it up soon enough.
After lunch (there’s an on-site café) and a short tutorial it was time to board my boat and attempt to turn in the other direction, downwind – the correct term is ‘gybe’. Gybing is a slightly trickier manoeuvre, requiring the ability to duck deftly under the boom or else get a bang on the head. I’m no Ellen MacArthur, but I had soon learned to catch the wind, shift my sail and increase speed. Fantastic!
Rye Watersports, North Point Water, New Lydd Rd,Camber nr Rye, East Sussex, TN31 7QS (01797 225238/ 07939 484 840/www.ryewatersports.co.uk). A two-day Start Sailing Level One course costs £150.
Stay at The White Vine House, 24 High St, Rye, East Sussex, TN31 7JF (01797 224748/www.whitevinehouse.co.uk). Doubles £115.
Getting there: Charing Cross to Rye, one hour 45 minutes, from £20.20, then five-minute taxi ride.


Best specialist watersports holidays
Families
With seven resorts in Europe and one on Egypt’s Red Sea, Mark Warner offers excellent all-inclusive watersports holidays for the entire family. San Agostino Beach Resort in Greece is the company’s centre of excellence for childcare (as well as its specialist sailing centre). The waterfront is fully kitted out for all abilities, with a range of dinghies and catamarans, while the wind conditions are ideal for windsurfing, sailing, wakeboarding, waterskiing and kite-surfing.
Mark Warner Holidays (0870 770 4228/www.markwarner.co.uk).

Singles
Solo’s Holidays specialises in catering for the lone holidaymaker – there are no supplements on most departures. The last three-night sailing trip this summer, from Southampton and costing £479, sets sail on August 26. Otherwise, you can get booking for next spring. Mark Warner’s Palm Beach resort is a great place to meet other young people, and there’s no stigma about travelling alone. Neilsons is also a good option: it offers ‘supplement free’ weeks throughout the year (many during this September and October). Activities include wakeboarding, windsurfing and waterskiing; and one current offer, to Greece for seven nights, costs £399.
Mark Warner, as above.
Neilsons (0870 333 3358/ www.neilsons.co.uk).
Solo (08700 720700/www.solosholidays.co.uk).

Teenagers
Surfing is a good choice for teenagers – they tend to pick it up swiftly and see results fast, plus there are hundreds of destinations in the UK and Europe. Rockley Watersports specialises in family watersports holidays in France. It teaches surfing for 12-year-olds and above by qualified BSA instructors.
Rockley Watersports (0870 777 0541/ www.rockleywatersports.com).

Women
With women now making up 40 per cent of new surfers, girl-only surf lessons are catching on across the world (apparently women tend to be less competitive and more concerned with technique). Girl-only surfing is available on the south coast at UK surf capital Newquay, where the famous Fistral beach is the scene of international competitions. Hibiscus offers instruction by women for women.
Hibiscus Surf School, 21 Farfield Place, Newquay, Cornwall, TR7 1NY (01637 879374/ www.hibiscussurfschool.co.uk). One day’s surf tuition including equipment costs £35.

Time Out London Issue 1826: August 17-24 2005

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