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Latest News
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For more news, visit the blogs of our team members Adam Lewis and Graham Woods
El Médano - "Easiest Windsurfing Trip I Have Ever Been On!" Clyde Waite is a familiar name on the UK windsurfing scene, having worked as the Editor for Boardseeker Magazine in the past as well as for the RYA's Team-15 project. He recently popped out to El Médano for a short break and wrote about his experience on his Windsurf Britain blog. Hope to have you out with us again soon Clyde.
News Posted - 09/06/10 |
June Issue of Windsurfer International Out Now
News Posted - 08/06/10 |
Tenerife's Got Talent! With the Eurovision Song Contest been and gone for 2010, and most countries' 'talent shows' wrapped up, Dany has taken it upon himself to put Tenerife on the map. Following the success of Sjors Koopmans' rap on our shores, we are proud to introduce Dany .. the Popstar!
Okay, so we have to agree that he should probably stick to his day job, but that's only because what he does on the water will make even the most miserable non-windsurfing judge such as Simon Cowell sit up and take note.
News Posted - 07/06/10
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Surf Charters Available in the Canaries Some friends from El Médano have recently set up their own surf charter company, akin to those available in and around the more famous surf spots such as the Indonesian and Polynesian Islands. Surfing, diving and kitesurfing are all catered for, so if you'd like to discover the Canaries from an all together different angle, why not get in touch with Canary Surf Charter by clicking on their website icon on the right.
News Posted - 07/06/10
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Fun Conditions in South Bay Having returned from competing in Rhosneigr and Ireland, where he came an excellent fifth in the Pro fleet, Graham was welcomed home with a good NE forecast. Rather than mixing it up with the crowds at the Harbour Wall or Cabezo, he decided to play around in the more gentle waves of South Bay, right in front of the centre. The waves here are excellent for the novice wave rider as they break on a gently shelved sandy beach and don't hold a great deal of punch. But as Gray proves here, they can be a lot of fun!
News Posted - 03/06/10
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Carbon Art in OTC Tenerife New to The OTC in Tenerife, we are pleased to now stock five Carbon Art boards. Carbon Art are based in New Zealand, founded by head designer James Dinnis, who is quickly gaining a reputation as one of the world's most recognised shapers. The brand prides itself on their product's strength to weight ratio, with each board blank CNC shaped before being hand-finished using a leading edge process. Each board is measured at stages throughout the process to ensure 100% design consistency. For more information, click on the images to be directed to the Carbon Art website. Boards in stock to test: Wave Vs in 54, 56 and 57 and Freerides in 60 and 68.
News Posted - 31/05/10 |
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Team OTC's Guide to Defi on Boardseeker Tris has just had an article about Defi Wind featured on Boardseeker magazine. You can read it by clicking on the image of the article on the right. By all accounts it was a pretty special event this year, so why not put it in your list of "things to do for 2011". For more information, go to the Defi Wind website.
News Posted - 28/05/10
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Boys Doing Well in Ireland! Just a quick update about Adam and Graham out in Ireland. After the disappointment of Rhosneigr being a no-wind event, it seems Brandon Bay is once again delivering the goods. The winds might be light but both Adam and Graham are getting plenty of coverage; Grey was also said to be the standout sailor in the daily update, taking the scalp of Chris Murray to face Timo Mullen in the run for fourth. If he beats him, it would then be Phil Horrocks, John Skye and finally Ben Proffitt to reach the top - but we know he has it in him! There is also video footage on Boardseeker, with Grey doing the commentary. Pics: Dave White.
News Posted - 20/05/10
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Pro Limit to Test in Tenerife We are pleased to announce we now have a selection of the latest 2010 Pro Limit harnesses for our clients to try out in Tenerife. There is a M and L in both the Type T (medium back support) and Chili (medium/high back support) and a M and L in the Rambler seat hanress. Feedback from clients has already been very positive; come have a go yourself.
News Posted - 15/05/10 |
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Defi Wind 2010 Tris, Dan Macaulay and Roger Clark are currently over in Guissan in the south of France taking part in one of windsurfing's greatest spectacles - Defi Wind, a marathon masterblast race with 1000 competitors on the startline! You can follow their blog on the BOARDS Website. The forecast for the weekend is insane as well! Full report to follow in BOARDS mag.
News Posted - 15/05/10 |
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Starboard's Clinic for Kids It was a great shame but unfortunately Boujmaa couldn't make it to the UK in time for our scheduled clinic in Weymouth on the 8th. Instead Tushingham sent us Chris 'Muzza' Murray ... and what a great stand in he was. Quick to motivate, eternally in a good mood, and of course knowledgeable about windsurfing, Muzza soon had the kids warmed up in the freezing conditions and maintained the smiles on their faces (despite the blue lips!) throughout the weekend. Many thanks to Tushingham for all their help in organising the event - we know all the kids left fizzing, and excited about doing lots more windsurfing this summer.
News Posted - 10/05/10
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Windsurfing 4 Cancer Research Target Reached at Weymouth The Sunrise to Sunset challenge was on 2nd May this year, and unfortunately coincided with some chilly NE winds, plummeting us back into what felt like the depths of winter! Nevertheless, the group of ten kids we taught on Saturday returned for the second day of their 'Start Windsurfing' course and were eager to get back out on the water (this time with the W4CR streamers on their sails). Our hats go off to them as they battled the cold conditions, and stengthening veering winds brilliantly. They are all students at Wey Valley School, and were sponsored through the course by the Will Mackaness Trust - another incredibly worthwhile cause. It was our pleasure to work with both charities and introduce such a great bunch of young people to our sport. Thanks to all who helped support the weekend.
News Posted - 05/05/10
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BSA Weymouth Event on Video Last weekend marked the return of British slalom windsurfing to Weymouth, hosted by The OTC at our new UK venue - the WPNSA, which will play host to the Olympic Sailing Classes in 2012.
Whilst the wind didn't play ball all weekend, we had more than enough on the second day of the event to get some results. What is more, the weather was super warm and allowed the 46 competitors to get a taste for things to come once we open the centre properly.
On that note, we have been waiting patiently for the local authorities to grant us permission for the centre building we have proposed. It has been a trying time, but at last on Monday, we received the news that our planning consent had been granted! We're sure this was in no small part down to the situation being reported on in the local 'Dorset Echo' newspaper the previous Friday, (see imge below). We are now hurredly putting our building plans into action, and should be able to announce the official opening date for OTC UK very soon. Watch this space! Many thanks to Reuben Ellis for putting the event videos together - great job mate.
News Posted - 03/05/10
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Good Winds Forecast - Come and Play! The trades are set to return to El Médano and every wind-loving local in the town is quietly dancing in the isles, before heading off to bed early to store up their energy for the long days on the water ahead. So why not check those flights and get out to warmer climes where the waves are mounting the wind is constant and the action guaranteed? To check availability, get in contact with us straightaway.
News Posted - 27/04/10
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British Slalom Association Event a Great Success Despite the winds not being a permanent fixture, or our UK centre being in place, the BSA event we hosted over the weekend in Weymouth was a great success. You can read all about it in the event report on the BSA site by clicking on the shot on the right. Thanks again to Paul from Tushingham for his tireless support, and Fat Face, Marlow Ropes and O'Neill Wetsuits for stumping up the prizes. Pic: Roger Turner.
News Posted - 27/04/10
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Windsurfing 4 Cancer Research in Weymouth - Join in or Donate! The charity Windsurfing 4 Cancer Research was founded by David Tuttlebee, who despite fighting colon and lung cancer for more than four years now, has found the time and energy to raise money for cancer research. His story is quite extraordinary, whilst the team he has around him and the momentum of the charity is testament to just how inspiring he is, meeting the challenges he has on a daily basis head-on.
With setting up OTC UK in Weymouth, is was only natural that we would want to be involved. The Sunrise to Sunset windsurf takes place on the 2nd May, and starts at 0537 as dawn breaks. We will have kit on hand for people to hire, tuition and tips for those that want it, and there will be a BBQ in the evening, doubling up as the first social of the Weymouth Windsurfing Association (WWA) calendar. Please come and get involved if you can, but if not PLEASE PLEASE DONATE to what is a very worthwhile cause.
News Posted - 21/04/10
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British Slalom Association - Weymouth - 24/25th April Although The OTC UK is still not quite open yet (still waiting for final planning consent ... patience is a virtue, or so I have been told!) we are very proud to host round two of the BSA series at Weymouth's Osprey Quay on the 24th and 25th April. The BSA season got off to a great start over Easter at Tenby, and now it's our turn to build on their success. There will be lots going on over the weekend to compliment a full programme of racing for the three fleets. Windsurfing taster sessions, lots of demo kit on hand to try, and live band Korsak to help the evening's party enter the early hours of Sunday morning. Come along and join in - it promises to be a great event.
News Posted - 16/04/10
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The Tradewinds Return! More shots from windsurfingtenerife.com recounting the action of late March and April so far. After a peculiar start to the year, it was great to see the north-easter trades return.
The summer promises to be another busy one, with bookings coming in thick and fast ... book now and avoid the price increases that will be introduced in April.
News Posted - 13/04/10
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Issue 7 of Windsurfer International Out Now
News Posted - 12/04/10 |
Windsurfreview.net v2.0 has been Launched After several months of development and testing windsurfreview.net v2.0 has been launched. Windsurfreview has taken time to improve functionality as suggested by the many visitors that have visited the website since the launch of v1.0 in October of 2009. Windsurfreview aims to remain the biggest source for windsurf product information on the web. Here’s what owner Peter has to say about the new website:
News Posted - 11/04/10
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Click on the image above to be directed to Windsurfreview.net |
Boujmaa Youth Clinic in Weymouth! An event not to be missed by any youth windsurfer - Boujmaa Guilloul is coming to UK shores this May to help broaden horizons and demonstrate just what is possible in windsurfing today.
He is probably the most inspiring and expressive sailor the sport has ever seen, and comes up with more new manoeuvres than Johnny Vegas has had hot dinners! Just take a look at his latest stunt - a dark tack (or Crazy Pete) into a switch stance forward. We've also just found footage of him throwing himself into one midway through this video of a Jump Off Contest in Maui. The move just looks insane ... and pretty unlandable to us, but true to form Boujmaa is probably landing them by now! Although not winning the contest, he got the highest recorded stock air at over 62 feet!
The event will take place at OTC UK in Weymouth on the 8th and 9th May. Starboard will be down in force with lots of demo equipment, and plenty of instructors will be on hand to help guide the participants through everything from basic non-planing moves to the latest freestyle stunts. There will then be an informal get together in the evening in WPNSA's Spinnaker's Bar to meet Boujmaa and talk about his home town of Moulay in Morocco, find out about life on the PWA Tour, and also how he plucks up the courage to throw himself into these ridiculous manoeuvres with such reckless abandon!
Spaces on the clinic are going to be limited so get in contact with us by email or by phoning +44(0)121 299 9965 to reserve your place now.
News Posted - 09/04/10
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Dany in New Video It has been a long time in the making, but this is a new video produced by Florian Jung, featuring Dany and Graham Ezzy. Much of the footage comes from the PWA Pozo event last year when the three shared an apartment.
News Posted - 09/04/10
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Phil Horrocks Visits Phil had some work to do for JP Australia last week, so with no wind forecast in the UK, managed to sneak a quick trip out to El Médano to make the most of the wind we had. Jochen from windsurfingtenerife.com seemingly doesn't miss a trick behind the lens of his camera either, and snapped this shot of Phil practising his latest manoeuvre - the 'disparu'! Phil is one of the UK's top sailors and with his new sail sponsor, stood out on the water whilst with us, and from his website, it sounds like he's going to be a more regular feature around our breaks in the future ... which will be nice.
News Posted - 23/03/10
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Issue 6 of Windsurfer International Out Now
News Posted - 17/03/10 |
PRICES TUMBLE IN OUR KIT SALE We are rolling back the prices for the 2008 equipment we have left, and will further discount the 2009 equipment still in stock. You can see a list of the equipment available on our sales page and make sure you get in contact straightaway if interested, as at these prices, the kit won't be hanging around for long!
News Posted - 10/03/10 |
SUMMER SAVINGS - BOOK NOW Book now and avoid the price increases that will be introduced in April. Bookings are already coming in thick and fast for 2010's summer months and space is limited, so to ensure yourself a place at the centre and benefit from this cost saving, get in contact now!
News Posted - 09/03/10 |
Windsurfing Tenerife Exhibits Las Americas Jochen from Windsurfing Tenerife hasn't missed a trick this winter and despite us having some a peculiar wind patterns, seems to have spent a lot of time on the water. "Got a car and not afraid to use it", he has recently posted a number of shots from La Fitenia in Las Americas. Las Americas may have a bit of a reputation for attracting the pikie-on-tour, but the waves aren't half bad. Just be ready for a more adventurous launch! To see more pictures from windsurfingtenerife.com visit their site.
News Posted - 08/03/10
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Adam Competing in the Fuerte Wave Classic OTC Centre Manager Adam Lewis is out in Fuerteventura at the moment competing in the Wave Classic event, providing the perfect opportunity to test his new Point 7 prototype sails. The conditions have been fairly marginal for now, but they did manage to get a warm up session at Punta Elena a couple of days ago, the video of which can be seen on Boardseeker Magazine. Adam is in Team 3 with Nayra Alonso, Fabrice Beaux, Dario Ojeda and Ilya Escario, which seems fairly strong to us. The event continues until the 12th March and you can keep up to speed with everything that goes on by reading the posts on The Wave Classic's Website. Pic: FWC / J Piña.
News Posted - 04/03/10
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Dany Bruch on the Move
OTC: Hi Dany, you have been in WA for over a month now training for the forthcoming season. How has it been so far?
OTC: Seems like your training is going well! Not a bad time to leave Tenerife either - waves have been great, but the wind pattern has been very odd the last two months. So anyway, what's happening with your board sponsor for this season?
OTC: So what has been your choice?
Straightaway, he introduced me to his new concept - the "Trailer Fin". It is basically a twin fin, with the two fins positioned further forward and wider apart, so that you can turn super vertical, rotating directly with your back foot over the fin. As the fins are so forward, to avoid spinout and to keep the board tracking he is using an extra little single fin (hence the “Trailer Fin” name) behind the twinser. I tried it at Margies and it's amazing! It is the most versatile board I've ever used and with the fins I can trim the board for every condition. I use the straight twinser set up on smaller days in short pocket waves. When it becomes bigger I put the trailer fin in and adjust the position to have the perfect grip for fast carving bottom turns. In onshore conditions and for pure jumping I can use the board as a normal single fin. It could even be used as a “thruster” board with two little fins in the front, but I havent tested that yet...
OTC: And how has it been with Severne over there?
OTC: When are you coming back then? What are your plans for the following month?
OTC: And what about some coaching clinics of your own at our centre?
All Pics: CMD News Posted - 01/03/10 |
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New Brandwave Marketing Website Brandwave Marketing have helped us a great deal since we started, providing an invaluable sounding-post for frank, impartial advice which has always been constructive. They have just released their new website, which we have to say is a great show-piece for what they are capable of. Take a look at the case-studies of their work as well - it reads like a who's who of the action sports and marine leisure industries! For more information, email Brandwave or click on their Facebook page.
Writing about Brandwave, founder and director Dan Macaulay says:
"Established in 2007 in Midhurst, England, Brandwave is a highly-focused full-service marketing agency specialising in the action sports market. Our clients include a wide variety of dedicated sports hardware and fashion brands targeted at the youth and lifestyle orientated markets. Brandwave's in-house resources include a team of highly skilled graphic designers, web developers, photographers, and marketing consultants providing tailored solutions to a broad range of creative challenges."
News Posted - 16/02/10 |
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FlyMount Video The FlyMount is a unique mounting system, which allows you to position a standard waterproof digital camera on your windsurfing equipment and capture footage and images which until recently were solely the domain of those with a very expensive camera housing.
This video was put together by FlyMount's Director Chris Knapton whilst out here in Tenerife on holiday. For more information on the mount, visit flymount.com.
News Posted - 15/02/10
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Musso Makes the Most of it in La Tejita So as you may have gathered from the string of latest posts on this page, the wind has been just a touch out of the ordinary the last few weeks if not months. In fact, that only tells a fraction of the story - whilst mainland Europe is struggling to cope with record amounts of snow, the Canaries are struggling to cope with record amounts of rainwater! We even heard that the floods of Tenerife's capital, Santa Cruz, made the news headlines across Europe, with roads turning into rivers, and cars either being washed away, or buried in debris. All that aside, here in the south, life goes on and windsurfers make the most of every opportunity of wind. These photos were taken by Jochen from windsurfingtenerife.com on the same day as the others below.
News Posted - 12/02/10 |
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Issue 5 of Windsurfer International Out Now
News Posted - 11/02/10 |
More South Wind, Witnessed by Fly Mount and WT.com Last Tuesday we brought you news that we were having another good south wind day, with a bit of swell surging through the bay. As promised, here are some shots, the ones below taken by Chris Knapton of flymount.com - an innovative housing for regular waterproof digital cameras, enabling you to catch the action from various angles. A video of the action they captured on the day will be posted here soon, but in the meantime, click on the link above for more information about the FlyMount housing.
Jochen from windsurfingtenerife.com also got some shots of the day, such as the one on the right. Click on the image to be directed to his site.
News Posted - 09/02/10
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The Official Test Centre in the UK It has been long-awaited, but The Official Test Centre is pleased to announce that their new centre will be opening in the spring of 2010. Based within the grounds of the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, the venue for the 2012 Olympics, the centre will stock the very latest freeride, freestyle and slalom equipment from all the major brands, allowing clients to test and compare the kit for themselves.
Portland Harbour is a world-class windsurfing venue, with some of the best wind statistics along the south coast of England, the waterway applicable for use in any tide state. With its affiliated school providing tuition from the grassroots up, the OTC is a centre with something for everyone, and will showcase the modern sport of windsurfing on the most prominent stage within the marine leisure industry today.
Subject to the final planning consent being agreed, the launch date of OTC UK will be announced in the next few weeks. Watch this space...
News Posted - 05/02/10
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Umi Visit the North Shore with Dany Dany has sailed the north shore of Tenerife a countless number of times now, and knows exactly what to look for in a forecast to score it.
On one of his latest trips he took Umi founder Brendan Pyatt and friend Alex Mussolini to introduce them to his playground. This is the video Umi have produce to recount the adventure ... you can spot Dany hiding amongst the mountains! To see the video on the Umi website and read their story of the trip, click here.
News Posted - 03/02/10
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North Shore Tenerife from umi pictures on Vimeo. |
Las Americas on WindsurfingTenerife.com We're having another great SW day out here in El Médano at the moment, with head to logo high waves reeling through the bay ... will post some pictures here ASAP.
For now though, take a look at some of these shots of Alex Mussolini and Jochen Stolz (right) on a couple of seperate occasions at La Fitenia in Las Americas. Just goes to prove that the location works in both port and starboard conditions... For more images from these two days, visit windsurfingtenerife.com
News Posted - 02/02/10
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KA Sails in OTC to Test The OTC now has a handful of KA Sails available to try out, including their no cam freeride sail, the Koyote, their crossover performer, the Kult, and a 4.7m version of their wave sail, the Kaos. Hailing from Western Australia, KA is a well established brand within windsurf sail development, having produced the McSail software package used by many leading sail lofts to refine their designs. For more information about the brand, click on the image on the right to be taken to the KA website.
News Posted - 25/01/10
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Adam Joins Point 7! OTC Centre Manager, Adam Lewis, has just signed for Point 7 for the 2010 season. With the Italian sail brand using El Médano as their winter training and development base, it has been hard not to spot their distinctive black sails out on the water whenever there has been the slightest hint of wind. Similarly, it seems Adam has caught the eye of Point 7's head honcho Andrea Cucchi. This is what the two had to say:
News Posted - 10/01/10
Click on the image below to view a short Point-7 video from here in El Médano
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2010 Funboard Wave Test Out Now The wave test, conducted by the Fabio Calo from Italy's Funboard Magazine and his test team, was published in their December / January issue. To view the pages of the report in your web browser, click on the opening double page spread of the test on the right. Alternatively, right click on the image and save the linked file. The PDFs of the test are approximately 2MB in size.
News Posted - 08/01/10
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Escape The Winter Chill! Okay, so the start of 2010 hasn't blessed us with masses of wind yet, but it is very pleasant out here with temperatures in the mid-twenties, which has on occasion brought a bonus day of wind to El Médano. So why not escape the snow in the UK and continent and head out here for a winter warmer? That's hopefully if you're not snowed in, like our OTC UK van! Happy New Year everyone.
News Posted - 06/01/10 |
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To see the news features of other years, choose from this scroll-down menu: |
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