THOMAS TRAVERSA
I stayed in France all winter but we had a plan to go on a family trip at some point. A good forecast for the Canary Islands came at the right time and I knew it was going to be epic in Fuerteventura, so it was an easy call. I have spent a lot of time on that island in the past and there are different spots that can deliver amazing conditions with westerly winds and a decent swell.
I did not expect the wind to be that strong, I had never used a smaller sail than 4.0 in Fuerteventura prior to this trip, so I only brought sails from 4.0 up to 4.7. I was on my medium / big board, 220 x 55 cms and 70 litres, with my normal fin setup, 15 and 10 cm thrusters, just my normal equipment. I like to feel good with my board when conditions are big so I prefer to use a board I know, with the settings I am used to.
On the first day the wind was howling, 30 to 40 knots I think, so I was really overpowered on a 4.2, but the waves were so clean that it was still very fun to sail. I had 2 sessions that first day but ended up having a bad crash and tweaked my ankle so I missed the biggest waves on the second day. On that first day I had a couple of airs, even though I was more trying to link solid turns together on most of my waves. This spot only has 2 different sections to hit, the outside bigger section and the inside bowl. Because the wind was so strong, the outside section was hard to play with, so I was only trying to hit the inside bowl, which is very hollow and runs really quickly down the line. The wind was very offshore and on one of my attempts a strong gust lifted me after hitting the lip with a lot of speed. I knew from the beginning that the wind was going to blow me out the back of the wave, but the feeling of going up in the air so quickly was truly amazing! Technically it wasn’t anything special, but was still a very fun moment!