Kiteboarding - kitesurfing guide for Zahara de los Atunes Spain

Information on courses, beaches, locations, repair services & schools in Zahara de los Atunes

Within the last years kitesurfing in Zahara de los Atunes has developed to be a very popular sport.

The mix of wakeboarding, surfing and paragliding experiences a huge boom and the technic as well as the material have improved a lot.

Zahara de los Atunes is one of the parts of the Costa de la Luz where the Levante wind is blowing with a bit less strength than in Tarifa.

Kitesurfing is quite easy to learn, but we recommend still to go to a professional kitesurfing school to safely be thaught the basics and the safety aspects.

Spots for kitesurfing in Zahara de los Atunes and Atlanterra

Kitesurfing with western winds (Poniente)

The western wind Poniente arrives side-onshore and brings 4-6 Bft. depending on the time of the year.  Small to medium size waves come with the Poniente providing perfect conditions for beginners and advanced riders.

For Poniente kites between 12 and 16m² are recommendable.

Kite-Spot: Beach Playa Canillos Pajares

This spot is a 2min car drive away from Zahara de los Atunes, but definitely worth the effort. The beach between Zahara de los Atunes and Barbate offers perfect kitesurfing conditions and is never crowded.

You will not be bothering swimmers or sun bathers here. Most people prefer to stay closer to Zahara or Atlanterra and use the swimmimg zones where kitesurfing is not allowed.

The beach is wide and ideal for landing and launching the kite. Especially in the winter months the waves here can be quite challenging.

Kitesurfing with eastern winds (Levante)

While windsurfers love the strong Levante, kitesurfers used to avoid this wind in the early days of the sport.

Mostly, Levante reaches bewteen 6 and 9 Bft. and its direction is side-offshore from the left.  Levante demands a very high level of kitesurfing skills.

With small boards and kites of the latest generation Levante can be still a lot of fun and a great challenge.

You should generally keep in mind:

• Levante blows side-offshore (crossing against the wind is a must)
• Levante more gusty than Poniente
• Levante builds up quickly and gets very stong

Kite spot: Beach Playa Atlanterra, Costa de la Luz

In Zahara de los Atunes and Atlanterra it's only allowed to kitesurf outside the swimming zones. Strong Levante in Tarifa will always show 1-2 Bft. less in Zahara de los Atunes.

Be careful with Levante wind! As it is side-offshore, you need to be able to run hights with your kite, otherwise you will have a long walk back on the beach.

The wind further outside is more constant than inside the bay where the buildings and hills create gusts ad windholes.

Tipps for beginners

The media likes to present kitesurfing as a sport that is easy to learn. In reality it is not that easy.

Kitesurf schools like to promise to get in the water on your third day, but still you'll be far away from knowing how to kitesurf properly.

You'll need a couple of weeks for sure to learn the basic and reach a safe level for most conditions.

Own experiences kitesurfing in Zahara de los Atunes

• Don't try to impress other people
• Take your time learning the basics
• Ask the locals about the spot and its peculiarities
• Test your quick release under real life conditions
• Process quicker by learning with a kite instructor and skip the frustration
• Think through emergency situations and how to react - in the water it'll be too late

Source: www.vwds.de

• Look for the right spot to practice on land and water with enough space to start and land the kite. The proper practice spot must: - be free of obstacles like trees, rocks, cars, houses etc. for at least three tiimes the length of your lines.
• Only go kitesurfing in conditions, which you can control. Don't overestimate your skills and choose the proper size of kite depending on the wind and your skills.
• Avoid gusty wind and look for sideshore direction.
• Check your board and kite on funcionality. Make sure the lines are not demaged and the kite is set up correctly. Check the saftey system.
• Always use a funcional quickrelease for all connections and a safety leash.
• Never go kiting without a wetsuit, helmet and floating support. 
• Make sure that no others get injured or endangered by your kitesurfing. 
• Obey the rules for environmental behaviour
• Store your board and kite safely on the beach and only let experienced people help you launch or land tghe kite.
• Never kite close to persons who are within the range of your kite.
• Never kite alone and don't ride out further than you can swim. Make sure somebody knows you're on the water for sending help in the worst case.

Tipps for advanced kitesurfers

Have a lot of time to practice ;-)

Here a kitesurf video of the Worldtour PKRA in Tarifa 2007 (www.kiteworldtour.com, www.kitesurfworldcup.de)