We returned to El Médano on 2 January 2004. The holiday began well. I sailed morning and afternoon of the first two days on the Naish Cross 257 with a 5.8m² sail.
At the end of the second day, I fluffed a gybe going down a wave, dropped the sail flat onto the water, and fell badly onto the boom, bruising my ribs.
After that, the wind dropped for a few days. The weather was cool, and I was still quite sore, so we took an early flight home to recover.
We went back on Tuesday 24 Feb 2004, hoping to make up for missed windsurfing. When we arrived, the wind was Westerly. We saw kite surfers out at Tejita beach. The following day, there was no wind, and none until late afternoon on Thursday. I sailed Friday and Saturday with large sails, and Sunday and Monday with 5.8mē. Tuesday was even better with 5.4m².
On Wednesday conditions were more violent - time for a wave board. The Naish Competition Wave 254 served me very well with a 4.6m² sail, and later a 5.0m². I will certainly try this board again, even when the wind is less.
Wind was forecast for Thursday, but it didn't appear. The 'kalima' set in, and the sky went dark with dust. At the same time, I caught a nasty cold. In any case, there was no more wind for the rest of the holiday.
It was very hot much of the time - too hot to go walking. When the wind blows, it is cold. I would recommend a convertible wetsuit rather than a shortie at this time of year.
When not windsurfing, you could learn to kitesurf or to paddle an outrigger canoe. Lessons on both are available.
There is a great deal of construction going on. There are currently 4 internet cafés.
From Sunday 18 April to Sunday 25 April, there were sailable winds on a total of 6 days out of 8, but it was all 7.3m² or 5.8m² weather, except for one afternoon when I sailed 5.4m². On some of these days the wind did not arrive until late in the day.
In these light wind days, I am fortunate in being lighter than many other windsurfers. I can go sailing when others are stuck on the beach.
I did not sail on the last of the 6 days, as I was already very tired from sailing big sails all week, and the beach was full of weekend kite surfers.
The first week was quite wet. I have never seen Tenerife so green! We spent a lot of time looking at the spring flowers, and even saw a rabbit on the hills. We also watched the new buildings taking shape.
October is not a windy time of year in El Medano, so we were happy to enjoy a relaxing holiday.
Everything was very dry, in complete contrast from our previous visit. They say Tenerife has had no rain for 7 months.
The weather was hot - beach shorts all day every day. I wore a thin shorty wetsuit on the water, but really did not need it.
I sailed for 8 days out of 18, and could have sailed a couple more days if I had wished. Most of the time, the wind was off-shore westerly, and the water was completely flat. At this time of year, Tenerife really is suitable for beginners or intermediates.
The smaller Naish Force sails, up to 5.7m² at South Bay are excellent wave sails which handle lots of power. The larger sails are Naish Sprint, more suited for flat water. All are rigged on light weight masts.
The Naish windsurf boards at South Bay badly need to be replaced. Unfortunately, these 2003 boards have gone soft underfoot, so have little second hand value. Unless South Bay can reclaim some of the expected residual value of these boards from Naish, they may not be able to afford to buy Naish boards in future.
Construction continues at a tremendous pace. There seems to be no shortage of buyers for new property.