Winter Cruises - Tenerife and Fuerteventura sport on Lanzarote,

So most of the yachts and motor cruisers in the Canaries are there permanently, those conditions preclude many leisure sailors. Any yachtsman sailing to the Canary Islands would need to be reasonably experienced and happy to deal with the weather systems that the Atlantic can throw at them from time to time. But the Canaries are quite remote and a quite a voyage from the popular sailing location in Europe like the South of France and the Balearic islands. There are several harbours and marinas around the coastlines of the different islands but sailing is not the primary water sport activity in the Canary Islands. For a group of islands situated out in the Atlantic Ocean you would expect water to feature highly in the sporting culture of the islands.

All the islands have surfing spots but both Fuerteventura and Lanzarote in particular have thriving surf locations, the stronger Atlantic winds can create wave conditions for surfers of all abilities. Windsurfing and the newer sport of kitesurfing, far more suited to the islands are the sports of surfing.

Gran Canaria is another of the islands to attract top level windsurfing with professional calibre competition using the beaches at Confital in the north of the island. Creativity and style, with judges awarding points for difficulty, the surfers try to complete as many moves as possible within their time period. This type of windsurfing is not a straight race as you may see in the Olympics but sees the competitors performing jumps and tricks to impress the judges who watch from the shore. The wind and waves around this part of the coast make it suitable for freestyle events rather than course racing. With the San Juan beach having been used for the world surfing championships, costa Teguise is another windsurfing location on Lanzarote and another spot that attracts high level competitive events. But that makes it all the more attractive in terms of landscape, there are nothing like the facilities of the bigger resorts here. Not just for surfing but for anyone who enjoys a slightly more dramatic element to their holidays, the beaches there are wide and impressive. But surfers know this spot very well, famura on Lanzarote is a location that is often missed by the many tourists who come to the island and remain in the main resorts.

Again Fuerteventura is an ideal island for such an adventure and every year around 30 kayakers undertake the 300 km tour of the island which takes them 8 days to complete. Stopping off in different locations each evening, there are also tours that take paddlers right around an island. One popular choice is to set out from Corralejo on Fuerteventura to explore the wonderful beaches to the south and to travel across to the small protected island of Lobos. There are numerous locations around islands that can be explored by kayak with several companies offering day voyages. Another sport to use the aquatic characteristics of the islands is sea kayaking.

But these elite athletes revel in the challenge and the fastest competitors will complete the task in less than nine hours, cycling 180km and then running a marathon would be beyond the capabilities of most people, the thought of swimming 3.8km in the sea. Triathletes of all standards will compete but there are always a large number of the world's top professionals on the start line. Even though next year's event is still eight months away it is already fully subscribed. A maximum of 1500 competitors are allowed and the event is now always fully subscribed. The Lanzarote Ironman event takes place in May each year and will celebrate its nineteenth edition in 2010. It was only a matter of time before one of the many competitive events grew its international status, the weather in the Canaries make the islands the perfect location for year round training and competition and with so many athletes coming to Lanzarote during the winter. Triathlon is another sport synonymous with the Canaries and the Lanzarote Ironman event is one of the best known events on the sport's calendar.

The Tenerife Rally and the Granadilla Rally, the Adeje Rally, with several hill climb events and three multi-stage races, on Tenerife a number of rally events take place each year. The Rally de Lanzarote is a newer event that ran over its 1000km route for the third time in 2009 and is part of the Spanish Rallyes Tierra four race series. Teams, largely amateur, on Fuerteventura the La Oliva Car Rally in May attracts around 50. They all have volcanic origins which have provided them will hilly and varied terrain that provides several options for off-road rally events. Car racing is another activity that makes good use of the geography of the Canary Islands.

So for sports participants of all types the Canary Islands always have something to offer, tennis and golf, there are other sports that have found popularity on the islands including swimming.