The same wind that leaves the water still near the shore can be the one that keeps a board out of the sea. It all depends on what you want to do that day.
In Fuengirola the terral, the levante and the poniente each affect activities in a different way. The terral, a land wind from the north or north-west, pushes paddle boards and kayaks away from the shore. The levante, from the east, brings a swell that bothers anything small and the dolphin trip. The poniente, from the west, raises a chop in the afternoon.
For a large boat none of the three stops a trip as long as the wind stays below twenty knots. For light kit the limit comes much sooner: between fifteen and twenty knots it is called off. So before booking, the useful thing is to check what wind there will be at the time of the specific activity, because a sunny day can be bad for paddling and good for boating.
The terral. It blows from the land towards the sea, so anyone paddling out has it behind them and anyone coming back has it against them, with arms that are already tired. Near the shore it hardly raises a wave, which is why the day looks good from the sand. With a terral, a board or a kayak drifts away from the coast without the paddler noticing.
The poniente is the second problem, because of the timing: it raises a chop in the afternoon, and standing on a board every short wave forces you to correct your balance. The half-hour lesson that is enough to get started on a paddle board goes much further first thing, on flat water. In a kayak, single or double, you sit down, but the wind limit is the same.
Jet surf is affected by all three, because what it needs is a flat sea. It is a motorised board steered with a hand controller, in fifteen-minute slots with an instructor inside the authorised area, and the first slot goes almost entirely on learning to stand up. With the chop of the poniente or the swell of the levante, standing up is a good deal harder.
The boards and skis towed behind a boat, also in fifteen-minute slots with an instructor, benefit from the flat water of the morning. The kneeling version is the easiest way to start, and with a little chop a lower centre of gravity is welcome. For all of them you need to be able to swim; board, skis, life jacket and helmet are included.
The wind changes how the slot feels. With the chop of the poniente the jet ski bounces over every wave and you feel it in your arms. Slots are fifteen minutes from the Puerto Deportivo de Fuengirola, and on a flat sea more than forty minutes in a row already strains your wrists and back; with waves that fatigue comes sooner, so two short slots are better than one long one.
The swell of the levante is a long wave and it arrives even when the wind is light. Riders without a licence go out with an instructor and inside the buoyed area; riders with a licence can leave that area, keeping their distance from beaches and swimming buoys, and with a swell that calls for more care. In both cases, if the forecast does not allow a safe trip, the date is changed.
Parasailing means about twelve minutes in the air at between 30 and 50 metres, and up there the wind blows harder than at water level, because lower down it is slowed by friction with the surface. You take off and land on the platform of the boat, and those waiting for their turn stay on board, so the state of the sea matters for them too.
The donut and the inflatables towed in a line end with everyone in the water. With the chop of the poniente each wave is one more bump, and if there are children in the group, who always ride with an adult, you can ask the driver to go gently. Life jackets are compulsory, and in the late afternoon, with the water warm, the final dunking is part of the plan.
The levante, above all. The trip lasts one to two hours from Fuengirola, and the aim is to see fins at the surface. With a swell the boat rises and falls, the water is choppy and the fins blend in with the waves. On a flat sea and first thing in the morning you can make them out from a long way off, which is when the trip works best.
Bottlenose dolphins live off this coast all year round, but seeing them is never guaranteed, and with a rough sea the chances drop. If the forecast the day before shows a levante, the sensible thing is to move the trip to another calm morning: a date change because of the weather costs nothing, and the dolphins stay in these waters in every season.
Much less than it affects light kit. Below fifteen knots almost everything goes out; between fifteen and twenty the boats keep going out while the light kit stays on land; above twenty, only the large boats. The afternoon chop of the poniente hardly changes a trip on a good-sized motorboat.
What does change is where you anchor. The skipper, who steers, anchors and is responsible for safety, picks the spot according to where the wind is coming from that day. On a boat driven by the customer you have to stay inside the authorised area marked on the chart and be back in daylight, and the ten-minute briefing beforehand explains how to call for help.
Direction first, then strength. If the forecast gives wind from the north or north-west, it is the terral, and for boards and kayaks the problem is drifting out to sea even when it blows lightly. If it gives wind from the east, also check the wave height, because the swell can arrive with little wind. If it comes from the west, move anything light to the morning.
That is how you order the day. With a poniente forecast, boards and kayaks before eleven and the boat or jet skis afterwards. With a levante and a swell, light kit and the dolphin trip can be moved to another date at no cost. With a terral, boat yes, paddling no. The sea forecast is on the home page of the website every half hour, and the official one is the AEMET forecast for the coastal waters of Málaga.
If it is not here, call us: two minutes on the phone and it is sorted.
The land wind on this coast: it blows from the north or north-west, arrives hot in summer and pushes boards and kayaks away from the shore, even though the water near the beach looks still.
The levante, because it brings a swell, and on choppy water the fins blend in with the waves. The best option is to go out first thing on a flat sea.
Yes. The poniente raises a chop in the afternoon, which hardly changes a trip on a good-sized motorboat. It affects boards and kayaks much more.
Between fifteen and twenty knots the light kit is called off. Above twenty knots only the large boats go out.
Leave us your number and we will call you. In July and August it is worth booking ahead.
Puerto Deportivo de Fuengirola, local 367. You can drop in and see the boats before you book.
At no charge. Going out to see what happens is never worth it.
Life jackets for everyone on board, included in the price.
