PWA Grand Slam Gran Canaria 2008Date: from 3 to 12 July 2008 Programme
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Pozo Izquierdo. Such is the name of Windsurfing Mecca. The true birthplace of champions and touchstone for anyone aiming at becoming somebody in this sport. Year after year - 19 editions so far -, Gran Canaria is the main venue within the PWA World Tour. Gran Canaria’s World Windsurfing Championship has become the most prestigious event within the professional circuit.
The reasons for such success are manifold. Let us say first that Pozo Izquierdo is home to the best. Wind Wembley. The Rolland Garros of the most radical. The wind on this part of the island has given shape to a group of windsurfing figures in which the legendary Björn Dunkerbeck always stands out as top exponent. Local twins Iballa and Daida Ruano are also quite familiar with the force of the wind on beaches such as Pozo or Vargas, which has turned them into serious competitors, always sailing at the highest level within PWA Tour tournaments.
A large number of the best in the circuit also train on Pozo during long seasons, including the Jensen brothers, Kauli Seadi, Ricardo Campillo, Mark and Kevin Pritchard, Nick Baker, and locals Jonás Ceballos and Marcos Pérez, among many others. All of them are bound to Pozo beach one way or the other. What is it in Pozo Izquierdo that attracts them like a magnet?
Simple. It’s got wind. And sun. Everything needed for windsurfing. All that is required for the best on the planet to run every year to try themselves on an island on the Atlantic Ocean. Though it is true that one needs not be a pro to windsurf there, only the good ones can make it on days of strong wind. The really good ones.
The place has also a special charm. Pozo Izquierdo is a cobble and black sand beach located in Santa Lucía de Tirajana, not far from Gran Canaria’s main tourist spots. Pozo is nevertheless a world apart, made to the measure of windsurfing enthusiasts. Secluded from the most crowded beaches, distant from the usual transit of bathers, a world uninviting to those who come to the island’s golden sand beaches in search of fine weather.
Pozo Izquierdo still remains hidden. On purpose. It pops up after driving along a winding country road that runs through tomato greenhouses. This is the way wind freaks like it. They love the small town of Pozo, where life seems to pass by quite slowly. Rolling like high-velocity trains over the water, windsurfing freaks have in themselves all the speed they need.
One more thing. It is worth it to attend as spectator. It really is worth it! For on Pozo Izquierdo Beach windsurfers sail quite close to shore. This is why the PWA Tour is such a grand show. Windsurfers from over 20 countries at full speed over the water or jumping the waves like acrobats. Only a few metres away from the public.
Now you know it. If you are passionate about windsurfing. If you have already made up your mind as to travelling to Gran Canaria. Would you really miss the Pozo PWA? The lost world of speed freaks opens up to the public this month. On 3-12 July, you have no excuses to miss your date in southwest Gran Canaria. For further information, check out www.pozo-izquierdo.com
