tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87099700687860944222012-01-25T16:38:21.601+01:00This is a blog about our Life on The Reef. Ten-er-Reef that is - a dusty volcanic island stuck out in the Atlantic ocean somewhere off the coast of Africa. Here you'll find the rambling scribblings of an ex pat windsurfing philosopher, his wife's photographs, and possibly some interventions from their small (but thinks he's much bigger) pooch, Basil. Don't expect too much from The Gnomes though - they tend to be the strong and silent type.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.comBlogger781100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-17703306990834903422012-01-18T19:53:00.000+01:002012-01-18T19:54:00.909+01:00

After a week with no wind (so lots of biking for me), normal service was resumed this week with plenty. Three days on wave kit using everything from 3.7 to 5.2, and some very nice waves at times - although mainly when I was going out through them. Here's a pic of our pooch Gizmo chekin out de action. You can see how windy it is by the way his fur is blowing in his eyes:

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-879801971331760192012-01-08T11:58:00.000+01:002012-01-25T16:38:21.612+01:00

First of all, belated seasonal greetings from Snr Gizmo ... and what festive season we've had here ! The wind has been blowing non stop for the past couple of months just like it does in the summer, and we've been windsurfing pretty much every day including X-mas and New Year. Here's a snapshot of how the forecast looked - as I say this is how it normally looks in July or August: After

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-70352805232462725082011-12-30T22:49:00.002+01:002011-12-30T22:49:14.856+01:00

Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-34327148300988459542011-11-16T12:45:00.001+01:002011-11-16T12:48:05.177+01:00

Gizmo our pooch doing his favorite thing, jumping for sand..!

Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-6977859377217100262011-11-10T21:32:00.000+01:002011-11-16T12:48:06.490+01:00

This week there's been no wind or waves here (actually quite unusual this year), so I've been out on my new bike every afternoon, and like getting a new board it's a great motivator to have a new toy to play with. I love riding the trails here. There's everything from mega technical single track in the lunar / desert-like volcanic landscape around where I live through to beautiful fast fire

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-25901990931364713602011-10-19T15:37:00.004+02:002011-10-19T15:39:41.141+02:00

Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-45622470825270644522011-09-25T12:45:00.049+02:002011-09-27T11:28:15.224+02:00

We first drove to Masca, which has very winding roads,( not advisable to take this road if you have a hangover or have had a particularly large breakfast though ! ). The views from Masca are spectacular. Masca is a tiny mountain village perched on rocks with fantastic views of the sea .Our next stop was Buenavista del Norte on the coast where we watched some amazing boogie boarders . Then had

Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-37127184445248152742011-09-23T17:42:00.002+02:002011-09-23T19:08:57.140+02:00

Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-14914358720449048692011-09-09T14:19:00.000+02:002011-09-09T22:45:48.657+02:00

Just had my birthday ... don't ask how old I am ... I'll just say that I'm well old enough to justify a mid-life-crisis style impulse purchase (or two) ... And no, it's not a Harley / leather jacket / topey (how on earth do you spell that word ? the checker comes up with 'ropey. dopey, to pee etc) .... And here it is ... It's a full suspension Marin cross country machine: Rift Zone Quad XCR7

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-85538197064171323472011-09-09T13:29:00.000+02:002011-09-09T13:32:23.283+02:00

Hah umm yup, last Monday was quite 'interesting' ... I broke a mast in fact We had a very unusual big long period south swell which lasted for three days with Monday being the peak. We usually only get this in the winter, and then only with wind from the right (Wly low pressure storm wind). As these pics show, the beach break at La Tajita (next beach around the corner from Medano) was massive,

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-33222227599467284682011-09-08T17:30:00.005+02:002011-09-08T17:41:20.159+02:00

Tried out the Underwater Pentax W90 in the sea , it wasn't clear enough to photograph anything under the water so I just took some waves that were coming towards me, then played around with the HDR toning, etc..

Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-55012916549559977282011-08-12T12:15:00.003+02:002011-08-12T12:18:26.859+02:00

After the PWA left town there was a bit of a lull - not that I was too bothered as I was off the water waiting for a big hole in my toe to heal. This week the Kitey world tour is here (Medano is one big surfy party this summer :)) and the wind is back. Unfortunately the summer grockle hordes are also here, with hundreds of boogieboarding kids and wannabe surfers in the water. This also coincided

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-75980335733628842892011-07-16T19:16:00.012+02:002011-07-16T22:31:50.449+02:00

Daida MorenoDaida MorenoDanny BruchDanny BruchDaida looping over her sister

Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-66571043736899815482011-07-15T18:12:00.008+02:002011-07-16T11:32:01.622+02:00

AdamAdam

Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-65874526084387705132011-07-14T23:33:00.005+02:002011-07-14T23:54:59.565+02:00

I watched the last few hours. Highlights for me were two perfect double loops by Koster (the only that I saw while I was there) and an amazing backside 360 airal he floated high over a breaking section. The best wave-riding for me was from Kauli, Danny Bruch, and Jaegger Stone.Philip KosterThey only got a commentary going late in the afternoon and it was very hard knowing who was sailing let

Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-70295780228460525302011-07-13T16:04:00.025+02:002011-07-13T18:27:51.513+02:00

The event starts tomorrow ... so yesterdays post was 'Day -2' (minus two) and today is Day -1 ...I've just been down to the site and the place is really starting to buzz ...Mark ('Sparky') Hosegood is one of the PWA judges for the event. He's based here in El Medano and is very happy to be a five minute stroll from his casa instead of somewhere the other side of the world ...Danny Bruch, one of

Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-18951028264231205102011-07-12T15:06:00.006+02:002011-07-12T15:50:14.009+02:00

El Medano hosts the world's top wave-sailors in a PWA wave event starting this Thursday (14th - 20th of July). We're really looking forward to it. I'm currently off the water for a few days while various holes in my body heal, so some spectating will be a welcome diversion.Cycling past the event site at Cabezo just now it was like the quiet before the storm (although the wind was blowing as

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-68142634667998595102011-05-25T12:45:00.006+02:002011-05-25T12:55:06.002+02:00

Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-52609478475358531592011-04-25T12:09:00.002+02:002011-04-25T12:14:28.726+02:00

I recently did an interview by telephone with John Wilkie for his windsurfing podcast website, about our move to El Medano. You can listen to it here.

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-64582412211387510642011-04-22T16:11:00.004+02:002011-04-22T16:32:31.816+02:00

After only being with us for a few days, and despite our best intentions to keep him out of the news, Gizmo is in this week's Canarian Weekly ... click on this link and then go to page 9, and you should see his pic and the headline: "Gizmo grabs a new home" ...He's there as a good news story of a pooch from Action Sol refuge finding a home, and if it helps to encourage more people to think about

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-6980456903659290772011-04-16T16:47:00.003+02:002011-04-16T17:25:59.328+02:00

Just two weeks since our little yorkie Basil died, and we got a call from Marion, the manager of a local dog refuge ('Action del Sol') to tell us that a rather special pooch had just been brought in the previous day, and would we like to take first look at him ?Of course we said yes immediately, jumped in the car and drove round there. As soon as we saw him we could see why Marion thought he was

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-9103217803679386632011-04-01T12:49:00.003+02:002011-04-01T13:12:40.606+02:00

Our little dog Basil just passed away. He had a massive epileptic fit / brain seizure yesterday, and it left him unable to function. We took him to the vet, and it was clear that he would never recover or have any quality of life at all, so we all agreed to put him to sleep. It was one of the most difficult things that Nikki and I have ever had to do, but it was the right decision.The vet was

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-82872434812929134742011-02-04T13:23:00.003+01:002011-02-04T13:37:04.400+01:00

My good friend 'Big' Jonny sent me this pic of me doing some 'float-&-ride' sailing in the south bay with wind X-off from the right (SWly) and some nice waves (click on it for a big version - I'm on the blue Tushingham Rock and my WitchCraft Chakra 100l) ...

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-74192676764256248172010-12-24T11:43:00.005+01:002010-12-24T12:03:23.610+01:00

Feliz Navidad / Happy Christmas from Richard & Nikki ...(image from Nikki's Wooftastic 2011 Calandar for K9)and Snr El Baz (and his Spanish teacher) ...

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-34388442249480643762010-02-19T18:25:00.004+01:002010-02-19T18:32:33.747+01:00

Here are a couple of photos I took yesterday - We had huge winds, but it was off shore unfortunately. People still went out though. Richard broke a mast extension in the shorebreak. But it was just as well as the wind died about 10 minutes later and went even more off shore.It was bad weather all over the canary Islands that the electricity went off for at least 5 hours for most people.

Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-83396081646828293262009-06-14T15:03:00.007+02:002009-06-14T17:06:25.133+02:00

Here are some photos of CD Tenerife Supporters going bonkers in the streets of El Medano following their teams promotion to La Liga (the Spanish premier division).This means that next season we'll be seeing the likes of Barcelona (the champions of Europe) & Real Madrid (with Ronaldo et al) playing here in Santa Cruz.

Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-37926180509511817752009-05-20T15:54:00.002+02:002009-05-20T16:41:02.587+02:00

Friday the 15th of May 2009 ...The day started well. It was clearly going to be waveboard windy again (the third day in a row and looking good for at least another week or so), so I did a bit of stuff on the computer and then went out on the water to put theory into practice.Started out on 4.2m - not quite powered up enough, so changed up to 4.7m for my second session. Sailed up to the wall where

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-22242947180134693142009-05-12T15:07:00.001+02:002009-05-20T16:41:32.993+02:00

I have just set up a wooftastic new website dedicated to helping Tenerife's hard working dog rescue shelters and is a mine of useful information about all things doggie on the island and world-wide. Our pooch Basil - explains the idea: "Not all dogs land on their paws like me, and some even find themselves roaming the streets - for them it's 'dog eat dog' ! ... so Nikki set up this website to

Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-32884492734890927672009-04-07T15:29:00.014+02:002009-04-15T11:14:51.871+02:00

Big Tuesday, wind reached 42 knots today in El Medano, here are a few photos.....Big Tuesday, wind reached 42 knots today in El Medano, here are a few photos.....South Bay:Stich the OTC pooch, is not too keen on venturing out:Ben & Ben hiking through a sand storm to get to the water:

Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-38375119592607209792009-04-05T15:13:00.009+02:002009-04-15T11:15:47.269+02:00

This weekend there was a Spanish National wave event at Cabezo. 12 Cabezo locals took part. Graham Woods of OTC made 6th place. The single elimination was won by Marcos Perez and the double elimination was won by Dario Ojedia (full report is on BroadSeeker). Adam lewis (OTC)Marcos Perez

Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-88384030545091079572009-03-30T19:06:00.004+02:002009-04-15T11:18:56.832+02:00

The lady in the bikini was a sculpture in a garden along the coast at Abades - If the wind doesn't start blowing again I will be a similar size to her soon ..!

Nikkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406486882846076532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-89691700599562756742009-03-29T15:53:00.003+02:002009-04-15T11:14:51.872+02:00

Some photos I took on a very very windy day of Tris Best, owner of OTC. The wind was so strong I was almost blown of the Rock I was photographing from..!

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-37643369533081407702009-03-28T16:33:00.009+01:002009-04-15T11:14:51.872+02:00

The whole island suffered a blackout on Thursday because of a flash of lighting which hit a power plant in stormy weather - In Santa Cruz (North of the Island) the traffic lights stopped working and also the trams. Fire engines where called to appartments and Hotels, as some people were trapped in lifts...!

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-86821247322505734682009-02-18T11:54:00.003+01:002009-04-15T11:14:51.873+02:00

UnTappedSurfers PathTouching the Void

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-67539533863579064162009-01-30T12:15:00.000+01:002009-04-15T11:17:50.860+02:00

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-55680553670918146332008-10-01T15:53:00.030+02:002008-10-03T17:43:59.484+02:00

As I mentioned a few months ago, Boards magazine (www.boards.co.uk) have been running our monthly Life on the Reef column since the January 08 issue. You can read episodes 1 - 3 on the blog here and here are episodes 4 - 6 ..."Life on The Reef" (Musings from El Medano)Episode 4 - Boards Magazine June 2008Words: Richard Attree / Photography: Nikki AttreeHola amigos. Well it's certainly been a

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-61874021735606851492008-09-29T17:42:00.006+02:002008-10-01T17:52:16.795+02:00

Now as y'all know we are the long suffering owners (nb NOT 'parents') of one small (but thinks he's much bigger) terrorist terrier: Basil (aka 'Senor El Baz' / 'Rambo' etc). You can read the story of his arrival in Tenerife and the blog hereObviously he's one pampered pooch and never going to be a homeless mutt, but sadly that's not the case for the scores of animals that are regularly abandoned

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-27211973168762068322008-08-03T16:46:00.005+02:002008-10-03T18:11:55.767+02:00

Nick (on the Boards forum) wrote: "Hopefully you'll get time to put some more stuff up on your blog! How am I supposed to spend my days day-dreaming of moving there if you don't keep me supplied with new info to get jealous about?!"um, yes been a bit lax here recently ...Partly because there's not so much to write about right now ... we've kind of got over the initial period of panic, sorting out

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-18922550681457602732008-08-02T23:31:00.004+02:002008-10-01T17:57:06.136+02:00

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-77621279271058424172008-08-01T16:13:00.005+02:002008-10-01T18:01:38.982+02:00

Nikki took a few pics of me the other day at El Muelle (the harbour wall). Quite windy - I'm using my 4.2m sail, but as you can see, tiny waves (at least the ones that I found anyway :-(I'm quite pleased with the next one as I'm fairly well twisted 'inside out' with the sail opened out clew first as I head back up the (titchy) wave. In the cross on wind we get here you need to to do this to go

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-55927349158495262172008-06-09T16:27:00.001+02:002008-10-01T17:55:14.977+02:00

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-26972638462658816792008-04-24T11:29:00.002+02:002008-09-29T12:33:11.084+02:00

El Medano is one hell of a windy place - just look at this forecast for next week ...Not many places in the world can produce wind like that week after week - this place ROCKS !This was the web-cam pic from yesterday afternoon ...

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-41020827547718865862008-04-19T14:23:00.006+02:002008-10-01T17:57:06.136+02:00

Here's a few pics taken by our friend Heather (from Belfast) while she was on holiday here ...a rare pic of the lesser spotted windsurfing Nikki - about to launch with 5.2m sail and RRD WaveCult77and me about to follow her, on 5.7m and JP FSW102 ... we both had a nice session, the wind picked up a bit and I changed down to my wave board (Tabou DaCurve 85).Heather took this one of Nikki, me, and

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-19199198798297833432008-04-03T17:51:00.003+02:002008-10-01T17:57:06.136+02:00

Snr El Baz (Basil, aka 'Rambo", our small (but thinks he's much bigger) terrorist terrier) has found a new Spanish teacher. This was his old one:and this is his latest one:As you can see, the new teacher is much stricter, and dare I say even a bit scary with that impressively haughty looking beak. Anyway the problem with the gnome was that he was just a bit too laid back ... everything was a bit

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-11888749547657235472008-03-31T14:49:00.032+02:002008-10-06T17:39:57.817+02:00

Boards magazine (www.boards.co.uk) have been running our monthly Life on the Reef column since the January issue. Here's a chance to read episodes 1 - 3 and also "Tenerife Rocks" - a general travel piece commissioned from us for the April edition ..."Life on The Reef" (Musings from El Medano)Episode 1 - Boards Magazine December 07 / January 08Words: Richard Attree / Photography: Nikki AttreeThe

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-82156143089231299352008-03-30T18:04:00.004+02:002008-10-01T18:01:38.983+02:00

Does anyone really actually prefer it soooo windy ? anyways, yep I rigged my "new" 3.7m (one year old Rock from OTC) ... very nice sail, shame that it had to be in "feck off" mucho macho all black colours, but hey it does kind of suit my mood when it's 3.7m weather.lots of people stood around on the beach, lots of sand and debris flying every which way, but not a lot actually on the water ... not

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-34906869187750949462008-03-27T18:37:00.004+01:002008-10-01T17:54:23.016+02:00

Windy day today, Richard was on a 3.7, and the wind is set to get even stronger on Sunday..!Goats wandering around Pelada mountain.

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-23300375597010594952008-03-12T12:35:00.002+01:002008-10-01T18:01:38.983+02:00

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-82260158612986082782008-03-12T12:16:00.006+01:002008-10-01T17:57:06.137+02:00

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-21720077191998943252008-03-11T12:02:00.011+01:002008-10-01T18:01:38.984+02:00

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-33106219410104387762008-01-16T19:29:00.001+01:002008-10-01T18:01:38.984+02:00

Really nice conditions today ... good wind for my favorite size sail and board (4.7m & Tabou Da Curve85), and fun size waves. Nikki got some shots of me sailing today - these were taken at El Muele (the Harbour Wall) ...head high waves :-) ...and this last one was taken by Rob Main a few weeks ago ...

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-78228966198529760072008-01-14T13:19:00.001+01:002008-10-01T17:57:06.138+02:00

San Antonio Abad, is the Patron saint of various things, Animals , skin diseases and digging tree holes..!

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-42457715445222329342008-01-14T13:10:00.001+01:002008-10-01T17:57:06.138+02:00

Juego del Palo or "the Game of the Stick" is a traditional martial art/folk sport of stick fighting practiced in the Canary IslandsI don't think this Pig is going anywhere fast..!

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-42127812999268081102008-01-14T12:57:00.000+01:002008-10-01T17:57:06.138+02:00

Bulls caused gridlock in Arona town ... Nothing would move them, they wouldn't' even listen to the Police...

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-49408617869568519192008-01-05T18:24:00.001+01:002008-10-01T17:57:06.139+02:00

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-1603788982500868342007-12-27T16:05:00.000+01:002008-10-01T17:29:47.222+02:00

Boards magazine ("The UK's No. 1 Windsurfing Magazine" - see here) are currently running a series based on our blog and the first episode has just reached us (post is a bit slow here !).The strapline reads "Life on the Reef ... An impulsive decision to up sticks and swap pulsating Shoreham-by-Sea for a more laid-back manana lifestyle in the sun sees Richard and Nikki Attree and Basil the dog

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-48028414133747422912007-12-19T14:11:00.000+01:002008-10-01T18:00:03.486+02:00

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-8701756964377000482007-11-25T17:31:00.001+01:002008-10-01T17:57:06.139+02:00

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-90677689710035544732007-11-25T12:48:00.001+01:002008-10-01T17:57:06.139+02:00

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-91906197422828036712007-11-24T20:27:00.005+01:002008-10-06T18:22:50.130+02:00

Believe it or not there are people out there who's idea of a good weekend is to spend twenty four hours paddling their canoe around a couple of bouys ! Admittedly the winner gets a couple of thousand euros, but I get the feeling that this race is about more than the money. It's more about 'Who's the Hombre' who can paddle his canoe through the wee small hours and stay sane.Nikki photographed the

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-10579051656849137442007-11-23T13:40:00.001+01:002008-10-01T18:01:38.984+02:00

We had an enjoyable flat water session here today - wind was from the W - offshore, turning El Medano into a starboard tack flat water venue.The freestyle kids were in heaven, and I was in speed slalom mode (on a 5,2 and 102 FSW, maxed out, Nikki was on 4.2m so quite windy) ... burning everyone off and screaming into lay down gybes and 360's kind of a day.Fun for a while, but I'll be relieved

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-49402199168610624082007-11-23T13:39:00.001+01:002008-10-01T18:01:38.984+02:00

Ian (Boards Test Team)Pascalme againAdam (OTC)

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-77508222461588726822007-11-09T17:40:00.001+01:002008-10-01T18:00:03.486+02:00

Masca is one of Tenerife's most beautiful traditional mountain villages. Set in a hugely impressive barranca (gorge, ravine) that plunges down to the sea, the views are simply stunning. You reach it by taking a notoriously hairy single track mountain road that has only fairly recently been tarmaced, and the village used to be splendidly remote. Now that the road has been improved they get a lot

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-40005243698336643862007-11-02T16:58:00.000+01:002008-10-01T17:59:10.269+02:00

Ian and Emile of the Boards magazine test team trying out the latest kit on a marginal wind day, with El Medano town in the background ...by the way, the houses in the background of the shot above are where we live.

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-73508789520053912092007-10-31T18:02:00.000+01:002008-09-29T12:30:38.647+02:00

I've started keeping stats for my windsurfing here (El Medano) - I'll post them on our blog at the end of each month, if anyone's interested.As you can see below, we didn't get that brilliant an October, but quite a nice spread of conditions.Days on 4.2 - 2Days on 4.7 - 2Days on 5.2 - 1Days on 5.7 - 3Days on 7.0 - 3Total Days - 11several days stand out in my memory though

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-77713408098101997552007-10-30T22:38:00.000+01:002008-10-01T17:47:44.521+02:00

Here's a copy of an e-mail I recently sent to the various surf centres in El Medano ..."Hola to the El Medano Windsurfers and Kitesurfers,There are currently a couple of problems on the (Playa Sur) beach:1 - the area that has been marked out for swimmers is in the wrong place - ie too close to the windsurfing launch, and is not well marked out with those buoys. Also there are no obvious signs on

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-25674270553927565192007-10-30T22:25:00.000+01:002008-10-01T17:42:53.681+02:00

Most days here are a bit of an adventure, and today was no exception.First off, we had a power cut for most of the day, which meant that I couldn't use the computer or do any work, so 'forcing' me to go to the beach to windsurf - after all it was windy and what else could I do ? :)However, I hadn't factored in one aspect of the lack of electric juice - and that was the small matter of our garage

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-4561981966919039302007-10-25T16:35:00.000+02:002008-10-01T17:59:10.269+02:00

Nikki happened to be on the beach with her camera (shooting for the previous item) when a boat landed. These are her evocative and telling photographs (nb to be published in this week's Tenerife News) ...

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-17374162746204994562007-10-22T16:55:00.000+02:002008-10-01T18:01:38.985+02:00

Sparky's (OTC's Beach Manager) is currently running the third of his famous Annual Youth Camps - the biggest and best yet! Here are some shots from the first day ...

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-69118208589457902942007-10-08T22:35:00.001+02:002008-10-01T17:59:10.270+02:00

Here are some more of Nikki's beautiful images of our new home town ...The South Bay (Playa Sur) with Montana Roca in the backgroundThe Harbour Wall (aka El Muele in wave break terms)The North Bay (Cabezo as it is known to windsurfers)

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-32552187167090309442007-10-08T22:05:00.000+02:002008-10-01T18:01:38.985+02:00

Windsurfing Diary - Monday 8th October 2007 - A Classic Medano Day (there again probably not) ...8am - The wind has been howling all night, and it's still honking as I take the pooch for his pre brekkie walk.There's already someone out at Cabezo, and he's absolutely flying ! I watch as he rides a logo high wave and cranks three or four tight turns, and then about five minutes later he's rinsed

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-84854657212469128572007-09-30T12:43:00.000+02:002008-10-01T17:55:14.978+02:00

This is Basil's story - the musings of our small (but thinks he's much bigger) terrorist terrier ..."Well here I am in my weird and wonderful new home ..."The Woofer on his new balcony - on the look out for a woofing opportunity as ever."It's a funny old world if you're a dog. One minute you're freezing your bollox off walking round a muddy field in the rain, and doing the odd spot of kareoke on

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-2286733554505914412007-09-25T16:12:00.001+02:002008-10-01T18:01:38.985+02:00

Some days El Medano really comes up with the goodies. Saturday was one of those days that we live for. We'd had a whole week of good wind here, getting gradually stronger as we moved down through the sail sizes and the waves got bigger each day.By Saturday it was windy enough for a 4.2m sail for me (although some were out on 3.7's) and head to logo high waves with 3/4 mast high swell out the

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-24344678992890205962007-09-23T20:00:00.000+02:002008-10-01T17:59:10.270+02:00

Today was fiesta day in El Medano. Nothing unusual in that really, as there seems to be one every few days - but today's was the Big One. Last night there was an amazing firework display (one of the three best ever that I've witnessed - the others being Australia Day in Perth, WA and New Year's Eve in Jericoacoara in Brazil).And today was the Fiesta of the Madonna. Now I'm not going to pretend

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-44939484551214897092007-09-21T19:36:00.000+02:002008-10-01T18:01:38.986+02:00

Here's our first windsurfing post.We've been here a month now and both of us have sailed plenty. We've had loads of wind, although the waves have mainly been fairly small.I'm just about starting to get my legs working the other way for port tack jumps (I'm a Sarf Coast Shingle Licker in my previous life) and the onshore DTL riding is getting better as well - although this switch stance / clew

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-30634436390835996922007-09-20T23:10:00.000+02:002008-10-01T17:59:10.271+02:00

Here are a few of Nikki's recent shots of Tenerife ...The forest fires on Tenerife's steep wooded slopes were a recent international news story. Here's a shot of some of the devastation. The tree trunk is charred black, and the cactii look like they've almost melted as if in some strange Dali-esque painting. a door to who-knows-what ... perhaps an alternative world ruled by gnomes ?they're not

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-83018326055332291012007-09-20T22:09:00.000+02:002008-10-01T17:42:53.682+02:00

We've been here barely a month and we're already finding out that this is a place where things are not quite as they seem. For one thing, some things can be both true and untrue at the same time, without much of a contradiction or anyone actually being accused of telling untruths.For instance it can be the case that an internet connection is available in your rental house but also that it is not

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8709970068786094422.post-56252415471613332592007-09-15T16:30:00.000+02:002008-10-01T17:42:53.682+02:00

This is a blog about our Life on The Reef ... Ten-er-Reef that is. The British ex pats here like to use the term to indicate a certain nonchalant familiarity with the place, but we are windsurfers and so it's a particularly apt title for our new life here on this dusty, volcanic rock stuck out in the Atlantic ocean somewhere off the coast of Africa.Mind you, I'm hoping that I don't spend too much

Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12818131021313650570noreply@blogger.com2