A week in Tenerife by Stuart Gaston

Saturday, 18 February 2012

Lewis Leadbetter flies at La Fitenia

When winter begins to take its toll, there's only one thing to do... travel! So a week away somewhere hot and sunny with solid surf on hand as well seemed in order. It was definitely time to check out Tenerife where up coming pro junior surfer Lewis Leadbetter has lived for the past ten years. Having worked with the talented regular footer on five trips last year where he demonstrated his skills at the notorious reef break of La Santa in Lanzarote to the infamous beach break of Supertubes in Portugal, the trip was filled with a mix of expectation and anticipation having seen some amazing local shots of pumping surf from just the week before and knowing that the lad from Las Americas is now aiming sky high with some confident aerial antics. It was destined to be the trip to get Twenty Twelve off to a great start.

At least it would have been had there been a little more co-operation from the mighty Atlantic! At best, this often awesome ocean, which also seemed to have packed its bags and headed elsewhere for the week, simply sent in a few meagre swells. Indeed, the entire surf community of Las Americas were joking that they were forced to surf their summer swell break of La Fitenia at the height of what is normally the winter swell season. Still this didn't phase Lewis one bit. The waves on offer may not have been the heaving barrels that he loved so much a year ago in Lanzarote but nonetheless, he simply headed out with a different game plan in mind - to nail as many air reverses as possible. And a year ago this would have been quite a challenge but what a difference a year makes. A year of studying the styles and techniques of his favourite surfers, of training every day in and out of the water and of travelling around Europe, Costa Rica and Indonesia. This was one eighteen year old who's dedication to the sport he loves was paying off. Lewis was now literally flying before the lens every session and landing his air reverses with a style well beyond his years, a style quite obviously influenced by the current king of the airs, Gabriel Medina. So although the waves may have been only mediochre, the surfing was anything but as this, one of the many sikk shots Lewis scored over the five days, goes to prove. Certainly a great few days away from cold, small onshore surf back in another British winter.