All Hail The Canary Pipeline

There’s perfect surf in the Canary Islands, it’s just not always easy to come by.

Summertime is mostly flat, and when a swell does pop up strong trade winds are usually responsible for stirring the pot.

That being said, there are moments where everything lines up perfectly, and the Spanish Archipelago delivers hollow presents to its inhabitants. Manuel Lezcano is a local surfer that knows exactly where to be, and when.

Check out his take on living near a Pipe Look-alike below.

Interview courtesy of Deflow Surf:

Deflow Surf: When you see a video like this, you can’t help but idealize Lanzarote. However, we take for granted that not every day is like the one shown here. Tell us a little about the day-to-day life on the island and how you spend your time when there are no waves.
Manuel Lozcano: We are lucky to have a long season. Perfect waves and size, but there are many differences from one year to another. We have “surfable” waves every day and several big wave days each month, so we keep busy during the season.

This summary of your winter makes two things clear: you had an epic season, and the Canary Islands is not a bad place to suffer from travel restrictions. Even with the effects of the pandemic still present, how has the whole situation affected you, both personally and as a surfer?
The winter was intense…not so much for perfect days — there were few — but lots of swell and strong winds. Still, we took advantage of it by taking the jetskis out, paddling, and testing ourselves a little bit.

Your relationship with El Quemao (Canary Pipeline) is something really organic and special. Please tell us what that wave means to you.
There are very few days a year that is working. So when it does, I give it my all. I prepare and organize myself to be there and enjoy it as much as I can.

Positioning is crucial out there, despite the fact that there’s little room to move between all the people. How does this influence you as a local?
We are lucky that most of the people who visit respect us and know how to be in the water. So when there are real waves we’re all there and it’s enjoyable.

For those of us who haven’t surfed either El Quemao or Pipe, what notable differences do you see between the two waves? Aren’t you itching for the Hawaiian winter?
We have the same wave season, so it’s complicated to leave home just to sit in the back of the line at Pipe. I did it a couple of years ago and it’s incredible to see in person. Pipe is the mecca of world surfing in winter, that’s for sure.  There are moments that the two waves have a lot of resemblances, but they’re actually quite different. It’s hard to explain, but you can really feel it when you’ve surfed both places.