Here I am in Lanzarote, staying at the Finca de Arrieta with Michelle and Tila (friends of old). Tila is in Indo with his uber-grom son Josh at present. I'm here with my sons Harry and Elliot, not to mention Aerial Attack and his mate from Oz, Clyde. But not thanks to Ryan Despair.
On Saturday, the airline of Despair was unable to land in Lanza owing to strong winds. Fair enough. We were diverted to Fuerteventura. Fair enough. What wasn't fair enough was what happened next. Not a single person told us, the passengers, what would happen next. We sat, we stood, we milled, we waited - all in vain. There was a rumour of a bus, to a port, which would go to another port, and then there'd be another bus ... But no one told us anything.
Eventually the quintet of which I am one hailed a taxi and made our own way to Corralejo, where we duly got the ferry to Playa Blanca. By this time QPR were 1-0 up against Southampton so I had a feeling that all would be well. The ferry did not sink and we found ourselves in Playa Blanca. From there it wasn't plain sailing - the taxis weren't keen on our boards. But we got to Arrecife (the airport), where we picked up our hire cars, and then set off in opposite directions - AA and Clyde to Famara, me and the boys to see the excellent Dennis Smith in Tao, where we procured Dennis's Magic Board for me and two shortboards for Harry and El. Then it was a drive to the Finca, a complex of yurts near Arrieta. By the time we arrived it was dark. Ryan Despair's failure to land meant we lost a full afternoon of surfing. I don't mind this too much - strong winds are strong winds, and evidently injurious to planes - but I do mind the total lack of care for its passengers' welfare, so blatantly evinced from the moment we left the plane in Fuerte. Not good enough.
However, the next day dawned, as next days do. This one was blessed with 4-6ft A frame peaks at Famara. On the Magic Board, the parlous surfs of the past few paddle outs at Sennen were forgotten. I had some great waves, as did Harry. He has barely surfed in two years but was quickly on it. Elliot got a few but as a beginner it was quite heavy for him.
Yesterday was a write-off - rain and howling onshore winds. The boys and I had a nice evening at the Finca, though, with takeaway pizzas and a couple of quiet beers. My sons are both good musos and it was a pleasure to hear them jamming some jazz and blues. Here's something Harry made earlier.
Today Orzola was the go. Good waves were had all around. This was followed for me by some pretty radical treatment by Dennis, who as well as being a shaper, surfer and all round good guy also specialises in healing not merely the battered likes of me but top class athletes, surfers and sportspeople. More of this anon.
It's been a good trip so far, and the final score was Southampton 1, QPR 2. As for Ryan Despair, his crimes are, for now, forgotten.
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