The Lanzarote Quemao Class invitational surf and bodyboard championship, held at La Santa, brings together 64 riders from around the globe, including several world champions, and draws an online audience of 8.6 million viewers.
The Lanzarote Quemao Class has been enticing the world’s top surfers and bodyboarders to La Santa since 2015. The star attraction is the El Quemao wave itself – as spectacular as it is demanding – with a level of danger suited only to very experienced riders. The competition is also a memorial to David Infante, “El Fula”, a young surfer from Gran Canaria who lost his life on this very wave. Héctor Rodríguez, the competition’s co-director, offers us the inside track.
‘It’s invitational,’ he explains, ‘because from November to late February we’re on standby, waiting for a brief window of ideal conditions. Safety is paramount: with almost no margin for error at low tide, we only run the competition at high tide and only when a south or south-westerly swell lines up and the waves stay under 2.5 metres (about five metres from the front).’
‘El Quemao is a wave with brutal power, but it forms a round, stable tube… perfect!’ says Rodríguez. ‘You have to paddle with everything you’ve got and then drop vertically into the barrel. Once inside, the backwash can hit you from behind, and it feels like being run over by a bus.’
‘With the competitor line-ups finalised in October, we spend every waking moment checking the forecasts, keeping us on tenterhooks, Rodríguez admits. First comes the pre-alert, then, when the charts predict good conditions a week out, we issue a yellow alert. The green alert goes out as soon as the date is confirmed, and everyone has three days to get here: riders, organisers… everyone!’
There are 64 competitors, with 32 in each category and even more waiting on the reserve lists. ‘We have competitors from 16 different countries, plus a strong Basque contingent and 31 Canarians – our local talent pool is fantastic,’ says Rodríguez.
French world champion Joan Duru returns to defend his El Quemao surfing title. In bodyboarding, the line-up includes three world champions, three two-time world champions, and the legendary American Mike Stewart, who has nine world titles to his name. The defending champion at El Quemao is double world champion Amaury Lavernhe, a Frenchman from Réunion Island.
Lanzarote Quemao Class is not just about the main event. ‘For the last two editions we’ve run a contest to help nurture young local talent,’ Rodríguez adds. ‘We also organise Nasas, an audiovisual exhibition of surf and bodyboard, showcasing the work of photographers.’
