Summer vacations are synonymous with well-being, or at least that’s what we dream of. In addition to the traditional feasts and the hours of rest that we long for during the year, the summer season is also a good time to enjoy activities that, probably, cannot be carried out during the rest of the months.
Water sports take a privileged position in this regard, because in addition to being the most desirable for the hottest months, they have to their credit the security that we so much need and seek after the health crisis. Activities such as diving, surfing, kitesurfing, water skiing or canoeing, in addition to guaranteeing the user the recommended social distance, stand out as the best disciplines to keep fit during the summer, because if it is already difficult to follow an exercise routine , when the heat tightens and the holidays begin, it is even more so.
1.Surfing
If there is any sport that requires technique and balance, it is surfing. This discipline, which consists of surfing the waves standing on a board, was born more than 500 years ago in the Polynesian islands. However, the figures currently handled by this sector are quite interesting. According to Statistic Brain, the global surfing industry generates around 7.3 billion dollars annually, a number that is expected to increase by more than 2 billion in 2022. Thus, it is estimated that around the world there are around 35 million surfers, throughout 162 countries. As expected, the US tops the ranking with a total of 13.5 million surfers. In Europe, meanwhile, there are 4.5 million registered users.
Among the curiosities of this sport, we highlight John John Florence, the highest paid surfer in the world, who earned 5,329,200 dollars in 2018, as well as the highest wave in the world ever recorded, which reached 530 meters in Lituya Bay (Alaska), in 1958. As for Spain, the best places to practice this sport are Asturias, Santander, the Basque Country, Galicia and Catalonia, since having a more powerful swell, its practice is much more feasible.
2. Canoeing
Canoeing, also known as canoeing or kayaking, is one of the most recurrent water disciplines in summer, since it is not necessary to have very advanced training or technique to enjoy this sport, taking into account the different levels of difficulty what is in it.
Although in 1840 it was already considered a sport, the birth of this discipline, as we know it today, did not come until 1865, when the Scotsman John MacGregor, a lawyer living in London, built the first kayak. Over the years, canoeing has undergone different technical changes to offer greater functionality to the canoe, such as the one brought about in 1930 by William Fronde, a British naval designer who discovered that if kayaks were longer, they were smaller. also faster and, since then, the way of manufacturing them has been transformed. In Spain there are numerous places with incredible routes to enjoy it, among which the famous Descent of the Sella, in Asturias; the Tagus River Natural Park, in Guadalajara; the mighty river Bidasoa (in the Basque Country and Navarra) or the Hoces del Duratón Natural Park in Segovia, one of the most famous discoveries in recent years.
3. Water skiing
This sport, also known as water skiing, is a mix between surfing and skiing. It was born in 1922 by the hand of Ralph Samuel, but it did not become fashionable until the 1950s with the appearance of more powerful boats, neoprene suits and important advances in the material. Athletes or practitioners ski on the water holding on to a rope pulled by a high-powered boat (which moves at a speed of 56 km/h) performing maneuvers on one or two skis. This activity has multiple modalities, such as wakeboarding, wakeskate or wakesurfing, which instead of moving on skis, use boards to slide. The best places to enjoy water skiing are lakes and swamps, especially on windy days, as this is when you can get the most out of the discipline.
In Spain, the best destinations for water skiing are Cabo de Gata, in Almería; Almuñécar and Motril, in Granada, and San Pedro de Alcántara, in Málaga.
4. Diving
Scuba diving, also called scuba diving and scuba diving, has become very popular in recent years as a recreational or leisure activity. Despite being a discipline that requires great knowledge and preparation to carry it out professionally, diving underwater and exploring the wonders that are hidden there is an ideal option for having fun. Extensive research proves that freediving has been practiced for thousands of years for food or wealth, as well as for military purposes. However, scuba diving came into use mainly at the beginning of the 19th century. Frenchman Louis de Corlieu forever changed the course of this sport when, in 1932, he invented and patented rubber fins, which replaced the lead boots previously used to walk underwater.
Among the most outstanding funds to carry out this activity in Spain, are the Alborán Island, in Almería; Cap de Creus, in Girona; Castell de Ferro, in Granada; Formentera, in the Balearic Islands, or El Hierro, in the Canary Islands.
5.Kite surfing
Kitefurfing or kitesurfing is one of the sports that you can only do if the wind allows it. A traction kite pulls the athlete along four or five lines that are attached to the body by means of a harness, which makes it possible for the athlete to glide over the water on top of a board. As for its history, although its origins seem to be very recent, already in the twelfth century, in China and Indonesia, kites were used to drag small boats. This sport cannot be done with the off-shore wind for safety reasons, since if there were any kind of altercation, it would not let us return to shore. However, there are specific places where it is possible to sail with this type of wind, such as the Levante on the Valdevaqueros beach in Tarifa (Cádiz) and the Sotavento beach in Jandía (Fuerteventura). The best areas to practice it in our country are located on the Atlantic coast of Andalusia, in the Mediterranean (Murcia Region, Valencian Community, Balearic Islands and Catalonia) and in Fuerteventura.
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