The Ebro Delta: the new kite surf destination in Catalonia

Sant Carles de la Ràpita (ACN). - Shallow waters, a good climate almost all year and plenty of wind. These perfect conditions have made Trabucador, in the Ebro Delta, one of the favourite destinations in Catalonia for fans of windsurfing. More recently, kite surfing has also been practised in the region. The area is home to specialised schools for water sports and other related businesses that are now looking for a new project for the creation of an aquatic base to promote the area to tourists and help it to become a prime destination for sports fans.

Ten businessmen in the area, helped by the Nautical Station and the Council of Sant Carles de la Ràpita, are promoting a project to create a nautical base at the Trabucador. The promoters need to negotiate with the Spanish Ministry of the Environment about the viability of the project. The area already has a wood pier and a special area for parking and leisure that has now fallen into disrepair.

The promoters want to reuse the pier to build a coffee shop, toilets, showers, a classroom for kite surfers and windsurfers, a warehouse for sports equipment and an information point. "It would be like a ski station", said the Tourism counsellor in Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Rosa Anglès. The project would be financed by those ten businessmen and managed by the Nautical Station in the town. The Council will lead the negotiations with the Spanish Environment Ministry.

The negotiations are "advanced", according to Anglès. The Council even suggests that the area could be completely open for business next summer. The project would help to "promote tourism" in an area "not being put to good use" and that has all the requirements to become a prime location for windsurfing and kite surfing. Anglès argued that the nautical base would be an example of "sustainable tourism". More than 20.000 people visit the Trabucador area annually, most of them by car, and without stopping there for long. Now, they will have a new incentive to do so.

Vincent Kirch, a Frenchman that has a kite surfing school in the area, says that Trabucador is "paradise". The interest in this sport has been growing and thousands of people are visiting the Ebro Delta to practice it. "Some days ago, in winter, there were about 25 kites here. In spring and autumn, we can see up to 250 people practising the sport. Counting their companions this can mean between 500 and 700 people coming here just to kite surf", he added. Half of these visitors are from Catalonia, and the rest come from abroad, with sports fans from Germany, England, Switzerland, Ireland, Holland or France.

At the moment the people that practise those sports do not have installations to have a shower, a coffee or a place to socialise. The Council and businessmen hope that the new project will serve to promote the area.