Playa España (Villaviciosa) — local surf knowledge
The wave
Playa España is a sand and shingle beach east of Gijón, in the municipality of Villaviciosa. It faces north, slightly west (NNW), and its break depends on the banks, which change with the storms.
- Type of wave: beach break, variable peaks depending on the bottom
- Workable size: it works on less size than San Lorenzo; its best range is when San Lorenzo is between 0.6 and 1.5 m
- Too big: when San Lorenzo shows 1.5 m or more, too much swell gets in here and it stops working
- Small days: when San Lorenzo is small, Playa España usually has waves — unless the sea is truly tiny
Swell direction
- Best: the same as San Lorenzo — NW–NNW arrives clean and ordered
- It also works on a northerly swell; from the east it is very sheltered
Period
- From 10 s it works very well
- At 8–9 s it can still be good if the size helps: it tolerates a short period better than San Lorenzo
Wind
- Offshore (ideal): SSE wind (~160°). It cleans and orders the wave even blowing hard
- Cross-shore (E and W): the beach is fairly protected and holds them better than other beaches in the area
- Onshore (bad): northerly wind; as at any beach, it messes up and flattens the wave unless it is very light
Tide
- Mid tide: good almost always
- With a big swell: better on a high tide
- With a small swell: better on a mid or low tide (low water draws the wave out)
- No tide cancels it out completely; what kills it is too much size