Where to find us
We are in El Cotillo
Come and join us in el Cotillo Fuerteventura. We have opened a shop here on the northwest side of the island, making it easier for you to pop in to book your watersport courses or grab your rental equipment. Our new shop is stocked with everything you need for your watersport holiday and is perfectly situated within a short distance from el Cotillo main beach, Cotillo lagoons, and the north shore road where you’ll find some great surf spots.
Why choose us for your watersport holiday
Our Accommadation
We have accommodation to fit your holiday plans. Just tell us what you’re looking for and allow us to book your watersports holiday in Fuerteventura.
Our Instructors
Fuerteventura has some of the best spots in Europe to learn a watersport. Our experienced instructors have expert knowledge of the island conditions, allowing you to get the most from your watersports holiday.
Our teaching Methods
Are you ready to blast across the water? We have been providing watersport tuition for over 30 years. We love to see you progress. Our lessons have been created to give you the perfect balanced between expert instruction, personal coaching and lots of practice time.
Why we do what we do
We are a fun team of kiters, windsurfers and surfers who are all passionate about offering unforgettable watersport holidays on our beautiful island Fuerteventura. We want you to love your time here and enjoy all the wonderful experiences Fuerteventura has to offer.
We want to share our island with you. Show you all the best surf spots. We want to give you an authentic, relaxing holiday experience which will make you want to return to Fuerteventura year after year.
Our watersports instructors are passionate about being in the water and love to get you standing up on a board for the first time or landing a trick you’ve worked on for ages. Our aim is to make sure you are having fun, progressing with every session. And excited to get back in the water to ride some each day.
We have been doing this for many years and know how to make you smile.
Below, you can find out more about Flag Beach and our journey to where we are today.
The History of Flag Beach
Flag Beach was established in 1987 by Ben Thomas (owner) when he secured a licence for a watersport centre on a stretch of beach just outside Corralejo. The location was consided by many to be a long way from civilization and that no customers or tourists would venture that far. Ben Thomas staked his Flag in the ground and since that day the beach has been known as Flag Beach.
A few months later we were able to strike a deal with APLHA windsurf boards and the local Neil Pryde sail dealer, giving us are first ever equpiment.
As we began to work on building a hut, our first shipment of equpiment arrives. Finally in May 1988 we opened our doors for business with 9 boards and 15 sails. In June 1989 we added an extension to our hut to house the increasing stock levels. At this time we were now operating on a much larger scale with 22 boards and 39 sails.
In the summer of 1990 we decided to replace our Tiga and Neil Pryde equipment with Fanatic and ART. We were now able to offer 34 boards and 70 sails. Following that summer, we were growing so rapidly that we needed to add another extension to our hut to cater for our growing stock levels.
In May 1991 the centre was demolished and all beaches in the area of Corralejo were cleared of all bars, kiosks and stands. We continued to operate from a van on the road, providing a reliable service to our clients.
After a long 3 months wait, we were granted permission to build a new centre further back from the water’s edge. We started work immediately and after long days and late nights our newly built centre opened 5 days later.
In March 1993 we submitted plans for a second hut….. and…. we are still waiting for approval.
In 1998, Flag Beach Windsurfing Centre celebrates 10 years with a beach party for 1200 people that goes on late into the night.Â
Shortly after our 10-year anniversary, Kitesurfing started to surface in the sporting world and Flag beach begins to offer kite rentals. By 1999 Kitesurfing was now an established sport with Flag Beach being one of the best places to learn.
In 2003, we celebrated our 15-year anniversary with a massive beach party, BBQ, open air concert and DJs on the beach, all night for some 2000 people.
In 2004 we dicided to start a new mobile surf school under the name ”Island Boarders”. We were now able to other surfing lessons at different spots around the island.
4 years later and we just kept growing. We now employ over 20 staff and Island Boarders expands to 3 classic red Land Rovers. By this time we had been in business for 20 years.
In June 2009 we were given 2 hours to empty our hut and it was pulled down by the local authority. We continued to offer our services from closer to the water’s edge. We stayed open throughout a hard and sunny summer and a wet winter. Our clients continued to use our services and were extremely grateful and supportive.
We were later informed that we could have a new hut. We worked for 4 gruelling days getting everything ready. We now have an office and internet connection.
By April 2012 We were able to offer kitesurf, windsurf, surf, bodyboard and SUP courses and rentals for all levels. We are still a Fanatic Boarders centre and have North kites and sails. We also have a fleet of 3 semi-rigid 6 m inflatables for use on our kite courses, a fleet of Renault vans and Land Rovers for transporting our clients and in addition we have a town location that we use as a sales point with classroom for theory courses, garden for barbecues, and it is just off Rocky Point, so a great location for grabbing a surfboard or SUP and walking down the beach.
Our beach licence which came up for renewal was contested by another interested party and it took 4 months to secure it. We put our heart and soul into fighting for our licence and the business we had built up over the last 28 years. With our new licence secure, we continue to offer the best and most reliable water sport courses on Fuerteventura.
In 2018, we celebrated our 30-year anniversary.
Fast forward to 2022 and once again we were given a few hours to empty our hut before it was taken down by the local authority. We are still waiting for permission to rebuild our hut but continue to operate from closer to the water’s edge.
In 2023, we opened our shop on the Northwest side of the island in el Cotillo providing a full range of watersport rentals and courses and continue to operate an unrivalled holiday experience to all of our customers.
