Kitesurfing, wing foiling and foiling at Wimereux

In Wimereux you kite north of the mouth of the Wimereux river, in the zone between the ridens de l'Ailette and the Pointe de la Rochette, and according to the town's beach bylaw you rig your kite inside that zone, because rigging is not allowed in the swimming zone or the channel for motorboats. The beach faces west, so west-south-west to west-north-west is onshore and south-west and north-west come in side-on, while south and north blow along the coast, south-east and north-east are side-off and Windulu gives a no-go in an easterly. The weather station sits on the Boulogne semaphore, almost five kilometres south and 73 metres up, so read the live data as an indication rather than a measurement on the beach.

When the buoys are in place, the zone between the ridens de l'Ailette and the Pointe de la Rochette, north of the mouth of the Wimereux, is reserved for kitesurfing; swimming is banned there. Kiting is not allowed in front of the swimming zone along the seawall. Outside kite zones and kite lanes, a 5-knot speed limit applies within 300 m of the shoreline. Source: préfecture maritime, arrêté 44/2015.

Wind directions & safety

The open water at Wimereux faces W (266°). The safest wind directions to get on the water here are southwest, west and northwest (onshore or cross-onshore). With the wind from the north, northeast, southeast and south, it runs cross to cross-offshore: doable, but mind your position and don't go alone. With the wind from the east, it blows offshore and is dangerous: you'll be pushed off the beach onto open water (no-go).

On this page you'll find the live wind, the hourly forecast and a personal go/no-go for Wimereux, plus your ideal kite or wing size and (where available) a live beach webcam. Wind data: AROME via Open-Meteo.