What about the wind and the weather?

The wind

Saint Pierre-la-Mer is situated in the Languedoc Roussillon, the most southern department on the French Mediterranean coast, blessed with many hours of sunshine and lots of wind. The area is said to catch 250 days of wind a year!

The prevailing wind in the area is the north-westerly Tramontane, blowing anything from a force 4 to a force 8. The warm, dry Tramontane winds are said to blow for 3, 6 or 9 days in a row, sweeping the skies clear of any clouds and bringing lots of sunshine. The Tramontane blows both summer and winter, both mornings and afternoons.

A north-westerly you say? But that is an off-shore wind!
Indeed, our prevailing wind direction is off shore. That means that for all lessons that take place on the sea we use a safety boat. It also means that there is a lot of space on the water to practise body dragging, waterstarts and upwind riding! Click here to find out how this works for kitesurfers who are not in lessons and who come out with their own equipment. 

Other winds that are often felt are the Marin (east), the Grecq (north-east) and the Vent d'Espagne (south-east). These winds, although not as strong as the Tramontane, give us plenty of air to go out on the sea. These directions may also bring along a bit of wave action and can increase in strength with the thermic effects.

The weather

The south of France is well known for its hot and sunny weather, which combined with the reliable wind creates perfect conditions for most watersports.
Spring brings with it lots of sunshine and good wind generally start from April onward. Summer temperatures and "bikini" weather generally start mid-May. In the months of July and August temperatures can get up to 35 degrees Celsius, but luckily the wind often cools us down! In September the hottest days are over, but shorts can still be worn until mid-October. Then, for the last weeks of the season water temperatures are still very reasonable so we are able to continue being on the water until the end of that month.
The Sudwindsports watersports centre is open from mid-April until the end of October. The Windmagic bar is open from the 1st of May until 30th of September. 

What wetsuit to bring?

If you have booked lessons with us, it is not necessary to bring a wetsuit ; the use of a wetsuit is included in the price. From mid-June until the end of August we generally use shorties, out of these months we use long wetsuits.