Pays de la Loire — La Turballe - Pen Bron to Pont-Mahé (Assérac)

La Turballe - Pen BronMesquer - Plage de SorlockPont-Mahé (Assérac)

1. 

   La Turballe - Pen Bron

   beginner ok

   Pen Bron is the west-facing sand beach that runs from the port of La Turballe down to the point, and the tide runs it.

   intermediateadvanced

   In seasonno month named for this spot

   The model here carries the month's average wind rather than a count of windy days: it reaches 15.1 kt in November, the strongest month it models for this spot.

   La Turballe - Pen Bron: the long version, the launch and the rules

   More on La Turballe - Pen Bron

   Come at low tide: at high water the beach narrows or can disappear against the rock dyke, the palisades and the ganivelles, and there is nowhere to land. North and south wind is side-shore; northwest or southwest is side-on; west is straight onshore, and onshore is what you get most of the time, with a shore break at the launch and chop outside. Winter depressions turn it into a wave spot; foilers cross the bay. On big coefficients, low-tide pools form on the Pen Bron side, and that is the only place a beginner should be, with someone watching. Otherwise it is a technical spot, and a quiet one: wild, little frequented, with the working port and the Le Croisic channel traffic next door. In summer there is a marked kite zone near the parking and swimmers have priority; no landkite in July and August. Wind statistics, a best-month list and any rescue arrangement are all unconfirmed.

   Getting on the water

   Sand beach launch along the Pen Bron / La Turballe beach; the summer kite zone/chenal is near the parking.

   Room to rig

   Large at low tide, very tight at high tide, when the beach shrinks to nothing against the rocks, the ganivelles and the palisades.

   Rules and access

   2019 La Turballe municipal beach order: a delimited summer kite zone/chenal near the parking, beach users have priority over kite, funboard or wingfoil, and no landkite in July and August.

   Everything on La Turballe - Pen Bron

2. 

   Mesquer - Plage de Sorlock

   sheltered bay beach · beginner ok

   Sorlock is a sandy beach on the Mesquer / Quimiac coast, on Route de Merquel just short of Pointe de Merquel, facing the sheltered Baie de la Vilaine.

   intermediateadvanced

   In seasonApr to Sep

   The model here carries the month's average wind rather than a count of windy days: it reaches 14.6 kt in November, the strongest month it models for this spot.

   Mesquer - Plage de Sorlock: the long version, the launch and the rules

   More on Mesquer - Plage de Sorlock

   It is a tidal Atlantic bay beach and the tide decides your session: the sand widens and shrinks, and there are rocks to the north and south of the beach that you want to have seen before you rig. Which wind works is disputed. South and southwest reportedly give the flattest sessions, north and west are also recommended, and nothing on record settles it. Nobody has quantified the wind either; April to September is the best window for the Loire-Atlantique coast in general, not a Sorlock figure. The level rating is split the same way, beginner flat water on one reading and intermediate-to-expert chop and small waves on another, so go by the tide and the direction, not the label. The beach has six accesses, summer lifeguards, toilets and a nautical channel; in July and August, launch and land through the channel on the left of the beach rather than across the bathing area; no kite-specific municipal rule was found. Kites share the water with windfoils and wingfoils, and the water is 18.0 C in summer and 9.6 C in winter.

   Getting on the water

   Sandy beach at Plage de Sorlock on Route de Merquel, reached from Mesquer or Quimiac heading toward the Pointe de Merquel. From 1 July to 31 August the middle of the beach is a lifeguarded swimming zone and craft are excluded from it: launch and land through the marked transit channel at the slipway on the western, southern edge of the beach, 40 m wide at the water and opening to 90 m offshore. Six accesses serve the beach, and the usable sand changes a lot between high and low water.

   If it goes wrong

   Qualified lifeguards watch Sorlock daily from 1 July to 31 August, 12:00 to 19:00, under the 2021 municipal order. The limits of the swimming zone are set each day by the head lifeguard from the state of the tide and marked with blue triangular pennants planted at the water's edge and moved as the water moves. Green flag means supervised, yellow or orange supervised but dangerous, red means no swimming anywhere on the beach, and no flag means nobody is watching. Outside those dates and hours there is no cover: 112 from a mobile, VHF channel 16, the sea rescue coordination centre at Etel on 02 97 55 35 35, or 18 for the fire service. There is no rescue boat on call for kitesurfers.

   Room to rig

   Sorlock is a large family sandy beach with six entrances; the kite launch itself is small.

   Rules and access

   2021 municipal beach police order P/60/PM/2021 for the commune of Mesquer, which names kitesurfs directly. Bathing zones are closed to all sailing and motor vessels, to motorised nautical craft, and to unregistered craft including windsurf boards, boards, kayaks, sea canoes, kitesurfs, surfboards and bodyboards. From 1 July to 31 August the supervised bathing zone at Sorlock measures 310 m along the sand and 155 m at its seaward edge, bounded to the north by the line of cadastral parcels 40 and 34 and the rocky platier, and to the south by the transit channel. That channel is 40 m wide at the water's edge, opens to 90 m offshore, sits next to the beach access slipway on the west side, and is reserved for non-motorised light pleasure craft, sea kayaks, non-motorised sailboards and other non-motorised nautical craft: it is the way through. The order's provisions apply only while the buoyage is actually in place. Flying a kite from the sand is on the list of things prohibited on every beach in the commune, dogs are banned from 15 June to 15 September, and motor vehicles may not drive on or park on the beach.

   Everything on Mesquer - Plage de Sorlock

3. 

   Pont-Mahé (Assérac)

   mixed · beginner ok

   Pont-Mahe is a shallow Atlantic bay on the Asserac side of the Loire-Atlantique/Morbihan border, about 20 km north of La Baule, and the tide runs the session.

   intermediate

   In seasonNov to Mar

   The model here carries the month's average wind rather than a count of windy days: it reaches 14.6 kt in November, the strongest month it models for this spot.

   Pont-Mahé (Assérac): the long version, the launch and the rules

   More on Pont-Mahé (Assérac)

   Below about 2.5 m of tide height there is not enough water and you walk a long way; 3.5-4 m is the comfortable window; at high water the bay chops up and the beach shrinks until rigging gets tight. Inside the window it is flat and you can stand almost everywhere, which is why the schools put beginners here (Plaisir Kite is based on the beach). Wind is south through west, southwest to west the useful sector and straight west the best, and the stronger months are November to March. From 1 April to 30 September the commune restricts kites to a marked zone about 670 m long and 250 m deep, entered through a channel with a buffer to the bathing area; from 1 October to 31 March the whole beach is open. If you ride waves or want depth, skip it. Water temperature and wetsuit thickness for the bay itself are unconfirmed.

   Getting on the water

   Beach launch at Pont-Mahe on the Asserac side of the bay, near the Loire-Atlantique/Morbihan border and about 20 km north of La Baule. Park in the marked spaces along the rue de la plage or in the larger lot at the top of the street. Keep the rigging and the launch away from the groynes.

   If it goes wrong

   Unsupervised beach: no lifeguard post, no showers, no toilets. Sea rescue is CROSS Etel, on 196 from a phone or VHF channel 16 (2026). Plaisir Kite is based on the beach and Tropikite works the Pont-Mahe and Penestin area, so in season there are usually instructors on the water.

   Room to rig

   Ok to large at suitable tide heights, but space shrinks considerably at high water.

   Rules and access

   2026: from 1 October to 31 March kitesurf and other traction and glide sports are allowed on the whole of Pont-Mahe beach. From 1 April to 30 September a gliding-sports zone about 670 m long and 250 m deep is open seaward within the 300 m coastal band; kitesurfers must use the marked channel, with a buffer zone between it and the bathing area.

   Everything on Pont-Mahé (Assérac)

Kite bag rules for your airline

Type the carrier you are flying: what it charges for a kite bag, and the year of the policy that says so.

Known for France:easyJetRyanairAir FranceTransavia

Every carrier, with limits and what riders report at the counter →

1. Pont-Mahé is the bay people in this corner send their children to: standing depth over a very large area under moderate tide coefficients, which is why it is treated as the safe place to learn.

   consensus×3 riders

2. There is lasting resentment that windsurfers got swept up in a restriction caused by a handful of careless kiters, since boards launch in deeper water and were never the complaint.

   consensus×3 riders

3. On a good day the water gets far busier than the size of the village suggests — a figure of up to two hundred kites on the bay has circulated among regulars, and that pressure is what brought the summer restrictions.

   majority×4 riders

4. It only really works for a few hours either side of high water, and outside that window you carry your gear several hundred metres across a bay that empties completely.

   majority×3 riders

5. The summer regime is a real constraint, not a formality: from the start of July to the end of August riding is squeezed into a marked zone on one side of the bay, and the rigging area used the rest of the year is closed.

   majority×3 riders

6. The bay pulls riders in from Nantes and across the Morbihan border, and people who have not been there talk about it as somewhere they want to try.

   majority×3 riders

7. The scene on the water is unusually easy-going, and being greeted by strangers is something people remark on.

   contested×1 rider

8. Access is the fiddly part: the northern launch has almost no parking, the lane in runs single file, and campervans have to stop short of a two-metre height barrier.

   contested×1 rider

What we could not settle. Ride here? These are the gaps worth filling.

• Is 'Pays de la Loire — La Turballe - Pen Bron to Pont-Mahé (Assérac)' the name riders actually use for this area?
• Which bus runs from Nantes or Saint-Nazaire to La Turballe, and how long does it take?
• What does a bed cost around La Turballe, how is the signal, and where do riders meet?