Nearby Fromentine - Plage de la Grande Cote 2 km · Le Gois - La Digue 3 km · Saint-Jean-de-Monts - Plage de la Daviere 12 km · Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie - Grande Plage 30 km · Saint-Brevin - Les Rochelets 35 km · Saint-Brevin - Le Pointeau 37 km · straight-line distance
On the clock
05:00 · 17:00
No single fill-in hour. This is Atlantic weather-system wind with a sea breeze layered on it, and the modelled hourly average climbs steadily from about 8.8 knots at 05:00 to 11.1 knots at 17:00 before easing overnight - a tilt of roughly two knots toward the afternoon, not a switch that flips. On a frontal day it blows at any hour, and the tide decides the session anyway. Modelled reanalysis, no local anemometer.
The marks are the clock times the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The bar between the first and the last covers those hours; it is not a promise of wind.
The wind
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: No single fill-in hour. This is Atlantic weather-system wind with a sea breeze layered on it, and the modelled hourly average climbs steadily from about 8.8 knots at 05:00 to 11.1 knots at 17:00 before easing overnight - a tilt of roughly two knots toward the afternoon, not a switch that flips. On a frontal day it blows at any hour, and the tide decides the session anyway. Modelled reanalysis, no local anemometer.
Typical strength
Modelled 10 m wind over the spot averages 8-9 knots from June to September and 10-12 knots from November to March. Twelve knots or more comes up in about 13-21% of summer hours and 33-42% of winter hours; 18 knots or more is a 1-3% event in summer and a 10-15% one from November to March. December is the windiest month and June the softest. Reanalysis at the coordinate rather than a beach anemometer, and the figure quoted for the spot is the annual mean.
Also on record
10
The quiver, in words
No size report from riders here. Indicative for a 75-85 kg rider, worked out from the wind statistics rather than from sessions on the sand: a 12 m is the summer workhorse from June to September, with a 15 m or the foil earning its keep on the many light days; from October to March a 9 m sits on the average and a 7 m handles the front days.
Direction to shore
S, SW, W or NW are the working sectors. Which of them is side-shore and which is onshore has not been pinned down; the beach faces south/south-west off Barbatre, so check the direction against the launch zone and the tide on the day.
Dominant direction
S round to NW, with NW, W, SW or S the sectors the schools ride.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan61
- Feb58
- Mar73
- Apr64
- May70
- Jun60
- Jul71
- Aug60
- Sep59
- Oct65
- Nov71
- Dec76
per cent of the month at force 4 or more
- 14Jan10°
- 14Feb10°
- 15Mar11°
- 14Apr13°
- 13May16°
- 12Jun20°
- 13Jul20°
- 12Aug21°
- 13Sep20°
- 14Oct18°
- 17Nov14°
- 15Dec11°
avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted
| Month | Force 4+ | Knots | From | Air | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 61% | 14.2 kt | WSW | 7.2°C | 9.7°C |
| Feb | 58% | 13.9 kt | W | 8.6°C | 9.7°C |
| Mar | 73% | 14.7 kt | SW | 10.1°C | 10.6°C |
| Apr | 64% | 13.5 kt | NE | 11.7°C | 13.1°C |
| May | 70% | 12.6 kt | NE | 15.5°C | 16.4°C |
| Jun | 60% | 12 kt | WSW | 18.8°C | 19.9°C |
| Jul | 71% | 12.7 kt | NW | 19.9°C | 20.3°C |
| Aug | 60% | 12.1 kt | W | 20.5°C | 21.4°C |
| Sep | 59% | 12.8 kt | WSW | 18.1°C | 19.7°C |
| Oct | 65% | 13.9 kt | SW | 16°C | 17.8°C |
| Nov | 71% | 16.7 kt | W | 12°C | 13.8°C |
| Dec | 76% | 15.3 kt | ENE | 8.5°C | 10.8°C |
modelled
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.
ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024
The water
Type
tidal lagoon / ocean beach
Standing depth
Around low tide a large flat lagoon forms and you can stand everywhere in it. The sandbanks are clean of obstacles, with one exception: short pointed old bouchot stakes that uncover at low water on large coefficients.
Tides
Best around low tide, ideally 2h before to 2h after. It is rideable at other stages too, except high tide on a large coefficient; the lower the water, the less chop.
Temperature
19.5°C summer · 9.2°C winter
Wetsuit
Full wetsuit most of the year. Summer water around nearby Noirmoutier/La Barre-de-Monts is about 19-20 C; late-winter water around Noirmoutier is about 9-10 C.
Currents
The schools' lagoon at Barbatre is flat with no current or waves; nobody has measured current at the public Boucholeurs beach itself. The practical risk is tidal flow and wind drift toward the bouchot lines.
Your level
The scene
What riders come here for
Launch and rules
three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you
With a school or a boat
5 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: Large at low tide, with the kite zone south of the parking/avenue des Boucholeurs. Space and water state become less forgiving near high tide and on large coefficients.
Somewhere else
Fromentine - Plage de la Grande Cote, 2 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
Beach launch from the Boucholeurs sector at Barbatre. The 2012 prefecture order created a kite/wake-style board zone at Plage des Boucholeurs, 285 m wide along the beach and 300 m offshore, with a 25 m buffer to the north.
Space
Large at low tide, with the kite zone south of the parking/avenue des Boucholeurs. Space and water state become less forgiving near high tide and on large coefficients.
Rules & access
- 2012: Prefecture maritime order 2012/060 creates a regulated kite-surf/planche nautique tractee zone on Plage des Boucholeurs, 285 m wide at the beach and 300 m offshore, plus a 25 m buffer north of it; the order applies when the marked buoys/signage are in place. The spot is open year-round but the summer navigation zone is defined southwest of Avenue des Boucholeurs, with beach users always having priority.
- 2021: Barbatre's municipal beach bylaw (arrete reglementant la plage) is in force and still posted by the commune in 2026, published only as a scan with no readable text; the rules the commune sets out beside it cover dogs (off the beach entirely from 1 July to 31 August, on a lead the rest of the year), fires and fireworks (banned without written permission from the mayor), litter, and a smoking ban on Plage des Boucholeurs and Plage de l'Ocean from 1 May to 1 September inclusive. No kitesurf clause appears in what the commune publishes.
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Ride the window from 2h before to 2h after low tide; that is when the flat standing-depth lagoon is there.
- Do not drift north of the zone, especially in a south wind: the bouchot lines are there.
- On a big coefficient, walk the zone at low water before you ride it; short pointed stakes uncover in the navigation area.
- In summer stay inside the marked zone south-west of the Avenue des Boucholeurs and give bathers the right of way; they always have priority.
- Ask MouvnKite or Fromentine Kite where the buoys are this year; the 2012 order only applies when the marks are in place.
- Bring a full suit even in summer; 19-20 C water in August drops to 9-10 C by late winter.
- Coming without a car, regional coach 13 runs from Nantes TGV station to Fromentine and Noirmoutier all year.
Getting there
Airport
Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE)
Route
From Nantes drive toward Noirmoutier, cross the bridge onto the island and continue to Barbatre/La Fosse; the beach is at the end of the Avenue des Boucholeurs, reached off the Rue de l'Estacade. Without a car, regional coach 13 links Nantes TGV station with Fromentine and Noirmoutier all year.
Transfer
70 min
Cost level
medium
Staying
Holiday rentals, campsites and small hotels in Barbatre, La Barre-de-Monts/Fromentine and elsewhere on Ile de Noirmoutier.
No-wind days
Noirmoutier beaches and villages, Passage du Gois at safe low tide, salt marshes, cycling, Fromentine/Ile d'Yeu ferry trips, Pays de Monts forest and La Barre-de-Monts family activities.
FAQ
When is the best time to kite Boucholeurs?
The spot is practicable year-round and works best around two hours either side of low tide, when a flat lagoon forms.
Is Boucholeurs suitable for beginners?
Yes, it is good for first sessions after lessons or in the right tide and wind, though old shellfish stakes can uncover at low tide on large coefficients.
Are there rules or restricted zones at Boucholeurs?
A 2012 prefecture order defines a kite zone 285 m wide along the beach and 300 m offshore, with a 25 m buffer to the north, and beach users always have priority.
Are there kite schools nearby?
Yes, MouvnKite, Fromentine Kite and Kitesloop all operate in the area.
Last updated: August 2026