MapRéunionSaint-Gilles / West CoastBoucan CanotSaint-Gilles / West Coast

Boucan Canot

Réunion · Saint-Gilles / West Coast · Saint-Gilles-les-Bains

also known as Boucan-Canot, Boucan Rights

Part of Saint-Gilles / West Coast →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

advanced onlymedium crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Dec–Mar

Months riders and schools name

How windy

12-15 kt

Character: mixed

Room to launch

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

27 °C in summerBoucan Canot is not a protected kite lagoon

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Advanced only

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

medium crowds · busy December January February July

Schools

none named here

From the airport

Roland Garros Airport (RUN)

Transfer times under Getting there

When it fills in

No onset time is published for this spot.

Nearbystraight-line distance

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Trou d'Eau / La Saline-les-Bains
Trois Bassinsno page yet
Roches Noiresno page yet
La Gendarmerie / Saint-Pierre
Étang-Saléno page yet
Le Portno page yet

The spot

Boucan Canot is an occasional wave spot, not a beach you plan a trip around.

Location and wind

It sits on Plage de Boucan Canot on Réunion's west coast and works in the austral summer on north-sector wind, ENE through NNW; the south-east trade that feeds the rest of the island does nothing here. There is no barrier reef in front of it, so this is open ocean: chop and small waves most days, proper waves when swell runs, water deeper than the lagoon beaches, with rocks and coral on the bottom.

The right-hander is the candidate on north-easterly wind.

What can go wrong

The list of things that can go wrong is long and specific, and all of it is documented: sharks outside the reef, a coral slab that comes near the surface at low tide and is carpeted in urchins, heavy shorebreak in swell, current beside the bathing zone, and a wind shadow right where you launch. The netted bathing area and the lifeguards exist for swimmers, and none of that covers a rider outside the net.

How to ride it

Come only as a confirmed wave rider with a local alongside, and check the Saint-Paul and CISAN beach status before you rig. Trou d'Eau at La Saline is the sane west-coast base on almost any other day.

The wind

locals call it north-sector wind episodes outside the usual trade-wind setup

Direction

cross-offENEwind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Direction to shore

cross to cross-off

Dominant direction

ENE, NE, N, NW, NNW when the spot works. The SE trades dominate Réunion the rest of the time and are not what Boucan runs on.

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

Not established for the north-sector episodes this spot needs, and nobody has published a rideable range for them.As a starting point a 75-85 kg rider on a wave board would be on 9-12m through the 12-18 kt that the local climatology suggests, dropping to 7-8m on the rare stronger day.Ask a local before you pack for Boucan specifically.

Character

mixed

Average strength

12-15 kt monthly model averages; unconfirmed as the strength of a rideable north-sector session.

Typical strength

No Boucan-specific range for a north episode is published. Model climatology puts monthly averages around 12-15 kt, but what the spot runs on is summer north-sector episodes rather than steady trades.

Fickle for a visitor. It works on north-sector wind and is reportedly only a candidate on north-easterlies, the launch sits in a wind shadow, and it is not a trade-wind beach you can count on.

Boucan works in the austral summer and only on north-sector wind, ENE through NNW. The beach faces west-south-west, which is what makes those angles awkward: east-north-east and north-east blow straight out to sea, north and north-north-west run side-shore along the sand, and only north-west comes close to cross-onshore.

Trade winds from the south-east, which dominate the island the rest of the year, are useless here. Modelled monthly averages suggest windy days all year, but that does not correspond to the narrow angle the spot actually needs.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

Jan, riders' month31
Feb, riders' month9
Mar, riders' month10
Apr12
May5
Jun17
Jul8
Aug6
Sep2
Oct29
Nov18
Dec, riders' month13

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec.

31%Jan28°
9%Feb28°
10%Mar28°
12%Apr27°
5%May26°
17%Jun25°
8%Jul24°
6%Aug23°
2%Sep23°
29%Oct24°
18%Nov26°
13%Dec27°

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · water °C below · season highlighted

Modelled from the operational forecast archive at 1.5–7 km (2023-2024), daylight hours only, not a ground station: it resolves thermal, lake and valley winds far better than coarse reanalysis but still tends to understate a strong local thermal.

Every figure, month by monthWindy days · Force 4+ · 12 kn or more · Knots · Wind from · Peaks at · Air · Water · Readings

Month	Windy days	Force 4+	12 kn or more	Knots	Wind from	Peaks at	Air	Water	Readings
Jan	31%	42%	35%	12.7 kt	NNE	15:00	27.2 °C	27.8 °C	62
Feb	9%	12%	9%	9.1 kt	SSW	14:00	27.2 °C	27.8 °C	57
Mar	10%	21%	15%	8.8 kt	NNE	15:00	26.7 °C	27.8 °C	62
Apr	12%	27%	25%	9.4 kt	NNE	14:00	25.6 °C	27.2 °C	60
May	5%	13%	13%	8.2 kt	SSW	13:00	23.9 °C	26.1 °C	62
Jun	17%	30%	27%	9.7 kt	SSW	13:00	22.2 °C	25 °C	60
Jul	8%	16%	15%	8.1 kt	NNE	14:00	21.7 °C	23.9 °C	62
Aug	6%	13%	11%	8.4 kt	SW	14:00	21.7 °C	23.3 °C	62
Sep	2%	12%	7%	8.2 kt	SSW	13:00	22.2 °C	23.3 °C	60
Oct	29%	40%	34%	10.6 kt	NNE	13:00	23.3 °C	23.9 °C	62
Nov	18%	32%	25%	10.2 kt	NNE	13:00	25 °C	25.6 °C	60
Dec	13%	24%	18%	9.5 kt	SSW	14:00	26.1 °C	26.7 °C	62

How this is modelledmodelled · 2023-2024

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

A windy day has at least three consecutive daylight hours at 12 knots or more. 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.

High-resolution weather model (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical forecast archive — best-match operational model (ICON-D2 / AROME / ICON-EU / GFS by region), not a ground station · 2023-2024

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

No standing-depth lagoon here. Boucan Canot is open ocean, and even the public bathing area is deeper than the lagoon beaches because there is no barrier reef.

Tides

The tide matters for the hazards rather than for the wind. At low and very low water the coral slab can sit at or above the surface, and it is carpeted in urchins; the wave finishes on exposed reef. Ride the higher half of the tide or stay off it.

Temperature

27 °C summer · 23 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 23–28 °C

Wetsuit

Boardshorts or rash vest are normally enough for warmth; use booties/impact protection if entering near coral/urchins.

Currents

Strong current can form on the left of the bathing zone in swell; expect reef/point current and shorebreak when there is swell.

Conditions

Boucan Canot is not a protected kite lagoon. Chop, small waves and waves in strong swell are typical; it is a white-sand beach without a coral barrier, with rocks/coral on the bottom and a separate supervised bathing zone/natural pool.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners herenot for intermediates here

Not a lesson or a progression beach. Every listed Réunion spot wants an autonomous confirmed-to-expert rider, and the island has no appropriate learning site at all. Boucan adds open-ocean exposure, the reef and coral slab, urchins, shorebreak, wind shadow and the shark constraints on top of that.

The scene

What riders come here for

wavesstraplessadvanced-only open-ocean sessions

On land it is one of the west coast's popular social beaches, especially weekends and school holidays. In-water kiting appears occasional and expert/local because the wind window and shark-risk framework narrow the practical sessions.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

No school names this spot

Nobody has been recorded teaching or running a boat here.

On your own

Room to launch: ok

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

5 spots nearby

All 5 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

+262 262 43 43 43

Rescue — full text1 min read

No kite rescue.

Qualified lifeguards watch the netted bathing area 365 days a year from 10:00 to 17:30, but that cover exists for swimmers inside the net and does not extend to a rider outside the reef.

Sea rescue is the CROSS/MRCC at La Réunion: 196 from a French phone, or +262 262 43 43 43.

On an offshore angle here there is nothing downwind of you but open Indian Ocean.

Launch

Pedestrian access only, from the car parks around the beach. There is a wide take-off and landing area on the sand, but it sits in the lee of the land and the wind shadow there is a known problem.Beach zonesThe middle of the beach is a lifeguarded, netted bathing area with a natural rock pool at one end; swimming is banned outright at the Cap Homard and Ti Boucan ends because they are neither supervised nor netted. Restaurants and the pedestrian esplanade back the whole thing, so it is a busy public beach first and a kite launch a distant second.Before you rigGet local confirmation before rigging.

Hazards riders report 12 reported

Wind

Wind shadow/dévente at the launch.
The beach faces west-south-west, and two of the directions the spot works on are straight offshore: north-east and east-north-east. A failure on those angles takes you out past the reef into the water the shark rules exist for.

Crowds and zones

Busy public beach with swimmers, restaurants and tourist traffic when conditions look inviting.
Lifeguard cover is for the netted bathing zone between 10:00 and 17:30; outside that box and those hours there is nobody watching the water.

Bottom

Reef and rocks at the point

Waves and currents

Current at the break
Coral slab can be at/above the surface at low tide and is covered with urchins.
Heavy shorebreak in swell.
Strong current can form near the bathing zone in swell.

Protected areas and rules

Shark risk outside the fringing reef. Boucan Canot has recorded serious and fatal shark attacks (2011, 2013), and going outside the lagoon on this coast falls under local vigilance and restriction measures.
Rocks and coral bottom; no forgiving sandy lagoon for kite mistakes.

Other

Shark risk: the local shark-risk rules remain in force, and sharks are flagged specifically for the open-ocean spots on this coast.

Rules & access

1 min read

Prefectural ban and kite status

2025-2026: the framework is a standing prefectural order, in force since 2013 and periodically renewed, banning bathing and water sports that use the motive power of waves within 300 m of the Réunion coastline, outside the lagoon, the supervised zones and the designated experimental zones. Kitesurfing is not named in that wording, so kite riding sits outside the explicit ban and falls instead to municipal orders and the day's beach status: confirm with the Saint-Paul mairie rather than assuming.

2025: the current shark-risk order is n°297-2025 of 12 February 2025, layered over the municipal orders.

Boucan Canot supervision

At Boucan Canot the supervised bathing area is protected by anti-shark nets when they are deployed, and the nets come out when the sea gets rough; with the nets out, closures on bathing and nautical activity can apply. Lifeguards are on the beach 365 days a year from 10:00 to 17:30. Swimming is prohibited at Cap Homard and Ti Boucan. Check the flags and the net status before any launch.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Schools that ride here

Rider tips

Ask Attitude Kite Réunion, or the riders at Trou d'Eau and La Gendarmerie, before you try Boucan at all.
Work out the angle before you rig. North-east and east-north-east blow straight offshore off this beach; north and north-north-west run along it.
Check the flags, the shark-risk status and whether the nets are in the water. A busy beach on a nice day tells you nothing.
Stay off it at low tide unless you know the reef shelf and your exit. The coral slab comes up to the surface.
Bring reef booties. Coral and urchins are the standard damage on this coast.
Programme 196 and +262 262 43 43 43 for the CROSS at La Réunion into your phone. The beach lifeguards cover the netted swimming box from 10:00 to 17:30, not you.
Cap Homard and Ti Boucan are closed to swimmers and unsupervised. Do not treat either as a quiet alternative launch without asking first.
Keep Trou d'Eau at La Saline as your base and save Boucan for the rare north-wind wave day.

Getting there

Airport

Réunion Roland Garros Airport (RUN), Sainte-Marie; Pierrefonds (ZSE) is the secondary south-coast airport.

Route

By road from Roland Garros via the west coast/Route des Tamarins corridor; Car Jaune Line T serves Boucan Canot and Saint-Gilles-les-Bains from the airport route.

Transfer

About 60-75 minutes by bus to Boucan Canot and Saint-Gilles; driving time is unconfirmed.

Cost level

Medium-high to stay on Boucan Canot itself, with beach hotels, restaurants, seasonal rentals. Public bus fares were €2 to Boucan Canot in 2026 and €5 for the Line T tourist fare in 2026.

Staying

Beachfront and nearby stays in Boucan Canot and Saint-Gilles-les-Bains, from 4-star hotels to seasonal rentals.

No-wind days

Supervised beach/natural pool when flags and nets allow, snorkeling inside the secured perimeter in calm sea, restaurants on the pedestrian esplanade, diving from Saint-Gilles, Aquarium de La Réunion, Jardin d'Eden, Maïdo viewpoint, hiking in the island interior and other west-coast beaches.

Photos

FAQ

Is Boucan Canot suitable for beginners?

No, it requires autonomous, confirmed-to-expert ability because of open-ocean exposure, reef and coral, shorebreak and shark risk.

When is the best time to kite?

The spot functions mainly in the austral summer, December through March, and needs predominantly north-sector wind from ENE through NNW to work at all.

What hazards should riders know about?

Shark risk outside the reef, a coral slab that can sit above the surface at low tide, urchins, shorebreak, current and wind shadow at the launch are all documented.

Are there rules or restricted zones?

Réunion's shark-risk regulation under a 2025 prefectural order governs sea access, and nautical activity can be closed when anti-shark nets are removed or swell is up; check with the local mairie.

The bigger pictureEverything about Saint-Gilles / West Coast

Last updated: August 2026