Map › France › Bassin d'Arcachon › Claouey
Nouvelle-Aquitaine · Bassin d'Arcachon, Gironde · Gironde · Lège-Cap-Ferret
Claouey
also known as Plage de Claouey, Plage du Bertic, Bertic, Plage Michelet
Nearby Le Betey 7 km · Les Arbousiers (Arcachon) 9 km · La Hume (Gujan-Mestras) 12 km · Le Porge Ocean 17 km · La Salie (La Teste-de-Buch) 25 km · Lac de Lacanau - Lacanau-Ville 27 km · Lacanau Ocean 29 km · Port de l'Estey 30 km · Mayotte 34 km · Biscarrosse Plage Sud 34 km · Navarrosse 34 km · straight-line distance
When it fills in
In the warm months the Gironde clock is east in the morning, swinging northwest around midday, hardening through the afternoon and dropping in the evening, often earlier than you want. The easterlies that make Claouey work are gradient wind with no fixed hour, so the tide table, not the clock, sets the session. Regional pattern; no Claouey measurement.
The wind
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: In the warm months the Gironde clock is east in the morning, swinging northwest around midday, hardening through the afternoon and dropping in the evening, often earlier than you want. The easterlies that make Claouey work are gradient wind with no fixed hour, so the tide table, not the clock, sets the session. Regional pattern; no Claouey measurement.
Typical strength
10-25 on Bassin d'Arcachon school days; regional warm-season thermals are often 8-15 knots.
Thermal or synoptic
synoptic
Also on record
The nearest station on the Bassin d'Arcachon averages 6 kt from WNW with 10 kt gusts over the year, which tells you about the calm days, not the kite days.
The quiver, in words
No Claouey-specific sizes. For the Gironde generally, an 11-14 m light-wind kite covers summer twintip riding and 6-9 m the stronger winter winds, rider dependent.
Direction to shore
The Bassin lies east of the beach, so the working NE, E and SE arrive over open water as onshore to cross-onshore; S and SW come off the peninsula and are wind-shadowed; W and NW would be offshore.Derived from the shoreline orientation and the local club's list of working and shadowed directions, not from a posted description of the launch.
Dominant direction
NE, E, SE
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan, riders' month35
- Feb, riders' month30
- Mar, riders' month42
- Apr, riders' month43
- May39
- Jun25
- Jul23
- Aug21
- Sep23
- Oct35
- Nov, riders' month42
- Dec, riders' month35
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Nov, Dec.
- 35%Jan12°
- 30%Feb12°
- 42%Mar13°
- 43%Apr14°
- 39%May17°
- 25%Jun20°
- 23%Jul22°
- 21%Aug23°
- 23%Sep22°
- 35%Oct20°
- 42%Nov16°
- 35%Dec13°
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · water °C below · season highlighted
| Month | Windy days | Force 4+ | 12 kn or more | Knots | From | Peaks at | Air | Water | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35% | 47% | 39% | 13.4 kt | NE | 13:00 | 7.7°C | 12.3°C | 62 |
| Feb | 30% | 49% | 40% | 13.1 kt | NE | 14:00 | 9°C | 12.1°C | 57 |
| Mar | 42% | 69% | 53% | 14.6 kt | W | 14:00 | 11.3°C | 12.5°C | 62 |
| Apr | 43% | 70% | 62% | 13.6 kt | NW | 17:00 | 12.9°C | 14.3°C | 60 |
| May | 39% | 69% | 61% | 13.1 kt | NW | 15:00 | 16.4°C | 16.6°C | 62 |
| Jun | 25% | 67% | 63% | 12.3 kt | NW | 17:00 | 19.9°C | 20.1°C | 60 |
| Jul | 23% | 63% | 48% | 11.9 kt | NW | 16:00 | 21.4°C | 21.5°C | 62 |
| Aug | 21% | 61% | 45% | 12.3 kt | NW | 17:00 | 22°C | 22.7°C | 62 |
| Sep | 23% | 53% | 43% | 12.5 kt | NW | 14:00 | 19.1°C | 21.6°C | 60 |
| Oct | 35% | 58% | 52% | 13.9 kt | SSW | 14:00 | 17.4°C | 19.7°C | 62 |
| Nov | 42% | 65% | 55% | 14.7 kt | WNW | 13:00 | 12.7°C | 15.9°C | 60 |
| Dec | 35% | 50% | 45% | 13.5 kt | WNW | 12:00 | 9.2°C | 13.1°C | 62 |
modelled
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
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. 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
lagoon
Standing depth
Shallow Bassin d'Arcachon water with standing-depth areas.
Tides
Strongly tidal. The working window is 2 h before to 2 h after high tide by the stricter reckoning, 3 h before to 3 h after by the looser one; at low tide there is no water at all.
Temperature
20.5°C summer · 11.7°C winter
Wetsuit
Shorty or light full suit in summer; thick winter wetsuit in winter.
Currents
Strong tidal current, the normal state of affairs on the Bassin d'Arcachon.
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: Small sandy tidal beach with many moorings close to shore in the warmer months.
Somewhere else
Le Betey, 7 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
VHF 16
Launch
Access is via Avenue Jules Ferry or Avenue Michelet at Plage du Bertic. Ride around high water and nothing else. Parking close to the beach is reserved for residents, so leave the car further back rather than blocking a driveway.No lifeguard post, no shower, no kite hut. The water in front is a managed collective mooring zone run by the commune, which is why the boats sit where they do.
Space
Small sandy tidal beach with many moorings close to shore in the warmer months.
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Plan the session around high water: 2 h either side is the safe window, and at low tide the beach is mud with nothing to ride.
- Wear booties; the bottom is mud and broken oyster shell.
- Give the moored boats a wide berth, especially from March to October when they sit within 100 m of the beach.
- The good wind here is offshore; rig with a downwind plan and do not go out alone if your self-rescue is rusty.
- Skip July and August: the spot is reportedly closed to kites, and the moorings and bathers fill it anyway.
- Work out which way the wind is blowing relative to the water before you rig, and go out with a downwind plan either way; the current runs hard and nobody is watching.
- Park back from the beach. The streets by the water are resident-only and a ticket is the cheap version of what can go wrong.
- There is no lifeguard on the Bassin side, so save 196 before you rig and tell someone your window.
- Sources disagree on which wind works here: the local club rides it in NE, E and SE, other guides sell it as a northwest thermal spot. Ask at Claouey before you drive out on a forecast.
Getting there
Airport
Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD)
Route
From Bordeaux take the D106 west to Claouey, then head east toward the water; the beach access is via Avenue Jules Ferry or Avenue Michelet. Parking beside the beach is reserved for residents, so park back from the shore and walk the gear in.
Staying
Stay in Lège-Cap-Ferret, Claouey, Arès or elsewhere on the Bassin d'Arcachon.
No-wind days
Cap-Ferret/Bassin beach visits, boat trips and cycling; nearby Lacanau lake/ocean may work under different wind and tide constraints.
Photos
FAQ
When is the best time to kitesurf at Claouey?
The main season runs November to April, with access for all riders during that window and navigation forbidden in July and August.
Is Claouey suitable for beginners?
Sources list it as usable from beginner to expert, but the strong tidal current, boat moorings and shell-strewn bottom mean supervision and good judgment matter.
How does the tide affect Claouey?
The spot only works around high tide; local schools give a window of roughly two to three hours before and after high tide, with no water at all at low tide.
What wind works at Claouey?
NE, E and SE are the recommended directions, with typical strength around 10-25 knots on school days.
Are there hazards at Claouey?
Strong tidal current, many boat moorings within 100 meters from March to October, a muddy bottom and oyster shell fragments are all reported hazards.
Last updated: August 2026