Map › France › La Tranche-sur-Mer (Vendée) › La Faute-sur-Mer - Pointe d'Arcay
Pays de la Loire · Vendée - L'Aiguillon-la-Presqu'ile · Vendée · La Faute-sur-Mer
La Faute-sur-Mer - Pointe d'Arcay
also known as Pointe d'Arcay, La Faute-sur-Mer, Pointe d'Arçay, La Pointe d'Arcay
Nearby Rivedoux Plage Nord 14 km · La Tranche-sur-Mer 15 km · Banc du Bucheron 17 km · Aytre Plage 22 km · Chatelaillon-Plage 28 km · Plage de Plaisance 32 km · Plage de la Gautrelle 33 km · Boyardville 34 km · Le Veillon 35 km · Bretignolles-sur-Mer - Plage des Dunes 2 57 km · straight-line distance
When it fills in
Frontal Atlantic wind with no dependable daily cycle, and the tide matters more than the hour: the rideable window sits at the top of the water and moves about an hour later each day.
The wind
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: Frontal Atlantic wind with no dependable daily cycle, and the tide matters more than the hour: the rideable window sits at the top of the water and moves about an hour later each day.
Typical strength
15-30
The quiver, in words
Indicative, read off the 15-30 knot working band rather than a count of what is on the sand; no local quiver survey exists. A 75-85 kg rider takes 11-13 m for the soft end, 9-10 m through the 18-22 knot days that make up most sessions, and 7-9 m once it pushes past 22. On a spring tide the timing of the window will decide the session before the kite size does.
Direction to shore
NW, W and SW are the working sectors, cross-shore to offshore on the local shoreline; the exact angle differs between the open-ocean beach and the sandbank/estuary side.
Dominant direction
NW, W, SW
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan45
- Feb48
- Mar, riders' month57
- Apr, riders' month50
- May, riders' month46
- Jun36
- Jul53
- Aug33
- Sep, riders' month47
- Oct, riders' month56
- Nov, riders' month59
- Dec57
per cent of the month at force 4 or more
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov.
- 12Jan9°
- 12Feb9°
- 13Mar11°
- 12Apr14°
- 11May17°
- 10Jun21°
- 11Jul21°
- 10Aug22°
- 11Sep21°
- 12Oct18°
- 14Nov14°
- 13Dec10°
avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted
| Month | Force 4+ | Knots | From | Air | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45% | 12.1 kt | NE | 6.8°C | 9.1°C |
| Feb | 48% | 12 kt | W | 8.3°C | 8.9°C |
| Mar | 57% | 12.9 kt | S | 10.2°C | 10.5°C |
| Apr | 50% | 12 kt | WSW | 12°C | 13.5°C |
| May | 46% | 11.1 kt | NNE | 16.2°C | 17°C |
| Jun | 36% | 10.2 kt | W | 19.9°C | 21°C |
| Jul | 53% | 11 kt | W | 20.8°C | 21.3°C |
| Aug | 33% | 10.3 kt | W | 21.4°C | 22.3°C |
| Sep | 47% | 11.2 kt | WSW | 18.4°C | 21°C |
| Oct | 56% | 12.2 kt | WSW | 16.3°C | 18.3°C |
| Nov | 59% | 13.9 kt | W | 11.7°C | 13.9°C |
| Dec | 57% | 12.9 kt | NE | 8.2°C | 9.9°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 sandbank / estuary mouth
Standing depth
The teaching sandbank is shallow enough to stand on throughout; that holds for the school area, not for every launch on the Pointe d'Arcay side.
Tides
Strongly tide-dependent: high tide only, with mussel-farm stakes showing at low tide.
Temperature
20°C summer · 9°C winter
Wetsuit
Use a full suit most of the year; summer can suit a 3/2 mm or shorty on warm days, while winter needs a thick full suit with boots/gloves for longer sessions.
Currents
Keep out of the Lay estuary and the navigation channel; the tide runs fast around the mouth. No measured current speed was found.
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
2 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: large sandy coastline and sandbank, but usable space depends on tide and environmental/navigation restrictions
Somewhere else
Rivedoux Plage Nord, 14 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
Two different entries, and they are not interchangeable. Autonomous riders reach the Pointe d'Arcay south of the village by track and put in directly at the foot of the dunes, staying off the estuary side and out of the navigation channels.Lessons do not start there at all: they leave the La Faute-sur-Mer marina behind the golf course in a 6 m semi-rigid and work a sandbank beside the reserve that can only be reached by boat, shallow enough to stand on across the teaching area.
Space
large sandy coastline and sandbank, but usable space depends on tide and environmental/navigation restrictions
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Plan around high tide; the spot is ridden at high tide only.
- First sessions: go out on the Kitesurf Vendee boat to the sandbank rather than self-launching near the estuary.
- Keep well clear of the bouchot stakes, especially as the tide drops and they start to show.
- Stay out of the Lay estuary and the marked navigation channel, whoever else is riding there.
- If you walk in below the dunes, check on the day that the track and the reserve boundaries are open; the reserve is partly closed to the public.
- Do not go alone; it is an isolated spit and no public rescue is on record.
- Lessons meet at the marina behind the golf course, not at the point. The school is on 06 26 78 89 70.
- Put 196 in your phone before you rig. It is the free French sea-emergency line and nobody is watching this beach.
Getting there
Airport
La Rochelle - Ile de Re Airport (LRH)
Route
Drive to La Faute-sur-Mer / L'Aiguillon-la-Presqu'ile; Kitesurf Vendee lessons leave by boat from the marina for the Pointe d'Arcay sandbank. From La Rochelle airport it is about 51 minutes by car.
Transfer
51 min
Staying
Camping and rentals around La Faute-sur-Mer, including places near Route de la Pointe d'Arcay and the beach.
No-wind days
Pointe d'Arcay reserve guided nature visits, Rade d'Amour birdwatching, beaches, cycling loops, land-yachting, golf, and visits around L'Aiguillon-sur-Mer.
Photos
FAQ
When is the best time to kite at Pointe d'Arçay?
March to May and September to November are the best months, with typical wind of 15-30 knots from northwest, west or southwest.
Is Pointe d'Arçay suitable for beginners?
Beginner lessons use a shallow, standing-depth sandbank reached by boat from the marina; the autonomous spot itself is rated intermediate.
Are there rules or restricted zones?
Autonomous riders may use Pointe d'Arçay only if they avoid the Lay estuary and its navigation channel; Plage du Casino and Belle Henriette are forbidden for kitesurf, and practice is reported as high-tide only.
What hazards should I know about?
Mussel-farm stakes are visible at low tide, and the estuary mouth has fast tides, so the whole area should not be treated as a safe lagoon.
Are there kite schools nearby?
Kitesurf Vendée runs boat-access lessons to the sandbank from the La Faute marina.
Last updated: August 2026