MapFranceLa Torche (Bretagne)La Torche (Pointe de la Torche, Penmarc'h)La Torche (Bretagne)

La Torche (Pointe de la Torche, Penmarc'h)

Metropolitan France · La Torche (Bretagne) · Plomeur

also known as Pointe de la Torche, Beg an Dorchenn, La Torche - Tronoen, Pors Carn

Part of La Torche (Bretagne) →

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wavesnot for beginnershigh crowds

On this page

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

Riding essentials

Season

Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov

Months riders and schools name

How windy

12-18 kt

Character: mixed

Room to launch

huge

access rules on record, below

Water

waves

16–20 °C in summer

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Intermediate to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

high crowds · busy Jun Jul Aug Sep

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

90 min

Brest Bretagne (BES)

thermal periods

18:00

Summer NW thermal wind typically runs from late morning to about 18:00; no instrument-backed onset climatology is published.

The mark is the clock time the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The fade after it is not an end time, and not a promise of wind.

Nearbystraight-line distance

Lagune du Letty / Mer Blanche20 km

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

Pors Carnalso a name for this spot
Tronoenno page yet
Plovan - Penhorsno page yet
Le Sterno page yet
Treustel - Ile Tudyno page yet
Le Letty - Mer Blancheno page yet

The spot

La Torche is a real kitesurf spot and an exposed Atlantic wave spot first, not a learner lagoon. The headland splits the riding between the north/Tronoen side and the Pors Carn bay, so which launch works depends on direction and season: NW, W or SW on the La Torche side, W, NW, N or NE for Pors Carn.

Wind and hazards

Easterly is the classic offshore surf wind here. It cleans the waves and gives you nothing to come back on. The water is cold year-round by warm-water standards, mostly high teens Celsius in summer and 10-11 C in winter. What actually shapes a session is the rest of it: currents, baïnes, rocks, heavy shorebreak, a packed lineup and summer zoning.

Zoning and rules

In 2026 Pors Carn has a municipal order with a dedicated kite, sail and foil channel and beach zone from 15 June to 15 September.

Safety requirements

Come with wave skills and a working self-rescue, read the beach signage on the day, talk to local riders or a school, and stay off the water in offshore wind unless a boat is covering you.

The wind

locals call it Atlantic lows plus northwest sea-breeze/thermal periods

Direction

cross-on

Direction to shore

cross-on

Dominant direction

NW/W/SW on the La Torche-Tronoen side; W/NW/N/NE for Pors Carn.

Kite sizes

4567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

No local quiver table is published. Set against the wind the spot actually delivers, a 75-85 kg rider covers the summer northwest thermal of 12-18 kt with about 9-12 m, spring and autumn frontal days with 7-9 m, and winter storm sessions with 5-7 m; unconfirmed against local rider practice.The point accelerates the flow and it habitually blows harder than forecast, so take the smaller end of each bracket, and take a wave board rather than a big kite when the swell is up.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Typical strength

12-18 kt in summer northwest thermal periods; stronger synoptic winds in spring, autumn and winter storms

Generally reliable for an Atlantic wave spot, with local point acceleration reported; can become stormy or blown-out under depressions.

Spring is the cleanest surf season, with March standing out for consistent clean waves. Spring favours W/SW wind and moderate to strong swell, summer brings 12-18 kt NW thermal but smaller swell and crowds, autumn brings stronger Atlantic lows and larger swell, and winter is expert-only storm sessions.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

riding season from the spot record · the wind series here holds no strength figure

No month-by-month share of windy days is held for this spot. The months riders and schools name are Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov.

Measured at Quimper-Cornouaille Airport (nearest windfinder candidate; La Torche itself has no statistics), ~20 km from the spot.

How this was measuredmeasured

The source named below holds no month-by-month figure for this place, so no season is drawn from it. The season is the one the spot record names.

A station this far away — often inland or at an airport — can understate accelerated local wind. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

Quimper-Cornouaille Airport (nearest windfinder candidate; La Torche itself has no statistics) · Windfinder

The water

Type

waves

Standing depth

Not a stand-up spot. The sand shelves into a shorebreak and the usable depth swings with the tide: high water leaves a narrow beach with the shorebreak landing close in, low water opens broad exposed banks with short shallow sections between them.No depth figure has been published for the riding area, and the lateral current and the baines cut through the shallow parts anyway. Plan on deep water and a working self-rescue, not on putting your feet down.

Tides

The break works at every stage of the tide, but you get a different spot at each.High water: narrow beach, shorebreak close in, little room to rig or land.Low water: very wide beach, well-shaped sandbars, and the rocks around Pors Carn out of the water and visible.In the Pors Carn bay a rising tide is the safer choice, because the usable water to the left of the point shrinks badly at low tide and the bay is full of rock.

Temperature

16–20 °C summer · 10–11 °C winter

Wetsuit

3/2 mm full suit in summer; 5/4 mm or 5/3 mm with gloves/boots in late winter, with hood when wind-chill is high.

Currents

Strong lateral currents and baïnes/rip currents run through the bay, and the 2026 Pors Carn order names currents, baïnes and breaking waves as the dangerous conditions it regulates.

Conditions

Exposed Atlantic beach and point setup with sandy beach break, point influence, regular swell and rocks close to the headland and in Pors Carn. Reported wave range is about 0.5 m to 3 m+ depending on swell and season.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners here

Treat it as intermediate-to-advanced wave kiting. The beach is signed for riders with a good level because the waves are often big, and it rates advanced on its currents, baïnes, rocks, surfers and seasonal zoning. Beginners belong at a school-chosen alternative such as Le Ster when conditions and the summer rules allow.

The scene

What riders come here for

wavesfreestylebig airadvancedstraplessfreeride in smaller summer swellbig air in strong frontal windadvanced wave riding

Brittany's headline wave arena and a competition venue, with a strong surf culture on top of it. Expect experienced local riders, schools, surfers and tourists; in summer the spot is rule-sensitive and most of the practical kite use shifts to the marked zones or to less crowded beaches nearby.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

8 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: huge

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

1 spot nearby

Lagune du Letty / Mer Blanche20 km

The one spot within 40 km is under Nearby

Rescue

Lifeguards cover the Pors Carn bathing area in July and August only, and the published hours do not agree: the 2026 municipal order sets 4 July to 30 August 2026, 13:30-19:30, while the beach's own hours run July-August, 11:00-18:00. Le Ster has the same July-August post.

Rescue

None of it is kite rescue. There is no club boat, no paid safety service and no beach marshal for kiters on either side of the point, so an offshore or easterly session is a solo commitment with no pick-up behind it.

Emergency contact

Beach and technical services at Penmarc'h answer on 02 98 58 89 61; at sea the emergency number is 196.

Launch

Large sandy beach launches north of the point on the La Torche/Tronoen side, and a designated kite beach and channel zone at Pors Carn in season. Rig and derig on the beach, not on car parks, dunes or protected natural areas. In summer, beach use at Pors Carn is limited to the marked kite zone and channel.

Hazards riders report 11 reported

Crowds and zones

Very crowded water with surfers, bodyboarders, SUP, windsurfers, wingfoilers and bathers in good conditions and summer
Seasonal bathing zones and buoyed kite channels; entering the wrong zone can create legal and safety issues

Bottom

Rocks, especially around the point ('le rocher du corbeau')
Rocks close to the point and exposed rocks/reefs around Pors Carn, including the Les Mechants area reported by local kite guides

Waves and currents

Strong currents
Rocks close to the point and exposed rocks and reefs around Pors Carn, including the Les Mechants area, where the suction at low tide is reportedly dangerous
Strong lateral currents and baïnes/rip currents
Heavy shorebreak and powerful Atlantic surf, especially around high tide and during winter lows
Offshore or side-offshore easterly/southeasterly winds can make surf clean but are hazardous for kite without rescue

Protected areas and rules

Protected dunes and ganivelles; launching or walking outside marked access damages a protected site

Other

Land-yachters and other users sharing the beach

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: Penmarc'h municipal order AR-2026-317 regulates Pors Carn from 15 June to 15 September 2026; it creates a dedicated channel and beach zone for kitesurf, kitefoil, wingfoil, windfoil and similar sail and foil craft, bans those craft from the bathing zone, and applies once the buoyage and signage are in place.

Zones and season

Over the same 15 June to 15 September window the right-hand side of the point is by local convention left to surfers, and kite use is confined to the yellow-buoyed channel on the left, with a 300 m offshore standoff once through it. 2026: the Pors Carn lifeguard zone is supervised 4 July to 30 August 2026, 13:30-19:30.

Launch and rigging

Year-round: launch and land from the beach only, never from a car park, the grass, the dune or a protected natural area, and rig on the sand. Out of season you can launch more freely, respecting other beach users.

Previous rules

2021: an older Plomeur order banned kitesurf and similar craft inside the supervised bathing zone from 3 July to 29 August 2021; no current 2026 Plomeur order for the La Torche/Tronoen side has surfaced.

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

Walk the beach at low tide before you commit to Pors Carn, so you can see the rocks and the usable sandbars.
In the Pors Carn bay, ride the rising tide; at low water the workable ground left of the point shrinks and the rock comes up.
Check the buoyage and signage in summer before rigging: the legal kite zone is often narrower than the beach looks from the car park.
Rig and launch on the sand only, never from the grass, the dune, the car park or behind the ganivelles.
Bring a warmer wetsuit than you would take farther south on the Atlantic; even August water is usually around 17-18 C.
There is no kite rescue on either side of the point, so ride with someone; when La Torche is too big, Le Ster on the Penmarc'h side is the fallback.

Getting there

Airport

Brest Bretagne (BES) is the airport signposted for 2026 air access; Quimper/Pluguffan is geographically closer, but its scheduled service is unconfirmed here.

Route

By car, about 30 minutes from Quimper, 1h30 from Brest, 3h from Rennes or Nantes and 6h from Paris via the N165. Regional bus line 958 runs Quimper to Plomeur La Torche via Pont-l'Abbe, Le Guilvinec and Penmarc'h.

Transfer

90 min

Cost level

mid

Staying

Campsites, camper and van parking and surf-camp style lodging around Plomeur and La Torche. Camping Sites et Paysages La Torche sits about 1.3 km from the coast with pitches and rentals, and ESB La Torche has surf-camp accommodation for up to 24 people plus a studio and apartment.

No-wind days

Surfing/bodyboarding, hiking the GR34 and dune paths, horseback riding near Pointe de la Torche, visiting the megalithic point, spring flower fields, Eckmuhl lighthouse and Haliotika/Le Guilvinec fishing harbour visits.

Photos

The bigger pictureEverything about La Torche (Bretagne)

Last updated: August 2026