MapGreeceAfiartis, KarpathosMakris Gialos (Gun Bay)Afiartis, Karpathos

Makris Gialos (Gun Bay)

South Aegean · Karpathos - Afiartis · Karpathos-Kasos Regional Unit · Afiartis / Pigadia

also known as Chicken Bay (local nickname), Gun Bay, Paralia Makris Gialos, Παραλία Μακρύς Γιαλός, Chicken Bay, Small Makris Gialos

Part of Afiartis, Karpathos →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

choppynot for beginnersmedium crowds

On this page

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

Riding essentials

Season

Jun–Sep

Months riders and schools name

How windy

25-35 knots

Character: thermal

Room to launch

Medium launch area; the beach is reportedly 600 m long.

access rules on record, below

Water

chop

24 °C in summerGun Bay is the middle Afiartis bay, between Vatha/Devil's Bay and Chicken Bay

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Intermediate to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

medium crowds · busy Jul Aug

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

5 min

Karpathos Airport (AOK)

On the clock

09:00 · 18:00

All day in the summer wind season; windsurf stations commonly operate 09:00-18:00.

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.

Nearbystraight-line distance

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

Chicken Bay / Small Makris Gialosno page yet
Paradise Bayno page yet

The spot

Bays on Kipi Afiartis

Gun Bay is the middle of the three wind bays at Kipi Afiartis on southern Karpathos, with Vatha/Devil's Bay to the north and Small Makris Gialos, the one people call Chicken Bay, to the south.

Names and directions

The names get used loosely, so check which bay someone means before you follow their directions.

Meltemi wind and strength

The wind is Meltemi, N to NNW, accelerated by the southern Karpathos topography and arriving side-offshore to cross-offshore from the left on this east-facing coast: 25-35 knots at Gun Bay, with gusts above 40 knots reported.

Water conditions

Water is flat close in, then chop and waves a few hundred metres out.

Rescue hazards

Rocks line the sides of the bay and volcanic rock covers much of the land behind it, which turns a self-rescue into a bad walk.

Skill level

Treat it as intermediate-to-advanced; beginners belong at Chicken Bay, where the shallow sandy strip is 80 m wide and the lessons actually happen.

Season and access

Wind is strongest June to September, and some accounts stretch the usable season from May to late August or mid-September. Karpathos Airport is about 5 minutes away, and the windsurf stations and beach bars in Afiartis commonly run 09:00-18:00.

The wind

locals call it Meltemi / Etesian

Direction

cross-offN to NNW Meltemiwind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Direction to shore

side-offshore / cross-offshore from the left on the east-facing Afiartis coast

Kite sizes

4567891011

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

Indicative for a 75-85 kg rider, derived from the 25-35 kt range rather than from local logs: 7 m on a standard summer Meltemi day, 5-6 m once it settles above 35 kt, 9 m only on the light 20 kt edge early or late in the season. Everyone here rigs a size down from what the forecast suggests.

Character

thermal

When it fills in: see above ↑

Average strength

30-35

Typical strength

25-35 knots at Gun Bay, with gusts above 40 knots reported; about 30-35 knots is the usual summer figure.

strong, gusty at launch

Best wind arrives in May and holds to late August or mid-September, though the narrower version of the season is June to September. Southern Karpathos topography accelerates the Afiartis wind, and it is strongest in summer.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

Jan70
Feb76
Mar72
Apr71
May70
Jun, riders' month88
Jul, riders' month97
Aug, riders' month82
Sep, riders' month78
Oct69
Nov68
Dec65

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.

15 ktJan19°
15 ktFeb18°
14 ktMar17°
14 ktApr18°
13 ktMay20°
15 ktJun24°
16 ktJul26°
14 ktAug27°
13 ktSep26°
13 ktOct25°
13 ktNov23°
13 ktDec20°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

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.

Every figure, month by monthForce 4+ · Knots · Wind from · Air · Water

Month	Force 4+	Knots	Wind from	Air	Water
Jan	70%	14.8 kt	NW	14.1 °C	19 °C
Feb	76%	14.6 kt	NNW	13.8 °C	17.6 °C
Mar	72%	14.2 kt	NNW	14.6 °C	17.4 °C
Apr	71%	13.7 kt	NW	17.7 °C	18.2 °C
May	70%	13.1 kt	NW	20.3 °C	20 °C
Jun	88%	14.6 kt	NW	25 °C	23.7 °C
Jul	97%	16.3 kt	NW	26.9 °C	25.6 °C
Aug	82%	13.8 kt	WNW	27 °C	27.4 °C
Sep	78%	13.4 kt	NW	25.6 °C	26.3 °C
Oct	69%	12.8 kt	NW	22.2 °C	25.1 °C
Nov	68%	13.2 kt	NW	19.1 °C	22.7 °C
Dec	65%	13 kt	NW	16.6 °C	19.9 °C

How this is modelledmodelled · 2022-2024

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

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

chop

Standing depth

Gun Bay has flat water close to shore; nearby Chicken Bay / Small Makris Gialos has an 80 m wide shallow sandy area used for learning.

Tides

Considered tide independent.

Temperature

24 °C summer

Modelled monthly average: 17–27 °C

Wetsuit

Shorts or lycra in summer; shorty/normal wetsuit in autumn; long wetsuit in winter.

Conditions

Gun Bay is the middle Afiartis bay, between Vatha/Devil's Bay and Chicken Bay. The name also gets attached to the big Makris Gialos beach, so confirm which one is meant before driving anywhere.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners here

Gun Bay is intermediate-to-expert water: side-offshore wind, gusts, waves and rocks. Beginner teaching happens at nearby Chicken Bay / Small Makris Gialos, not at Gun Bay proper.

The scene

What riders come here for

freeridefreestylejumpinghigh wind

Who it suitsbeginner

Established Afiartis windsurf/kite area with windsurf stations and beach bars; quieter than a resort beach but busy with wind riders in peak Meltemi season.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

6 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: Medium launch area; the beach is reportedly 600 m long.

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

2 spots nearby

All 2 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

No public lifeguard and no dedicated rescue boat is documented for Gun Bay.

The realistic cover is the windsurf stations on the Afiartis beaches, whose boats go out for their own clients first - ask before you launch, because the wind is side-offshore and a downwind swim ends on rock.

Greek rules require a licensed lifeguard and a motorised rescue craft on organised activity once the wind exceeds Beaufort 6, and an ordinary Meltemi day here is well past that.

Launch

Launch off the beach in Gun Bay. Access is by track, with parking on natural ground and a short walk to the sand.

Hazards riders report 10 reported

Wind

Side-offshore/cross-offshore wind with risk of drifting out to sea
Very strong Meltemi and violent gusts, especially around launch
Use a smaller kite than usual in strong Meltemi

Crowds and zones

No lifeguard and no documented rescue boat: cover depends on whichever windsurf station is open
Windsurf stations run marked areas on the same water, so keep clear of their zones

Bottom

Rocks on the sides of the bay and volcanic rocks on much of the beach/land area
Self-rescue can be complicated by rocky terrain

Waves and currents

Waves or chop building after several hundred meters from shore
Wind waves of 1-2.5 m out from the bay in established Meltemi

Other

shared beach with windsurf stations and a taverna, watch for other water users

Rules & access

1 min read

Municipal rules

No Karpathos municipal or port-police kitesurf order for Afiartis was found for 2026.

National regulations

The Greek national rules apply: no riding before sunrise or after sunset, 200 m from swimmers, anchored boats, rocks, buoys and other obstacles, 200 m off the shore except through a marked corridor, a clear 100 m radius around the launch, 1 nautical mile from ports, marinas and fish farms, warning signs in Greek and English on any licensed area, and a licensed lifeguard with a motorised rescue craft once the wind passes Beaufort 6.

Shared bays

The three Afiartis bays are shared with windsurf stations that have their own marked water, so check on the beach before rigging.

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

Do not take Gun Bay for the beginner bay; the mellow learning water is at Chicken Bay / Small Makris Gialos.
Rig a size down once the Meltemi is established, and expect the gusts at the launch to be worse than the wind out on the water.
Ask a windsurf station about rescue cover before you launch: the wind is side-offshore to cross-offshore and nobody has documented who comes to get you.
Park on the natural ground at the end of the track and walk the last stretch in.
Barba Minas Taverna is on the beach if you want food between sessions.
Nobody is on rescue standby here. Ask a windsurf station whether their boat would come for you before you go out in side-offshore wind.
The wind blows through the whole day in high summer rather than filling in for an afternoon session, so an early start is a real option.

Getting there

Airport

Karpathos Airport (AOK), immediately by Afiartis

Route

Afiartis is next to Karpathos Airport and about 12 km from Pigadia; local beach access is by road/track.

Transfer

5 min

Staying

Apartments, studios and hotels are available around Kipi Afiartis; broader options are in Pigadia.

No-wind days

Nearby no-wind options include swimming at less exposed beaches, Barba Minas Taverna/Baja beach bar, Pigadia, and Karpathos beach touring.

FAQ

Is Gun Bay suitable for beginners?

No, side-offshore wind, gusts, waves and rocks make it intermediate-to-expert; beginner lessons are offered at nearby Chicken Bay instead.

What is the wind like?

A strong Meltemi from N to NNW, typically 25-35 knots with gusts above 40 knots reported, blowing side-offshore to cross-offshore.

What are the hazards?

Side-offshore wind with drifting risk, rocks on the sides of the bay and volcanic rock on the land area, and chop or waves building farther from shore.

Are there kite schools nearby?

Windsurf and kite stations operate in the wider Afiartis area, including Meltemi Windsurfing Karpathos and Baja Bar & Windsurfing Station.

The bigger pictureEverything about Karpathos - Afiartis

Last updated: August 2026