NEOM / Sharma

Sharma is a Red Sea coastal district inside Saudi Arabia's giant NEOM development in Tabuk province, sited next to NEOM Bay Airport. The coastline here is defined by the shallow, coral-fringed lagoons typical of the northern Saudi Red Sea, and NEOM has used the area to host international watersports events as part of its push into sports tourism, including a freestyle kiteboarding competition with purpose-built event infrastructure. Outside event weeks it remains a lightly developed, low-key stretch of turquoise water rather than an established kite-tourism hub.

freestyleflat water

Wind

season notes	Not independently verified for Sharma specifically; the northern Saudi Red Sea generally sees its most reliable wind in the warmer months when the persistent north/northwesterly Red Sea channel wind is thermally enhanced, similar to the pattern on the Egyptian side of the Red Sea.
wind name	Red Sea northerly

Water

type	lagoon
standing depth	Likely shallow, reef-protected lagoon sections typical of this coast, but not confirmed at the exact event site.

Levels

notes	Reported to have been used for a freestyle competition, implying at least one section suits advanced flat-water freestyle riding, but general public rideability/level mix is not documented.

Launch & crowd

description	Not documented in detail; event-time launch areas were purpose-built by organizers.
vibe	Empty outside competition weeks; NEOM is a large, sparsely populated megaproject site rather than a resort town.

Monthly wind statistics

Station: Duba (weatherspark.com (NASA MERRA-2 reanalysis climatology), ~73 km) — Windfinder.com 429'd on every attempt (session-wide issue, see fuwairit note). Batch had no known_best_months to cross-check. No weatherspark coverage for Sharma/NEOM itself; nearest covered town is Duba, ~73 km south along the Red Sea coast (well outside 'nearby'). NEOM is known for strong, persistent gradient/thermal winds funneled by the Gulf of Aqaba, so wind character at Sharma likely differs meaningfully from Duba -- treat this record as a rough regional proxy only, not a reliable spot-level statistic. Windy season Jan 15-Apr 25, average >8.8 mph, peak Mar 9.6 mph; calmest Oct 8.0 mph. Direction predominantly west most of the year (unlike the Qatar/Senegal 'north' pattern), with a brief northerly spell in early January. No Beaufort-probability or per-month wind-speed table available, so avg_knots/prob_ge_4bft_pct left null.

Month	Wind ≥4 Bft	Avg kn	Dir	Air °C	Water °C
Jan	—%	—	N (brief, Jan 5-11), otherwise W	19.4	23.9
Feb	—%	—	W	20	22.8
Mar	—%	—	W	22.8	22.8
Apr	—%	—	W	26.1	23.9
May	—%	—	W	28.9	25.6
Jun	—%	—	W	31.1	27.2
Jul	—%	—	W	32.2	28.9
Aug	—%	—	W	32.2	29.4
Sep	—%	—	W	31.1	28.9
Oct	—%	—	W	28.3	27.8
Nov	—%	—	W	24.4	26.7
Dec	—%	—	W	21.1	25

Hazards

Shallow coral reef sections common along this coastline
Remote area with limited established kite infrastructure outside event periods
Access tied to NEOM's still-developing tourism logistics

Travel basics

airport	NEOM Bay Airport (NUM), immediately adjacent
cost level	high

Nearby: Yanbu

Sources: en.wikipedia.org