Map › France › Normandie — Ouistreham - Baie de la Pointe du Siege to Houlgate › Ouistreham - Baie de la Pointe du Siege

Normandie · Calvados, estuaire de l'Orne · Calvados · Ouistreham

Ouistreham - Baie de la Pointe du Siege

also known as Pointe du Siege, Ouistreham Riva-Bella, Pointe du Siège

advanced only

On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
Hazards
Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Nearby Merville-Franceville-Plage under 1 km · Cap Cabourg 10 km · Houlgate 11 km · straight-line distance

Seasonno season namedthe months riders and schools name How windy12 ktmixed Launchroom to launch not ratedaccess rules on record, below Watersea17.8°C in summer · 12 things riders flag LevelIntermediate to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools4named at this spot From the airportno transfer time published

When it fills in

afternoon sea-breeze reinforcement possible in fair weather, exact onset unconfirmed

Pointe du Siege is the beach east of the Orne canal at Ouistreham, an FFVL-labelled spot on the estuary, and it only works at high tide. North to northeast wind is what you want, and on a fair-weather afternoon the sea breeze reportedly builds on it.

The water is shallow for a long way out, which sounds like a learning spot until you factor in the tide window and the company: fishermen and hunters use the bay, and the sailing school is right there.

Clinique de la Planche, the school in Ouistreham, only works the bay with more than 5 m of tide and otherwise goes to Ouistreham/Riva Bella, to Merville-Franceville or to the Baie de Sallenelles depending on the tide, on the weather and on the crowd. The rules are the awkward part.

The 2026 Ouistreham beach-police order leaves Pointe du Siege out of its own zoning because the area is protected and regulated by the port authority, and the port has published nothing on kites there; swimming at the point is formally forbidden because of the currents.

The water is cold all year, about 18 C in summer and 9 C in winter, so a full suit every month. Nobody has published wind statistics or a normal kite size for the spot.

The wind

Direction

onshoreN to NE

Character

mixed

fills in: afternoon sea-breeze reinforcement possible in fair weather, exact onset unconfirmed

Typical strength

No wind statistics are published for the point. The working floor used locally is 12 kt, below which lessons in the area do not run.

N to NE, NE best. In fair weather the sea breeze reportedly tops it up in the afternoon.

Open all year. Which months are actually good is unconfirmed; nobody has published a ranking.

Thermal or synoptic

sea-breeze effect reported in fair weather

Direction to shore

The estuary beach faces north, so N comes in straight onshore and NE arrives cross-onshore from the right. Read off the orientation of the coast: no local wind study covers the point.

Forecast

Month by month

Jan51
Feb58
Mar62
Apr60
May45
Jun37
Jul38
Aug33
Sep40
Oct53
Nov61
Dec58

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

12Jan8°
13Feb9°
13Mar9°
12Apr11°
11May15°
10Jun18°
11Jul20°
10Aug21°
11Sep19°
11Oct17°
13Nov13°
13Dec10°

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

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	51%	12.3 kt	SW	6°C	8.4°C
Feb	58%	13.1 kt	SW	7.8°C	8.5°C
Mar	62%	12.6 kt	SSW	9.1°C	9.2°C
Apr	60%	12.1 kt	NNE	10.2°C	11.2°C
May	45%	10.7 kt	NNE	13.6°C	14.6°C
Jun	37%	10.2 kt	NW	16.5°C	17.6°C
Jul	38%	10.5 kt	SW	18.5°C	19.7°C
Aug	33%	10.4 kt	NNE	19°C	20.6°C
Sep	40%	10.5 kt	SSE	16.7°C	19.3°C
Oct	53%	11.3 kt	SSW	14.3°C	16.7°C
Nov	61%	13.3 kt	SW	10°C	12.8°C
Dec	58%	12.9 kt	SSW	7.1°C	9.8°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

sea

Standing depth

true

Tides

High tide only, and the local rule of thumb is the 5 m mark: above 5 m of tide height the bay is used, below it riders move to the open Ouistreham/Colleville-Montgomery beach, and Merville-Franceville works at any height.Whether 'the bay' in that rule means the Pointe du Siege water or the Baie de Sallenelles next door is still unconfirmed.

Temperature

17.8°C summer · 8.6°C winter

Wetsuit

Full wetsuit normally needed; summer water averages about 18 C and winter about 9 C.

8–21°C water

Shallow estuary/beach water near the Orne mouth, with long standing depth reported.

Your level

not for beginners hereintermediateadvanced

Intermediate, even though the water is shallow: the tide window is short and you share the bay with fishermen, with hunters and with the sailing school.

The scene

What riders come here for

learningfreerideshallow waterestuary sessions

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

4 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch is not rated

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Merville-Franceville-Plage, under 1 km

Merville-Franceville-Plage Cap Cabourg Houlgate

Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.

Rescue

VHF channel 16

Sea rescue is CROSS Jobourg, on 196 from a phone or VHF channel 16 (2026). The town's lifeguards cover the marked Riva-Bella bathing zones and not this beach: the point is left out of the town's beach zoning, sits inside the port's administrative limits, and swimming there is formally forbidden in 2026 because of the currents.

Launch

Beach at the Pointe du Siege east of the Orne canal, reached by crossing the canal from Ouistreham and following Chemin de la Pointe du Siege.

Hazards riders report 12

usable only at high tide
fishing and hunting activity
near sailing school
protected natural area
usable only at high tide, per spot guidance
fishing activity
hunting activity
protected/regulated Pointe du Siege natural and port area
Which body sets the kite rules here, the town or the port authority, is not settled on paper.
Swimming at Pointe du Siège is formally forbidden under the 2026 town beach order, on account of the currents and the danger; if you come off your board you are swimming there anyway.
protected, port-authority-regulated area distinct from the town's own supervised beach zones
The 2026 town order and the port authority split the jurisdiction, and the exact kite rules at the point fall between them.

Rules & access

2026: the Ouistreham beach-police order (arrêté n°ARR2026-188, 9 March 2026) covers the Riva-Bella/Est/Pietonne zones. Once the seasonal buoys are in, 'engins aérotractés', kites included, are banned inside the 300 m band of the RIVA zone except in the eastern Chenal n°3, and swimming is banned inside Chenal n°3 itself. Pointe du Siège is expressly left out of that zoning (article 1.2.3): the order calls it a distinct protected area under the police authority of the Port de Caen-Ouistreham, and adds that swimming there, inside the port's administrative limits, is formally forbidden because of currents and danger. The port's own 2025 police regulation and its 2026 operating rules say nothing specific about kitesurfing at Pointe du Siège.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

Ask the port authority, not the town hall, what the kite rules at Pointe du Siege are this year; the 2026 town order hands the point to the port.
Come at high water only; the school does not touch the bay below 5 m of tide, and neither should you.
Wait for N to NE; on a sunny afternoon the sea breeze reportedly builds on it.
Give the fishermen and the hunters room and keep clear of the sailing school's water; the bay is shared.
Bring a full suit whatever the month: about 18 C in summer, 9 C in winter.

Getting there

Route

From Caen or Ouistreham take the D84, cross the Orne canal and turn onto Chemin de la Pointe du Siege.

No-wind days

Pointe du Siege nature walk · Ouistreham beach · CANO nautical centre

Photos

Ouistreham Pointe du Siège 01 — Roi.dagobert, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

What is the wind like at Pointe du Siège?

The spot works best in north to northeast wind, with sea-breeze reinforcement reported in fair weather.

Is the spot tide-dependent?

Yes; it is described as usable only at high tide, since the water is shallow over a long distance.

Are there rules or restricted zones?

The 2026 Ouistreham beach order lists Pointe du Siège as a protected area regulated by the port authority, and kitesurf-type craft are restricted in the 300 m band during summer near the Riva channel, though the exact kite status at Pointe du Siège was not verified.

What are the main hazards?

Fishing and hunting activity, proximity to a sailing school, and the beach's status as a protected natural area.

Is there a kite school nearby?

Yes, Clinique de la Planche is based in Ouistreham and chooses between this bay, Merville-Franceville and the Baie de Sallenelles depending on tide, weather and crowding.

Last updated: August 2026