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Pointe Magnin

South Province · Noumea (Anse Vata) · Nouméa

also known as Plage du Méridien, Méridien Beach, Le Méridien, Meridian Beach

Part of Noumea (Anse Vata) →

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flat waternot for beginnersmedium crowds

On this page

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

Riding essentials

Season

Nov–Mar

Months riders and schools name

How windy

15-25 knots

Character: trade

Room to launch

access rules on record, below

Water

flat

27 °C in summerFlat lagoon water in front of Le Méridien at the eastern end of Anse Vata

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Intermediate to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

medium crowds · busy Nov Dec Jan Feb

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

International Airport (NOU)

Transfer times under Getting there

When it fills in

The trade runs day and night when the pattern is set, with a thermal reinforcement that normally makes the middle and late afternoon the strongest hours. Mornings are lighter and on a weak gradient may not fill at all. Evening sessions are the local habit, and the wind eases after dark.

Nearbystraight-line distance

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

Aquarêveno page yet
Îlot Canardno page yet
Poé Beach
Ouanono page yet

The spot

Pointe Magnin, which everyone in Nouméa calls the Méridien spot, is the flat-water freestyle launch at the far eastern end of Anse Vata. The draw is lagoon water with nothing on it in a settled southeast trade, and the reason it is that flat is the point itself, which turns the wind cross-offshore to offshore at the beach.

The Freestyle Advantage

That angle is why freestylers love it and why an independent beginner should stay away. You need dependable upwind ability, a head for a small riding area, and a tide check, because low water uncovers coral heads.

Schools and On-Land Facilities

Schools operate nearby, but they mostly teach with boat support further out in Anse Vata, or at Îlot Maître and Goéland where the wind is kinder. Everything on land is easy: hotels, restaurants, shade, picnic tables sit right behind the sand.

Rules and Closures

Nouméa beach rules and shark closures move without warning, so check the current mairie and DAM notices before you rig.

The wind

locals call it southeast trade winds / alizés

Direction

cross-offSEwind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Direction to shore

cross-off

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

7-11 m covers the spot. For a 75-85 kg rider that is 9 m around 18-20 knots, 7-8 m once it is over 22, and 11 m on the 15-16 knot days. Oversizing is a bad trade here: the wind is cross-offshore, and the penalty for being overpowered is drifting away from the beach rather than onto it.

Character

trade

When it fills in: see above ↑

Average strength

15-25

Typical strength

15-25 knots on an established southeast trade day, with 20-22 knots the common working figure. The upper half of that band belongs to November-March; the June-September cool season is lighter and much less reliable, and westerly disturbances can replace the trade altogether.

Regular southeast trade. The point and the heliport spit bend it cross-offshore to offshore at the Méridien launch: very flat freestyle water, and a real drift risk with it.

Best kitesurfing period is November to March, when trade winds are stronger and temperatures are warmest; the broader lagoon can still be rideable outside that period, with cool-season westerly disturbances possible.

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 Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar.

Measured at Noumea Magenta Airport, ~3 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.

Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

Noumea Magenta Airport · Windfinder

The water

Type

flat

Standing depth

Shallow over the flat directly in front of the beach - at high water you can stand across much of what you would ride - but depth is uneven and broken by coral heads, and it drops away as you go out into the bay.Depth is not what should govern your decision here; the cross-offshore wind is. If you cannot ride upwind, standing depth will not get you home. Descriptions conflict, so treat the depth as unresolved.

Tides

High tide gives the flattest and most navigable water. Low tide uncovers the patates de corail and turns the spot technical and genuinely risky; a mid tide on a small coefficient is the usual compromise. Check the coefficient as well as the height before you rig.

Temperature

27 °C summer · 22 °C winter

Wetsuit

Boardshorts/rash vest are commonly adequate in warm season; a shorty or light wetsuit can be useful in the June-September cool season, when Nouméa water is about 22–23 °C.

Conditions

Flat lagoon water in front of Le Méridien at the eastern end of Anse Vata. Coral heads become the main factor at low tide. The shark-protected swimming area beside it is for bathers, and it guarantees nothing for a kiter outside the net.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners here

Not recommended for total beginners launching independently because the wind is offshore/cross-offshore, the riding area is selective, and riders must be able to stay upwind. Local schools may teach from Pointe Magnin or take students by boat farther into Anse Vata lagoon or to Îlot Maître/Goéland.

The scene

What riders come here for

freestyleintermediateadvancedflat waterurban session

Urban Nouméa freestyle scene in front of the resort hotels. Locals turn up in the evenings and at weekends, and when a good wind lands on a weekend the small riding area gets picky.

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: ok

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

6 spots nearby

All 6 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

+687 29 21 21VHF channel 16+687 24 83 95 +687 24 03 45

Rescue — full text1 min read

No kite rescue. The lifeguards here cover the netted swimming enclosure and nothing else: three of them, every day of the year, 08:45-17:00 from October to April and 08:45-16:00 from May to September. That is a bathing service, not a service that will collect a kiter blown out of the bay.

At sea call 16, or +687 29 21 21, VHF channel 16. Noumea schools run boat-supported sessions for their own clients only - Vakarm +687 24 83 95, Noumea Kite School +687 24 03 45.

Launch

Sandy launch in front of Le Meridien and Chateau Royal at the far eastern end of Anse Vata, with the Pointe Magnin spit and the heliport immediately alongside.Since September 2024 a 400 m shark barrier enclosing about 2.7 hectares fronts this beach, so the usable sand is the strip either side of the netted swimming area and the riding happens outside it.Hotels, restaurants and shade sit directly behind the beach.

Hazards riders report 17 reported

Wind

offshore wind component increases risk of being blown out to sea if equipment fails
Cross-offshore/offshore wind can push riders away from shore after gear failure or loss of upwind ability.
Small/selective riding area with collision risk on strong-wind crowded days.
cross-offshore to offshore wind: gear failure or a loss of upwind ability pushes you away from shore
small, selective riding area with real collision risk on a crowded strong-wind evening

Crowds and zones

boat traffic in the bay
Shark risk exists around Nouméa; temporary municipal closures of swimming and nautical activities have followed shark incidents in 2026.
the 400 m netted swimming enclosure directly in front of the beach, which you must stay outside
boat traffic across the bay, including taxi boats running to the islets

Waves and currents

Coral heads/patates de corail can be exposed or very shallow at low tide.
coral heads exposed or barely covered at low tide

Protected areas and rules

Protected marine wildlife including turtles can be encountered in the lagoon; avoid high-speed passes near animals.
shark risk in the Noumea lagoon: a fatal attack off Anse Vata in February 2026 closed nautical activities for ten days
protected wildlife including turtles in the lagoon; foil boards are a particular danger to them

Other

Heliport/spit immediately near the launch area.
the heliport and the Pointe Magnin spit immediately beside the launch
no rescue for independent riders

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: outside the shark-net enclosures, swimming and nautical activities including kitesurf are allowed at users' own risk, and this is set out in the municipal beach rules.

The Chateau Royal / Meridien enclosure has been in place since 13 September 2024: 400 m of barrier, about 2.7 hectares, three lifeguards 365 days a year, 08:45-17:00 October-April and 08:45-16:00 May-September. Do not launch into, land in or ride through it.

Regulations

2025: arrete 2025-575/GNC of 2 April 2025 regulates vessel traffic and certain nautical and subaquatic activities along the Noumea coastline, including the ANSR zone between Anse Vata and Ilot Canard reserved for nautical activities.

2026: after the fatal shark attack on a wingfoiler off Anse Vata on 22 February 2026, arrete 2026-549 banned nautical activities from 23 February to 4 March 2026 in the 300 m coastal band and around Ile aux Canards, Ilot Maitre, Ilot Uere and Ilot Sainte-Marie; bans of this kind return with no notice.

No permit is required to kite here.

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 launch here alone unless you can hold upwind consistently and self-rescue in cross-offshore wind.
Check the tide height and the coefficient before you rig; low water turns the coral heads into the main hazard.
Ride outside the shark netting and do not cut through it to shorten the walk.
The trade builds through the afternoon, so the evening is the local session.
If the wind feels too offshore or the beach too tight, move to Aquarêve, which is more side to onshore.
Check the mairie and maritime notices before you travel; shark incidents have closed the whole 300 m coastal band at short notice.
Save 16 and VHF 16. The lifeguards on this beach are there for the swimmers inside the net, not for you.
The Nouméa competition stage traditionally sets up on this beach in late November, so expect company on the water then.
Restaurants and bars line Anse Vata, which makes a blown-out day easy to spend.

Getting there

Airport

Nouméa-La Tontouta International Airport (NOU)

Route

La Tontouta is about 50 km north of Nouméa; airport shuttles, taxis and rental cars are available. From central Nouméa, Anse Vata is about 8 km/15 minutes and is served by Tanéo bus lines including N1; the Méridien end is reached at the far end of Anse Vata.

Transfer

45-60 minutes from La Tontouta to Nouméa/Anse Vata by road, depending on traffic and drop-off; about 15 minutes from central Nouméa to Anse Vata.

Cost level

high

Staying

Resort and hotel accommodation sits directly at Pointe Magnin/Anse Vata, including Le Méridien and Château Royal; broader Nouméa has additional hotels and apartments around Anse Vata, Baie des Citrons and the city centre.

No-wind days

Aquarium des Lagons, Îlot Canard or Îlot Maître taxi-boat trips, Ouen Toro lookout, Baie des Citrons/Anse Vata restaurants and bars, Tjibaou Cultural Centre, Nouméa museums, snorkeling and spa options.

Photos

FAQ

Is Pointe Magnin suitable for beginners?

No, the wind is cross-offshore to offshore and the riding area is selective, so riders must be able to stay upwind; local schools often teach farther out by boat or at Ilot Maitre/Goeland instead.

What is the wind like at Pointe Magnin?

The SE trade wind is regular and typically 15-25 knots, with November-March the strongest, warmest season.

What is the tide like at Pointe Magnin?

Low tide can expose coral heads and make the spot technical, while high tide or a suitable mid-tide window is more navigable.

Are there rules at Pointe Magnin?

Kitesurfing is allowed outside the shark-protected swimming barriers at users' own risk, and temporary bans can follow shark incidents, including a closure in Noumea's 300 m coastal strip in early 2026.

The bigger pictureEverything about Noumea (Anse Vata)

Last updated: August 2026