MapCape VerdeSanta Maria, SalPonta LemeSanta Maria, Sal

Ponta Leme

Santa Maria - Sal

also known as Ponta Leme Bedje, Ponta do Leme Velho, Ponta Este, Albatroz (Ponta Leme Bedje)

Part of Santa Maria, Sal →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

not 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–May

Months riders and schools name

How windy

12-25 knots

Character: trade

Room to launch

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

24.6 °C in summerFlat water near shore with chop further out

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Intermediate to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

medium crowds · busy Dec Jan Feb Mar

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

20 min

Cabral International Airport (SID)

When it fills in

No onset time is published for this spot.

Nearbystraight-line distance

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

Santa Maria Bayno page yet
Kite Beach / Fragata
Shark Bayno page yet
Alibabano page yet
Canoano page yet
Murdeira Bayno page yet

The spot

Ponta Leme is the eastern end of Santa Maria Bay on Sal, and it also goes by Ponta Leme Bedje, Ponta do Leme Velho and Ponta Este. Flat or chop on the inside, waves on the reef point when a south swell or a wind swell gets into the bay.

Wind and access

The NE trade arrives side-off to cross-off, so riding it alone means holding upwind, relaunching without help and knowing you can get yourself back in. The launch is sandy-rocky and rock-scattered in places, and in awkward conditions the sane move is to start from Santa Maria and tack up rather than go in here.

Who should visit

Schools put first lessons on Kite Beach, or in Santa Maria with a safety boat; this is not the beach to learn on. What it is good for is wave progression at a manageable size, plus jumping and fast flat-water reaches close to town, with the ION and Angulo centres and their rescue on the spot for clients.

Season

The season runs roughly November to May, and the wave window most often lands December to April.

The wind

locals call it NE trade winds

Direction

cross-offNE to NNEwind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Direction to shore

cross-off

Kite sizes

4567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

For a 75-85 kg rider, a 9 m and a 12 m cover most days of the trade-wind season, which is the standard advice for an average-weight rider on Sal.The centre on the spot rents kites from 5 m to 17 m, which is the practical spread across the whole year, so pack the small kite if you are here in the strong December-March stretch.

Character

trade

Average strength

Monthly averages around 16 kt Jan-Feb, 15 kt Mar, 16 kt Apr-May, 14 kt Jun, 10-13 kt Jul-Oct, 14 kt Nov and 15 kt Dec in one dataset. No second published climatology for the spot was found; the rest is live forecast.

Typical strength

12-25 knots at the spot, with 15-30 knots quoted for Sal as a whole depending on the period.

It changes with the exact launch: clean and steady outside, gusty or irregular and lighter close in and at Ponta Leme's Left.

Winter and spring is the windy season on Sal. The best window is given as November-April, with the trades reportedly blowing almost every day October-June and the strongest wave and wind conditions December-April. Other counts run November to mid-June, or single out January-May and November-December. The exact edges are unconfirmed.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

15 ktJan23°
14 ktFeb22°
14 ktMar22°
14 ktApr22°
14 ktMay23°
13 ktJun23°
10 ktJul24°
10 ktAug26°
11 ktSep27°
12 ktOct27°
13 ktNov26°
14 ktDec24°

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

Modelled monthly averages. Highlighted: the months riders and schools name (Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May).

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (~1980-2016 satellite-era reanalysis (not a physical station)), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds.

Every figure, month by monthKnots · Wind from · Air · Water

Month	Knots	Wind from	Air	Water
Jan	14.6 kt	N	21.7 °C	22.8 °C
Feb	14.4 kt	N	21.7 °C	22.2 °C
Mar	14 kt	N	21.7 °C	21.7 °C
Apr	14.3 kt	N	22.2 °C	22.2 °C
May	14.2 kt	N	23.3 °C	22.8 °C
Jun	12.7 kt	N	23.9 °C	22.8 °C
Jul	9.9 kt	N	25.6 °C	24.4 °C
Aug	9.5 kt	N	26.7 °C	25.6 °C
Sep	10.8 kt	N	27.2 °C	26.7 °C
Oct	12 kt	N	26.7 °C	26.7 °C
Nov	12.7 kt	N	25 °C	25.6 °C
Dec	13.7 kt	NE	23.3 °C	23.9 °C

How this is modelledmodelled · ~1980-2016 satellite-era reanalysis (not a physical station)

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.

Santa Maria, Sal · WeatherSpark (modeled climatology, MERRA-2 reanalysis) · ~1980-2016 satellite-era reanalysis (not a physical station)

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

You can stand in places: the water close to the beach and along the inside of the point is shallow, and it is shallow again right where the wave breaks over the reef.The catch is what you would be standing on: reef and volcanic rock rather than clean sand, with a rock-scattered shoreline, so touching down here is a hazard and not a rest.No measured depth is published for the launch.Treat any wade-out as walking on reef, wear boots, and prefer the higher half of the tide, when there is more water over the rocks.

Tides

The flat-water inside is usually described as not tide-critical, but the wave sections are: high water is the preferred stage and the Left changes with the tide, while at low water the rocks under the breaking wave sit closer to the surface. No official tide range is published for the launch itself.

Temperature

24.6 °C summer · 23.1 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 22–27 °C

Wetsuit

Shorts or boardshorts in warmer months; shorty or 3 mm wetsuit/top is commonly recommended in the cooler windy season if you feel cold.

Currents

Current can run stronger in winter.

Conditions

Flat water near shore with chop further out; small to medium waves form on the reef/point when southerly swell or wind swell reaches the bay. The beach/entry is variously described as sandy-rocky or rock-scattered.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners here

Ridden independently this is intermediate and expert ground: the wind is side-off to cross-off, the start can be rocky and gusty, and self-rescue competence matters. Beginners get sent to Kite Beach, or taught in Santa Maria with boat support.

The scene

What riders come here for

intermediateflat waterfreestylewavesadvancedfreeridewave progressionjumpingwingfoilwindsurfing

Working watersports corner of Santa Maria rather than a remote beach: quieter than the main beginner flow at Kite Beach, but with established centers, rental/storage, restaurant/bar facilities nearby and windsurf/wing traffic.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

7 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: ok

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

4 spots nearby

All 4 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

Rescue here belongs to the two centres on the spot rather than to the beach. The ION/Duotone centre runs a rescue service for its own guests; the Angulo centre keeps a jet-ski for emergencies.

Neither publishes cover for walk-up independent riders, so if you are riding cross-offshore without being a client, agree a plan with someone on shore before you go out.

There is no lifeguard and no published maritime rescue number for the island; the national emergency numbers are 130 for an ambulance, 131 fire and 132 police, and the nearest medical centre is in Santa Maria.

Launch

East side of Santa Maria Bay near the Angulo/ION Ponta Leme area; the beach is sandy-rocky or rock-scattered, with access either directly from the beach/center or by starting downwind in Santa Maria and tacking up.

Hazards riders report 13 reported

Wind

gusty wind
cross-offshore direction requires self-rescue ability
side-off to cross-off wind with downwind exposure offshore
Gusty or irregular wind close in.

Crowds and zones

shared water with windsurfers, wingfoilers, surfers and school traffic

Bottom

rocky launch area
sandy-rocky or rock-scattered launch/shoreline
small reef/rock sections, especially around Ponta Leme's Left
Ponta Leme's Left can be hollow and more powerful when small over rocks

Waves and currents

shorebreak when swell is running
stronger current possible in winter
reef and volcanic rock close to the surface where the wave breaks, with least margin at low water

Other

no rescue cover unless you are a client of one of the two centres on the spot

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: No kite-specific permit or municipal zoning rule is published for Ponta Leme. Project Biodiversity states that all Sal beaches are turtle nesting beaches and that going to the beach at night to observe nesting turtles without a government-certified guide is illegal during nesting season, June-October.

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

Confirm that your school or rental cover actually applies to you before you ride cross-offshore here.
Walk the launch before you rig and note where the rocks and the shallow reef sit.
Ride the higher half of the tide, because low water leaves almost no margin over the rocks where the wave breaks.
If the direct launch is gusty or crowded, start from Santa Maria and tack up.
Bring or hire a directional if the wave is the point; a twin-tip is the wrong tool on those sections.
A 9 m and a 12 m are the two kites that get used most, plus the small one for the December-March peak.
In winter expect more current and shorebreak, and size the session for getting back upwind tired.
From June to October, going onto the beach at night to watch nesting turtles without a government-certified guide is illegal; book a certified guide instead.

Getting there

Airport

Amilcar Cabral International Airport (SID), Sal

Route

Fly to Sal (SID), transfer south to Santa Maria, then walk about 10-15 minutes east from the town/main ION Santa Maria area or ask for Angulo restaurant/ION Ponta Leme by taxi. There is one main north-south road from the airport to Santa Maria.

Transfer

20 min

Cost level

Medium-high for Cape Verde: Sal is not a budget destination. Airport taxi runs around 25 euros in 2026; accommodation ranges broadly from about 24-170 euros per night, and gear rental is around 55 euros per day.

Staying

Santa Maria has the main accommodation base, from apartments and guesthouses around Leme Bedje/Antonio Sousa to resort hotels along Santa Maria beach; several hotels and apartments are within walking distance of Ponta Leme.

No-wind days

Surf and SUP from local centers, diving/snorkeling, Santa Maria pier and market, Palmeira fishing port, Pedra de Lume salt flats, Buracona/Blue Eye, Shark Bay lemon-shark trips, turtle tours in season with certified guides, restaurants and live music in Santa Maria.

Photos

FAQ

When is the best time to kite Ponta Leme?

The main Sal windy season runs November to April, with the strongest wave and wind conditions typically December to April.

Is Ponta Leme suitable for beginners?

No; the wind is side-off to cross-off and the launch can be rocky or gusty, so schools usually direct beginners to Kite Beach instead.

What is the wind like at Ponta Leme?

NE to NNE trade winds blow cross-off, typically 12-25 knots, with outside wind often cleaner than the gustier conditions close in.

Are there kite schools at Ponta Leme?

Yes; ION Club and Angulo Cabo Verde operate at Ponta Leme with rescue support for their guests.

Are there rules at Ponta Leme?

Cape Verde law bans unguided night beach visits to observe nesting turtles during the June-October season across all Sal beaches, Ponta Leme included.

The bigger pictureEverything about Santa Maria - Sal

Last updated: August 2026