MapCape VerdeSanta Maria, SalPonta SinoSanta Maria, Sal

Ponta Sino

Santa Maria - Sal

also known as Ponta do Sinó, Ponta do Sino, Punta Sino, Ponta de Sinó

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

15-25 knots

Character: trade

Room to launch

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

26–28 °C in summerExposed beach-and-reef setup at the southwest/southern point of Sal

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

Cabral International Airport (SID)

Transfer times under Getting there

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 / Shark Bay
Spoutnikno page yet
Fragatano page yet
Monte Leãono page yet
Murdeira Bayno page yet

The spot

Ponta do Sino is the southernmost headland of Sal, about 2 km southwest of Santa Maria, and the kite spot sits at the western end of Santa Maria bay where the coast starts to open toward Ponta Preta.

Wind and seasons

In the main November-May/June trade season the NE to NNE wind reaches the point cross to cross-off/sideoffshore, so it is cleaner and more technical than the central bay.

Water and riding

The water is mixed: chop and flat patches close to shore, then reef waves that build kickers for jumps and loops, with enough flat between sets for freestyle or strapless wave riding. Low tide uncovers more reef and rock.

The safety rule

The rule everyone repeats here is not a legal one, do not ride too far past the point, because the next stop downwind is open Atlantic.

Skill level and nearby options

Treat this as intermediate and advanced ground rather than a lesson beach, unless a Santa Maria school is actively running the session. Santa Maria is the practical base for beds, food and schools, and Ponta Preta next door is the heavier wave break for advanced and pro riders.

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

67891011121314

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

8-12 m covers the season here. An 11-12 m is what a 70 kg rider flies across the useful wind window, and the island-wide range for a rider of average weight is 9-12 m, so at 75-85 kg plan on a 12 m and a 9 m and carry something smaller for the strongest trade days in December-March.Bring a surfboard or a strapless board if you intend to use the reef waves rather than only the flat patches.

Character

trade

Average strength

15-25

Typical strength

15-25 knots on ordinary trade days through the main season. The useful window for the spot runs 14-32 knots, so it works from moderate right through to properly strong.

Generally steady trades in season, but cross-offshore/sideoffshore at the point and less forgiving than Kite Beach or the central bay.

The main Sal season runs November to May or mid-June, with December-March often giving the strongest wind-and-swell combination. Wind-day percentages of at least 4 Beaufort (2003-2014) run: Jan 89%, Feb 93%, Mar 91%, Apr 92%, May 97%, Jun 85%, Nov 88%, Dec 85%; July-October are lower but not zero.

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

Standing is possible on parts of the shallow reef flats, but the ground there is volcanic rock lying just under the surface rather than sand, so it is somewhere to avoid rather than a place to rest. There is no measured depth published.At low water the reef comes closer still and the margin over it shrinks, which is what makes a fall in the wrong place expensive.

Tides

The tidal range is small, but the stage matters more than the range: at low water more reef and volcanic rock is exposed and there is less water over what stays covered, so the higher half of the tide is the safer window and the one that keeps the spot less technical.

Temperature

26–28 °C summer · 21–24 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 22–27 °C

Wetsuit

Rash vest/boardshorts or shorty in warm months; 3/2 mm or shorty commonly recommended December-March if you get cold.

Currents

Stronger current is reported in winter; cross-offshore wind past the point creates drift risk into open ocean.

Conditions

Exposed beach-and-reef setup at the southwest/southern point of Sal. Between sets there are flat patches that suit freestyle and jumping, but the wave size and the reef under it make a fall expensive. Lefts and rights break over beach and reef, with rocks in between.

The water is clear enough to see the reef, which helps until low tide takes the margin away.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners here

Ponta Sino is intermediate and advanced ground: waves, shallow reef, rocks and cross-offshore/sideoffshore wind. Beginners belong in Santa Maria bay or at Kite Beach with an instructor rather than self-launching here.

The scene

What riders come here for

intermediatefreestylebig airadvancedwave ridingstrapless

Progression and performance spot: fewer learners than Kite Beach, with freestyle/jump and wave riders using the same reef ramps when the trades and swell line up.

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: ok

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

4 spots nearby

All 4 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

Rescue and emergency

Do not count on rescue at the point. There is no station here and no service that publishes cover for it; the boats and jet-skis belong to the Santa Maria centres a couple of kilometres upwind.

The common way riders arrive is a downwinder from one of those centres, which at least means someone knows you are on the water - arrange that before you ride, because the wind past the point sends you towards open ocean.

Cape Verde's emergency numbers are 130 for an ambulance, 131 fire and 132 police, and the nearest medical centre is in Santa Maria.

Launch

Access is from the western end of Santa Maria bay toward Ponta do Sino, on foot or by taxi from Santa Maria, or by riding downwind from the bay with someone who knows the water.The point itself is sandy. The riding area is reef and waves straight away, and the cross-offshore wind leaves little room for mistakes once you are outside the curve of the bay.

Hazards riders report 9 reported

Wind

cross-offshore/sideoffshore wind pushing riders toward open Atlantic beyond the point

Bottom

shallow reef

Waves and currents

proximity to the powerful Ponta Preta wave break next door
volcanic rock/rocks, especially at low tide
waves breaking over reef
winter current reported stronger
wave riders and jump/freestyle riders sharing the same peaks/ramps
nearby Ponta Preta is an advanced/pro wave spot with offshore wind and powerful waves

Other

not suitable for unsupervised beginners

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: no kite-specific permit, zoning or seasonal restriction applies to Ponta do Sinó. The point sits inside the Reserva Natural da Ponta do Sinó, 5,720 hectares of dunes, salt pans and intertidal lagoons whose terrestrial area was recently reduced by 27 hectares under tourism pressure.

Conservation practices

It is managed through codes of conduct rather than published activity rules, and vehicle traffic over the dunes is one of the main pressures wardens are trying to stop, so keep to existing tracks and posted access points and follow any signed conservation restriction on the beach.

The one rule everyone repeats on the water is not a legal one: do not ride past the point.

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

Check the tide before you rig: at low water there is less over the reef and the volcanic rock.
Do not ride past the point in cross-offshore wind unless you have arranged support and know your exits.
Give wave riders the reef peaks and keep your jump lines clear of them.
Wear reef boots if there is any chance of walking over reef or volcanic rock.
Ask a Santa Maria school or a local rider about the day's launch, current and rescue before your first session.
Arrive on a downwinder from a Santa Maria centre. It is the normal way in, and it leaves someone on shore who knows you are out.

Getting there

Airport

Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID), Sal

Route

Fly to SID, transfer by taxi/private transfer to Santa Maria, then walk or taxi west toward Ponta do Sinó; some riders reach the spot by riding downwind from Santa Maria with local guidance.

Transfer

16-25 minutes from SID to Santa Maria by car, plus a short local taxi ride or roughly a 15-20 minute walk from Santa Maria town centre to the Ponta do Sinó area.

Cost level

medium

Staying

Santa Maria is the closest base, with apartments and guesthouses in town and large beachfront resorts along the south and southwest coast. Hundreds of hotels sit within reach of Santa Maria and SID.

No-wind days

surfing · wingfoil · SUP · diving · snorkelling · Santa Maria town and pier · Ponta do Sinó lighthouse walk · Pedra de Lume salt crater · Buracona/Blue Eye · shark-bay tours · turtle/nature excursions in season

Photos

FAQ

When is the best time to kite Ponta Sino?

The main season runs November to May or mid-June, with December to March often giving the strongest wind-and-swell combination.

Is Ponta Sino suitable for beginners?

No; shallow reef, rocks and cross-offshore wind make it better suited to intermediate and advanced riders, with beginners directed to Kite Beach or Santa Maria bay instead.

What is the wind like at Ponta Sino?

NE to NNE trade winds blow cross-off to sideoffshore, typically 15-25 knots during the main season.

What hazards are at Ponta Sino?

Shallow reef and volcanic rock are exposed at low tide, and the cross-offshore wind can push riders past the point toward open Atlantic water.

The bigger pictureEverything about Santa Maria - Sal

Last updated: August 2026