Map › France › Loire-Atlantique - Saint-Brevin-les-Pins › Saint-Brevin - Le Pointeau
Pays de la Loire · Loire-Atlantique - Saint-Brevin-les-Pins · Saint-Brevin-les-Pins
Saint-Brevin - Le Pointeau
also known as Le Pointeau, Plage du Pointeau
Nearby Saint-Brevin - Les Rochelets 2 km · La Baule - Plage Benoit 18 km · La Turballe - Pen Bron 26 km · Mesquer - Plage de Sorlock 30 km · Pont-Mahé (Assérac) 31 km · Le Gois - La Digue 34 km · Barbatre - Plage des Boucholeurs 37 km · Fromentine - Plage de la Grande Cote 39 km · straight-line distance
When it fills in
No onset time is published for this spot.
The wind
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
Typical strength
About 15 knots of steady breeze is the working average for the Saint-Brevin beaches as a group; indicative, with no measurement at this launch. Sessions run on Atlantic synoptic wind from S round to NW, with W or SW the useful angle over the low-tide sandbank.
Also on record
Conflicting: about 15 kt average breeze by one count, 3 kt annual average from station observations between 2012-04-01 and 2024-08-31 by another; neither is spot-specific.
The quiver, in words
No local size chart exists. Worked back from the roughly 15-knot area average, a 75-85 kg rider on a twintip is on a 12 m for an ordinary day, a 9 m when a front pushes it into the low twenties, and a 14 m or a foil under 12 knots. Indicative, derived from the wind figure rather than measured here.
Direction to shore
side-onshore to side-shore for W/SW/NW on the estuary-mouth beach; exact angle by direction unconfirmed.
Dominant direction
S to NW; best SW. Reported as S to N for the water area, and W over the sandbank at low tide.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan55
- Feb47
- Mar68
- Apr57
- May63
- Jun47
- Jul60
- Aug52
- Sep42
- Oct52
- Nov47
- Dec63
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
- 55%Jan10°
- 47%Feb10°
- 68%Mar11°
- 57%Apr13°
- 63%May16°
- 47%Jun19°
- 60%Jul20°
- 52%Aug21°
- 42%Sep19°
- 52%Oct17°
- 47%Nov14°
- 63%Dec11°
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · water °C below · season highlighted
| Month | Windy days | Force 4+ | 12 kn or more | Knots | From | Peaks at | Air | Water | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 55% | 73% | 69% | 16.9 kt | SW | 15:00 | 6.9°C | 9.6°C | 62 |
| Feb | 47% | 56% | 56% | 15.2 kt | W | 15:00 | 8.6°C | 9.8°C | 57 |
| Mar | 68% | 84% | 76% | 18.4 kt | WSW | 15:00 | 10°C | 10.7°C | 62 |
| Apr | 57% | 80% | 68% | 16.2 kt | W | 15:00 | 11.7°C | 12.9°C | 60 |
| May | 63% | 89% | 84% | 15.3 kt | W | 16:00 | 15.4°C | 15.9°C | 62 |
| Jun | 47% | 87% | 77% | 14.1 kt | W | 17:00 | 18.8°C | 19°C | 60 |
| Jul | 60% | 81% | 77% | 15.1 kt | W | 17:00 | 19.7°C | 19.7°C | 62 |
| Aug | 52% | 79% | 71% | 14.4 kt | W | 16:00 | 20.2°C | 20.9°C | 62 |
| Sep | 42% | 67% | 60% | 14.3 kt | W | 16:00 | 17.6°C | 19.4°C | 60 |
| Oct | 52% | 68% | 65% | 15.4 kt | SSW | 14:00 | 15.6°C | 17.2°C | 62 |
| Nov | 47% | 65% | 58% | 18.3 kt | W | 14:00 | 11.6°C | 13.5°C | 60 |
| Dec | 63% | 73% | 69% | 16.4 kt | NW | 13:00 | 8.2°C | 10.5°C | 62 |
modelled
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
Modelled from the operational forecast archive at 1.5–7 km (2023-2024), daylight hours only, not a ground station: it resolves thermal, lake and valley winds far better than coarse reanalysis but still tends to understate a strong local thermal. A windy day has at least three consecutive daylight hours at 12 knots or more. 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.
High-resolution weather model (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical forecast archive — best-match operational model (ICON-D2 / AROME / ICON-EU / GFS by region), not a ground station · 2023-2024
The water
Type
estuary-mouth ocean beach
Standing depth
Shallow over the estuary foreshore and the sandbanks at low water. On big coefficients the bank has dried enough since 2018 to walk out to it without getting wet. No measured standing-depth range.
Tides
All tides except high tide on big coefficients. Low tide is the one to aim for: very flat, shallow water behind the sandbanks. High tide is choppy and uncomfortable.
Temperature
19°C summer · 9°C winter
Wetsuit
Cold Atlantic water year-round. Saint-Brevin averages 19.1 C in August and 8.7 C in February; wetsuit guidance suggests a 3/2 mm sealed suit in peak summer and a thick winter suit with hood, boots and gloves in late winter.
Currents
Noticeable outgoing current on the ebb, stronger on some tides; no measured speed.
Your level
The scene
What riders come here for
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
On your own
Room to launch: large at low tide on sand; constrained near the dike, wall and high-water line
Somewhere else
Saint-Brevin - Les Rochelets, 2 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
Rig on the Pointeau nautical-base esplanade, where the car park holds 110 spaces under a 2.1 m height limit and has a shower and WC, then walk well clear of the dike and the parking wall before you put the kite up.A marked boat channel 30 m wide runs off the west ramp of the esplanade and is closed to non-motorised craft. The offshore sandbank is not natural: it built up after the small harbour for the watersports centre was dug, and that harbour has since silted up completely.
Space
large at low tide on sand; constrained near the dike, wall and high-water line
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Come at low tide for the sandbank; that is when the flat, shallow water behind it appears, and high tide is chop.
- Skip high tide on big coefficients altogether: launch space disappears against the dike and the parking wall.
- Rig by the center-nautique parking and walk well clear of the dike and the wall before you launch.
- Kites in the air between 15 June and 15 September, or on a weekend or public holiday from 1 May to 30 September, are school kites; they do not mean you can go out.
- Expect an outgoing current on the ebb, and stay off the speed-run line where the windsurfers come through fast.
- Bring a 3/2 mm sealed suit in August and hood, boots and gloves in late winter: 19.1 C in August, 8.7 C in February.
- There is no lifeguard post here at all. In 2025 the nearest ones opened only 2 July to 31 August, 13:00 to 18:45.
- Keep out of the 30 m channel off the west ramp of the esplanade; that is the boats' road to the water.
- Stay beyond the buoy line 50 m off the water's edge, and rig inside the marked zone rather than wherever there is room.
- Mark your board and kite with your name and phone number, reportedly obligatory on these beaches.
Getting there
Airport
Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE)
Route
51.5 km by road from Nantes Airport to Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, about 48 minutes by car; bus/train/bus takes around 2 hours. The launch is by the center-nautique/parking sector in Saint-Brevin-les-Pins.
Transfer
48 min
Cost level
medium
Staying
Stay in Saint-Brevin-les-Pins or nearby Saint-Nazaire/Pornichet; nothing spot-specific is listed.
No-wind days
surf · bodyboard · windsurf · stand-up paddle · beach and estuary walks
FAQ
Are there rules, permits or restricted zones?
Le Pointeau closes to independent kiting from 15 June to 15 September, and on weekends and public holidays from 1 May to 30 September, with only authorized schools active during closures.
Is it suitable for beginners?
Beginners are among the spot's typical riders, but independent beginners should be cautious of tidal current, the dike and parking wall near the launch, and crowding from freestylers and fast windsurfers.
What hazards should I know about?
The launch sits close to a dike and parking wall that riders are warned to avoid, and outgoing tidal current can be significant. The spot also has a well-known regional windsurf speed run and heavy crowding in season.
Is there a launch or space constraint?
Launch space is large on sand at low tide but becomes tight near the dike, wall and high-water line as the tide rises.
Last updated: August 2026