Waves at low tide. Waves, choppy, smooth at high/mid tide. Do be careful kitesurfing when the tide is going out - the water can disappear quite fast and the beach undulates leaving very shallow water out at sea, when further inshore it can be quite deep - potentially very dangerous when jumping. Also when the tide is coming in, it rushes down the river, so if you are underpowered you'll be sucked into the black hole. But don't panic, just at the mouth of the river is a lovely beach area where you can land, pack up and walk back! On the upside the shallow water provides a beautiful `skim board` effect giving extra lift and the impression of skating effortlessly across the surface.
Sand varies from packed to very soft at the estuary end, lots of space to launch at mid/low tide, launching at high tide only possible from Bantham but not recommended. Long walk to the water at low tide.
The only rule for kiters on land and water is to stay to the right of the RNLI beach flags for the swimmers. It is very important to be extra considerate on this beach. Set up far away from crowds in the big open spaces. At high tide you may have to avoid kiting altogether if the beach is busy. The lifeguards want to see at least a 50m distance around swimmers and surfers - this may mean that there just isn't the room to surf. Also be sure to have 3rd party insurance up to date or you can't surf here.
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