BLOWN AWAY – KITESURFING IN DAKHLA
Essaouira gets the headlines when it comes to kitesurfing – and yes, it’s good. But 1,000 miles to the south is another golden location that you should visit if you’ve got any interest in kiting – Dakhla.
The key to Dakhla is the shape of the peninsula it’s on. It juts out about 10kms into the Atlantic before taking a sharp left and running parallel to the coastline for another 40km. Sandwiched in between these two bits of land is the Bahia de Dakhla, a flat lagoon ideal for kitesurfing. Even better, the winds around here are up there with the most constant in the world. It’s somewhere that has something for beginners to experts – you’re not going to find many places that are better for freestyling. There are some good wave spots for waveriders, too.
Here are some of Dakhla’s features.
Speed Spot – For experienced riders only. At low tides a mini dune of about 40cm appears, providing the deep and flat water you need for high jumps and fast tricks. A word of caution, the wind is purely offshore so keep your wits about you.
White Dune – A dune of pure white sand that has its own mini lagoon inside it. Probably the most famous part of Dakhla and a nice place to pull some stunts.
Oum Lamboiur – A fantastic kitesurfing spot with waves in the northern part of the bay. The ground is fairly rocky around here though, so just be careful with your fins at low tide.
Pointe de l’Or – Another awesome wavekiting spot, this one’s suitable for beginners to the advanced. Sandy ground means this point break with side-shore winds is pretty safe, and depending on tide and swell, the waves can roll uninterrupted for 500 metres. They can also get pretty big – four metre swells aren’t uncommon.
