What it's actually like

Bora pra água! I shout it down the beach most mornings in season, and it means let's get in the water. Cumbuco is a fishing village on a long sandy beach north-west of Fortaleza: more than six kilometres of sand, palms behind the beach, dunes behind the village, and from August a sky full of kites.

I have taught here every season, and the first kites going up in the morning still give me butterflies.

No wetsuit either: the water sits at 26 to 28°C all year, so it is boardshorts or a rash vest.

Your month

When it's good

12 kt+ for 3+ daylight hours · kite

September · 97%. 29 rideable days in 30, 10.4 hours a day over 12 kt. Come.

At a glance

Is it for you?

Skill levelGetting there

WaterMixed bag

Wind · SepUsually turns up

Crowds · SepBusy patches

Local vibeFriendly enough

Water qualityUsually clean

NightlifeLively

CostMid

Geek analysis

September in the record

97% of days clear 12 kt for three daylight hours or more.

Where the wind sits

Share of daylight hours in each speed band. Blue clears the bar.

4–70

8–113

12–1528

16–1939

20–2323

24–276

28–311

When in the day

The trades are a clock. A dawn session is a different spot.

8am

9

10

11

12pm

1pm

2

3

4

5

6pm

September on the record

The month's own figures, not the year's average.

Rideable days29 of 30Worst 20 in 1997, best 30 in 1998

Strongest gust36Kt

Air31.7°CMaximum

Waves1.4 m63% of days run big

Record 1940 to 2026Normals 1995 to 2024Open-Meteo, ERA5, station corrected

Take it with you

The full Cumbuco report

Eight sections over six to eight pages, built from the same record as this page. A PDF you can read on the plane.

01Hour-by-hour & month-by-month wind02The month's own records03Full stays, schools & kit04Per-launch tide windows05Sandbanks, shorebreak & lagoon shallows06Getting there, packing & best months07Sources, and their limits

Three free reports with an account, then premium.

When it gets busy

Crowds

Sep · Medium

In season you share the sky with hundreds of kites, and Lagoa do Cauípe is often packed by midday. November and December, with the holidays, are probably the busiest months. Come in September and it is usually much less crowded, just as the wind hits its peak in the record.

On the water

What September usually does

Wind directionE to ESECross to cross-onshore from the right on the village beach.

Wind strength15 to 25 ktThe range the guides give for the season. Rig for the mean, not the biggest gust.

When it blowsTen onwardsLighter first thing, filled in by about ten, then it holds through the afternoon.

Your playground

Launches & safety

Local intel

Getting there & on the ground

Nearest airportFortaleza (FOR)Pinto Martins International, thirty minutes to an hour by taxi or transfer.

On the groundAugust to NovemberThe heart of the trade season, and the schools are busy.

Getting aroundRoad from FortalezaTaxi or transfer to the village. Buggies and 4x4s run the beach to Lagoa do Cauípe.

Stay, schools & kit

Who works this beach

Windtown BrazilSchoolKite · WingIKO certified since 2001. Lessons for all levels on the beach.Photo: Windtown Beach Hotel via Google

Indiana KiteSchoolKite · WingLessons, kitecamp packages with the hostel, and downwind trips.Photo: Indiana Kite Hostel, Kite School & Bar Cumbuco via Google

Did I miss something out?Send it straight to me. I wrote this page.