The report · Sal, Kite Beach · Kite · March · 6 pages

WindChaserSpot report

Sal, Cape Verde

Sal, Kite Beach

KiteMarch

88% of March days clear 12 kt for three daylight hours or more.

01Hour-by-hour & month-by-month windp202The month's own recordsp303Full schools & kitp404Per-launch tide notesp405Reef, waves & riding with othersp506Getting there, packing & best monthsp507Sources, and their limitsp6
Guide
Compiled by WindChaser
25 Sep 2026
Record
2017 to 2026, hourly
Open-Meteo, ECMWF IFS HRES 9 km
Normals
2017 to 2026
Ten Marches
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01

Hour-by-hour & month-by-month wind

Rideable-day share by month, all three sports

Share of days with three or more daylight hours over each sport's threshold, counted from the record at 12 kt, Windsurf 13 kt and Wing 12 kt.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecKite859288909283443762717784Windsurf788582848471322545596376Wing859288909283443762717784

Blue fill scales with the share. Selected month outlined. Threshold per row: Kite 12 kt · Windsurf 13 kt · Wing 12 kt.

Where the wind sits, March

Share of daylight hours in each speed band, blue above the threshold.

4–7
8–11
12–15
16–19
20–23
24–27
28–31

When in the day, March

Share of days over 12 kt at each daylight hour. The trades are a clock. A dawn session is a different spot.

8am
9
10
11
12pm
1pm
2
3
4
5
6pm
Wind directionOnshore to side-onThe trade wind, onshore to side-onshore at Kite Beach, per Best Kites.
Wind strength15 to 17 ktThe mean over rideable daylight hours, December to June, in the record.
When it blowsAll dayIn February three days in four are windy at 8am, nine in ten by early afternoon.

Rideable hours, not all hours. Every wind figure in this report is the mean over hours above the threshold.

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02

March's own records

The month's own figures from ten Marches in the record, 2017 to 2026. Not the year's average.

Rideable days27 of 31Ten Marches in the record
Wind, rideable hours16 ktMean over daylight hours at 12 kt+
Air21.5°CMaximum
Hours over 12 kt11.3 a dayDaylight, all days averaged
BeforeFebruary92%26 rideable days in 28
Your monthMarch88%27 rideable days in 31
AfterApril90%27 rideable days in 30

What the percentage hides. A month at 80% can be twenty-four steady days or three windy weeks broken by a dead front.

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03

Full schools & kit

Stays

Hotel MorabezaHotel · Santa MariaBeachfront hotel on Santa Maria bay with a wing and SUP centre beside its beach club, listed for riders by ION Club and Surf Hub. Kite Beach is about five minutes’ drive.
Odjo d’AguaHotel · Kite centre on siteSanta Maria hotel with a kite centre attached and a restaurant terrace on the sea. The centre’s shuttle to Kite Beach is free for lesson students.
Porto Antigo ResidenceApartments · Santa Maria beachApartments on Santa Maria beach by the old fishing pier, each with a patio and pool access, listed for riders by ION Club and Surf Hub.
Hotel Dunas de SalHotel · Santa MariaSanta Maria hotel about eight minutes’ walk from the beach, listed for riders by ION Club and Surf Hub, whose kite courses include the shuttle to Kite Beach.
Pensão Alcinda BettencourtGuesthouse · TanquinhoFamily guesthouse in Santa Maria in the same building as the Santa Kite school, with rooms and apartments for groups.
Surf House Cabo Verde$··Apartments · 300 m to the beachModern apartments at moderate prices in Santa Maria, about 300 m from the beach, among the cheaper stays Surf Hub lists.

Lessons

Kite Beach Water Sports CenterSchool · Kite · Wing · IKOKite, wing foil, surf and paddle lessons at Kite Beach and Santa Maria Bay. Kiting November to May.
Surf Hub Cabo Verde$$·School · Kite · IKOGroup courses from 90 euros, two students to an instructor, taught to IKO standards at Kite Beach. Hotel shuttle with courses. Listed on KBC’s Sal page.
Best KitesSchool · KiteAll levels, daily 9am to 6pm, free hotel transfers for course riders.
ION Club Santa MariaSchool · Kite · Windsurf · WingBeginner kite courses from the Santa Maria beach centre with daily trips to Kite Beach, plus beginner windsurf and wing. The Ponta Leme centre shows as temporarily closed.
Santa Kite Cabo VerdeSchool · Kite · Wing · VDWSSmall Santa Maria school whose VDWS-certified coaches teach beginner kite and wing, with rooms in the same building and camp packages.

Kit

Surf Hub Cabo Verde$$·Rental · KiteExperienced riders only. Full sets from 35 euros, storage and a launch service.
Kite Beach Water Sports CenterRental · Kite · WingRental, storage and a kite shop.
ION Club Santa MariaRental · Kite · Windsurf · WingKite rental from the Santa Maria beach centre, ridden at Kite Beach because the water out front is side-offshore and for experienced riders only.

Price band $ to $$$ only where sourced; none shown means none held. Contact details and brands stocked join this table when the operator directory is connected.

04

Per-launch tide notes

Kite Beach
Low—Mid—High—

KBC runs surf lessons at high tide because of a reef break. Hours per tide state unknown until tide data arrives.

Santa Maria Bay
Low—Mid—High—

No tide information found for the bay.

Tide data not yet available for this spot. The record holds wind, air and waves, not tide. Until a tide source is connected, the tables above stay empty rather than estimated. What the guide says about tide is on the next page, in words.

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05

Reef, waves & riding with others

Every hazard on the spot page, repeated here in full. Read this before you get wet.

Conditions change. Check local rules and conditions before you ride.

Never aloneBest Kites asks riders never to kite at Kite Beach alone, at any time. Ride with others and with a centre on the beach.
ReefReefs lie further out in the water, and there is a reef break where KBC runs its surf lessons only at high tide. Ask a centre where the reef sits before you ride.
WavesThe water runs from flat to choppy to wavy as the wind rises, and the waves are always higher than at Santa Maria beach.
Little on the beachBest Kites says there is nothing on the beach but a small bar with drinks. Bring water and sun protection, and arrange your ride back.
Reef further out

Reefs lie further out in the water, and KBC runs its surf lessons only at high tide because of a reef break. Ask a centre where the reef sits before you ride.

Waves, and never alone

The water runs from flat to choppy to wavy as the wind rises, with higher waves than at Santa Maria. Best Kites asks riders never to kite here alone. KBC hires kit to experienced riders only and runs a launch and landing service. No official emergency page is recorded here yet: ask your centre for the local number.

06

Getting there, packing & best months

Nearest airportSal (SID)Amílcar Cabral International, on Sal.
Flying with a board bagTUI Airways, TUI fly Deutschland, easyJet, TUI fly NetherlandsAirlines flying into Sal (SID). Each links its own sports-equipment page: check its rules and fees before you book.Wikipedia, Amílcar Cabral International Airport. Checked Oct 2026.
SeasonDecember to JuneThe months the record shows the most rideable days. February and May are the pick.
Getting aroundTaxi or shuttle10 to 15 minutes by taxi from Santa Maria. The schools run hotel transfers.
What to pack
BeachOpen sand. About three kilometres of beach, little on it but the centres and a small bar.WaterChop to waves. Flat, choppy or wavy with the wind. Higher waves than Santa Maria.ReefFurther out. Reefs lie further out in the water. Ask a centre where.LaunchWith a centre. Never kite here alone. KBC runs a launch and landing service.KitRent if experienced. KBC hires kit to experienced riders only. Full sets from 35 euros.
Kite sizes for March

Derived from the 15 to 17 kt mean over the season’s rideable hours in the record, December to June, not from a fitted quiver.

60 to 70 kg8 and 10 m70 to 85 kg9 and 12 m85 kg and up10 and 12 m
JFMAMJJASOND

Best months, Kite. Record.

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07

Sources, and their limits

Where each section of this report comes from. Record is measured. Modelled is computed by a formula because no measurement exists yet; it looks like data and is not. Written is WindChaser's editorial copy, compiled from the sources below.

§WhatSourceLimit
01Kite month sharesRecordCounted at 12 kt for three daylight hours from ecmwf_ifs at 9 km, cell 4.24 km from the spot, January 2017 to September 2026, 9 to 10 years a month, no station correction.
01Windsurf and Wing month sharesRecordCounted at 13 kt (Windsurf) and 12 kt (Wing) from the same series, by the same rule as the Kite share.
01Direction, strength, when it blowsWrittenDirection from Best Kites. Strength and time of day read from the record.
02The month’s recordsRecordERA5 over the same window reads close to it. No station check has shipped.
03Stays, schools and kitWrittenChecked on each business’s own website or a named rider source, most recently on 27 September 2026. Price bands only where a price is published.
04Tide windowsMissingNo tide source in the pipeline. The section renders its empty state.
05Hazards, reef and wavesWrittenFrom the centres’ pages, not surveyed. No rules instrument, no nature reserve rules and no official emergency page read.
06Airports, access, packing, kite sizesWrittenAirport from Cabo Verde Airports, taxi time from Best Kites. Sizes derived from the session mean.
MapsMissingNo drawn maps for this spot. No surveyed coordinates for the launches.

The record

Hourly wind, 2017 to 2026, from ECMWF IFS HRES via Open-Meteo: a 9 km grid, read at the cell 4.2 km from the spot. It knows the wind over the cell, not the gust on the sand in front of you, and it knows the bearing, not the coastline: "side-onshore" is a rider's reading of the bearing. Each month is counted over nine to ten years.

What we could not source for Sal, Kite Beach

An emergency number from an official page, and any rules for the beach or the nature reserve around it. A head count of riders by month: the crowd tiers are compiled research. A water quality classification, and a first-hand reading of the local vibe. Tide tables and per-launch tide windows. A station check on the wind record. Surveyed launch coordinates. A water temperature. Licensed photographs.

Conditions change. Check local rules and conditions before you ride.

Compiled by WindChaser, 25 Sep 2026. Hero photograph on the spot page by Tbo47, CC0. Report generated 22 Oct 2026 from record version 2026.10; a report and its spot page are rendered from the same data and cannot disagree.

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