A Windy Weekend at East Wittering

Saturday — The brave few

Saturday was a day for the hardy. The forecast looked sketchy and the weather delivered accordingly — grey skies, blustery and unsettled. A handful of LKSA regulars made the trip anyway, and were rewarded with some good riding in properly stormy conditions. East Wittering in that kind of mood is raw and beautiful, the beach almost entirely to themselves. Not every weekend needs 20 people — sometimes it's just you, your kite, and the sea.

Sunday — The sun came out

Sunday was a completely different story. The forecast had been looking promising all week and it delivered: the sun came out, the wind filled in, and over 20 London kite surfers made the trip down to East Wittering.

The first arrivals were on the beach by 11:30am. Wind was reading around 20 knots as people rigged up — respectable, if not quite overpowering. By the time everyone was in the water it had softened slightly to around 17 knots, which left a few riders on bigger kit feeling a touch underpowered in the lulls. There were some quizzical looks at kites that weren't pulling quite as expected, and a few extra pumps before launch.

But it didn't last. The wind built back through the session, climbing past 20 knots again in the afternoon and making for some of the best riding of the day. Low tide was at 14:15, giving a long flat run of water in both directions — the kind of conditions East Wittering does so well. By the time the wind started to tail off in the mid-afternoon, everyone had had their fill.

The smiles at the end said it all. A few people had arrived wondering if it was worth the drive. Nobody was wondering that on the way home.

The conditions and the long beach gave everyone options. Some braved heading upwind to the flat water at West Wittering, while others went further east chasing the better waves. Everyone found their spot.

A special thanks to the anonymous local kiter who spent an hour with Romain on the beach fixing a snapped line — without that kindness the session wouldn't have happened at all. That's the kite surfing community right there.

And overall? Like many of us maybe — best session ever! Great crew, sunny skies, blue water, nice rolling waves, flat water upwind to the west. Still riding the post-session high. Can't wait for the next one.

Lunch at The Boulevard

With kites packed and wetsuits off, the plan was always to head up the road to The Boulevard — and that's exactly what 20 of us did. The outdoor terrace in the afternoon sun was the perfect ending to the session: food, drinks, the familiar post-kite glow of happy exhaustion, and a lot of replaying of the best moments from the water.

What started as lunch slowly turned into an early supper. Nobody seemed in a rush to leave, and honestly, why would you? Eventually, though, weary but full of smiles, the convoy headed back to London — already talking about the next one. Overall an amazing day.