Occitanie, France
Aug · 56% rideableGruissan
What it's actually like
Gruissan sits on the Mediterranean coast of the Aude. Plage des Chalets is its long sand beach, lined with chalets on stilts, and the Pôle Mer stands at its entrance, by a small square at the end of the road along the canal. South-west of it runs La Vieille Nouvelle, a wild beach with more than 10 km of open sailing.
The wind blows here all year. In every month of the record at least half the days clear 12 knots for three daylight hours or more, and the strongest run is January to May, at about two days in three, with March the pick at 72 per cent. The mean over those rideable hours is 18 to 20 knots, and November is as windy as the spring. The share of windy days changes little from eight in the morning to six at night. On a big Tramontane day it is nuking: a spot guide warns about days over 40 knots.
Compiled research puts the sea between about 12 and 24°C through the year, which is not a measurement.
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Your month
When it's good
12 kt+ for 3+ daylight hours · kite
August · 56%. 17 rideable days in 31, 6.1 hours a day over 12 kt. Bring a book.
ERA5 puts the share of rideable days 25 points lower here, and no weather station has settled it, so treat these figures as a guide.
At a glance
Is it for you?
Geek analysis
August in the record
56% of days clear 12 kt for three daylight hours or more.
In August the wind most often sits at 8 to 11 kt (27% of daylight hours). No daylight hour is over 12 kt on at least half the days. The best hours are 5pm to 6pm, each on 49% of days. See both charts in the full report
No weather station near enough to check these figures against.
August on the record
The month's own figures, not the year's average.
Take it with you
The full Gruissan report
Seven sections over six pages, built from the same record as this page. A PDF you can read on the plane.
When it gets busy
Crowds
May · HighThe Défi Kite, Défi Wing and Défi Wind fill the beach for ten days each spring: in 2027 they run from 30 April to 9 May, with places for 1,500 windsurfers, 800 wing foilers and 500 kitesurfers. A spot guide calls the launch wide but busy. WindChaser has no crowd count for the rest of the year yet.
On the water
What August usually does
August sits outside the best months here. 56% of days clear 12 kt for three daylight hours or more.
Your playground
Launches & safety
Conditions change. Check local rules and conditions before you ride.
- Launch
- Hazard
- Parking
- School
- Stay
- Webcam
Local intel
Getting there & on the ground
Stay, schools & kit