Cornwall Kitesurf Guide No.3: Watergate Bay

All-terrain / big down the line waves

The biggest beach break in Cornwall?

Wave rating: 4/5

Flat water rating: 3/5

Watergate during the BKSA course racing. Lots of space!

Watergate is really the best beach to be heading to when you’re in the Newquay area and it’s where I do 90% of my riding. It works in anything from a South round to a North wind. When the wind is cross shore, you can get stellar waveriding conditions, and though days that the North wind combines with the swell are rare, they produce excellent down the line right handers.

Watergate in a southerly wind produces clean walls

South winds often come in with a decent swell and twin tip appeal is limited as the wind is quite gusty and the wrong angle for exploiting the flat sheets between the white water on the inside. This is also the riskiest direction because it pulls you towards the foreboding rocks and cliffs of the North End; approach the South wind days after conducting a good risk assessment, and preferably on a dropping tide, a couple of hours before low.

Looking towards the North End on a rising tide

The steady West winds nearly always come with a thumping swell, 3m plus, and this opens up the whole beach for all types of riding. You can still get out the back for some exciting ‘tow-ins’ as long as you don’t mind a hefty swim in if it goes wrong.

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