Designated Kitesurf beaches
(council approved)

• Shoeburyness East Beach
• Chalkwell - 'The Ray'

Other areas
(not designated)

• Uncle Toms (Thorpe Bay) - SEE RULES
• Smac (avoid)
• Thorpe Bay Yacht Club (avoid)

Important information when Kitesurfing in the Southend area

• You must have 3rd party Insurance
• Use the zones listed on this page
• Always exercise common sense
• Do not put yourself or others at risk
• Be courteous to other beach users
• If you see somone disregarding this advice let the Club know
• You are strongly advised to seek professional tuition before attempting to kitesurf.

• Use the far end between the boom and the slipway only.
• Do not sail between the moorings
• Council approved beach

This beach is very actively used by kitesurfers, especially during the summer. The Kite Surf school use this beach for teaching. We have a designated area as listed above. Please ensure you use this area to launch / land. The club have worked very hard to build a good relationship with the foreshore office, if in any doubt seek advice from the school or other kitesurfers. During the summer this beach can be very busy with bathers + boy racers. Exercise common sense at all times and be aware that the general public will be unaware of the dangers of walking around people launching / landing kites.  East Beach has the inconvenience of boat moorings in the centre - which should be avoided. That said if the wind & tide are right it can work very well. There is a large grass area for setup / launch. The tide here is unforgiving - at low tide you may have > 1 mile to walk out and high tide is best avoided unless you are a proficient rider and can easily stay upwind.. Typically you should allow ~90 minutes either side of high tide, following this rule of thumb usually means you can stand up at all times.  Map

Chalkwell (The Ray) Best wind Southerly

• Designated beach (council approved)
• When the tide drops go out to the exposed channel called 'The Ray'
• Never sail at high tide
• Keep the area clear for other users - especially during school holidays

To Find: M25 - A13 / A127 to Southend, head for Westcliff or Chalkwell sea front (From Pier - head towards London).

A popular site with windsurfers, mainly when it is blowing a gale. The Ray is a stretch of water that is left when the tide goes out. A 10-minute walk from the beach. Check a tide timetable and try and get there 4 hours after high water, this will give you approximately 4 hours in the Ray. At high water there is no place to launch and if you get into trouble there is no soft landing !

Thorpe Bay / Uncle Toms - Best Wind Southerly or Easterly

We have had some issues with use of this beach recently (June '05) and so we have in place a set of basic rules that allow us continued access and ensure the safety of other beach users and ourselves.

Please note that the club have worked hard with the council to ensure continued access on this beach. Kitesurfers ignoring these rules, club members or not, will likely cause a ban to be imposed.

The Rules are :

• Rig, launch and land to left of fence when looking out to sea from the launch ramp.
• Wait for tide to drop before going out - the ramp is used by JetSkis and this is their designated launch point .
• Always be polite and courteous to other beach users
• Do not sail between the moorings
• If you are blown into the restricted area leash out and perform an emergency pack down in the water
• If you have an incident please let the club or the school know ASAP

This is NOT a designated kite beach so please follow the rules to ensure we can continue to use this beach. Uncle Toms is a small area and the beach is mainly stones. The launch ramp is used by JetSkis and speed boats hence it is best avoided at high tide. The rule of thumb here is do not go out until the concrete at the end of the storm drain pipe is visible. At the shoreline the beach has some mussel beds which will shred a kite very quickly, these should be avoided. To the right of the pipe there are boat moorings, these should also be avoided. At low tide a shallow lagoon forms approx 10 mins walk from the beach. Be aware that the tides at Southend move quickly. Make sure you are aware of the tide times and be aware that very strong currents can form in the estuary.

• Best avoided as too near the road
• Keep out of smac zone if you do use this area

SMAC - Southend Marine Activity Centre

Thorpe bay (near the yacht club)

• Best avoided as too near the road, beach huts and moorings