West Wittering has long been regarded as a meca for Windsurfing, but is it still the case for beginners and professionals?
Positioned at the entrance to Chichester Harbour and just 5 minutes along from Bracklesham Bay in West Sussex, the main beach at West Wittering has a small community of windsurfers.
For many years, West Wittering was known as the beach many professionals and locals would head to for some wave sailing. The main draw was the long sandy beach, plenty of launching spots and the club house and facilities that is run by 2XS Watersports, but over the years we’ve seen a steady decline in people Windsurfing there and more people venturing to Bracklesham Bay, Pagham and Joliffe Road.
So what exactly can you expect to find at West Wittering?
Ideal Wind Conditions
West Wittering is blessed with consistent wind patterns that can make it a superb location for windsurfing. From gentle breezes for beginners to stronger gusts for experienced sailors, the beach caters to all skill levels.
Safe Environment
During certain times of the year, the beach provides LifeGuards during daylight hours.
At low tide you have shallow water and trenches which are safer for total beginners, whilst at high tide you will be in deeper water much more quickly.
Being a harbour mouth, you will have to be aware of the strong currents, which can be unforgiving, so stay well away, preferably up the beach more towards East Wittering.
The waves at west Wittering can be quite messy and confusing, due to the ever shifting sandbars and rips, especially on bigger days.
Amazing Scenery
The main beach at West Wittering is well known as a holiday hot spot. You will diniftely find it listed in the 10 Most Popular Beaches on the South Coast.
With long sandy beaches available at both high and low tide the beach for windsurfing runs along the south and west facing exposure facing out to the Isle of Wight and around into Chichester Harbour and over to Hayling Island.
You will find sand dunes, salt marshes and amazing views of the south downs.
A Strong Local and Visiting Windsurfers Community
The windsurfing down at West Wittering is mainly associated to 2XS Watersports. This is because you can only sail there if you’re a member of the club.
Many people who now sail there are from London and you’ll find them coming down to sail on a forecast. 2XS offer rental kit as part of one of their membership programmes.
Can you learn to Windsurf at West Wittering
During the summer season, you can take windsurfing lessons, but they’re scheduled sessions only, meaning you have to fit in with their schedule.
Being open water, means you’ll only really be able to sail at low tide in the trenches as they protect you from the choppy water, which makes it much harder for beginners.
If you’re after windsurfing lessons throughout the year, then there are better places to sail, be it for beginner or more advanced sailor. You’ll find that we run our own Beginner and Intermediate Windsurfing Lessons at Prinsted in Chichester Harbour. Other places we teach at includes Hayling Island.
So is it worth getting lessons at West Wittering?
Whilst, West Wittering is a superb spot for windsurfing, we’ve found over the years, that there are too many down sides to it, be they the cost of parking, needing to be a club member and the strong currents.
The fact that we are a multi location watersports school in West Sussex and we’ve been teaching in the local area for over 15 years means we have a good understanding of the local spots that work at certain states of tide and wind directions, so there’s always somewhere for us to get out sailing all year round.
Bosham, Bracklesham Bay, Emsworth, Prinsted, Hayling Island, Chichester Harbour and even Pagham are great alternatives to West Wittering, with each venue offering benefits with far less downsides.
Expert Instruction
Making sure you get the very instruction from not only a qualified coach, but an experienced one is really important and I am pleased to say that we do that plus provide tailored lessons to suit your skill level, from beginner basics to advanced techniques.
Summary
Would I go windsurfing at West Wittering? With so many other local options and the way the conditions have changed, I don’t think it is worth it, unless you’re stuck at high tide and need to go sailing. That’s the only time we head down there in the winter as you don’t have to be a member of the club and only have to pay parking.
