KITESURFING IN SICILY – LO STAGNONE SPOT

WHERE DO WE LAUNCH OUR KITES AND WHERE DO WE RIDE

 

Few words about:

1.  Our great spot

2.  The riding area

3.  Kite Lab base

 

1. LO STAGNONE KITE SPOT

 

Spot Lo Stagnone is our central point. It’s located in Birgi village, between the cities of Trapani and Marsala.

 

 

We have anchored on the picturesque north-western tip of Sicily.
It is a region inhabited for centuries, famous for salt production, fantastic wine, unbelievable sunsets and wild nature.

This means that on free, windless days there are plenty ideas for spending time and places worth visiting.

 

Fortunately, there are not too many windless days and this is the main and most important feature of Lo Stagnone kitesurfing spot.

 

 

Wind conditions are perfect for training – almost every day we have easy, thermal wind with the speed of 10 to 30 knots. We rarely experience gusts above 3 or 4 knots, so the wind is very consistent.

Unlike for spots in northern Europe, in Sicily perfect wind conditions go hand in hand with beautiful, sunny weather. The warmer it is, the better the thermal wind works.

The Lo Stagnone spot is located in the nature reserve of the same name. The buildings are low, sparse and new ones have not been appearing for many years. All elements of the developing spot infrastructure (mainly bars and kite schools) must comply with the law of the reserve, so they must be discreet and made of organic materials. Thanks to this (but also to the growing popularity of the place), on one hand the spot is teeming with life, and on the other it’s an open, green space that doesn’t resemble concrete seaside resorts at all.

 

The shoreline of the spot stretches from a small harbor bay in the south of the spot to the salt pans in the north. This gives approx. 2 km of shore, which is commonly divided into the southern part, the central part (the so-called “main spot”, from which the spot began to expand about 15 years ago), and the northern part.

Kite Lab base is located right in the middle, on the main spot, directly in front of Santa Maria hotel (the only hotel on the spot).

The shoreline of the spot is not straight. Its southern part has a south/southwest exposure, the main spot has a western exposure, and the northern part has a northwest/north exposure.
The main spot is perfectly oriented for most common wind directions, but regardless of this, when we go out in the water, we always look for a place in the bay where riding is the most pleasant that day.

 

 

 

 


 

2. KITESURFING IN LO STAGNONE – RIDING AREA

 

We kitesurf in a bay essentially closed from the west by the islands of Isola Santa Maria and Isola Grande. Thanks to this, the water is flat, shallow, warm, and the wind direction is practically constant.

The depth of the bay doesn’t exceed 1-1.5 meters (we can walk to the islands). The shallow water is a huge advantage for beginners and intermediate kitesurfers because they can walk back from anywhere at any time. This also allows the instructor to always be one step behind the student.
Therefore, there is no need to secure a motorboat.
The lack of waves also accelerates learning, as in flat water it’s easier to balance on the board during the first starts and tacks.

 

 

 

The bay is large enough that everyone will find a place to learn and ride.
Independent riders can go to completely isolated places where they can practice and play carefree, while still being within sight and walking distance to the base (in case of an emergency).

There are many nooks and crannies to discover.

For example, you can go to the northern part of the island of Santa Maria, where you will find the perfect flat. This is a place appreciated by freestylers.

You can go behind the island and ride alone in the wild surroundings, but you can also take a lap around the island (for freeriders).

You can also go straight north, where the sea flows into the lagoon.
On the way, we pass grassy shallows, where we glide almost on our backs on the water surface flat as a mirror.
What is peculiar is that the trace left by the board stays ‘cut’ into the grass for many minutes.
Eventually we reach San Teodoro. The water there is still shallow and its color changes from green to turquoise. Through a narrow passage we enter the waves of the Tyrrhenian Sea, and the water immediately becomes deep and dark blue.
With the north wind you can have fun and surf on these waves right next to the old salt factories and pink salt pools.
With the south wind you can go to a secret spot called ‘Tahiti’, which is located just behind the salt pans.
There we will find flat, shallow and azure water – a dream playground (however, in this case we must keep in mind that we are in the open sea with off-shore winds).

 

 

 

 

If you want to visit other kite spots during your stay in Sicily, you can check out at least 2 other places.
Puzziteddu is a place for waves and works well with southerly winds.
Capo Feto has a beautiful white sandy beach and light blue, also wavy water and operates with north-west, west, south-west and south winds.

It takes about 40 minutes to drive to Capo Feto and about an hour to Puzziteddu.
You need to be prepared for the lack of infrastructure, because these are almost wild places.

 

 


 

 

3. KITELAB BASE

 

The Lo Stagnone spot is bustling with life from spring to autumn.

Our base is at the very center of this life.

 

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Location

We are located in the central part of the spot.
It was from this point that over the years the spot began to grow on both sides of the coastline. We have been here since 2017 and are happy to see the development of local infrastructure as much as it’s possible in the nature reserve.

Directly behind our base there is Resort Santa Maria, but this is not the only place you can choose for accommodation. Even though our village can no longer expand (due to legal reasons), we see that every year old Sicilian houses around our spot transform into charming B&Bs and apartments.

Thanks to this, you can stay on site, without commuting, and eat breakfast with a view of the bay and kites.

 

 

 

 

Infrastructure

The central location is crucial for us due to infrastructure. It’s not just about the lodgings, bars and restaurants around, but about access to the media, which is not a given in the reserve.
Thanks to access to water, we can provide showers and a place to rinse equipment, a toilet and maintain a soft green lawn for kites.
Thanks to access to electricity, we can provide a compressor, Wi-Fi, monitoring, a station for charging devices and, of course, music.

The base is divided into zones – school and recreation.
The school zone has everything you need to get in the water, and thanks to the proper organization of this zone, after just one day our guests can navigate it as easily as they would in their own living room.
The second zone is a shaded relaxation area with chilling chairs, benches and sun beds, where our guests and their companions spend time resting, reading, playing games, sunbathing, strengthening themselves with snacks and drinks, socializing and observing events on the water.

We also took care of a changing room and a lot of shelves, hooks and boxes for storing belongings and personal items while riding.

There is a free parking lot next to the base. The only pier on the spot overlooks our area (great for admiring sunsets, watching kites from a closer distance, and occasionally for the most advanced madmen to jump over with a kite).

We have four beach bars and two restaurants within sight (and less than 100 meters away). We don’t have to write about the advantages of proximity to these places 🙂

 

 

 

 

Beach

Our area is vast and grassy. There is no sandy beach in Lo Stagnone and the base can only have grass or not.
Grass, in contrast to compacted earth, is beneficial for the kites that lie on it, for our bare feet, for our well-being on hot days, but also thanks to it there is no irritating dust.
Growing green grass in sun-baked Sicily is quite an accomplishment, it took us several years and that’s why we can’t help but mention it here 🙂

The entrance to the water is wide, and the safety and comfort of people riding independently is ensured by a beachboy who assists with launching and landing.

 

 

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