Kite surfing and Windsurfing

Due to their position within this winter trade wind belt the Cape Verde Islands boast near perfect windsurfing and kitesurfing conditions from late November to June. The Island of Sal, with the airport, has been a popular windsurfing haven for years. It's a barren island but everyone who comes here falls under the spell of its mysterious charm and plans to return.

Sal is an awesome spot for kitesurfing and is especially suited to the advanced riders and wave sailor. Despite the sometimes gusty wind there is a large kiting area at the westerly half of the main bay area with a deep beach for safe launching and landing.

For the more experienced seeking the rush of some serious wave riding then a visit to Ponta Preta, on the rougher west side, is a must!! Waves here can reach up to 8ft running on to a stony shore break. Local drivers are always available with pick-ups to take you to the spots away from the main bay.

For more information on windsurfing take a look at Josh Angulo Windsurf Center, Santa Maria

Surfing

This is an amazing surfing destinations and offers such an experience for both first time surfers and experienced professionals.

Swells are generated out of the Atlantic Ocean arriving along the Cape Verde chain of islands which benefits even further due to its geographical make up of bays and points. This means that it is often possible to escape onshore conditions simply by driving a few minutes to another section of the coastline and finding offshore conditions.

The surf is mostly reef breaks but you will find some comfortable beach breaks if sandy bottom is your preferred option. There are surf schools which provide lessons over the sandy bottom surf breaks, where you will not be exposed to the reef breaks.

There is surf to suit all standards of surfer on Cape Verde, and those looking for the classic wave riding simply will not be disappointed as these are in abundance.

Diving

In the case of Ilha do Sal and Boa vista, much of the volcanic topography has been eroded away by wind and time. But this is not the case below the surface. Typically, much of Cape Verde presents an underwater world of massive rock formations, caves, canyons, ledges and sharp wall drop offs. In many areas sea life is plentiful. All of these caves and crevices are home to fish, eel, lobster and in many areas, intensely yellow polyps.

There are brilliantly colored parrot and trigger fish but in general the fish life is not as colorful, nor the plant life as plentiful and varied as is the case in the Red Sea sport diving resorts. But there is something very special which tourists see almost every diving day of the year. In many areas around the islands one can observe big fish and large schools of fish relatively close to shore. During the warmer weather, it is not uncommon to see 3 foot long trumpet fish, massive loggerhead or green turtles sometimes up to 1 meter across, manta rays up to 3 meters, the largest balloon fish you will find anywhere and schools of dolphins. Off the northern coast of Boa Vista island there are sometimes 100-150 big yellow fin tuna breaking the surface and rocketing skyward like Polaris missiles!

Hiring Equipment

Windsurfing, kitesurfing, and surfing equipment can be hired from any of the rental centres dotted along the south coast of Santa Maria bay, and are generally of very good quality. If you are a beginner or an intermediate this is definitely the way to go.

For more advanced sailors and surfers looking for a bigger challenge the westerly point breaks offer great wave surfing.

(You should check with the schools to ensure it's possible to take hire equipment to the westerly points).

In March and April humpback and grey whales often appear off shore. There are large schools of barracuda numbering a hundred animals, strawberry colored coney grouper and clouds of beautiful reef fish such as the yellow-tailed snapper. Among the abundant population of eels (four major varieties) it's been estimated that some individuals have heads the diameter of footballs.

There are shipwrecks of all type and vintages in Cape Verdean waters. Off of Ilha do Sal there is easy access to three very different and interesting wreck sites at depths of 9 to 12 meters. In the future wreck sites on nearby Boa Vista Island will be made available for scuba diving tourists.

Fishing

For the game fishing enthusiast Ilha do Sal has a world class wahoo fishery less than twenty minutes at sea from the dock at Santa Maria. The very best fishing season is between July and October, however, wahoo is available almost nine months of the year.