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Just got a job at King's Lynn for a year, a welcome break in my career in Greece, as it will involve learning new stuff, improving the CV etc.

The downside is that I will have to forget about the luxury of having Kremasti and Prasonisi on my doorstep for a whole year... I hope Hunstanton can be an alternative, I know it is not as windy but is it as bad as these statistics show? (see image)

I am moving to KL at the beggining of June. Questions:

1/ Will my 5/3 wetsuit be any good for the summer months or should it be a drysuit for the whole year? Any water temperature statistics?
2/ Is there any way of knowing what the conditions are in Hunstanton before making my way there from KL?
3/ I understand that when the tide is high, landing and launching can be a problem but we haven't got tides in Greece, I am not at all familiar with this, is it risky in any other way than just reducing the available beach? does it change rapidly? is it predictable? is there a forecast for it? any general advice?
4/ What is the water depth?

I am fairly experienced (four full years) and safety aware, intermediate level with 3-4 advanced tricks, I am fine with self-rescue and self landing and launching.
Any more advice is very very welcome!
Many thanks!
Ned

I did notice that the statistics come from Heacham, but I don't know what difference it makes, hence the question...

Hi Ned,

loads of info here

http://www.hunstantonsc.co.uk/kitesurfing-guidelines/

one of the windmeters:

http://hunstantonwind.com/live

loads of tide sites but I tend to use:

http://easytide.ukho.gov.uk/EasyTide/Ea ... onLength=7

a 5/3 will be more than enough

what sort of riding do you like? If you're after flatwater then try and catch a big low tide at Hunstanton on a SW. When its a big spring low it can be waist deep all the way across to the sandbanks

If it's W, NW, N, NE or E check the mid-tide lagoons out at Brancaster

Thank you very much John, this is very helpful!!
How would you rate the chances of having a decent wind day during the week? I guess it depends on the season but the statistics I got from Windfinder were so dissapointing... I imagine (and hope!) that this overall 7% chance of >4B wind (means 2 days/month) is not real.
I will bring my FS Speed3 15m2 but should I only bring my FS Speed3 15m2?

yeah - you'll defo get out more than that...

a lot of those meters are only really accurate for particular wind directions (sheltered from the other way)

keep an eye out for seabreezes in the summer - if there's even a hint of E and it's hot all day - there's usually a seabreeze blowing at brancaster

do a search for 'Norfolk Kiters' on facebook and you'll be able to hook up with whoevers out that day

johnm wrote:yeah - you'll defo get out more than that...

a lot of those meters are only really accurate for particular wind directions (sheltered from the other way)

keep an eye out for seabreezes in the summer - if there's even a hint of E and it's hot all day - there's usually a seabreeze blowing at brancaster

do a search for 'Norfolk Kiters' on facebook and you'll be able to hook up with whoevers out that day

Will do, thanks, that's reassuring!

you will need more kites than the 15....can be pretty windy at Sunny Hunny

Ned Divine wrote:Thank you very much John, this is very helpful!!
How would you rate the chances of having a decent wind day during the week? I guess it depends on the season but the statistics I got from Windfinder were so dissapointing... I imagine (and hope!) that this overall 7% chance of >4B wind (means 2 days/month) is not real.
I will bring my FS Speed3 15m2 but should I only bring my FS Speed3 15m2?

Your Speed will be really useful Ned (mine is) but you should also get a lot out of smaller kites too. I ride 8m / 11m Rebels plus a 15m S3. I'm 105kg and have a couple of boards (including a Door). It is surprising how often I can ride the 8m. Also, as there's light late in the evening during the summer you might get some after work sessions during the week. Lots of good people round Hunny too...so generally good all round.