Wind Surfing
Once you see Alaçatı you will not want to go anywhere else for surfing. Alaçatı offers the most interesting and diverse region among surfing destinations of Europe. Its unspoiled plant cover, the surfing centre is in a V-shaped bay with clear waters. With varying wind conditions and an ideal surfing area, it is one of the most important surfing centres. With quite shallow waters, the prevailing winds in the area blow from the north.Blowing at an average of grade 4-6 from June to mid-September, the weather turns to 50% southern winds between October and April and creates nice waves. Alaçatı is almost like it is made for surfers. The most beautiful feature of Alaçatı is the fact that winds blow from the left, as an offshore breeze, and thus creating regular waves even under heavy winds. The fact that currents also run parallel with the wings provide surfers with unforgettable experiences. Alaçatı is also is the safest region with an offshore breeze. Here, four separate winds caress the Çeşme Peninsula reaching into the Agean Sea. Zephyr, Notos, Boreas and Sailtaker winds visit the area throughout the year, providing another beautiful feature.
Kite Surfing at the Diamond Beach:
The Pırlanta (Diamond) Beach in Çiftlikköy has made Çeşme a candidate for "wind capital of Europe" with its undying, strong and standing winds and regular waves. Located at the ultimate west end of Çeşme, the Pırlanta Beach takes its name from its brilliant sands. With 250 metre wide shoals entirely formed of sparkling sands, the beach attracts surfers from all corners of the world. In 1980s hundreds of caravans would park in front of the beach, spend their evenings in their vans and witness the dance of hundreds of wind surfers with sails in all colours like butterflies against backdrop of the sea. In 2000s the beach became the new destination for the newest extreme sport Kite Surfing and kite surfers. Also taken up by many wind surfer due to its many similarities to wind surfing, this new sport made Pırlanta Beach one of the most important centres of the sport across the world. In addition, the kite surfing scene serves visitors from April to November through 13 foreign tour operators and efforts are ongoing to extend the season further.Kite surfing complements many other extreme sports. Kite surfing can be seen as the new generation of wind surfing.
With the demand dropping among the younger generations wind surfing drifted towards becoming a sport for middle age and older age groups, while kite surfing exploded across the world to become one of the fastest growing trends. In addition, due to similarities in use of boards, people engaged in snowboarding, skateboarding, wakeboarding and rollerblading have also taken up kitesurfing.
Kitesurfbeach, the surfing facility located at the Pırlanta Beach, is the Turkish certification school for the International Kitesurf Organisation (IKOO) and only employs certified trainers. The 2005 Turkish Kitesurf Championship, the 2005 Water and Air World Championship and the 2006 Turkish Kitesurf Freestyle and Turkish Windsurf Freestyle Championships were organised at this location.
Providing wind surfers and kite surfers with the opportunity to find accommodation in hotels, camping sites and caravan sites in the vicinity, the facilities at the Pırlanta Beach also include a café for spectators, as well swimming and sunbathing areas.
