North coast Downwinders

In nine out of ten times the best downwinder in Sealand can be found on the north coast in wind directions ranging from North, North West to West.  Most starting points are roughly an hours drive from Copenhagen with good free parking spots.

Needless to say downwinders are always buddy surf both for safety reasons and practical reasons – you need two cars for getting between spots. Read my full checklist (32 things to know and remember) for doing downwinders here.

Liseleje to Tisvildeleje (7.25 kM)

• Wind Direction: West
• Downwinder lenght: 7.25 KM
• Ending Point: You park the first car at the parking lot of Tisvildeleje beach (click for directions).
• Starting Point: The drive in the second car to Liseleje (click for directions) is 22-24 minutes depending on traffic (normally there is none).
• Obstacles: If you launch you kite at the far east end of Liseleje beach after the third breakwater you will experience no obstacles. The whole ride is clear white beaches. Perfect for your first downwinders.

Liseleje TO HAVSTOKKEN (18.5 KM)

• Wind Direction: West
• Downwinder lenght: 18.5 KM
• Ending Point: There’s no parking lot at Havstokken and it’s a private resident area so there’s no parking at Havstokken. However you can park in the main road called “Udsholt” (click for directions).
• Starting Point: The drive in the second car to Liseleje (click for directions) is 32-35 minutes depending on traffic (normally there is none).
• Obstacles: If you launch you kite at the far east end of Liseleje beach after the third breakwater you will experience no obstacles when launching. When you reach Tisvilde the strip of nice wide sandy beaches end. You will now have to pass 2.5 km of rocky break water coastline with towering cliffs and possibly turbulent winds. I recommend staying far out and away from trouble. No one can help you in this zone – as landing a kite is not possible at the beach cliffs. Arriving at Havstokken which is the most popular wave spot on a good day is extremely crowded and the beach is also quite rocky. So you have to know what you are doing. This is NOT a downwinder for beginners.

havstokken TO Gilleleje (6.8 KM)

• Wind Direction: North West
• Downwinder lenght: 6.8 KM
• Ending Point: You park the first car at the parking lot of Gilleleje Harbour (click for directions).
• Starting Point: The drive in the second car to Fyrrestien (click for directions) is 14-15 minutes depending on traffic (normally there is none). This is a bit further from havstokken but has a parking lot and is the best place to begin this downwinder.
• Obstacles: I have not surfed this downwinder myself yet. I find it a bit short but when the wind direction is right the waves should be great (for Baltic conditions). The landing spot is a big beach so no problems here but the Havstokken launch site is not for beginners and often very crowded – also keep in mind that you have to climb some stones to get to the beach.

GILLELEJE to Hornbæk (11.75 KM)

• Wind Direction: North
• Downwinder lenght: 11.75 KM
• Ending Point: You park the first car at the parking lot of Hornbæk Beach (click for directions).
• Starting Point: The drive in the second car to Gilleleje Harbour (click for directions) is 21-23 minutes depending on traffic (normally there is none).
• Obstacles: You could launch from the east side of the harbor but we normally launch from the west side which means you have to cross out and around the harbor which is an obstacle. There’s also the Hornbæk harbor in the end to be careful about but all between this is pure bliss and the waves can be really huge especially around Munkerup and Dronning Mølle. 

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/thore