Pagham Beach
It's always difficult writing a positive review,
if the author has not had a memorable time out at any one location,
and this is true for King Alfreds. However, there are many people
who rate K Alfreds, and it must be worth considering.
On a good day the waves are good, that's good for the South Coast,
being of the mushy closed out type, in fact all the way along to
Hove and the back of the Power station similar conditions are found.
The existence of three "Surf" shops in close proximity
to each other must be more than a coincidence - though the more
cynical might point out that they are also very close to a whole
city full of "wannabe" Urban Surf warriors and the clothing
is where it's at!
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A local tourist attraction and "dare you to" site! |
It's being so close to Brighton that I suspect is the real reason
why K Alfreds is popular, as for Brighton, you can't really park
close to the beach and in the summer it's just a nightmare, though
the posing stakes are high!
Kitesurfing is different, as you don't have to lug heavy boards
and sails / masts down to the beach, just hope you've made the
right selection of kite, put your board and gear under your arm
and head down to the main beach leaving your car in the car park.
Well at least that's the theory - Brighton is host to a number
of good kiters (S African, my spy's tell me) who relish sailing
through the pier, that's now broken in two!
My recurring memory of King Alfreds is the presence of a drainage
outfall, that certainly was not expelling just rain water when
I was out there - hopefully that's been addressed now, but the
pollution was so bad the waves were flattened by the soapy chemical
slime coming out into the sea! Again bad memories, and some one
please tell me I'm wrong! |
Looking towards King Alfreds along the main promenade
| Again like Shoreham etc, King Alfred's is similar to many other
S Coast locations, and can differ from one day to the next depending
on the height and state of the tides as well as wind direction -
and without stating the obvious wind speed once you arrive there.
King Alfred's faces slightly due SW, so the prevailing SW winds
tend to be slightly more onshore here than at Worthing or Shoreham,
you only have to look at the photo on the right to see the coastline
running back in what could almost be described as a large bay across
to Worthing on the horizon, with Shoreham Power Station in the
middle.
Again, K Alfreds benefits from local sea breezes from May through
to September - the rest of the year keep an eye on the forecasts,
the map above will give you a good idea of what winds are suitable.
Anything from the North West, though that can be gusty through
to SE will work, though in the winter and early spring anything
with East in them should have a health warning as quite a considerable
wind chill goes with them.
Main area where many events are staged
Looking East back to King Alfreds & Brighton
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Looking West to King Alfreds and Power Station in the background
Rigging area and event staging zone
Out of high season car parking is not a problem,
in the summer months on a warm weekend day avoid the place like the
plague, or get there real early.
King Alfreds used to be used quite a lot for windsurfing events,
and kite surfing events are going to be staged either here or at
Brighton, there's quite a bit of greensward for rigging though not
quite enough for flying kites!
As in all South Coast shingle locations high tides can be rather
more demanding for launching, again depending on the height of the
tides on any given day, wooden break waters and rock groynes can
make a mess of most equipment and large "dumpers" at high
tide can make launching always interesting!
There are Surf Shops close by - two in fact!!!
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Should you have a problem out at sea there's usually plenty of craft
out at sea, and if you have to dump your kit and swim, there's a good
chance it will get washed in further down the coast - but always advise
the Coastguard if you abandoned any kit out at sea!
A few other points, depending on the wind direction you can go coastal
cruising, to Shoreham & beyond, calling in at Lancing, progressing
on to Worthing and then Littlehampton if you so wish, but carry a flare
or mobile phone and tell people what you are doing, if you decide to
go with a couple of mates, it might seem a good idea, but more than two
and the odds increase that something will happen to one of you, be it
kit failure or of a physical nature. Plus out at sea, you can quickly
loose sight of so called "partners" as board / kite speed can
open up considerable gaps between each other - oh and tell people on
dry land what you are doing - I've done all the above, and still blast
off down the coast as it seems a good idea at the time!
If you want to add your own comments see the link at the top of this
page.
Feb 2003
South Coast Beach Breaks
Hover over any red dot for details
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