Kiting in Kedros

Our last stop is in the north of Samos in Kedros. I suspected that kitesurfing would be possible here. But in the absence of any reports on the WWW, nothing was certain. I’m delighted when I spot the first kites down on the beach from the terrace of the Kedros Hotel as soon as I arrive.

The Kedros Hotel is a bit outdated, but super clean and the two hosts, Grandpa Ioannis and his wife Ijlal, are absolute gems. Nowhere were we happier. Our trip across five islands of the Dodecanese ends with top service, the best breakfast and fantastic sunsets with funny stories from the well-travelled owners on the terrace. The rooms have panoramic balconies with views of Kedros Beach, 150 metres away, and quiet air conditioning. The best way to book is to call Ioannis directly, he speaks good English: 30 6934 1327 22.

Down on the beach, the half-Greek Zen runs a chilled upcycling beach bar. Good food and drinks, relaxed people and good music lure us down every one of our last four days. Kedros Beach is also probably one of the two legal kitesurfing spots on Samos. After a 0% kite quota on the last three islands, I’m really pleased about that.

In the strongest heatwave to hit Greece in the last 30 years, the Meltemi makes the temperatures of around 40°C more bearable every day from around 3.00 pm until sunset with a force of 15 to 30 knots sideon from the north-west.

The launch site in Kedros is 80 metres east of the beach bar. A small bay measuring approx. 20 by 50 metres offers just enough space to launch. There were never more than five kiters out at the same time. The locals have anchored a carabiner for self-launching. However, my extremely stretched 13er Edge ticks a bit too much when attached to it. I always launch and land with a helper.

There is a telephone line behind the small, coarse gravel launch site – but according to Zen, nothing has ever happened to a kiter here. The spot is not suitable for beginners. Firstly, there are a few cliffs upwind of the launch site. After that, the only emergency landing spot before Samos Town is the bay of Kedros, which is probably very windswept – nothing else. Drifting off is not an option. That’s why the locals usually head back a little to windward towards the beach bar with the kite at 12 o’clock.

The shorebreak here can be quite violent, just like on Rhodes. The beach drops off quickly, but there are only nasty coarse pebbles for the first five metres. Further out, there are then quite choppy small waves or, as on our third day, quite bumpy-strong 20 to 30 knots and sometimes a metre swell. The wave direction is difficult to use. The shallow water areas after the waves can only be used close to the beach – but there are always a few swimmers here and Zen asks you not to jump closer than 60 metres from the beach. A little further upwind there are no swimmers – but every missed kite lands in rough terrain.

Heading out to sea, there are nice steep kicker waves from time to time – but the angle is too acute for really big jumps. 7.5 metres remains my maximum with the 13er Edge at 18 to 24 knots. The day before, the wind was blowing at a stubborn 20 to 30 knots – but after almost a year out of kitesurfing, I’m pretty fed up and produce one teabagging crash after another.

In Kokkari, a little to the west, there is a windsurfing centre where kiters are also tolerated. However, it is completely covered by a cliff, making it a really dangerous place for kiters. All the other bays we travelled to on the entire north side of Samos are often located directly under steep cliffs and are full of swimmers, so definitely not kiteable.