Kite Area guide
Buxton, Cape Hatteras
Buxton is the point where the island turns: sound-side slick water for progression, and some of the east coast's best waves a few hundred metres away.
When to kite
Best months: April, May, June, July, August, September, October.
About this Kite Area
Buxton sits at the elbow of Hatteras Island, where the coast turns west and the Atlantic pushes closest. It offers both of the island's characters within a few hundred metres.
On the sound side, the Buxton Slick is flat water and generally regarded as the more advanced of the island's slicks — a progression and trick spot rather than a first-lesson one. Canadian Hole, a little over two miles north toward Avon, gives the easier shallow alternative with facilities. Across the dunes, the ocean here delivers what riders consider the best waves on the American east coast, and needs side-shore or onshore wind: offshore wind on the ocean side carries you out to sea.
Autumn brings the best swell. Spring and summer are warmer and easier. Wetsuits, booties and gloves are wanted on the ocean side outside high summer.