Akila Gruissan

Akila Gruissan is the Gruissan water sports base of the Akila Centers group, inside the Narbonnaise Regional Nature Park. It runs two sites: the Sea Centre (Pôle Mer), 50 avenue de la Jetée, at the entrance to Plage des Chalets and facing the wild beach of La Vieille-Nouvelle, and the Lagoon Centre (Pôle Étang) on the shore of the Étang de Mateille, a sheltered, shallow stretch of water. The Sea Centre sits on the venue of the Défi-Wind and Défi-Kite events, in an area where the tramontane wind blows for much of the year.

Kitesurfing is taught only at the Sea Centre. Instructors take students by boat to the wild beach; every student wears a radio and 3-hour group lessons have no more than 3 students per instructor. The base also offers 2-student evening sessions, private lessons, coaching (jumps, big air, freestyle, foil, strapless) for riders who can already go upwind, supervised sessions and rental for independent riders. Wingfoil lessons start on the Mateille lagoon before moving to the sea; windsurfing and windfoiling are taught at both sites. The school equipment, from Duotone and Fanatic, is renewed every season.

Lessons are given by state-qualified instructors, with a safety boat on the water. Both sites also offer catamaran, funboat, Optimist, a sailing playground for children from age 5, stand-up paddle and kayak, and can host groups of up to 40 people. The Sea Centre has changing rooms, showers, a rinsing area, a small accessories shop, a bar and a restaurant. Akila Academy, the group's training organisation, runs an intensive kitesurf course in Gruissan that prepares for the BPJEPS entrance tests and for IKO instructor qualifications.