What to Do When There Is No Wind: Five Disciplines for a Flat Calm

The commonest situation on a kite trip: two weeks booked, four days of wind. Here is what to do with the other ten.

1. SUP — the simplest answer

Barrier to entry: an hour. Almost everyone stands up on the first attempt.

What you need: a board from 99 € and a paddle. Or a local rental.

Why it works in a calm: SUP is the one discipline a calm helps rather than hinders. Flat water is ideal.

What you can do: cruise the shoreline, cover distance, do yoga on the board, paddle with a child or a dog, fish.

Advice: take the widest board available. More in our SUP size guide.

2. Surfing — if there is swell

An important point: a calm and an absence of waves are not the same thing. Swell travels from far out in the ocean and arrives in dead-still air. In fact a calm often produces the best waves: wind destroys them.

Barrier to entry: a first lesson gets you standing in whitewater. Confident surfing takes months.

What you need: a softboard from 416 € and a leash. Why a softboard specifically.

Who for: anyone whose spot gets surf.

3. Foiling — the most underrated answer

Worth being precise here, because people confuse things.

A foil goes from 10 to 12 knots where a twintip needs 15 and up. So in the "light wind" you consider a calm, a foiler is riding.

Barrier to entry: a few lessons if you already kite or wing.

What you need: a foil for the kite you own, from 424 €, plus a board.

Honestly: a foil does not save you in a dead calm. But it turns half your "unrideable" days into rideable ones — and on a kite trip that changes everything. The discipline comparison is here.

4. Pump foiling — the only thing that works in a dead calm

Pumping means moving on a foil by rocking your body. No wind, no waves, no motor: just you.

Barrier to entry: high. You need confident foiling, and you start from a pontoon or a tow.

What you need: a pump board from 359 €, a high-aspect foil, a stiff mast.

Who it genuinely suits: riders already flying who live by water. As a holiday activity from scratch, no.

But there is a side benefit that matters more: pumping skill saves you in winging and prone when the wave runs out or the gust dies. Worth learning regardless of calms — covered here.

5. Electric assist and boats

Electric assist: a mast motor accelerates you to takeoff, then you fly on your own. From 3 901 € for a base kit — the guide.

Towing behind a boat: if your base has one, it is the best way to learn foiling — the thrust is smooth and repeatable. In detail.

Neither is about saving money but about access: they provide water time where no conditions exist at all.

Bonus: surfskating — when there is no water at all

Not water, but relevant.

A surfskate reproduces the body movement of a wave turn, and the skill transfers. Twenty minutes on tarmac a day maintains form better than nothing.

What you need: a surfskate and a helmet. How to train.

Matching this to your situation

Calm, flat water, with family → SUP.

Calm but with surf → surfing on a softboard.

10 to 14 knots, twintip will not go → a foil.

Dead calm, already flying → pumping.

A boat or cable available → tow foiling.

No water nearby at all → a surfskate.

The practical conclusion for a trip

Pack what extends your range downward rather than upward.

The classic mistake: carrying three kites — 7, 9 and 12 — and discovering every day was 11 knots.

What works better: one big kite, a foil and, if space allows, an inflatable SUP. That set covers from 10 knots down to a calm rather than from 18 to 30.

And a second thought: local rental is almost always cheaper than excess baggage for a third kite. Find out what the spot has before packing.

Common questions

What can I do on a kite trip without wind?

SUP on flat water, surfing if there is swell, foiling at 10 to 14 knots, pumping in a dead calm, towing behind a boat.

Are there really waves in a calm?

Yes, swell travels from far out. In fact a calm often produces the best waves: wind destroys them.

From what wind does a foil work?

From 10 to 12 knots against 15 and up for a twintip. It turns half your unrideable days into rideable ones.

Can I learn pumping on holiday?

From scratch, no: you need confident foiling. But it is worth learning, since it saves you in winging and prone.

What should I pack instead of a third kite?

A foil and, if space allows, an inflatable SUP: they extend the range downward, while a third kite extends it upward.

What to read next

Where to start in foiling, choosing a spot, and lessons in Mui Ne.