WorldFrance › Manche › Becquerel Point

Becquerel Point 50.5

#4024 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇫🇷 France · Manche · near Cherbourg

Very consistent, wind is the enemy here, no off season.

Works all yearIntermediate
Becquerel Point, France
Photo: rene boulay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Surf score50.5 /100
Surfable days79% of the year
Clean days9% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell22% period 11 s+
Typical size1.0 m 3.3 ft median
Water14°C a 4/3 with boots

Best time to surf Becquerel Point

The best time to surf Becquerel Point is February, April, December. It rarely works. In February the water sits around 9°C, so pack a 6/5 with boots, gloves and hood, and the typical wave is 1.6 m. The nearest airport is DOL (148 km) and the nearest town is Cherbourg (20 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan91%9%1.4 m10°C6/5
Feb100%23%1.6 m9°C6/5
Mar90%11%1.2 m10°C5/4
Apr80%12%0.8 m12°C5/4
May66%4%0.8 m13°C4/3
Jun63%3%0.7 m16°C4/3
Jul52%0%0.6 m18°C3/2
Aug61%0%0.7 m19°C3/2
Sep71%2%0.8 m18°C3/2
Oct90%3%1.2 m16°C3/2
Nov97%11%1.4 m14°C4/3
Dec92%14%1.5 m12°C5/4

What is under Becquerel Point

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor sits over 41 m.

Depth 8 km out41 m
Depth 4 km out39 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 50.5

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
12.3
Best days 22.4%
11.0
Clean days 18.4%
3.7
Consistency 10.2%
9.5
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
0.3
Access 4.1%
2.9

The detail

Faces 290° with 58% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 40% of days. Mean peak period 9.0 s. Days over 3 m: 1%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 2.0 m, with a peak period of 13 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 54%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 49.546, -1.876 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,620/ month
typically €1,430 – €1,810
Rent, one bedroom€855
Groceries€340
Eating out€195
Getting around€115
Phone + internet€120
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€3,170/ month
typically €2,790 – €3,550
Somewhere to stay€1,870
Eating out€665
Car, transfers, fuel€430
Data + extras€205
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for France (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

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