Cornwall Kitesurf Guide No. 1: Daymer Bay
Ultimate all-terrain with wave bias
Head to Polzeath in North Cornwall and you won’t go gar wrong, it’s the beach just to the south.
Low tide Daymer. Check the small wave bending in and vast launch area.
Wave rating: 4/5
Flat water rating: 4/5
I would give Daymer Bay 5/5 on both scores if only it lingered around its magic tide heights a little longer. Finding flat water is pretty simple, just turn up at low tide. But there’s a magic hour when the waves on the point really turn on – to be honest, I don’t actually know when that is. I just turn up when people who know more tell me to. The wave can be very intense and get very big with a ‘Guru forecast of 3m at 12 seconds and beyond, generally it’s a bit smaller than the main beaches as it needs to ‘wrap in’, but beware as MONSTER sneaker sets will come through.
Tide's getting full, long convex waves are pushing in.
As ever, a low tide reccy will tell you what you need to know. The River Camel is deep, you cannot stand in it. As the sand covers with water, you’ll be able to stand a fair way from the shore.
As the bay fills right up, the wave continues to roll right into the beach – it’s very long – twenty turns on one wave or minute long rides are not exceptional. However, you will be doing a fair few cutbacks and it’s not steep all the way, but this really makes it perfectly suited for kitesurfing. A North West wind will allow you to make better use of it all through the tide, whereas a North possibly gives cleaner waves.
Brae Hill in the middle scene. To the right lurks a big wind shadow in a Northerly / North Westerly.
There are rocks close to the point so don’t f*** up there or you’ll be in trouble. The rips are horrendous and a lost Kiteboard in a fast ebbing tide will be gone forever. There are bad wind shadows around Brae Hill, you’ll figure them out soon enough, but combined with Hawker’s Cove, Daymer Bay is certainly one of the best places I’ve ever kite surfed, if not the best.
Launching
Bar a few rocks which are plainly visible, this is another huge, open launch at low tide. High tide can suffer wind shadows.
Winds
Head here in a North Westerly wind for a memorable day.
Restrictions
July and August, no kiting between 10am and 6pm.
Looking over to the beach at Daymer Bay from Hawker's Cove. That's the low tide River Camel.
Daymer Bay is the west facing deeper cut beach on the right of the channel. Hawker's Cove is the north facing beach on the left.
NEXT GUIDE: Hawker’s Cove
S2AS Team
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thanks for reading credit goes to Dom @ Skyhooked www.skyhooked.co.uk