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Home  Venues UK Sailing Venues Daymer Bay - Cornwall
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Written by Donald Reid
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Wednesday, 24 March 2004 |
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Daymer Bay is on the eastern side of the Camel Estuary between Rock and Polzeath. Most of the beache
s round here are swarming in summer with wannabe surfers which makes sailing pretty much impossible but Daymer is windsurf / kitesurf territory. Its a good spot for all levels of sailor, however, do be careful as the tidal flows are strong and can present a danger Access is off the road which runs from Rock to Polzeath via Trebetherick. As you pass through Trebetherick there is a lane signposted down to Daymer Bay just next to a kite shop. Its narrow so take care, at the bottom there is a car park which will charge you around 2.50 to park and 1 extra to sail. There is a shop/caf which also has a limited stock of windsurf kit handy for spares. There are nice walks towards Rock or round to Polzeath to give your credit card a battering at the surf shops.
Daymer can be sailed at all sates of the tide but its a bit of a walk at low tide. Be very careful on an outgoing tide as its strong and you could be taken out of the estuary quite quickly. The left boundary of the bay is formed by Brea Hill, at low tide you can walk round the beach to the next bay but be aware that the high tide will cover the beach where the hill juts out.
Best directions are SW and NW. In a SW you will be blasting out towards Stepper Point in which case you need to be aware of the Doom Bar! This is a sand bar towards the far side of the estuary which appears as the tide drops, it can be shallow enough to cause you to stop quickly! Once youve noticed it though it provides a nice place to adjust your lines and can also kick up excellent jump ramps. In a NW you will be sailing out towards Harbour Cove where there are decent waves for port tack jumping. You can get small rideable waves in Daymer bay itself but these tend to be close to the beach so watch the depth and keep an eye out for swimmers. Generally the water conditions are chop with some wind blown swell out in the estuary classic bump and jump.
You can sail Daymer in a W but you need to work to windward to get out of the bay. Also avoid getting too close to the base of Brea Hill as theres no wind in there. If you get far enough upwind its possible then to sail right down the estuary to Rock but watch for the wind shadow caused by the hill to the north of Padstow. Remember to take some money for an ice-cream at Rock.
Last summer I sailed on a day when two dolphins appeared in the estuary. I sailed for around 15 minutes with the two swimming alongside me a magical experience. I also once saw Douglas Hurd walking up the beach in what I can only describe as a silk kimono, I assume he had been for a morning dip in the bay. I dont know if either event is a regular occurrence.
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Directions aren't my strong point, but here we go: To get there, hang a right at the roundabout after you pass the home of the mighty Wadebridge Football Club. You can either aim for Polzeath or Rock (Daymer is in between), Rock is quicker - as you reach Rock, there is a right hand turn with signs for Daymer, keep your eyes peeled or you'll miss it. Follow this road for a couple of miles and take it easy, it's pretty narrow in places. On a right hand corner there is a shop selling kites, dreamcatchers (wind chimes) etc.. just in front of that is a left hand turn, if you follow the lane a big car park and reasonably sheltered grassy rigging area awaits you. There is a 50p honesty box over the winter, and if my memory serves me correctly, I recall it was 4 pounds last summer (2003) There is a shop open in the warmer months selling ice cream and a bit of kit.
Hopefully my mental compass is correct here - (somebody please point out if I have these slightly out, I'm relying on memory)
In a prevailing SW the wind blows pretty much onshore to where you will launch from. Daymer could work in anything from a S through SW, to NW. W to NW can get a bit gusty on the far side as it comes off the hills.
More of an issue is the water state; the tide here can really rip - make sure you know your times accurately. If you're in the know, this means you'll be a) safe and b) you can make the most of, or avoid the waves depending on your preference. The range makes Daymer great- when a swell is running, waves break in the following areas;
Doom Bar! as well as cool name - (which also lends itself to a particularly fine local brew; more on that later) this is at the mouth of the river. Waves break here at low tide - taking the power out of them for the river behind. In a SW, the resultant flat water on the river is better for beginners and gives a cracking 'run up' if that elusive double loop is calling your name (it hasn't called mine yet)
As the tide flows in you may get wind over/with tide depending on the wind direction, which will help or hinder depending on your preference, so be aware of this. As time goes on, eventually DoomBar will become too deep to work; then any swell will roll up the middle of the channel, and break on the far side of the river, giving more riding and jumping action. Usually they are smaller than on Doom Bar, which can get huge in a big swell. If you do come a cropper, they also break in fairly shallow water, so you can get away easily - be careful just how shallow it is though; the catapult into ankle deep water is a legendary points scoring move here.
At high tide, if the swell is sufficient it will wrap round the corner and onto the launching beach. If the tide is coming in it can really move from right to left in the shallows, making beach starting interesting. On the far left of the beach it accelerates round the cliff fast once it reaches it- unlike the wind which goes all over the place as it hits it - so not a good place to be! Sometimes launching further upstream at Rock can get you out and avoid all this if the waves are heavily onshore, or the wind is light- this isn't an option I've ever tried, so I'll leave that to someone else to explain.
There is a good friendly crowd down there, and usually plenty of people out on the water - as long as you know what the tide is up to, this really is a great place to sail. Polzeath is about half a mile up the road, with campsites, surfing on the beach and the obligatory blue and yellow foam beauties available for your enjoyment when the swell is pounding but the wind isn't. The highlight for me is the Oyster Catcher Inn, which serves some quality local ale and adds considerable gravity to the tale of the no handed triple push loop with a twist in the middle - and lets face it- if there's one reason I love this sport, it's being able to sit in the pub afterwards with my friends making up a load of bullsh*t....