[Camper_Man]

Has anyone heard anything about an artificial reef possibly being built in bournemouth to creat some surf?

I read an article in a kayak magazine about it, but have heard nothin since!

Let us know if you have any info on it.

Joe..

[starfish]

they'd need one to get any surf! i went along to bournemouth on my way back from newquay last week to see whether anything was happening and the surf was pretty non-descript! they would need a reef to liven things up a bit in my opinion - don't know if i was there at the wrong time of year but it doesn't look like it would ever have anything decent. aspect seems all wrong to me ...

[JayCurtis]

Joe,


Apparently, the new reef has been approved... have a look at this link http://www.bournemouth-surfing.co.uk/Reef/Reef.html

I don't know a lot about it, but it looks like it's gonna happen.

Cheers
JC

[Alsone]

Copied across from the Bournemouth Surfing Web Site (with link as I couldn't get yours to work) - all credit to Bournemouth.

Its a pity Newquay can't fund their reef and that there are so many vocal objectors as Newquay are getting left behind.

http://www.bournemouth-surfing.co.uk/community-reef.php

Bournemouth 's Proposed Artificial Reef

28th July 2005
Text below details the councils backing for the Proposed Artificial reef.
However, on 28th July the same council (planning board) also decided to defer any decision on the Leisure complex surrounding the Reef.
This is in order to hear more detailed reports from officers regading car parking provision for all the extra visitors.
The new date for the planning board meeting is 19th september at Chine Hotel, Boscombe, 6pm.
Please try and attend, so that the surfing community can make their prescence felt

24th April 2005
BOSCOMBE PLANS FULLY APPROVED BY COUNCIL
DETAILED PLANS NOW GOING AHEAD.
Councillors gave the go-ahead for Europes first artificial surf reef on April 24th

Spontaneous applause from members of the public and local residents broke out at a packed Bournemouth Cabinet meeting as Councillors gave the go-ahead to exciting plans for Europes first artificial surf reef, at Boscombe.

A Planning application for the remainder of the surfing-themed leisure scheme at Boscombe Spa could be submitted within days.

Despite having to be drastically changed following the listing of the Pier entrance building last December, the £8million regeneration still includes the top priorities of local people, when surveyed in 2003. These include:

an £800,000 surf reef
a restaurant with panoramic views - in the revamped and refurbished Overstrand building
a revitalised and reopened Boscombe Pier
improved landscaping, lighting and street furniture - including a piazza and open air events space
no amusement arcade.
The new scheme also includes 42 'super chalets' for purchase and hire, a Heritage Display, surfing tuition and themed retail, public art and sculpture, and improved changing / toilet facilities.

Members of the public turned out in force to hear the debate, and the only public deputation received at the meeting was in support of the reef, from the Wessex Surf Club. Taking place just a stones throw from the site, at the Chine Hotel Boscombe, Councillors and residents heard a number of presentations specifically about the surf reef - on its construction, its environmental impact, how it works, and safety issues for bathers and surfers. Professor Kerry Black, the worlds leading expert on artificial reefs, Dr David Harlow, coastal protection professional, the Council's Head of Tourism Mark Smith and the RNLI's Beach Safety expert Matt Horton all addressed the meeting in presentations lasting some 45 minutes.

Cllr Rob Copeland, Cabinet Member and local Ward Councillor said, "I am absolutely delighted that we have been able to approve the surf reef tonight, and give the go-ahead for the planning application on the rest of the scheme to be submitted. We are delivering what extensive public consultation has told us that people want, and tonight the economic benefits to the local area have been made very clear to us - this is nothing but excellent news for Bosocmbe, and for Bournemouth ."

Leader of the Council Cllr Richard Smith praised the scheme for being an innovative way of "allowing local people and visitors to enjoy our assets and take part in healthy activities."

Continuing the extensive public information and consultation campaign that has supported the scheme throughout, eight road shows in the Boscombe area are now planned to support the planning process, give local people key facts and information, and give those with a view the opportunity to comment. These will take place on 12th, 13th, 23rd, 24th and 25th May at the Sovereign Centre, and 26th, 27th and 28th May at Boscombe Pier.

Back in 2003, the Council spent time and money carrying out one of the most comprehensive public consultations ever undertaken by Bournemouth Council.

This included:

Surveying 1,200 residents from across the Town
Plus an additional 1,100 randomly selected people from Boscombe
Numerous presentations to local groups and organisations
In-depth discussion groups with parents, older people and residents.
The top priorities of residents, as identified by this consultation, are all accommodated in the Boscombe scheme





The following is some background information. We will endeavour to keep this page as up-to-date as possible but if you have any opinions or extra information to add, please e-mail us.
Latest developments are highlighted in light blue further down the page.

Many thanks to David Weight for much of the information contained in these pages, and for his hard work and determination on behalf of local surfers.

A Brief History

For several years now, a group of Local surfers, lead by Davd Weight and the Wessex Surf Club, have been lobbying Bournemouth Council to improve the surfing conditions in our area by building an Artificial Reef .

With the growth in surfing as a sport, and the income generated by surfers in the Town, the proposals have been taken far more seriously lately, by a progressively more forward-thinking Council, who can also see the advantages the reef would bring in protecting the beaches against the erosive power of the waves.

Recent History

On Monday 11th October 1999 Bournemouth Council decided to invest £10,000 on a feasability study into building the new reef at Boscombe or Southbourne (see our guide to the local breaks) in Bournemouth Bay with the question on how the scheme will be funded still to be answered.

In early March 2000 Professor Kerry Black, a world authority on these reefs and designer of the Narrowneck Reef on the Gold Coast, Aus., came to Bournemouth, with Angus Jackson, the worlds leading Coastal Management Engineer.

The two held meetings with all interested parties, including Bournemouth Council, MAFF,and local environmental groups. All signs are that the benefits of the reef are even greater than first expected, in terms of coastal protection, income generated for the town and a much needed recreational facility.

If the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) can be persuaded that the reef will replace wooden groynes as a form of coastal protection then a grant from the Government could be achieved. Latest information suggests that the Reef would offer better protection than groynes, as it would reduce the waves erosive power long before it reached the beach.

Original estimates of the reef costing around £500,000 have been halved by Professor Black, who now believes that the reef could be built for the same cost or less than the traditional Wooden groynes, so long a feature of Bournemouths seafront. If the plans for the reef are adopted, new reefs could be built every year instead of groynes. this would eventually make the beach a lot bigger, and transform Bournemouth into the Watersports Mecca of Europe !

Kerry Black returned to Bournemouth in June to present the findings of his study, including the Benefit-cost analysis. This showed a staggering 37-1 ratio for the Reef at Southbourne, and 21-1 at Boscombe.

Here is a brief summary of Professor Blacks recommendations:

Southbourne: Southbourne with be just one right hander of about 110m long. It will provide the coastal protection which is needed for this area at a capital cost similar to groynes and cheaper over 50 years, and it is hoped that funds will be obtained from MAFF for coastal protection, and from the lottery sports fund. This should be a challenging wave, probably a 6 - 7grade. (Pipeline would be 7-8, and Raglan a 5). Initial ideas suggest that the reef be based on Bingin, a reef break on Bali . (Professor Black's team have surveyed the bottom contours of all the renowned reef breaks around the pacific). It hoped that by breaking up the line of swell and creating refraction, one or two decent banks should form on each side, thus creating two or three breaks where there are currently none. (This effect has occurred at Narrowneck- they still have to get the top layer on there, but it shows very good form on large swells).

Boscombe: The Boscombe pier reef would be double sided reef with a left hander of about 90 metres and a right hander of about a 100 metres. The reef would be designed to protect a slightly shortened pier which is in a poor state and which would otherwise have to be demolished, or else rebuilt at great cost in the near future. The Boscombe reef would be a bit less severe than Southbourne, probably a grade 5. This is partly to give variety, but also to appeal to the intermediate or merely competent surfers. It is hoped to have night-lights on the pier so that people can surf after work in the winter.


In November 2000 there was a joint meeting of the council, where any doubts local councillors and residents may have had were answered. At the previous council meeting in June, it was agreed that the plans had to be approved by the towns coastal defence advisors, HR Wallingford. Their response to Professor Blacks study was favourable, and this helped to sway those councillors who still had to be convinced. The outcome was that Bournemouth council fully approved the plans to build the Reef at Boscombe Pier.

The reef is now an integral part of the Boscombe Spa/Honeycomb chine re-generation scheme. This is essentially a document setting out the councils plans for the area, which include a hotel complex, new flats and a complete re-vamp of the near-derelict pier.
Essentially, once the developers of the Honeycomb Chine scheme have been approved, the council will undertake a public consultation exercise. The Funds from the land sale will plan and build the Boscombe Reef, and also pay for plans for the Southbourne Reef. Funding for actually building the Southbourne reef may still have to be found from Lottery or private sources.

So...progress has been made, and we are a step nearer to putting Bournemouth on the world surfing Map. but don't expect to wake up and find a Reef on your doorstep. The planning stages will take as long as the building, and there are many streams still to cross.

Thanks to everyone who has lobbied councillors for support, and sent messages over the last 18 months. We really do appreciate it !!!


How Does the Thing Work?

We could get fairly technical here and get into oceanography and wave mechanics but instead we'll try to explain it on a simple level i.e. the level WE understand it. Essentially, and fairly obviously, the reef mimics the effects of a natural reef with the added bonus that we can perfectly shape the reef to give two beautiful 'peeling' waves.



The reef is made up of huge sausage-like bags of sand which will be placed in around 6m of water around 250m from the coast with the waves peeling off from either side of the triangular shape. The reef can be "custom" built to provide waves of varying shapes and sizes, ranging from small, hollow, Malibu style waves, to steep grinding barrels.

At a packed meeting of the Wessex Surf Club, professor Black showed pictures of the Reef on the Gold Coast of Australia , recently completed. His calculations show that the average swell is amplified 250% by the Reef. This would mean that a knee high wave would essentially become overhead! The general opinion at the meeting was that the best type of reef for Bournemouth (initially) was one that would make very small days more rideable, therefore increasing the number of days surf in a year. If the reef building becomes an ongoing project, there is no reason why each reef could not have different wave characteristics.

Where Else Have They Done This?

As is the norm in the surfing world we are taking our lead from the U.S. and Australia . In Los Angeles , CA they built a reef made out of tyres chained together with the added bonus that the tyres started to decompose and pollute the water. So we really have to thank our more enviromentally aware chums in Oz for the 'bags of sand' approach as first seen in Narrowneck, Gold Coast, Qld. and then in Cables,WA. Even New Zealand are planning one near Hamilton . If you want to see more about these try these links (remembering that the surf cam IS working they just have night at a different time to us).

Narrowneck (AUS) Artificial Reef
Cables (AUS) Artificial Reef
Mt. Manuganui (NZ) Artificial Reef

Below is a recent press cutting from Narrowneck, to give you some idea how successful the reef could be.



Is This Good for Bournemouth ?

Apart from the obvious advantage of attracting more surfers to the town (and the businesses that go with it) the main considerations are enviromental. Did you know that the entire seven mile stretch of beachfront in Bournemouth is an artificial creation anyway? Beaches are normally created by the erosion of the cliff faces by wave action but as the cliffs are seperated by by a sea wall and promenade, every 13 years the council has to rebuild the beaches with 20,000 tons of fresh sand. So the reef wouldn't be out of context. Friends of the Earth have said there are "unanswered questions" on the effects and that beaches could be starved of sand washing ashore. On the upside the Surf Life Saving Association say that the reef would create a lagoon effect for sheltered bathing. This brings up some endearing images of surf-hungry grommets fighting to get through hoards of lagoon-paddling families and as for car parking.......

[Bunny2uk]

Woooo cant wait , there is surf but u gotta get the right time of year and the right location , summer aint it and sandbanks aint either !

[OzMikeyInLondon]

Hey,

I have written a few emails to the authorities over the years stating that the reef they want to build is a waste of time. I am not pessimistic, but I am 100% certain it’s a waste. Through all the articles and meetings there does not seem to be a strong argument that it will work. The comparisons they have made to say the breaks in Australia are often factually wrong and can't even be compared.

I am from Perth originally, but lived in Bournemouth 1 year and now London 3 years. We built a reef in cables beach in Perth - we used solid granite and not sand bags as suggested by Bournemouth authorities. Sand bags actually have shown to be the worst solution in Australia as they wash away. Only solutions are solid rock or a combination with tires. Certainly not sand bags as being proposed for Bournemouth reef. Anyway the number one criteria for the reef is that it needs lots of swell to already be coming through there, and also it needs already to have a decent size wave. The only reason you build an artificial reef is to improve the shape of the wave. You would have to spend a billion dollars if you actually wanted to really improve the size of the wave...and even then you would still needs heaps of swell...800 000 pounds simply will not be enough. The only place where it should have been built would be in new quay as it gets swell here already...and 10 million pounds would be required to make any difference.

Cables beach in Perth was already along a strip of beach which could get head to double head high waves in winter on clean offshore days. The reef did not change a single thing! In fact we always struggle to find where it is when we go surfing there! I think Perth spend 6 million dollars on it with pure granite rock...800 000 pounds of sand bags is a joke!

I can 100% tell you that this reef is a waste of time and you will see no improvement in the waves. Email me on michael.ceber@gmail.com if you have any questions

mikey

[Alsone]

Take your points OzMikey but they've changed the design and construction method.

Whereas I can't claim to know better than you, things have been changed and the new construction method looks really promising:

1st Pics of the Newly Laid Mount Maunganui Reef Working

At Mount Maunganui in New Zealand, the reef is only 1/2 finished but showing some really nice (if short) waves.

Also, the bag size is huge now as its a single construction of huge pipes instead of indiviual bags and so unlikely to get washed away - I think they said the NZ reef when filled holds 5,000 Cubic Metres of sand!!! - Thats some weight.

Al.

[seasidesue]

re your enquiry about the new surf reef at Bournemouth...yes it is being built next summer (2007) starting in July. See bournemouth council's official web site. Key in surf reef boscombe and that should get you all you need to know. It's actually at Boscombe which is one mile east of Bournemouth, and I live directly opposite the proposed new reef!!! Lucky me!

[lynette]

im so happy will be great as not too far from me.

cant beat newquay though but i hope its built by then

[ILee]

I see that they are still planning to built the reef in Bournemouth, planning on starting in May 2007 and hopefully finishing October 2007 depending on weather.

[OzMikeyInLondon]

I predict 2-3 years to complete! (hopefully) - 6 months way too short anyway...

[OzMikeyInLondon]

Having a read of this:

http://www.bournemouth-surfing.co.uk/community-reef.php

They are going to use "geotextile sandbags" - sand bags wash away!!!!!!

Recently:

"In April 2007, Dr Kerry Black, designer of the reef, flew to England from New Zealand to spend some days undertaking a bathymetric survey of the seabed floor at Boscombe. This took place to ensure that the reef design was updated to the change in the seabed floor as a result of the beach replenishment activity that took place in December 2006/January 2007."

What if the seabed changes again!? Must use solid rock/concrete!! Sandbags will wash away....

Mike

[ILee]

Originally Posted by OzMikeyInLondon

Must use solid rock/concrete!! Sandbags will wash away....

They do attach them to the sea bed they are not just chucked in.

[RoyStewart]

I have been surfing Mount Maunganui since 1968, and along with the vast majority of Mount locals am mourning the loss of our beautiful break at Tay st, which has been destroyed by the mount reef project. the mount reef is a disaster, the natural sandbanks produce waves which are much better in all respects, especially consistency and length of ride. Even in terms of getting tubed the natural sandbanks were way better ( as they are on adjacent banks at clyde st and further down the coast )

ASR have lied in their advertising, they claimed that the beach pre reef was an unsurfable closeout. ... . afraid not Kerry Black, the place cranked.

Artificial reefs are an attempt to change the coastline to fit board fashions, rather than the correct procedure which is to build boards which suit the naturally occuring waves

[OzMikeyInLondon]

They may tie them down, but nothing stopping them rip open eventually....they need to use solid rock or concrete if they want a chance. Anyway as ive previously said, swell simply does not come through there, hence no reef will every bring surf.
(however, being a surfer and living in UK, I hope I am proved wrong!)

Anyone got any update on how construction is going? Have not been to Bournemouth for awhile...

Mike