[Alsone]

The first half is 70% full - despite the weather!

After 9 years in the making and generous support from all our sponsors, the first half of the Mount Reef in association with More FM, the left-hander, finally went in the water on the 4th November 2005. It was a momentous occasion for everyone involved in this community project over the years and its deployment from the barge onto the seabed went with out a hitch.

Unfortunately since then we've not had a lot of luck with the weather. The offshore westerly winds and lack of swell traditionally found during November and December (needed to operate the pumping machinery at sea) didn't materialise and were instead replaced with on shore easterly winds and a consistent swell. This along with some equipment breakages in difficult conditions at sea have severely limited the number of days we've been able to work on the Mount Reef, resulting in the first half of the reef still being only 70% full of sand despite construction being 'on the go' for the last 4 months.

Now that we are in the traditional summer wave season, January to April, trying to finish off the first half is proving to be very difficult as expected. We are however still hanging out for two flat days before the end of February to get back out and complete the left-hander.

We expect to put in the second half, the right-hander, early May 2006 after the summer wave season is over and hopefully have the whole reef completed by the end of June 2006.


Is it working yet?

Definitely YES! Because one half of the reef is only partially filled however, the wave that is being produced is quite short - about 10 to 15 metres, but it is still producing some quick heavy barrels, perfect for body boarding and for experienced surfers. Check out photos of the Mount Reef in action in our galleries pages.

We are extremely pleased with the results so far given that it's not even close to being completed and will not work properly until both halves are in place and full of sand to their design levels. The critical section where both halves join together, the 'focus', which enables the wave to gradually build and shape before eventually peaking and pitching over into the left and right barrels, will not be created till both halves have been completed.

As the big bags of the left-hander are currently fuller at the beach end, sticking up about 1.5 metres higher that the seaward end, the wave is missing out the lower partially filled sections of the big bags and suddenly welling up and pitching on the last quarter of the bags. This is what is producing the current short sharp fast ride.

An added bonus of the reef so far has been the formation of amazing banks on the inside resulting in much cleaner pealing waves off the beach whenever there's any swell around. A recent bathymetric survey of the seabed surrounding the Mount Reef has shown that the sand level has increased by about 50 to 75 centimetres between the reef and the beach - proof that offshore reefs help to dissipate wave energy and allow sand to build up in their lee!


Have we got enough money?

We had hoped to complete the whole reef within 3 weeks well before Xmas 2005 and within budget, however the weather made this impossible increasing our equipment rental costs from 4 weeks to over 4 months! The protracted construction period has eaten into our budget and we are currently short of funds to put in the second half.

We've raised $1.2M to date, primarily due to the support of the following organizations for which we are extremely grateful -

Tauranga City Council, Tauranga Energy Consumer Trust, Green Thistle Sporting Trust, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Bay Of Plenty Polytechnic, Pub Charities, Bay Of Plenty Community Trust, Scottwood Trust, Century Foundation, Bay Foundation, Ancorloc New Zealand Ltd, MacKay Strathnaver Trust, Perry Foundation, Arbor Care Ltd, Caversham Foundation, NZ Community Trust, Lion Foundation, Tauranga Round Table, Mainzeal Ltd, Beca Carter Hollings and Ferner Ltd, Huka Pak Ltd, Devonport Hotel Ltd, Mainfreight Ltd, HireQuip Ltd, Tasman Orient Ltd, and everyone who has bought a Mount Reef T-shirt!

In addition More Fm Tauranga have come on board as the Mount Reef's media partner and provided us with a $500,000 radio advertising package over 5 years to be used to promote future events and the Mount Reef. We thank them for their generous support.

However we still need a further $250K in the next three months before we can restart construction early May and hopefully finish by the end of June 2006. We are once again relying on your help over the next three months to plug the funding gap and get the Mount Reef in association with More FM, New Zealand’s first artificial reef, completed and making beautiful waves..


How do I donate or get involved in fundraising?

That's easy!

1. Go into any of the participating surfing retailers in the area and pop your dollars in the donation box or even better buy a Mount Reef t-shirt for only $39.95 and be proud in the knowledge that you built the reef!

2. Download our Donation Automatic Payment Form and if it makes it easier for you, just donate a bit at a time over the next few months. We'll send you an official receipt so you can claim 30% of your donation back from the IRD. Download the Inland Revenue claim form for personal tax rebate (IR 526) here or phone the IRD INFOexpress on 0800 257 773. (You should receive a cheque back from the IRD in about 6 weeks time).

3. Write out a cheque made payable to 'The Mount Reef Trust' and mail it to PO Box 5377, Mount Maunganui.

[Alsone]

Surfing Pics - Remember only 1 side of reef is in and then its only 70% complete

[Alsone]

Marine Life - Relatively Sparse as So New - But Definately Happening!











All pics and quoted text belong to the Mountreef trust.

Al.

[mojo]

that last pic is stunning. simply beautiful

[dude]

Awesome thanks for keeping us updated on this

[starfish]

i'm liking the way that bodyboarder is carving up that wave nicely
cheers for the update Al - much appreciated

[Alsone]

Well hopefully the folks in Newquay who are against the reef will come to their senses when we see what happens here.

Can't go over the top yet but its certainly looking very optomistic from both surfing and environmental perspectives.

Al.