[Sad?Old Hippie]

Time will tell my friend, yeah, tourists will pay n if t powers that b get a sniff of money then they will charge 4 it

Wont work tho, as said, surfin is freedom, we'll just paddle around any obsticles, mayb we cud form a hit squad n dismantle t fences at nite

WONT PAY 2 SURF, no way no how no deal

[Alsone]

Perhaps one of the site's administrators could write to Newquay Town Council / the local paper with details of the results of the poll.

Might help get things moving.

Alsone.

[jill dumenil]

The Artificial Reef at Narrowneck here on the Gold Coast in Australia does not work,in fact recently when they proposed another one for Palm Beach Thousands of Surfers got together and rallied against it ,so now our Council have put it on hold.The same company that built the reef at Narrowneck are the ones that are involved with the proposed reef at Towan Beach Newquay.
It has been a total waste of money here !!!!!!!!!!

[Sad?Old Hippie]

So there wos Punky Wayne sat in t Rowin Club in t harbour chattin wiv t fisherman t utha day n wot did he say 2 1 of em..."hear they've got t money 2 build t reef then"...blimey...WWIII ensued..."bl**dy scruffy surfa's...dont wont em...block t shippin lanes...fill t harbour with salt" wos sum of t cleener remarks...dont think t fishin fraternity r 4 it reely...me...i say

BUILD T BL**DY THING N BUILD IT NOW

[Down the line]

After reading an article not so long back in Surfers path mag on man made surf it has altered my mind on artificial reefs.Do you know that most of americas top surf spots were in fact accidential man made breaks.Piers,harbour walls etc have caused some outstanding surf all over the world,with no intention of actually doing this.They are accidents,and attempts have been made to recreate these accidents with failure.The fact is there is to much oceanography involved in what creates the perfect surf.Swell directions,wind directions etc.Yes an artificial reef could work really well for newquay,on the other hand it could ruin the surf we already get there.Yes the waves at newquay bay do have a tendency to close out,whos to say a reef will change this.Also,crowds,oh my god,can you imagine if theres good surf,that could top fistral,watergate etc,a 2 minute walk away from everyones hotels.Everyone will just bundle down to that one spot,and the locals and the regular visitors of newquay won't be able to benefit from it.

[Woody_waverider]

If it is'nt broke dont fix it. messing with the natural harmony of the ocean is bad news, so ok we get a reef at Newquay, and in the short term is sounds great, but at what prise, theres no really way of predicting what the knock on effect will be with such a dimamic medium as the sea. A man made reef could have a far reaching impact on the local and larger scale enviroment, other breaks in the area. and though these may be smaller and less consistant they are also more dieverse. Natural things have an equilibrum was should have already learnt that you don't mess with these things even if it seems like a good idea at the time. Also the wave are crowded enough as it is, not that i'm aganst there being more surfers in the world, on the contary i think the world would be a better place for it, I'm just saying 1 o'clock on as summers day when the surfs up can it can get pritty rammed.
And lets not forget that Newquay already has the criber if your good enough or stupid enough to take it on.
though our search for consistancy we loss what is at the heart of surfing, If an articial reef is needed and can't be avaided in the Uk, why not build it in an eara with no wave an increase the number of breaks not spoil the existing one.

Woody

[Alsone]

You say that if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Trouble is it is broke.

The waves at the reef site are currently poor quality rating only about 3 on the ASR scale (from memory please correct me if you have more accurate figures from ASR documentation) whereas the reef is predicted to produce waves with a quality rating of 7 or 8.

Yes a reef can produce other effects on the environment, but we don't see this level of discussion each time an artificial rock breakwater or pipleline is constructed and these structures often act as reef as the previous writer pointed out.

I believe carry out the detailed studies, if it's favourable go ahead and construct it.

If there are large problems that cannot be overcome then the reef can always be removed.

The only risk here is financial as the sea would soon revert to its previous tidal patterns with no reef in place. There would obviously be a cost in removing the reef but no project in life is risk free and the potential gains to be had from a successful reef make the risk well worth while. The question of financial risk is one for the council.

As for the crowds, well they are unavoidable in summer but given the likely quality and size of the wave I don't think you'll see too many beginners on there. Most beginners go to surf schools and no surf instructor in his right mind is going to take beginners onto a powerful barralling wave that breaks boards and bones.

Add warning signs on the beach as to the dangers / power of the waves over the reef and I don't think you'll have many problems.

There may be the odd pr

Alsone.

[pedro]

As far as the artificial reef goes what experienced surfer would not want a 200 yard barrelling wave in place of the slop we have to contend with 300 days a year! Whether it would work or not is another matter,just spent 18 month in australia and the gold coast reef is the worst wave on the coast,(the only dribbly wave on the goldy! good for learners though!) As far as all the negative posts concerning locals go ,this whole subject is giving me a f*&>"@?g headache it would appear that those most concerned with the subject are those that wish to be locals but really are not .Those of us that do live and work in the area are too busy going about our business to give a monkeys! GET A LIFE YOU LOT!
As far as 'angry locals' at the breaks go it would appear to me that the prevaling tourist attitude of "if we werent here you wouldnt have an income" doesnt help but how about some respect for those that are here 365 days and have dedicated their lives to surfing, all this whinning is perpetuating the problem.Tying this into the proposed reef, if the reef was to turn out as planned it probably would be primarily for dedicated local surfers and I say this not to antagonise, it is practical.Think of the Grand prix, they race heats and the fastest driver gets pole position so the slow coaches dont get in his way, imagine rubens barrichelo's face if four slow cars positioned themselves infront of him claiming to have as much right of way. Surfings not so dissimiliar and the better surfers get the better waves, quit whinning about it and concentrate on getting better so you have a shot.The ocean is for everyone and people that are aware of others in the water and have respect will avoid trouble,people here are generally friendly and welcoming but if you act like a knob you will get abuse, work it out and the lineup will be a better place for regulars and visitors alike.

[bunty boy]

im all in favor off helpin raise the surf conditions but some of these things muck up the whole tidal system

[indy surf bum]

just found this and cant be bothered to read it all really.

but how does a 'artificial reef' work ? and made and stuff ? im confused lol

[Alsone]

Easiest place to point you to is here:

http://www.mountreef.co.nz/faqs.asp

Details of Mount Maunganui reef construction.

Also, a PDF from the manufacturers on the new construction method used at MM (more accurate than the previous method):

http://www.asrltd.co.nz/downloads/Re...0precision.pdf

Al.