How to Make an Awesome Surf Wave
bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03670q5
from the BBC. (27 minutes)
Discusses engineering to make more and better surf breaks.
Discusses Boscombe, Bournemouth then to the Basque Country in northern Spain to the Wavegarden, in the foothills of the Cantabrian mountains.
Surfing veterans share their thoughts with marine biologist Helen Scales.
Finally gone according to this SunLive NZ article
sunlive.co.nz/news/86837-time-called-on-artificial-reef.html
In September 2014 it was going and Underwater Solutions were taking it:
nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news
Here is the talk in April 2014 about removing the artificial reef affectionately known as “Mt Reef” .
NZ radio interview:
newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/listen-on-demand/audio/913189242-eddie-grogan–artificial-reef-removal
Dredging today:
dredgingtoday.com/2014/04/17/new-zealand-officials-plan-to-remove-mount-maunganui-reef
NZ Herald:
nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news
See this page (2009) for background information:
estradaphoto.wordpress.com/2009/06/11/the-truth-about-the-mount-reef
I can’t see how one relatively small construction can make a decent surf break when the best breaks have the right shapes underwater in many directions.
Any comment on “local lifeguards complaining“?
On this article no date appears to tell when it was written, most likely 2011, it gives a good review and summary of work on artificial reefs:
coastalmanagement.com.au/artificial-surfing-reefs
It mentions:
Somebody had to do it to make the first mistakes, and somebody had to pay for it.
Jeff Mill’s article “Pipe Dreams”
surfermag.com/features/pipe-dreams-artificial-reef
..looks at the various ASR projects we have discussed on this site.
SURFER was able to contact a former ASR employee who wished to remain anonymous, to further describe the issues that faced the company.
Reading the comments was as useful as reading the article.
Failure to build these reefs should have been compared and contrasted with successes.
Let us know if someone does this..
The final chapter (Aug 2017):
bbc.com/news/uk-england-dorset-40863066
The full story to April 2013
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset
Here is the text as it came to me in 2010 from Google news alert on artificial surfing reefs:
Boscombe reef gets its first surfing competition (From Bournemouth …
I don’t know what ASR have got wrong in the design, but clearly something
is badly wrong. … As for holding a surfing contest on the reef, well, forget it. …
<bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/.._surfing_competition/>
Update – 2011:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-15427994
It seems a lot of lessons are being learnt on this project.
Ben Mondy, an ex-editor of Tracks magazine and contributor to Surfer, Carve and Surf Europe, was one of the first to surf the new reef at Bournemouth.
Film produced by ACM acmwriting.com. Filmed and edited by Johno Verity
..and then there is this quote from Jim Moriarty:
twitter.com/jimmoriarty
Writing on the blog
oceanswavesbeaches.blogspot.com/
Article:
bit.ly/asrschwartz
Quoting Sean Collins, the founder of Surfline, when asked: Do they get any swell there at all?
“Yes, it doesn’t look like that exposed of a location as it is up in the channel and faces southerly. But when big storms begin to track down through the northern Atlantic in Fall there may some pre-frontal SSW swell that could penetrate up into the channel into the Bournemouth area. Also longer periods WSW swells will be able to feel the offshore bathymetry to wrap into the Bournemouth area. Additionally this area looks much cleaner with better wind conditions than the more exposed west coast.”
My (Jim’s) layman’s version of that is… they could see some Fall waves. So. Let’s not be so quick to label this reef a failure until they’ve actually seen a Fall. We won’t have to wait long as… it’s Fall now.
A link to a map with the location of the reef:
bit.ly/lyChw
See also:
thesurfreef.co.uk
Comment by reeferskeptics
surfers are not impressed with the results seen vs. the anticipated results
on this site:
thebeachsideresident.com/2008/09/john-hearin/#respond
For the weather in the Bournemouth area:
magicseaweed.com/Bournemouth-Boscombe-Surf-Report/12
and/or search for “Bournemouth” (the region) or “Boscombe” (the place) using
bit.ly/ssurfings
See:
thesurfreef.co.uk
and the “before” photo:
yosurfer.com/photos/photo/304
Multi Purpose Reefs
Offshore Coastal Protection using Multi-Purpose Reefs at Barcelona
Boscombe Surfing Reef
Mount Maunganui Reef
Narrowneck Reef, Gold Coast
Feasibility and Design Study for a Multi-Purpose Reef in Long Branch, New Jersey
Detailed Design of an Offshore Submerged Reef for Erosion Control at Oil Piers, California
Opunake Surfing Reef
Multipurpose Reefs for Shore Protection at Orewa
Restoration of St Francis Bay Beach, South Africa
among others.
See also:
Predicting Surfing Reef Dynamics 235 KB PDF
A well-intentioned attempt in 1972 to create what was touted as the world’s largest artificial reef made of tires has become an ecological disaster. The idea was simple: Create new marine habitat and alternate dive sites to relieve pressure on natural reefs, while disposing of tires that were clogging landfills. Decades later it’s clear the plan failed miserably.
SurfersVillage.com 20th February 2007
See also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_reefs
makesurf 