UNITED KINGDOM/FILE: Europe's first artificial reef promises waves for English coast

Record ID: 402093

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM/FILE: Europe's first artificial reef promises waves for English coast
  • Date: 8th September 2008
  • Summary: (L!1) BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BARGE CARRYING ARTIFICIAL REEF ASR LIMITED REEF CONSTRUCTION MANAGER, DAVID NEILSON BEING TAKEN BY SPEED BOAT TO THE BARGE BARGE WITH REEF MEN STARTING TO PLACE REEF IN THE WATER CLOSE OF SANDBAGS BARGE WITH REEF BEING LOWERED INTO WATER NEILSON STANDING NEAR BAGS DIRECTING THE MEN DIVER JUMPING INTO
  • Embargoed: 23rd September 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Environment / Natural World,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVABU5D0HSK0NMXH7SRMORBDWSEO
  • Story Text: Eager surfers wait for waves to roll in as work begins on Europe's first artificial reef off the southern coast of England.
    Work has recently started on building Europe's first artificial reef, which promises to deliver perfect rolling waves off the southern coast of England.
    The 2.6 million pound reef was placed 70 metres (230ft) off the shore of Boscombe Beach in Bournemouth after a long wait by surfing enthusiasts. The project has been delayed several times by bad weather but a break in the strong winds and rain allowed the complex engineering process to begin.
    The first section of the base, which consists of matting with webbing lattice and empty sandbags attached, was lowered onto the sea bed.
    During the six hour process, divers attached the shore end to 10 tonne anchors on the seabed to allow the rest of the reef to be unfolded from the barge and anchored in place.
    The bags were then filled with sand to form part of the bottom layer which will level the sea bed.
    The rest of the reef, which is roughly the size of a football pitch, will then be installed. Once ready it should mimic the effects of a natural reef pushing swell upwards and doubling the size of the waves.
    Construction manager David Neilson who heads the team of divers, boat crew and pump operators from his native New Zealand said that just like the reef laid down in New Zealand, the Bournemouth reef will not only deliver nice waves but also provide a new environment for sea life.
    "From the land you won't see very much at all. Unless there is some surf and then you'll see a nice wave breaking in one place out here where there wasn't a wave before. If you come out on flat days like this, you'll be able to come out and snorkel around on the reef. At low tide the bags are only about half a metre under the sea so sort of up to your knees. So you can come out and have a peer down the side of them and you'll see all sorts of marine life out there," Neilson said.
    The reef has been 10 years in the making but it's only part of a 9 million pound reconstruction project for Boscombe's seafront, which will include new restaurants and luxury beach apartments.
    Bournemouth Councillor Beverly Dunlop said she was delighted to finally see the reef being lowered.
    "It's a great leisure facility. It's a first in the northern hemisphere. It's quite ground breaking really. And we have seen a lot of economic benefit already. We've got new businesses in, they are thriving. I mean Boscombe is getting really, really busy," said Dunlop.
    Bournemouth enjoys of a healthy population of surfers but the lack of swell forces many to travel west to Devon and Cornwall to practise the sport.
    Surfer Andy Joyce, who also manages Bournemouth Surf School said surfing has been booming in the last 5 years, particularly after large surfing brands took the sport mainstream.
    Joyce also said he has seen a steady increase in demand for lessons in the past four years and he is looking forward to having a nice break close to home.
    "Personally it means we've got somewhere decent to surf like it should be quite nice surf break quite close to where I live, 10 minutes away.
    And then also as a business, cause it creates public attention for the local area, people are going to go 'Oh that looks good, I'm going to go down and learn to surf'. So we should see on the business side, we should see an increase in numbers as well," said Joyce.
    Enthusiasm for the reef was also shared by holiday makers on Boscombe Beach.
    "I think it would be very good because it would get more people down here and it would just make better waves for people who would like to do more surfing and body boarding," said one boy after dipping in the sea.
    This will be only the fourth artificial surf reef in the world. One is in Perth, Australia, and there are two in California in the U.S.
    Weather permitting, construction workers are aiming to finish the reef by December 31, 2008 at the latest, hoping to bring the long wait for the perfect wave to an end.
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