7:00pm Monday 7th September 2009
By Stephen Bailey
SURFERS have been trying out the Boscombe Reef.
And first impressions are that it is good – with the potential to be great.
The reef is not officially open but small groups of people have been surfing it anyway during the windy weather.
Simon Rixon, 24, from Winton, said as he waded back out of the water: “It’s for quite advanced surfers.
“It’s a steep, sucky, powerful wave – it’s a bit more difficult and dangerous out there than it is by Boscombe Pier.
“But I had a great time. I really like it.
“A lot of waves in Bournemouth lack power so you are struggling to get on or falling off. But out there it’s just got a lot more power.
“You can stand up on the reef – the water is only knee deep above it.
“It’s quite funny because when you go under the water you can hear the metalwork on the reef clanking.”
Council staff were due to meet contractors to see if the reef could be declared safe to open.
The reef is designed to work best with the more stable waves that are caused by air fronts rolling in from the sea.
Those waves should hit Bournemouth later in September and the surfing season will begin in earnest.
Dr Tony Butt, a surf scientist, has said the swells in Bournemouth are not reliable enough to make the reef work regularly.
However, the early bird surfers were optimistic.
Pete Herniman, 22, an optician from Salisbury, drove down for the day just to try out the reef.
He said as he returned to shore: “I think it’s going to work really well. It’s not producing a wave as good as on the beach at the moment.
“But it will be more powerful when the sandbar develops. It will be amazing then, but it’s not bad at the moment.
“Everyone has been talking about it.
“You will see surfers from all over the place coming here.”
The artificially created reef, only the fourth in the world, is the size of a football pitch and is 220 metres from the shore.
Richard Pietruszka, 24, from Winton, who surfed the reef, said: “They could have built it a lot closer. But I think it could be really good.
“If it breaks like this it would keep the crowds away. A lot of people want mild long-boarding waves.”
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk