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Boscombe surf reef needs a tweak, says expert (From Bournemouth Echo)
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Boscombe surf reef needs a tweak, says expert
9:00am Saturday 16th January 2010
THE man who pioneered Bournemouth’s surf reef is urging councillors to tweak its design, claiming it is currently unusable by the vast majority of surfers.
David Weight, who first proposed the reef back in 1993, believes a few modifications could dramatically improve the reef’s performance.
He will attend a full council meeting on Tuesday to appeal to councillors to use the money they have withheld from ASR to make the alterations.
Mr Weight, a leading member of the Wessex Surf Club, worked closely with ASR and the council to develop the reef but has no commercial interest in the project. His involvement is such that members of the surfing community refer to the Boscombe reef as Weight’s Reef.
He will tell councillors on Tuesday that the reef is neither an outstanding success nor a white elephant, but something in between.
“The positives are that it appears to be providing good coast protection and it’s good on the habitat side, there’s a lot of growth on it,” he said.
“But on the surfing side of things, it was smoother and more ride-able when I first surfed it in July. There’s been some uneven settlement, the reef is kind of lumpy.”
He said there was no doubt that boogie boarders were loving the reef but said it was “near impossible” for stand-up surfers to surf it.
“On certain days, a few people can get the odd ride but it’s simply too quick. It’s quite shallow to the point where a couple of people have lost the fins on their boards.
“It’s pretty good for some – a minority – and not much good for the majority but not far off being pretty good.”
He added it should not prove too difficult or expensive to remove the lumps and provide a smoother platform for breaking waves.
“I don’t think it would take a lot to make a big difference,” he said. “Having had four metre high waves and winds of force 10 and 11 recently, the reef has had all the bedding in it needs. It’s now time to think about what we’re going to do about it.”
A spokesman for Bournemouth Tourism said they did not wish to comment until after Tuesday’s council meeting.
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Your Say YourEcho
Syd Poumen, Poole says...
10:26am Sat 16 Jan 10
apritchard, Castledean says...
10:26am Sat 16 Jan 10
nobull, bournemouth says...
10:38am Sat 16 Jan 10
It needs mooooving
where there are some waves of the right type! xx
Syd Poumen, Poole says...
10:46am Sat 16 Jan 10
nobull wrote:Try Haiti, and move IMAX there too!
It sure does. It needs mooooving where there are some waves of the right type! xx
Leonard Lodger, Bournemouth says...
10:49am Sat 16 Jan 10
twobigdogs, poole says...
11:57am Sat 16 Jan 10
Gastines, St.Malo says...
12:40pm Sat 16 Jan 10
Aviewoneverything, Bournemouth says...
12:58pm Sat 16 Jan 10
Greatstuff, Bournemouth says...
1:01pm Sat 16 Jan 10
BmthNewshound, Bournemouth says...
1:03pm Sat 16 Jan 10
The social problems in Boscombe will not be solved by a few fancy beach huts and a surf reef. The £m's wasted on this project could have been spent helping the real people of Boscombe get out of poverty and get their self respect back.
Bob49, Bournemouth says...
1:12pm Sat 16 Jan 10
Laurie H Marsh, brisbane says...
1:12pm Sat 16 Jan 10
The point is being missed!
When global warming melts the ice-cap the water levels will rise, the Isle of Wight will sink into the ocean and the surf reef will send fantastic surf all the way to Shaftsbury.
Be patient, everthing comes to he who waits!
SFRA, Bournemouth says...
1:18pm Sat 16 Jan 10
mta, poole says...
2:28pm Sat 16 Jan 10
Fightingback, christchurch says...
2:33pm Sat 16 Jan 10
All that money spend and surfers cant surf standing up! What an embarrassing farce!
If it doesnt work then there should be a full refund. Doesnt anyone in the council know about contracts.
When I was in business they were all handing out their greedy paws for backhanders. I expect something dodgy's happened here.
rook, wimborne says...
3:03pm Sat 16 Jan 10
Laurie H Marsh wrote:LOL - totally radical left-hand break down Gold's hill, dude.
No, No, No!
The point is being missed!
When global warming melts the ice-cap the water levels will rise, the Isle of Wight will sink into the ocean and the surf reef will send fantastic surf all the way to Shaftsbury.
Be patient, everthing comes to he who waits!
Glashen, Christchurch says...
3:09pm Sat 16 Jan 10
The point is this is an innovative and frankly brave scheme and I still believe it has and will further benefit Boscombe. It has already put Boscombe on the map even if the final verdict is still in the balance.
Leonard Lodger, Bournemouth says...
3:12pm Sat 16 Jan 10
1:03pm Sat 16 Jan 10
Enough money has been wasted on Boscombe. This development has nothing to do with regeneration it's all about the egos of Council leaders.
The social problems in Boscombe will not be solved by a few fancy beach huts and a surf reef. The £m's wasted on this project could have been spent helping the real people of Boscombe get out of poverty and get their self respect back.
What a dumb statement, the people of Boscombe have plenty of self respect, just too many rehab houses for out of towners. The pier regeneration was and is a plus, the reef is another issue. Boscombe has its problems it doesnt need patronising by the likes of clowns like you.
No regular surfers in the area were asked for input, only self elected representatives with vested interests who have hyped the whole thing from start to finish. Its laughable we have two surf schools, a sea front cafe with reef views and even a surf shop. All we need now is groundswell........ dream on.
SFRA, Bournemouth says...
3:21pm Sat 16 Jan 10
Security Word...over-debt
tt52, bournemouth says...
3:26pm Sat 16 Jan 10
boozie, wimborne says...
6:13pm Sat 16 Jan 10
ros meedendorp, Bourneouth says...
7:04pm Sat 16 Jan 10
This whole reef and pier thing has been one mess after the other .I cant believe how much was spent on thoes horrible slabs of stone down at the pier surely that was a mistake if ever there was one .Lets hope this all gets reconised and something useful comes out from it in the end.
R1200RT, Wimborne says...
7:06pm Sat 16 Jan 10
Chris fish, says...
7:22pm Sat 16 Jan 10
fedupwithjobsworths, Moordown says...
7:44pm Sat 16 Jan 10
Skono, Boscombe Pier says...
8:13pm Sat 16 Jan 10
Emulated, Bournemouth says...
9:58pm Sat 16 Jan 10
BmthNewshound wrote:The £m's wasted on this project could have been spent helping the real people of Boscombe move out of the place and leave Boscombe to the riff raff.
Enough money has been wasted on Boscombe. This development has nothing to do with regeneration it's all about the egos of Council leaders. The social problems in Boscombe will not be solved by a few fancy beach huts and a surf reef. The £m's wasted on this project could have been spent helping the real people of Boscombe get out of poverty and get their self respect back.
Gary Sherborne, Boscombe says...
10:13pm Sat 16 Jan 10
Julian1965, somerset says...
10:23pm Sat 16 Jan 10
Puj, Bournemouth says...
1:47am Sun 17 Jan 10
This whole surf project has cost a few million I guess.
Pity that we have a flying Vulcan in need of funding that can bring happiness to millions - and not a minority of people happy to ride an ironing board all day long. Beggars belief.
Mediclogan5, Bournemouth says...
6:29am Sun 17 Jan 10
!!!....Please someone in the council come clean and declare the whole Boscombe Spa development for what it truly is.... a tax payers Money Pit for the minority.
time nor Tide, bournemouth says...
7:42am Sun 17 Jan 10
time nor Tide, bournemouth says...
7:58am Sun 17 Jan 10
greatwhite, Verwood says...
9:10am Sun 17 Jan 10
alumchineboy2 wrote:They said it was going to double the amount of surfing days ! yeah wright. With the 150k left for a tweak forget the reef stick some lights on the end of bmth and Boss pier that will enable us to surf after work in winter therefore double our surf time easy . Should havedone this in the first place save a lot of money .
Another disaster. What a waste of monry.
Upkeep, By the river says...
9:59am Sun 17 Jan 10
The people at the council who make the decisions on these weight elephants really need to be called to account.
Chriswood, Westbourne says...
10:00am Sun 17 Jan 10
Lord Spring, says...
12:21pm Sun 17 Jan 10
Emulated wrote:No you move out the riff raff and leave Boscombe to the real people , why should we move. Maybe a lot of people are jealous of our location , just far away enough away from that dump called Bournemouth and the latin quarter called Charminster, and far removed from the des residence of West Howe, Not forgetting Sandbanks which a resident who has a conviction for pinching milk off of the doorstep.
BmthNewshound wrote: Enough money has been wasted on Boscombe. This development has nothing to do with regeneration it's all about the egos of Council leaders. The social problems in Boscombe will not be solved by a few fancy beach huts and a surf reef. The £m's wasted on this project could have been spent helping the real people of Boscombe get out of poverty and get their self respect back.The £m's wasted on this project could have been spent helping the real people of Boscombe move out of the place and leave Boscombe to the riff raff.
SFRA, Bournemouth says...
12:47pm Sun 17 Jan 10
John Poolé, says...
2:16pm Sun 17 Jan 10
David Weight, Poole says...
5:01pm Sun 17 Jan 10
Other than obvious connections like shops and surf schools, I am not aware of any club member with a financial interest in this.
Yes, thanks "Greatwhite" for mentioning lights on the pier. I wrote to the council several years ago to pursue this. I'd love to see lights power by a piston fixed to the pier, powered by the waves.
I suggest that readers don't read comments by people who aren't prepared to give their real names. They are nearly always malicious rubbish, hence the need for anononimity!
David Weight. Chairman Wessex Surf Club.
Skono, Boscombe Pier says...
5:15pm Sun 17 Jan 10
An interesting point is that Sky News were down there today interviewing people and once again 99% of surfers and SUP's stuck to either side of the pier and only a few body-boarders paddled out to the reef, paddled around it a bit and then paddled back to the pier.
The answer is simple, with hold payments and issue a High Court Writ against ASR and its Directors. Then sack all the Councillors who were involved and hand the case to the Police to investigate as back handers are a criminal matter.
Then call the Health and Safety Executive and have it removed under the insurance policy that the DEFRA must have had in place.
In the coming week I foresee lots of media interest once again in particular after the cowardly council meeting on Tuesday, shame they wont allow Sally Taylor from The BBC in there! Strange that.
On the up side, the Pier was packed today with more walkers and people than I have almost ever seen.
£3,660,000.00 is a lot of money and Bournemouth Council Tax paid for it
wonderway, boscombe says...
5:29pm Sun 17 Jan 10
tt52, bournemouth says...
6:20pm Sun 17 Jan 10
Bob49, Bournemouth says...
7:43pm Sun 17 Jan 10
ps and ever thankful gratitude to those who's only complaint about this 'smash and grab' of our previously public owned recource occupy themselves only with the trivial matter of the broken glass on the floor, rather than what has been had away by councillors and developers.
gerbil112, Poole says...
8:06pm Sun 17 Jan 10
Skono wrote:Or woman... http://www.bournemou
I have known Dave for years and he is man worth while listening to, BUT 'A tweak???' For the love of God, 'A tweak? All it is good for is body boarders. When are people going to wake up and realise the RNLI now patrol that section of beach 365 days a year for a reason.....IT IS BECAUSE THAT REEF WILL KILL SOMEONE. Yes, that is right, it is dangerous. If people want it 'tweaked' get the Health & Safety Executive and DEFRA down here and it will be closed within 12 hours. It really saddens me to say that one day the Echo headline will read 'Man Drowns On Reef'
thecho.co.uk/news/44
99852.Police_despera
te_to_identify_surfe
r_rescued_from_the_s
ea_off_Boscombe/
Carl Baron, Christchurch says...
9:40pm Sun 17 Jan 10
Why whenever it’s ‘Taxpayers Money’ are there no if any safe guards on costs spiraling beyond the original estimate?
The manner in which this country governs the expenditure of the ‘Taxpayers Money’ is wholly and utterly unacceptable and bordering on what may well be considered as criminally incompetent.
Signed Carl Barron Chairman of agpcuk
http://carl-agpcuk.l
ivejournal.com/
http://disqus.com/Ca
rl_Barron/
SFRA, Bournemouth says...
12:12am Mon 18 Jan 10
David Weight wrote:Mr. Weight, you indicate through the Daily Echo that the Surf Reef needs a tweak. For a Chairman of a Surf Club, I find it ironic that through the whole time this story has been published within this paper, this is the first time you have offered any word on this matter. Because the majority find this somewhat late in coming forward, you have the audacity to use this column to get at those who choose to use pseudonyms or not use real names. If you want my name, just ask for it, ask to my face, dont hide behind the same column and accuse anyone of malicious rubbish, when you have been part and parcel of this stupid useless project.
I have never had a financial interest, although a company I worked for some years ago hoped to get some kind of role but nothing came of it.
Other than obvious connections like shops and surf schools, I am not aware of any club member with a financial interest in this.
Yes, thanks "Greatwhite" for mentioning lights on the pier. I wrote to the council several years ago to pursue this. I'd love to see lights power by a piston fixed to the pier, powered by the waves.
I suggest that readers don't read comments by people who aren't prepared to give their real names. They are nearly always malicious rubbish, hence the need for anononimity!
David Weight. Chairman Wessex Surf Club.
Leonard Lodger, Bournemouth says...
1:06am Mon 18 Jan 10
Secondly.... experts???? As the reef is the first project of its kind in the uk, where did the experts get their experience?
Thirdly... Did the wessex Surf Club have a referendum and agree to any formal association with the reef project or is Dave just garnishing the lilly by adding his title.
Regards Mr Leonard Lodger.
Chairman of the Boscombe Cross-Dressing Surfers Against Slingbacks Association.
time nor Tide, bournemouth says...
10:45am Mon 18 Jan 10
have a last chance but you dont get anything unless it works. do you regret getting besotted by these people from downunder yet?
reefwatching, says...
4:33pm Mon 18 Jan 10
time nor Tide, bournemouth says...
1:17pm Thu 21 Jan 10
http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=I32YYoH2I
g0
its not too much to expect that should not change? Leonard and bob49 , you are not suggesting that this wavetank was just a guise and trick to gain peoples confidence are you? I guess it may not be possible to have the real thing behave this way consistantly to be a relevent amenity? If that is the case then something may be amiss in the state of denmark? Reefwatcher, i have spoken to some accredited accomplished professionals in your field and they imply a confirmation in what you say. They were too ethical to actually say it out loud but the smirks and lack of answers that could not be hidden said it all. When someone continually bangs on about how good they are then you should know that there is something really wrong going on? The amateur hype was just that and so easy to recognise by any astute person let alone a governace process?
time nor Tide, bournemouth says...
10:11pm Thu 21 Jan 10
ncern.org.uk/index.p
hp?page=diversion-of
-tsunami-funds
Here you can find the reason for taking tsunami funds has flip-flopped from surfing back to shoreline protection ( as the shoreline isnt in danger at this beach but who cares when you can double the cost of the reef)
help the poor folk in that area by writing the minister noted by the british group in the link. If you support the boscombe reef you can tell the Indian government all about its wonderfull sucess and plethura of benefits arising from the constructed cornacopia of goodness for peoples welfare. How the 5000 fishermen that got arrested protesting just didnt understand what a reef believer (investor) does. Help the government there decide to press on with the double the size -double the cost artificial surfing/erosion control (flipflops depending on the audience) reef using donated tsunami relief funding. reef tweeking might also be explained to them as a way of increasing the benefits many fold?
time nor Tide, bournemouth says...
7:48am Sat 30 Jan 10
Both the document quoted from below and wave tank is integral with the contract to provide waves breaking higher and longer than before. (also on double the occasions?) ... whoops if it sounds too good to be true?
"Reef 21 causes a height
reinforcement of 1.3-2.0
times (relative to the height
in front of the reef), which
is a significant height
improvement for the small
wave climate at Boscombe.
Importantly, the increased
height occurs down the full
length of the reef as there
are no significant wave
shadows."
1.So does the reef have 1.3 to 2.0 times the wave height of the waves at the piers?
2.Does this erected size wave occur down the full length of the reef as it does in the wave tank and promised by the five authors?
3.Does the reef provide useful surfing waves on twice as many occasions as happened before the reef was in place?
I could go into the erosion of sand leaving only pebbles on the beach as well but thats enough for now?
I dont think a expert is needed to answer these questions and who will peer review their findings - the IPCC?
The answers to these questions and more will be forthcomming in the next thrilling episode of the reefergate expose chronicles.
Personally I think its a outstanding success matching all its designer/builders promises .. in abundance and in my dreams?
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alumchineboy2, alumchine says...
9:28am Sat 16 Jan 10