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Surfers' wave of approval for Boscombe Reef (From Bournemouth Echo)
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Surfers' wave of approval for Boscombe Reef
7:00pm Monday 7th September 2009
More stories about: Boscombe Surf Reef
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.”
More Surf Reef stories
- Bournemouth Council says it has no information to give us about the reef report
- Surf reef WILL work, says firm who built it
- Special meeting may reveal Boscombe surf reef secrets
- What's the big secret with Boscombe’s surf reef report?
- Boscombe surf reef advice won't be published yet, says council
- No surfboards allowed on trains - it's an outrage says town's MP
- Boscombe reef gets its first surfing competition
- Boscombe surf reef report due in February
- Boscombe surf reef designed 'for fun, not coast protection'
- Boscombe surf reef and Spa Village project up for award
Your Say YourEcho
ferret38, bournemouth says...
11:11pm Mon 7 Sep 09
http://www.independe
nt.co.uk/news/uk/thi
s-britain/new-surfer
s-reef-fails-to-make
-waves-1782541.html
Or vist bournemouthsurfers.c
om
gerbil112, Poole says...
8:34am Tue 8 Sep 09
EdBmth, Bournemouth says...
8:46am Tue 8 Sep 09
So why is it already signposted on the Wessex Way ?
From what I have heard from people who have surfed on it the feedback has been positive so I am taking the article in The Independent with a pinch of salt.
magicmonkey, Bournemouth says...
9:02am Tue 8 Sep 09
bbsmith, Dorset says...
9:13am Tue 8 Sep 09
rook, wimborne says...
9:14am Tue 8 Sep 09
Paul supporter, Wimborne says...
9:31am Tue 8 Sep 09
mt_sthcoast, says...
1:46pm Tue 8 Sep 09
[Chris], WWW says...
4:40pm Tue 8 Sep 09
As been said, the reef itself does not make waves, and the what wind and seas there has been could have made waves, but the direction of the same has probably reduced that.
Nothing was happening yesterday.
charley farley west parley, bournemouth says...
4:59pm Tue 8 Sep 09
upyourpipe, Bearcross says...
6:23pm Tue 8 Sep 09
Maureen Arthur, Hamlet of Poole says...
6:51pm Tue 8 Sep 09
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!! now go catch a 2ft wave! xx
wartzspurs, London/Bournemouth says...
8:58pm Tue 8 Sep 09
[Chris], WWW says...
11:44pm Tue 8 Sep 09
wartzspurs wrote:Read the whole story, not just todays bits and you will see why those who still live in Bournemouth do moan about the wasting of our money. Your negative. Bournemouth Council have not got a clue, that is why no one gets behind them.
why are some people so negative on this website. Complain about everything. Its good they are trying something new, instead of moaning all the time, get behind these projects and promote the town. Bournemouth will only be better with the support of the residents.
Maureen Arthur, Hamlet of Poole says...
9:00am Wed 9 Sep 09
wartzspurs wrote:its due to the whipping up of negative feeling regarding local stories such as the reef - the echo loves it!
why are some people so negative on this website. Complain about everything. Its good they are trying something new, instead of moaning all the time, get behind these projects and promote the town. Bournemouth will only be better with the support of the residents.
saying that, the local rag also has a knack of sensationalising / misinterpreting the facts (generally about the council) but you get used to it after a while..
Re - council, yes they are trying somethig new, but the residents foot the bill for this incompetence meanwhile Cllr Dunlop and her cronies are off lokking for some other hair brain scheme to waste money on.
read this quick as it will be pulled by the 'thought police' xx
mt_sthcoast, says...
12:22pm Wed 9 Sep 09
wrote:Looks like the reef to me - really short, compact wave... and just a bodyboarder out.
That is no way a picture of the Surf Reef in action.....In another story the Council have said, and the Echo has written that approval has not been given as yet until safety checks have been carried out. Or are we to believe now that the Council randomly pick on young lads (from Job Centres) to get out there and test it. As been said, the reef itself does not make waves, and the what wind and seas there has been could have made waves, but the direction of the same has probably reduced that. Nothing was happening yesterday.
...and you're not really suggesting that the surfers/bodyboarders will wait for some safety checks/official opening if there's a wave about, are you? No chance, they'll be on it, regardless.
woolamai, christchurch says...
2:10pm Thu 10 Sep 09
time nor Tide, bournemouth says...
3:46am Wed 16 Sep 09
RIDE ON: A booggie boarder catches a wave on the new surf reef at Boscombe
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Polemicist, says...
9:13pm Mon 7 Sep 09
"SURFERS have been trying out the Boscombe Reef. "
.
Ahhh, but was the flavour of the raw sewage to their taste ?