In general, better surf is welcome by locals. Some of the more serious surfers in the area consider themselves no better off than surfers in London. A series of beach replenishments at neighbouring Southborne ruined the sandbar that created surfable waves there, so most surfers in Bournemouth trek down to Cornwall when they’re looking for a good session.
Sophie Chambers is a 23 year-old surfer who grew up in Bournemouth. “As it is now Bournemouth is rubbish and hardly ever works. It’s really messy and short. There’s no point surfing there. Occasionally there might be a really good day, but I’ve never seen one,” she says.
26 year-old Helen Keeling used to lifeguard at Bournemouth beach and is one of the many local surfers who makes the regular pilgrimage to Cornwall. “There’s definitely a bigger demand for good surf here,” she says, “Most people travel down to Cornwall but it’s a long way to go and petrol’s expensive so if there were more days and better surf here than that would be brilliant.”
The reef is primarily designed to improve the quality of surf during mid-sized swells, at about 1.5 metres, and will be best around mid tide. But if it works on really small days too it has the potential to double the days of surf. The reef is the cornerstone of a £9 million regeneration project, which includes a refurbished pier and 1960s bathing station, restaurants and shops, and beach bungalows. The project is already having a positive impact on the Boscombe suburb, with land and property values rising sharply. A design-winning development of luxury flats, which have sold for up to £895,000 apiece, has been named The Reef, while another developer is working on a building called The Wave. Boscombe relies heavily on tourism but has in recent years become a haven for drug use and deprivation. Whereas Newquay turned down a proposal for an artificial reef, in part because the success of an enhanced wave would bring overcrowding to an already touristy area, increased tourism in Boscombe might just save it. Residents are optimistic too.
“Boscombe used to be a really wicked place,” says Joel Whitmore, who’s lived there all his life. “It had a good reputation and was one of the best places in Bournemouth. But now it’s overrun with drugs and nasty stuff. The tourism will give it a face lift and a good name again.”
Bournemouth councillor Roger Brown estimates that the direct spend of the reef will be worth £2.5 to £3 million a year and create about 100 jobs. “But we estimate the publicity value is worth £10 million a year and we’re confident it will regenerate Boscombe,” he says.
The economics are all well and good, but does the idea of an artificial reef ruin the romance of surfing? “I don’t think it takes away from the experience of surfing,” says Weight. “In a sense the reef is what it is. The waves themselves, their variability, the tides and the currents will still be there. Each swell will have its own unique characteristics which are natural.”
Alex Dick-Read, Editor of Surfer’s Path, agrees, “Does an artificial reef ruin the soul of surfing? Not really, in my opinion. It’s not faking it in the way a wave machine is. It’s just bending swells to your advantage by altering the bathymetry – something that both man and nature do all the time. In nature, beach breaks can go from epic to useless in a cycle of shifting sands, and reefs grow, die and get altered. Surf breaks morph all the time.”
But local Sophie might best sum up the attitude of her fellow Bournemouth surfers. “For me, it does take away the spirit of surfing but if it’s a wave it’ll make people happy,” she says. “And hey, if there’s a good wave on my doorstep, I’m not going to say no.
We’re well into the artificial reef in Bournemouth, but here’s a list of fake things we certainly don’t care for…
1. Indoor surf beaches
Although some people say that surfing in a huge vat of chlorine is fun, we say we’d miss the sting of the salt. Not to mention the sun and the sky.
2. Fake tans
We just can’t wrap our heads around the whole tan in a bottle phenomenon, especially as it so often turns the unsuspecting user day-glo orange. Besides why would anyone want to get rid of their wetsuit tan anyway?
3. Fake boobs
They get in the way when you’re surfing, float in a really weird manner and basically give us the heeby jeebies. Keep it real girls, keep it real.
4. Indoor snow slopes
While bright lights inside a gigantic warehouse might appeal to some people when they’re boarding, we prefer to take on the elements – on a real life mountain. Plus they often divert an insane amount of water from the mouths of people who really need it.
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