After a rainy and unsettled start to the month, the weather has finally taken a turn for the better. Stage 2 of the reef construction is now underway and the outlook for the next week is promising.

Perfectly calm sea conditions with little wind are essential for the building of the reef. This is because construction takes place in the surf zone and requires the use of heavy machinery and specialised equipment on boats and barges. Specially trained SCUBA-divers will be working in shallow water (3-6 metres). If sea conditions are too choppy it will become difficult and too dangerous to work.

The second reef section is being laid today, ready to be filled over the coming days. The reef will be completed once the fifth section is laid and filled.

Due to adverse weather, the placing and filling strategy has been changed so that the second reef section has been divided into two sections. This is more manageable than deploying one large section in short weather windows. All the bags have been folded and loaded onto the placement barge, ready for the next good weather window.

The next regular surf reef review meeting is planned for 10 October. We’ll be coming back to you with an update after this date.

The time is almost here. Bournemouth’s newest star attraction will soon be completed and ready to attract visitors.

If you are travelling to Bournemouth and wondering where to stay, getting closer to the action couldn’t be easier. We have just launched our interactive accommodation directory for visitors to the Bournemouth area. So whether you’re looking for a hotel, B&B or guesthouse, there’s no better way to search for accommodation - www.bournemouthsurfreef.com/accommodation/

If you require more information or if you are a hotel, B&B or guesthouse and would like to be included in the directory, please contact us for more information.

View the full broadcast below, entitled ‘The Perfect Wave’.

Those of you who have followed the development of the reef from the very beginning will know it’s been a long journey, spanning almost a decade!

Here’s the story so far…

The first reef section was transported on a barge from Poole to the sea-based construction site at Boscombe.

The eastern-end of the reef was attached to 5-tonne anchors on the seabed by a team of expert divers. The barge was then slowly winched along the reef site, allowing the section to gradually unfold and peel off into the water. Winches then pulled down the reef onto the seabed and secured it in place.

The reef is now ready for filling. Each of the 16 bags on reef section 1 will be filled one at a time. This takes between 1-4 hours each, depending on the size. Once this has been completed, section 2 (already built on-land) will then be deployed and filled and so on, until the fifth section is deployed and filled.

Courtesy of www.thesurfreef.co.uk

There were cheers all round today as a landmark event successfully took place; the first section of the first artificial surf reef in the northern hemisphere slowly rolled off a barge and was laid on Boscombe seabed.

The first section makes up one sixth of the volume of the reef and is constructed from a geo-mat, webbing base and 16 huge geo-bags. It has an area of 50m x 50m.

The first reef section was transported on a barge from Poole to the sea-based construction site at Boscombe, Bournemouth.

David Neilson from ASR Ltd, the Construction Manager for the Surf Reef said:

This is D-Day. We’ve been for several weeks for the winds to drop and today has provided us with the perfect conditions to accurately place the reef section on Boscombe sea-bed. After years of planning, it’s very exciting to get to this stage. If we have consistently good weather, we should get the reef completed by the end of October.

The eastern-end of the reef was attached to five-tonne anchors on the seabed by a team of expert divers. The barge was then slowly winched along the reef site, allowing the section to gradually unfold and peel off into the water. Winches then pulled down the reef onto the seabed and SCUBA-divers secured it in place.

The reef is now ready for filling. Each of the 16 bags on reef section 1 will be filled one at a time. This takes between 1-4 hours each, depending on the size. Once this has been completed, section 2 (already built on land) will then be deployed and filled and so on, until the reef is completed when fifth section is deployed and filled.

To monitor the progress and view regular updates of the reef, visit www.thesurfreef.co.uk

Cllr Beverley Dunlop said:

It has taken 10 years to get to this point. This regeneration project is unique and innovative and is turning Boscombe into a fantastic place to both live and visit. The surf reef will turn Bournemouth into a water sports Mecca, as it will be a free facility to be enjoyed by surfers, snorkellers, windsurfers and divers. To accompany the reef there will be a new seafront restaurant, café, surfing facilities and retro, super beach huts designed by HemingwayDesign. Boscombe is the place to be.

Next weekend up to a million visitors are expected to descend upon the Bournemouth area for the 2008 Bournemouth Air Festival.

This free event will take place over four days between Bournemouth and Boscombe piers and will feature some spectactular aerial acrobatics, including three appearances by the Red Arrows.

Ground displays, fireworks, live music and entertainment are also planned along the 1.4 mile promenade between the piers.

Work is due to continue on the surf reef during the air show, but will largely depend on favourable weather conditions. Bournemouth Council had originally planned to have the reef completed by the end of August, however poor summer weather has so far delayed progress on the £2.68 million project.

For more information, visit www.bournemouthair.co.uk.

‘Extreme Surf’ by Benjamin Marcus illustrates the lengths that some people will go for the ultimate surfing experience. Beginning with a history of the sport’s evolution, the book takes us to the most remote, most popular, and most dangerous surfing spots. From the longest, fastest, coldest and warmest waves to the deadliest waters, the book is packed with jaw-dropping images and engaging text.

Here is an extract taken from the book entitled ‘Messing with Mother Nature’, featuring Bournemouth’s upcoming artificial surf reef. Extract reproduced with permission.

Artificial reefs are dependent on swell. They can’t create magic with no materials, so you have to wonder about the wisdom of putting an artificial reef halfway up the English channel.

In December of 2007, England’s Marine and Fisheries Agency granted a special environmental license to Bournemouth Council to begin construction of an artificial reef between Bournemouth and Boscombe piers. Bournemouth is on the south coast of England, about halfway between Land’s End and Dover. The limited swell window in the middle of the English Channel is even less for Bournemouth, which is tucked away within Poole Bay and the Isle of Wight.

Stuart Matthews has been surfing England his whole life, and he says there is more surf in that area than the location would suggest: “Bournemouth reef does get swell and just 25 miles away to the west, a reef break at Kimmeridge Bay is one of the best waves in the UK - when it breaks.”

Recreational studies of the area have tallied anywhere from 77 to 100 surfable days in the Bournemouth/Boscombe area, and the local hopes are that the reef will make sense of what ocean energy is available in the area and turn the area into a year-round surf spot.

The reef was designed by Dr. Kerry Black of ASR marine systems who predicts the wave will produce a righthander that rates a 5 on a scale of 10 - with Pipeline an 8-9 on that scale. Like Narrowneck Reef (in Australia) the reef will be made of 30 metre-long geotextile bags filled with sand. The bags will be laid 225 metres out to sea, to the east of Bournemouth Pier, creating a reef the size of a football pitch - which can be as big as 90 metres by 120 metres.

However if a vibrant new surfing community can help Bournemouth shrug off its reputation as the retirement capital of England, then the cost of construction will have been a small price to pay.

This great new book is out in October. To order, go to www.amazon.co.uk.

Sinking the five-tonne concrete anchor blocks which will hold the geotextile mat in place. The giant geotextile bags will then be placed on top of the mat and filled with sand from the beach via a 260 metre-long flexible pipe. It will take 4 hours to fill each of the 55 geotextile bags used to make up the reef.

These large mounds of beach material lying infront the Honeycombe Chine development will be used to fill the 55 ‘geotextile bags’ that make up the surf reef. After refinement, the sand will then be pumped using piping from the beach to the reef construction site which is 260 metres offshore.

Photos:

Video: First Day of Construction

Other videos include this short video interview with Dr Shaw Mead, featured on BBC South Today, or the following video on BBC News.

Boscombe Area Forum is writing to civic chiefs in the Californian resort to suggest twinning the two communities. This has received backing from local councillors who claim that Santa Monica’s regeneration has much in common with Boscombe’s regeneration and developments like the Boscombe Spa Village Project.

Area Forum business portfolio holder Peter Castle says:

I have been to Santa Monica and it has become a mini Silicon Valley. Like Boscombe, it is very cosmopolitan and has got a lot of artists. Boscombe has the new surf reef and a lot of opportunities for investment.

Read the full story here or click below to have your say.

Read the full story, with video, on the BBC News website.

The geo-textile bags and webbing base for the Boscombe reef are on their way from Australia and New Zealand and are expected to arrive in the UK at the end of June.

Construction on the reef can then start in the middle of July, with a completion date of the end of October.

For more information, read today’s article in the Bournemouth Echo

Article Reproduced with Permission.

That’s the bold claim made by tourism chiefs as they unveiled artist’s impressions of what the hip new huts or “surf pods” will look like.

For more information, read today’s article in the Bournemouth Echo

Article Reproduced with Permission.

A leading councillor is demanding to know exactly how Bournemouth’s surf reef has been allowed to double in price. The Boscombe reef, which will now cost £2.6m rather than the original £1.359m price, is set to be the subject of a council scrutiny panel.

Labour group leader Cllr Ben Grower has requested the item be placed on the agenda of the Children and Families’ Services scrutiny panel in a bid to find out the exact circumstances surrounding the increase.

For more information, read today’s article in the Bournemouth Echo

Article Reproduced with Permission.

The original estimate of £1.35 million to create Europe’s first artificial reef has doubled to £2.68m.

The overspend is being largely blamed on spiralling construction costs, which are £700,000 over budget, and delays to the scheme.

For more information, read today’s article in the Bournemouth Echo

Article Reproduced with Permission.

In 1991, the end of the pier became structurally unsafe and was closed to the public. In October 2005, the remainder of the pier was closed and the future of the pier was dicussed.

The pier now features an 18m² viewing platform, new decking, handrails, lighting and windbreak. All work has been funded as part of the Boscombe Spa Village regeneration scheme, which includes Europe’s first artificial surf reef, the refurbishment of the Overstrand building and extensive landscaping of Boscombe Pier approach. Funding has come from the sale of overspill car parking to Barratt Homes for the construction of the Honeycombe Beach housing development.

Some further work has still to be done, including:

• A historical display along the side of the central windbreak
• public bench seating
• a compass rose display showing highlighted points of interest.

The grade II listed entrance building facilities will open in time for 1st April 2009.

If you have any comments about the new pier, click here to leave your feedback.

Clothing retailer Fat Face has told the Daily Echo it will open a giant new town-centre store by the end of June. The news follows Bournemouth Borough Council’s announcement that the reef will definitely be completed by the end of this year.

To read the rest of this story, check out www.bournemouthecho.co.uk.

Pictured (L-R): Nick Behunin - ASR Ltd, Roger Brown - Head of Leisure Services, Cllr Stephen MacLoughlin - Leader of the Council and Andy Campbell, ASR Ltd.

Bournemouth Borough Council has officially contracted New Zealand-based ASR Ltd to construct the Europe’s first artificial surf reef.

The contract is performance-based, to ensure the reef will perform to pre-stated standards. The contract also requires the reef to be completed by 31st December 2008 at the latest. The core construction period will be July-October and the estimated completion date remains the end of October, depending on weather conditions.

Councillor Stephen MacLoughlin, Leader of Bournemouth Borough Council says:

The deal has been done to bring the long-awaited surf reef to Boscombe to revive the area. It will be the most innovative sports and tourist attraction in the South. The public can be assured that the reef will definitely be completed at the latest by the end of this year. ASR Ltd had previously been commissioned as designers of the reef and will now use their expert knowledge in this highly complex marine construction project to achieve the performance requirements specified by the Council.

The first delivery of construction materials, which includes the webbing base and the first consignment of geo-textile bags, is due to arrive in Southampton Docks in late June. The bags will then be transported to an undisclosed area in Dorset where they will be assembled onto the webbing base at a harbour-side location. They will then be loaded onto a barge for deployment at the Boscombe site.

Nick Behunin, Managing Partner of, ASR Ltd says:

We are pleased to be introducing Europe ’s first artificial surfing reef as part of the Boscombe regeneration plan. We believe our ground-breaking technology will be integral in increasing tourism to the area. It’s exciting to see how Bournemouth Council is going further than the other destinations in the world where we have built surf reefs, with significant additional investment in the infrastructure and facilities surrounding the reef. The regeneration of Boscombe, with the revitalisation of the Pier, Overstrand and new surfing facilities, restaurants and shops are really transforming Boscombe into an exciting surfing destination in the UK .