July 13th & 14th 2010 sees the return of the ever popular Rip Curl Girls Tour with free surf lessons by qualified instructors from Rip Curl & Sorted Surf School. A complimentary goody bag is available to all that take part plus all equipment required is provided completely free of charge.
New for 2010 is a DJ workshop where experienced female DJ’s will teach budding surfers how to spin some tunes. The fun continues in the evening at Urban Reef with a Sunset Chillout Session, so come and join in whether your chilling after your surf lesson or just want to come along and listen to some chillout tunes while sipping a cocktail in the evening sunset.
Lessons are at 1pm 4pm & 6pm on the 13th and 10am & 12pm on the 14th. Call 01202 300668 to book your free lesson & goody bag.
Experts from Plymouth University have given Bournemouth surf reef a score of just four out of ten in a scale of its success.
The findings were presented on Monday by Dr Mark Davidson after a six month examination of the surf reef since completion.
Dr Davidson has said:
It’s a bit of a mixed bag. The reef has produced a new, more exciting and challenging surfing wave.
But it falls short on a number of criteria. The length of the ride – 40 metres or less – is a long way short of the promised 65 metres. Another area where the reef is falling short is consistency.
See the criteria and assessment below:
| 1 | Surfability | Whether the wave is surfable or not? | The wave should be surfable (rides lasting >3s) by stand-up surfers of appropriate experience, (Hutt scale 5 and above). | Yes – the artificial surf reef at Boscombe has successfully created a new surfing resource. |
| 2 | Wave Quality | Ride length | ≥65m Right
≥20m Left This ride length must be achieved with some consistency by surfers (e.g. >10% of the rides) |
Left – Yes
Right – No |
| 3 | Wave Quality | Wave Form | The expectation is that the reef will produce waves which have, “steep faced (steeper than the neighbouring beach) but rarely barrelling and suitable for competent surfers to execute standard manoeuvres”. A plunging wave is anticipated at take-off. | Yes |
| 4 | Wave Quality | Peel angle | 70o±10o Left
60o±5o Right |
Left – Yes
Right – Partially |
| 5 | Wave Quality | Wave height amplification | ≥+20% on ambient levels | Yes – providing the wave conditions are suitable to break on the reef and the tidal state is optimal. |
| 6 | Consistency | Number of surfable days compared to the beach | The expectation is that the reef will at least match the beach in terms of the number of surfable days. | No – evidence indicates that surfing conditions are less consistent than the beach. |
| 7 | Surfer numbers | Is the reef being surfed? | A lack of surfing by surfers at the reef when conditions are appropriate for surfing at the pier will indicate sub-standard reef performance | No – the reef is being surfed but less consistently than the beach. |
| 8 | Surf Quality | Grade of wave | Quality of surf on a given day is improved using ASR Scale:
Reef: 4-6: Waves <1m 6-7: Waves >1m Compared to the Beach: 1-5 |
Generally, the reef is suitable for level 5 surfers and above with level 6 & 7 surfers enjoying a higher number of successful rides:
5-6: Waves <1m 6-7: Waves >1m |
| 9 | Wave Quality | Wave Quality | A low number (between 1 and 5 days/year) of exceptional quality waves are produced on the reef. | Partially successful, although ride length needs to be extended to fully satisfy this condition. |
| 10 | Conformation to design specifications | Physical shape of the finished reef | Crest height: 0m ACD
Length: 120m Orthogonal Gradient: <1:15 to 1:20 |
Crest height – No
Length – Yes Orthogonal Gradient – Yes |
| 11 | Wave Quality | Vortex ratio | A plunging wave with a vortex is only expected during larger wave conditions (Hb>1 m) and primarily on take-off on the right. Given the design orthogonal reef gradient and the grading of the reef it is expected that the vortex length to width ratio should be >2. | Not yet quantified but appears to be consistent with expectation. |
Bournemouth council’s service director for leisure Roger Brown said:
Obviously there is an element of some disappointment but I always thought the reef would probably need some modifications.
Our contractors ASR have agreed with the performance assessment and are committed to carrying out this work.
It’s not just their final payment of £150,000 that is at stake; it’s also their reputation. I’m optimistic that the ride length can be improved, the take-off speed can be reduced and surfing can be made less difficult.
We need a licence to carry out further work, ASR have to sort out visas to bring personnel here from New Zealand and additional geotextile bags may have to be manufactured and brought to the UK.
It’s possible that it could happen this summer but it could be next spring before we’ve jumped through all the necessary hoops.
Dr Davidson’s report is due to be considered by the council’s cabinet next week.
Bournemouth’s Daily Echo have obtained email records under the Freedom of Information Act, which appear to suggest that a water park is a frontrunner for the waterfront IMAX site.
The records show that a company called Moirai Capital Investments approached Bournemouth council last May with the idea of opening an indoor surfing centre in the controversial seafront building.
Following a meeting with the council, architects’ plans were submitted for an attraction described as “a combination of covered slides, freeform pools, water activities, indoor surfing and high-quality relaxation areas.”
Council leader Stephen MacLoughlin confirmed that an indoor surfing facility is one of the many options currently being analysed for the IMAX site. Results of the public consultation will be released later this month.
He added:
The public consultation process will feed in to how we take our ideas for the Imax site forward. This particular organisation (Moirai) may or may not feature in the next steps.
They certainly don’t have any preferential inside track with the council. We’re determined to get the best possible deal for the town, both in terms of the functions that will happen on that site but also in terms of the design of the building.
