I've just been e-mailed this, can anyone help....

quote:

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Howdy,
I’m writing a story for Australia’s Surfing Life magazine on the proposed reef in Boscombe, and have talked to the council and the reef’s designer, and was hoping you could point me in the direction of some local surfers to answer the following couple of questions, or answer them yourself if you’re familiar with surfing in the area.

1 Were you part of the lobby for an artificial reef? If you were, how long has the process gone for?
2 Why an artificial reef? Had any locals had any experience surfing one?
3 Can you tell me how many surfers (roughly) there are in the Bournemouth area, and whether they were all keen to see the reef go ahead?
4 Do you think it’ll have the sort of economic benefit the council is hoping it will?
5 What’s the surf like generally? How big does it get, and how often?
6 How crowded does it get?
7 Are there any worries about the surf getting more crowded once the reef’s in place?
8 Does Bournemouth already attract many travelling surfers (ie. From London)?

Thanks heaps,
Tim.

Tim Fisher, assistant editor / web manager
Australia’s Surfing Life

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Ok, i regularly go bodyboarding nearly every year to Bournemouth. I can only go once a year as i live in Nottingham, and most the time Bournemouth/Boscombe isn't really great for surfing (most the time being flat).
Thats one of the reasons i am looking forward to the reef being built there. I would probably go more than once a year, making the travel down from Nottingham, not just for the reef waves, but also for how great the area is. Because i dont live in Bournemouth itself i cant tell you the answers to most of the questions.
4 Do you think it’ll have the sort of economic benefit the council is hoping it will? - Definately, i've kind of answered that question above, i would travel more to Bournemouth every year because of the reef, i think a lot of people will. The thought of the first artificial reef in Europe must attract surfers from around the country at least.
5 What’s the surf like generally? How big does it get, and how often?
usually when i look at the webcam every day it is flat with small white water, sometimes the swell picks up and you get either 1-2ft messy or if the wind is right a 2-3ft glassy wave. During the winter the waves do get rougher and heavier. The best waves for surfing are driven by low pressure systems in the North Atlantic, these push swells on the South Coast. Wind blown waves can be created within a few hours in this area by fresh westerly, southerly or south easterly winds.
1. Boscombe Pier -
On a high tide in pretty much any wind and with the right swell Boscombe goes off. It provides nice wedgy shorey peaks which can be heavy and hold their shape. Lefts and rights on most southerly swells. The Pier provides shelter from strong SW winds but can be a little crowded at the weekends.

2. Bournemouth Pier -
Works the same as Boscombe but with longer rides. The most popular peak is on the East of the Pier. Offshore winds follow through the Bourne Valley for very hollow waves, but this is rare. Again, sheltered from gales but can get crowded.

1. Boscombe Pier -
On a high tide in pretty much any wind and with the right swell Boscombe goes off. It provides nice wedgy shorey peaks which can be heavy and hold their shape. Lefts and rights on most southerly swells. The Pier provides shelter from strong SW winds but can be a little crowded at the weekends.

2. Bournemouth Pier -
Works the same as Boscombe but with longer rides. The most popular peak is on the East of the Pier. Offshore winds follow through the Bourne Valley for very hollow waves, but this is rare. Again, sheltered from gales but can get crowded.

6 how crowded does it get?
Considering the small surf the crowds aren't big, but as the waves pick up even a small bit you can usually expect 5-8 surfers out next to the Bournemouth pier.

7 Are there any worries about the surf getting more crowded once the reef’s in place?
I think i heard some people were going to worry that the Bournemouth area would get too busy and crowded for the locals.

8 Does Bournemouth already attract many travelling surfers (ie. From London)?
ME!

All in all it's probably best if you get a view from an actual local on these questions, they can be more thorough in their answers than me

Some of the information above was from this webcam/website for bournemouth surf...particularly take a look at the "Reef" and "Bournemouth Section" that would help in your article:

http://www.bournemouth-surfing.co.uk/index.html

Cheers, Airborne.

1 Were you part of the lobby for an artificial reef? If you were, how long has the process gone for?

I wasn't part of the lobby, but I have been following the reef for a long time. I think it's been going on for nearly 3 years now.

2 Why an artificial reef? Had any locals had any experience surfing one?

Boscombe itself is in need of regeneration. Most of the holidaymaker traffic goes into Bournemouth itself. The proposal to build the reef is part of a regeneration of the area. The coast line is currently protected by groynes and breakwaters, so the coastal protection aspect was a benefit. It is a popular location for surfers from a long way around.

3 Can you tell me how many surfers (roughly) there are in the Bournemouth area, and whether they were all keen to see the reef go ahead?

There is a thriving surf scene in Bournemouth and the surrounding area. It also attracts surfers from a wide radius.

4 Do you think it’ll have the sort of economic benefit the council is hoping it will?

Yes, I believe that the whole regeneration project will have large economic benefits, the reef alone would probably not bring the expected benefits, but the whole project will.

5 What’s the surf like generally? How big does it get, and how often?

The surf can be quite big. When I lived in Southampton I surfed a couple of 4-5 ft days at Bournemouth pier. It's not the best surf in the world though as the wind is usually strong and cross-shore. Plus, people fish off both piers which means you have to look out for fishing lines!!

6 How crowded does it get?

It gets crowded - the second the surf gets good. I was there last September and at Boscombe there were 20 - 30 surfers out there. Plus the swimmers and other water users make it quite crowded.

7 Are there any worries about the surf getting more crowded once the reef’s in place?

I would imagine that more people will travel there, but the reef is likely to produce more consistent waves with bigger take off areas. It will also move the surfers away from the beach and the swimmers which will make it safer all round

8 Does Bournemouth already attract many travelling surfers (ie. From London)?

Yes, I now live in the midlands and therefore have a choice of South East Wales (Porthcawl) which is polluted or Bournemouth which is clean for day trips (ie. under 2 1/2 hours drive) I would rather have slightly worse surf, but remain healthy!!

Sinista

Even i learnt something from that, and im a big Bournemouth/Boscombe fan...Sinister where abouts in the midlands do you live? I live in Nottigham and it takes about 2 hours to get to Bournemouth, 3 hours with bad traffic. How often do you go there?

Cheers.
Airborne.

Thanks heaps Sinista and Airborne - much appreciated!

No problem mate, good luck with the article.

Hi I live in Bournemouth and surf Boscombe/Bournemouth whenever there are waves. Im a newbie surfer but am here all year if you need any more info give me a mail.

david.oliver@accenture.com

Cheers,

Cool! Thanks for that.

I love Bournemouth! When is the best month to go surfing?

I always look at the www.bournemouth-surfing.co.uk webcam for Bournemouth and Boscombe every day, even though i dont live there.

Thanks,
Airborne.

[Edited on 9-6-2005 by Airborne]