Oceans, Waves and Beaches

Surfers have scoured the planet for waves. We’ve put many things on the back burner to seek out new waves or return to faraway waves that have carved memories into our minds.
We know where the diamonds are on this planet, they are the waves that already exist… the gems we surf every day. Some are [...]

I mentioned in my post A few questions regarding ASR’s new reef in Kovalam, India that I’d post their response, in it’s entirety. What follows is their response, complete with criticism of me. I’ve edited nothing. I was expecting the dialog to be mostly focused on the India reef, but I’ll respect their interest to [...]

The subject of artificial surfing reefs seems to be getting more interesting, and increasingly polarizing, every day.
Artificial reefs enjoy a distinct group of followers, people that believe the reefs will produce quality, consistent waves that will somehow address the crowds we feel at our local breaks. They also think these man-made reefs offer a solid [...]

ASR, the company behind the recent artificial surfing reef installation in Boscombe, England (which isn’t working as advertised) has unveiled a new reef in India. The video they circulated looks very good. A few people have asked our opinion on it and the related marketing of this reef.The truth is that we’d rather not weigh [...]

I’ve posted more than a few things on artificial reefs. I did my faux-hack-investigative journalism series “Do artificial reefs work?” where I looked at all the artificial surfing reefs on the planet from a myriad of angles. I also share a few tidbits that come through my mailbox from time to time. But one post [...]

Locals in Bournemouth, England have begun calling the recently-finished artificial surfing reef “the beached whale.”
The reef cost $4.5 million dollars and… it’s not working.
Not working meaning it’s not attracting surfers to come to Bournemouth, stay in local hotels and prop up the local economy (this was the business case for spending taxpayers money on the [...]

The Boscombe Surf Reef is not ready for prime time. More.

photo: surfertoday.com

I recently read yet one more piece on the Bournemouth artificial reef in the United Kingdom. There is plenty in the piece that meshes well with my series on this subject. Net net, the success of the reef from a surfing perspective is very questionable.
But as I read the piece I found myself doing the [...]

This is the number five in a series asking the question “do artificial (surfing) reefs work? The rest of the series is here.
A series on artificial surfing reefs would not be complete without a post on erosion control.
When we think of artificial surfing reefs many assume they are being put in to enhance (or introduce) [...]

The folks over at MagicSeaWeed popped up some pics of the new Bournemouth artificial reef breaking, they are here).
The below photo illustrates the wave essentially folding over onto itself as the water sucks off the sandbags (I’d like to know how deep it is… I’m guessing it’s very shallow). Also, I’m not sure I can [...]