Surfing Severn Bore -- do it? don't? what do i need to know?

[keithwdixon]

just curious -- anyone out there know much about -- or actually surfed -- the severn bore? (http://bit.ly/1PcrM6k)

it looks to me like a life experience, and i'm thinking about giving it a try -- i'm just wondering about how realistic it is to want to surf it.

can someone speak to the risk level vs skill level required?

i'm a beginner but i can definitely paddle, catch waves, stand up and surf green water.

i would think that is the basic needed for the severn bore but i'm wondering about other skills --- knowledge of hazards, place to enter vs exit, etc.

would greatly appreciate any thoughts or advice! thanks!

[jaffa1949]

Big board needed, short boarders, fish riders , and retro mullets and assorted weird name boards need not apply.
Ability to pop up and ride observe the changes and stay below the fall line.
Hazards in the water , no one knows as they change due to ferocity of the bore and what the seasons have washed into the river!
Crowds are a hazard but all going the same way , no duck diving or turtle roll needed.

There is a site you can google that gives a timetable and size of anticipated bore .
One of the hazards as I see it is careless boat drivers, and the beers afterwards

[keithwdixon]

thanks jaffa! -- do you think my 7'10'' NSP would fit the bill or am i needing more like a 9-er for this?

[jaffa1949]

Too small, 9ft or bigger, the Bore is not like an ocean wave you need flotation to get through some of the deeper spots where the wave backs off somewhat, also it is not like you are carving epic turns or stuff like that.
There is a Bore riders club and they are happy to share information and timetables
http://www.thesevernbore.co.uk/
I have three bores on my bucket list, the Severn , The Mascaret in France and either Silver Dragon in China or the Bono ( seven ghosts) in Sumatra. there are others around the world and in the Amazon.

[keithwdixon]

One other thing -- if i am understanding correctly, is the severn bore literally a single wave? meaning -- if you fly over there, get set up, get your board, get out on the water, and the wave comes and you don't catch it correctly -- are you done? is there any chance to paddle and catch up or try a follow-up wave?

[drowningbitbybit]

It's basically one wave, but you'll often get a few minor waves behind the big one. So it's a bit all or nothing.
You won't be able to catch the wave up if you miss it, but experienced bore riders do know spots where you can leave the river, jump in a willing assistant's car (who doesn't mind you sitting in the passenger seat in a wet wetsuit), short cut across a loop in the river, and then catch it again

I never got around to it when I was in the UK, but I had a friend who was a regular bore rider. We did go through all the planning for a bore ride, but then I couldn't go in the end

Don't expect a 10 mile ride on your first go, but it'll still be fun.

Oh, and also a thick wetsuit will be necessary! You'll end up sitting in the cold river for half an hour waiting for the bore to arrive without much paddling about, and its very easy to get much too cold.

[jaffa1949]

That pretty much covers it! The Bore is the front of the high tide coming in and being shaped and confined by the estuary and river channel, hence one wave which moves faster than you can paddle, easy to catch but impossible to recatch.
The Mascaret has several waves in the tidal front the silver dragon several, the Bono seven.
Of them all the Silver Dragon is the biggest, There used to be a bigger one in the Seine which sank a French Fleet planning to invade Britain, so containment works were put in place
Ride a bore and you can rightly say you have ridden a tidal wave, which a tsunami is not!