Bournemouth Artificial Reef Closed!

[billie_morini]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... nsafe.html

Bournemouth artificial reef is closed for safety concerns after 2 years, 3.2M pounds (currency), voluminous controversy, and several surveys in this forum by lazy students and undisclosed reef representitives.

Good photos at link showing proposed underwater construction and as-built (structures are not submerged and break water surface)

[drowningbitbybit]

Oh good grief... hilarious and depressing all at once!
All they had to do was ask someone with the remotest knowledge of surfing or the ocean, and they'd have told them this would happen... apparently the wretched company that built it doesn't have anyone like that on their staff.

[kitesurfer]

LOL. Funny as fook, especially seeing as the news came out on 1st April. Its actually rather difficult to close of a section of the sea!

KS

[surf patrol]

several surveys in this forum by lazy students and undisclosed reef representitives

So it's actually far worse than not working very well.

[JoshAggars]

Such a long and annoying process. It's been a joke from start to finish. At least Boscombe has improved and the reef gave the council faith to plow money in but at its heart the reef itself was ill concieved and badly built. The other week we were using it as a water slide. It's a big waste of money when it comes to that!

[Johno]

why does it cos 3 mill to fill a load of sand bags and trow them in the sea!

[PredationSA]

Scouting for the right place to put it, hiring people to design it, getting people to place them in the ocean etc etc. Idk how it would get to 3mil but I guess it's just lots of things like that

[kitesurfer]

why does it cos 3 mill to fill a load of sand bags and trow them in the sea!

They weren't filled with sand they were filled with moon rocks.

KS

[jaffa1949]

I think the company who laid the reef has a great history of failures than successes. I think the business is now on the rocks!

[JoshAggars]

Money was divided like this:
£50K to build massive sand castle on Boscombe Beach and leave it there all winter
£100K to pump sand into sand bags from beach
£2,850,000 to draw up plans, go on a 'how to keep a straight face when selling BS plans to a gullible council' course and then swan off before anyone realises you were full of xxxxx.

Next up, selling sand to Saudi Princes

[drowningbitbybit]

Next up, selling sand to Saudi Princes

Now, I dont think thats fair. Saudi princes have definitely already got sand, while Bournemouth didn't have a reef. I mean, it was a terrible situation, previously you had to drive for at least a whole ten minutes - yes, 10 minutes - to find one of the best reefs on the south coast

Saudi princes, still got sand. Bournemouth, still hasn't got a reef.

[esonscar]

Let's just get a refund and give it to us surfers for emotional hardship over all these years of gleeful anticipation - end of.

[JoshAggars]

Check out these shots I took a few weeks back of the reef in all its exposed sadness. It looks like a dead whale.


People were just using it as a ski ramp given the low tide.


This one shows the power of the moon (I am the moon). It was taken when that big lunar thingy happened. The tide went out for miles which never happens down there. Usually, even at low tide, it will still be lapping in past the end of the groins by some distance.

[kitesurfer]

Check out these shots I took a few weeks back of the reef in all its exposed sadness. It looks like a dead whale.

And to think the council paid divers to go and inspect it!

KS

[billie_morini]

Josh,
Thanks so much for sharing your photos. Always valuable to get info from someone who has actually seen. Much better than relying solely on news agencies.
Billie

[JoshAggars]

No worries Billie. The day I was there a load of us paddled out to inspect it. Shame my camera isn't waterproof or would have got shots up close and personal. Looks pretty messed up.

Hope Santa Barbara surf is treating you better!

Cheers
Josh

[Roy Stewart]

why does it cos 3 mill to fill a load of sand bags and trow them in the sea!

In order to enable Kerry Black to buy up real estate at naturally occurring excellent point and reef breaks, and so that he can party all the time to attract new friends in coastal councils.

[JoshAggars]

why does it cos 3 mill to fill a load of sand bags and trow them in the sea!

In order to enable Kerry Black to buy up real estate at naturally occurring excellent point and reef breaks, and so that he can party all the time to attract new friends in coastal councils.

Bingo!

[esonscar]

Is it a waterski jump now ? !

[Roy Stewart]

The mount reef is still causing unusually dangerous rips and wrecking the surf at what was once a good surfbreak.