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Welcome to bournemouthreef.com dedicated to the watersporting mecca of Bournemouth & Poole and the Bournemouth Reef / Boscombe Surf Reef (also known as Weight's Reef in honour of David Weight, whose passion for the concept of artificial reefs has driven the project locally) due for completion in October 2008!
This site intends to be the #1 resource for anyone who is visiting
Bournemouth and Poole for water sports or just to have a good time which is proving to be the case with over 20,000 hits last month!
Work on the reef has now started and should be ready by the planned Autumn deadline.
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| November 12th 2008 - Work stopped until April 2009 |
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Further to our disappointing news a couple of weeks ago that the reef was looking unlikely to be finished this year, it has been confirmed today
that all work has stopped until April 2009. After talks between ASR and Bournemouth Council, it has been agreed that the weather over the winter months
will not be good enough for laying the remaining sections of the reef. After returning in April, ASR plan to finish the reef construction by September 2009.
The pile of sand (which has been seen on the beach) for filling the reef bags will remain over the winter months. The rest of the reef materials will be kept in a secure location.
If you have any questions, why not contact us and we will endeavor to get you answers.
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| October 27th 2008 - We might be waiting a bit longer |
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Although we have been hearing that work has been delayed with the Bournemouth reef, today it has been confirmed that the chances of it being completed this year look slim.
Everyone has been working extremely hard and at every opportunity to get the reef finished, but the poor weather we have had over the summer and autumn has meant that work
kept having to stop. This is primarily because the sea in Boscombe needs to be calm to get the reef down. This will unfortunately also mean that the prime surfing season will be missed this year.
I'm sure a lot of people will be disappointed with this news, but everyone involved has been doing everything they can to move things along. The other positive note is that it has taken nearly
15 years to get this far from the initial concept, so a few more months will fly by! We will of course keep you updated with any changes.
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| October 10th 2008 |
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Having had such bad bouts of weather over the summer months, the first part of section 2 of the Bournemouth reef has only just gone down. The expert team of divers from ASR
installed this section last Thursday. The original plan was to deploy the reef in one large section, but the bad weather made splitting section 2
of the reef into two sections easier.
Thursday saw the first part of section 2 being laid which will be filled with sand prior to the second part being installed. We are hoping for more news about
the current timescales of the reef in the next few days after a council meeting yesterday. We will of course keep you informed as soon as we have any news!
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August 29th 2008 - Bournemouth Reef makes a splash!
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It is official - Bournemouth Reef has taken to the water!! With BBC news articles dating back to 2000, the reef has clearly been a long time in the planning
and today marks a momentous day for everyone involved in the reef project and those who are eagerly anticipating its arrival.
The reef team have been waiting several weeks for the wind to drop enough for the geo mat, webbing and bags to be transported from Poole (where it is being constructed) and placed in the
location next to Boscombe pier.
The actual mechanics involved in fixing the reef meant attaching the mat and webbing to five tonne anchors on the sea bed by professional divers. The reef was then slowly unfolded and put into the water.
The next stage is to fill all the geo-bags with sand which takes between 1 and 4 hours depending on the size of the bags. If you have been down to Boscombe beach recently, you will have seen the enormous pile of sand which will be used. This also made a great vantage point for reef workers to watch the air show this weekend!
Bournemouthreef.com would like to congratulate everyone on the council who has been involved with the reef and ASR for such a fantastic milestone!!!
Come back soon for lots of pictures and videos of what the area surrounding the reef construction currently looks like!
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August 6th 2008 - 10 tonne first reef section is concertinaed
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After days of waiting patiently for the high winds to drop, and despite blustery winds and miserable weather, ASR Ltd completed a highly visual part of the land-based reef construction process yesterday (5th August). Huge cranes folded the first section of the reef, measuring approx 50m by 40m, which makes up one fifth of the total volume, several times into a concertina. This was to enable ASR Ltd to move the reef section onto a barge. The reef section which normally weighs approximately 5 tonnes and makes up a third of the base layer of the reef, weighed 10 tonnes after getting water-logged after heavy rainfall.
Click on the pictures to zoom in
What happened yesterday?
Shackles and extra straps were added to each third of the reef section.
Two giant cranes lifted two 30m spreader beams. Each beam weighed 3 tonnes.
The straps attached to the reef section were then attached to various points of the spreader bars.
The cranes then lifted the first third of the reef section and folded it.
A second lot of straps, along the next third of the reef section were then attached to the spreader bars and the reef section lifted. This process was repeated until the reef was concertinaed up. The cranes then moved the reef section onto the barge. When weather conditions are absolutely flat and perfect (there is no swell or wind), the barge will be brought to Boscombe.
The reef was concertinaed up to enable one end of the reef to be attached to anchors on Boscombe seabed. The barge will then be pulled out from under the reef, so that the section lays on the sea’s surface. It will then sink and be pulled taut into place with accuracy.
Information, videos and updates on the surf reef construction can be found at www.bournemouth.co.uk
Meanwhile, what’s going on in Boscombe?
Sand is being refined before it will be pumped at high-speed into the bags. This has been collated into a huge mound. The 260 metre-long flexible pipe used to pipe sand from Boscombe beach out to the reef section when it is in place is being bolted together. Pumping and diving machinery is being prepared.
It will take up to 4 hours to fill each bag. 55 bags in total will make up the entire reef.
Information, videos and updates on the surf reef construction can be found at www.bournemouth.co.uk
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