Man-made surf reef makes debut

AN ARTIFICIAL surf reef that could steal Newquay's seasonal surfing community has opened for business. Bournemouth's £3 million artificial reef at Boscombe Beach welcomed surfers for the first time this week after nearly 18 months in the making.

Europe's first artificial reef has sparked widespread debate in Newquay – with some fearing its impact on the town.

Bournemouth's tourism chiefs signalled their intent by telling the Newquay Guardian in September they were "aiming themselves against the likes of Newquay".

It is feared many surfers who would normally flock to the South West during the summer months from the south east and London will instead try Bournemouth.

Toby Margetts, tourism spokesman for Bournemouth District Council, previously told the Newquay Guardian: "We are aiming ourselves against the likes of Newquay and will be hoping to steal some of the crowd it has there.

"We want people to come over to Boscombe rather than going to Newquay. Even before the artificial reef, Bournemouth already had a strong surfing community, but we hope to enhance that further when the reef opens."

However, Jon Weaver, marketing and events manager for Bournemouth Tourism, said expectations must not be too high for the reef. "It is important to remember that the reef is not a wave machine – it works to enhance the conditions that occur naturally and so, when there is no swell elsewhere, there won't be swell on the reef either." The reef's performance will be monitored by Plymouth University for 12 months to assess that it is delivering the surfing conditions expected, the quality of the waves – they should 'peal' rather than break in one go.

Bournemouth expects to double its current 17,000 surfers a year when the reef opens for business.

However, Newquay's surfing fraternity were sceptical Bournemouth will succeed.

One well-known surfing star, who did not wish to be named, said: "If this has any impact on Newquay, I will be amazed.

"Newquay does so well because it has so many beaches with great surf – not just one. It doesn't need artificial reefs to make it a great place to surf."