Surf Reef

• Life guards

Boscombe’s long-awaited surf reef is now ready for use!

photo Kevin Richards

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The RNLI undertook their training at the weekend (Sunday 1^st November), and following this, it was just a case of waiting for the right weather to declare the reef officially open.

Jon Weaver, Marketing and Events Manager for Bournemouth Tourism, said, “For once, the weather appears to be on our side. Almost no sooner than the RNLI have completed their training, the final stage we had to go through before we could launch, the swell is perfect – decent waves, around 8 seconds apart with a gentle breeze. We couldn’t miss this opportunity so took the decision this morning at 10.30 to launch the reef.” He continued, “This means the reef is now officially open, and ready for experienced surfers to use at their leisure.” He added, “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.”

photo Kevin Richards

Barry Heathfield, RNLI Divisional Manager for Dorset said, “In addition to the usual high quality and standardised training in rescue and first aid all RNLI lifeguards undergo, Justin, Andy and Mike, the three RNLI lifeguards who will be patrolling the reef 365 days a year, have undergone further training on other surf beaches in the south west, in order to develop a thorough knowledge of rescue and recovery in surf conditions. However, the site specific training on the reef yesterday was essential in order for the lifeguards to understand the different currents moving around the man-made construction when the surf is breaking, as well as the depth of water on the reef at different stages of the tide which will affect their rescue technique. Conditions yesterday were great and we are happy that the RNLI lifeguards covered the variety of procedures and rescue scenarios needed to complete this phase of the training.”

The reef’s performance will be monitored by Plymouth University for the next year, to assess that it is delivering the surfing conditions expected – the quality of the waves (they should ‘peal’ rather than break in one go), and the number of surfable days.