For the Pros

The New Zealand company behind Europe’s first artificial surf reef at Boscombe in Bournemouth, ASR Limited, has said the reef, now opened to the public, would provide a “substantial benefit” to the beachside community in terms of coastal protection. New Zealand managing director of ASR Ltd and the designer of the reef oceanographer, Dr Kerry Black has travelled the entire Pacific Rim and measured 44 of the world’s best surf breaks, to find out what makes a world-class wave and, ultimately, how to replicate it artificially. According to the Boscombe Surf Reef website: “Mimicking nature, the multi-purpose reef provides the same beach protection benefits of natural reefs — acting as a protective barrier to the coastline to help decrease sand erosion on beaches, as well as creating a new marine habitat.”