Surfpolitik Artificial Intelligence: Problems at Boscombe Reef
In: Surfpolitik 19 Comments Tue 19th Apr '11
Tags: boscombe reef , bournemouth , dr shaw mead , asr , Artificial reefs
At the end of last month Boscombe Reef in the UK, Europe's first artificial reef, was closed. Holes had apparently opened up in the structure and the local media were reporting 'dangerous riptides' occurring around the reef. Fearing litigation, the local council made the wave off limits to surfers and asked ASR, the company that constructed it, to inspect and repair the reef.
It was yet another chapter in what's become a complicated saga for Boscombe Reef and also for ASR.
ASR are based in Raglan, New Zealand (although they've recently been purchased by an American company), and they are involved in many facets of coastal management: research, modelling, coastal protection, and, in the case of Boscombe Reef, artificial reef construction.
Despite their extensive credentials and experience in creating multi purpose reefs - reefs that combine coastal protection with wave riding - Boscombe Reef is only the second time that ASR has constructed a reef purely for recreational purposes. Speaking to Dr Shaw Mead, a Technical Director at ASR, he was explicit in the nature of the company's work. "At ASR", Mead says "we're more concerned with coastal protection, not creating surf breaks."
But create surf breaks they have. First was the Mount Maunganui Reef in New Zealand and now Boscombe. ASR could hardly be blamed for moving into the artificial reef market as it appears to be an industry with unrealised potential. Last March I attended a symposium at Bondi, 'The International Surfing Reef Symposium'. Also in attendance were directors of numerous artificial reef start up companies along with established construction companies looking to expand their product base. Hands were shaken and cards were swapped. Despite there being just three artificial reefs in the world constructed solely for surfing there are many companies preparing themselves for a rapid expansion in demand. I imagine they'd all be watching Boscombe with interest.
The idea for an artificial reef at Boscombe was conceived by the local council, Bournemouth Council, and was intended to be the focal point of a planned economic revival. With Boscombe Reef as its centrepiece Bournemouth would once again become a desired tourist destination. With that socio-economic goal in mind tenders went out for the reef and ASR won the contract.
Construction of the reef began in late 2007 and was finished in early 2009. Since it opened there have been mixed reports about the reef and how it works. Yet Shaw Mead is adamant that ASR have fulfilled their part of the contract. That is, they've created a reef, with corresponding wave quality, that operates at the level expected of them from the council as set out in the contract.
Despite this claim, many local surfers have voiced their discontent at the wave quality in various forums. Following the logic, if those surfers thought Boscombe Reef was going to deliver longer and better shaped waves then they misread the paperwork and set their expectations too high, or they believed the media reports that featured headlines such as: 'Pipeline Comes To Bournemouth'. Bournemouth, for those that don't know, is situated in the English Channel, on a stretch of coast that receives only short windswells. The North Shore it aint and never will be.
Complaints about wave quality are one thing, but now that the reef has now been closed a new wave of bad press has begun in the English media. ASR were quick to respond. They had someone dive the reef last weekend and found that the only damage to the reef is a split in one of the sandbag containers, most likely caused by a boat propellor. The rest of the structure is sound. A replacement container is currently being manufactured and Shaw believes the reef will be opened again in mid-May.
Putting reef design and wave quality aside for the moment it would appear to me that ASR have made two errors in the handling of the Boscombe Reef project, both mistakes concerning their media management. The first was not managing the expectation of the locals correctly and the second was not controlling the flow of information to the media.
On the flow of media information: I've followed the Boscombe Reef project since it was first proposed and there are a couple of recurring features in the mainstream reporting of it. One is that a high percentage of stories quote the reef as 'having been designed to create 13 foot waves'.
Where I'm from, if someone says the waves are '13 feet' eyebrows will be raised - it's a fair indicator that a person doesn't know what they're talking about. So I asked Shaw about the random but recurring number and he gave a knowing laugh. He'd also noticed how it was regularly quoted in the press yet had no idea how it began. ASR, according to Shaw, had never claimed 13 foot waves would break on Boscombe Reef. He considered the frequency of the 'fact' a testament to how lazy and incorrect much of the journalism surrounding the reef had been. A reporter must have conjured it years ago and it had since been copied into each subsequent story till it became lore.
Yet, in defence of the lazy journalists, correct information on the reef isn't easy to come by. It's there alright, buried on the Bournemouth Council website, but the incorrect information is far more prevalent and, most importantly, none of it has been refuted in comment sections or in counter articles. If it hasn't been refuted, then why not repeat it?
On managing expectations: It's a fine line between selling an expensive artificial reef to a paying council – with all the hyperbole and sales talk that involves – and telling the locals who'll surf it to keep their expectations in check. And when talk of the reef's expense comes up – originally estimated at £1.4 million (AUD $2.1 million) but which more than doubled to £3 million (AUD $4.6 million) – many surfers expect a better result then what's currently on offer.
To make matters harder for ASR the locals who do like Boscombe Reef don't want to spruik it publicly. According to Dan, a local bodyboarder I spoke to, "People rubbish Boz (Boscombe Reef) but that's fine by us. Less people the better." Which is easily understood from a local surfer's perspective but doesn't bode well for ASR's media campaign.
Also, when it comes to judging the quality of the wave at Boscombe the opinions are as subjective as the viewpoints. What one person calls an acceptable wave another calls rubbish. The type of wave a bodyboarder wants is different than that of a longboarder which is different again to what a shortboarders seeks. Each craft has a different measure of a good wave and each will have differing opinions on Boscombe.
As mentioned earlier, Boscombe is the second artificial reef that ASR has built purely for surfing and they've drawn a lot of media flack for their part in it. Considering this, I asked Shaw if it would be the last recreational reef that ASR would build. The phone went silent for a few moments. "They are not our preference," was Shaw's coy and non-committal answer. I got the impression that he'd spent a lot of time considering the question.
For the artificial reef industry to expand and realise its potential then prospective companies would do well to learn from the Boscombe experience. The reality is that councils and local governments will be bankrolling artificial reefs and each project needs to be seen as a worthwhile investment in the eyes of their constituents. If Boscombe Reef gets bad press – irrespective of whether it is deserved or not – it will set a precedent as to whether other councils follow their lead.
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