Artificial Reef - Artificial Surfing Reefs

Artificial Surfing Reefs

Artificial surfing reefs have been created for surfing, coastal protection, habitat enhancement and coastal research. The world's first attempt was made in El Segundo, near Los Angeles, in California. The next attempt was at Mosman Beach, Perth, Western Australia. This reef was constructed of large granite rocks placed in a pyramidal shape to form an appropriate breaking wave form that would suit surfers. An artificial reef constructed of over 400 massive, geotextile bags (each one larger than a bus) filled with sand was constructed in 2000 at Narrowneck on the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia. This artificial reef had two objectives: stabilizing beach nourishment and improving surfing conditions.

In the United States, in particular, demanding coastal permit requirements and environmental opposition present major obstacles to building surfing reefs. As of February 2006, the only reef built in the U.S. for surfing is southern California's "Pratte's Reef", which failed to create waves. Reefs built to enhance marine habitat face less environmental opposition, in part because they are in deeper water and further offshore. A number of such man-made reefs exist near Florida and Hawaii.

Artificial surfing reefs typically resemble a "submerged breakwater", and proponents suggest benefits beyond surfing conditions. Many coastlines are subject to powerful waves that crash directly onshore. An artificial reef 150-300 yards offshore might create surfing opportunities and, by dissipating wave energy, make swimming safer and reduce coastal erosion.

The USS Spiegel Grove was sunk in 2002 to make an artificial reef.

Europe's first artificial reef was approved in 2008. Construction began August 30, 2008 in Boscombe, Bournemouth, UK, and opened in November 2009. The multi-purpose reef reef is expected to create waves up to 30% larger and double the number of surfing days annually. Construction on this reef began in June 2008, and was completed in August 2009. Boscombe Reef was built from large sand-filled geotextile containers, totaling 13,000 cubic meters.