HAHAHAHA LOOOOOve Photoshop! Or maybe it's acid......either way, whooooohoooooo!
tauriq June 2009
The outcome after they build the artificial reef
Ricky_Bobby June 2009
LOL I actually checked the cam just incase you were using reverse psychology. Good job though haha imagine how crowded it would be.
kelt June 2009
ja i got it like that a week ago! just getting barrels and doing power rolls
the king June 2009
yea bra power rolls!!! r they building an artificial reef?? when??
tauriq June 2009
This article appeared on Wavescape couple of weeks ago:
Monday 25 May 2009
When Bruce Brown stumbled on the perfect wave in St. Francis Bay during the making of ‘Endless Summer’ in 1967, could he have foreseen the massive global trend in coastal development that has partially destroyed, not only Bruce’s Beauties, but a host of world class surf breaks around the world? Nick Pringle looks for answers at the 6th International Multi-purpose Reef Symposium in J-Bay recently.
Is this what Muizies should look like? ** with spy dudes pic posted above appearing here **
Surfers have never been given the platform to voice their opinions regarding the loss of surf breaks. This has changed over recent times with the proliferation of surfing as a sport and the boom of the surf industry. It looks as if the time for surfers to get their own back may be just around the corner.
The March 2007 destruction along the Kwa-Zulu Natal coast; the August/September 2008 waves that obliterated the Brass Bell in Kalk Bay and the ongoing beach erosion at St. Francis Bay all serve as a reminder of how vulnerable we are to extreme events if we build too close to the sea. The primary problem in St Francis Bay and Algoa Bay is the stabilisation of the headland dune system that used to nourish the beaches with sand. At the moment, alongshore drift is removing the sand from the beaches but nothing is being pumped back in. This leads to an imbalance in the sand budget which is exacerbated during big swells.
Construction of piers and breakwaters will only make matters worse. Fortunately the bright people at the 6th International Multi-purpose Reef Symposium have been working on some more enlightened solutions. The Symposium, which incorporated the Artificial Reef Conference, was held in Jeffrey’s Bay from the 18th to the 22nd of May and was attended by industry leaders, academics and councillors. The main idea behind the multi-purpose reef is that it can dissipate the wave energy offshore, reducing alongshore drift; this in turn will lead to a stable beach, as well as the provision of amenities such as surfing, diving or safe swimming areas.
The industry is still in its infancy and there is still much to learn. To date none of the completed reefs have been a runaway success surf-wise. Four artificial surfing reefs have been completed and another two are under construction. Narrowneck Reef, located at Surfer’s Paradise in Australia was the largest scale operation. Unfortunately the geotextile sandbags used to construct the reef were not placed accurately enough, and the reef was too deep to provide consistent surf. The main objective of Narrowneck was to retain sand on the beach; this has been successful. Mount Reef in New Zealand was built purely as a surf reef at a cost of 1,2 million New Zealand dollars, cheaper than the house overlooking the reef. The reef was positioned as far offshore as possible, but unfortunately, when the swell is big the waves break deeper than the reef. Cables Reef in Western Australia was also built purely for surfing. It was built in the swell shadow of an offshore island, meaning that it requires a big swell to work. The ultimate failure, however was Pratte’s Reef in California. This reef disintegrated and was buried under sand by the first winter swell.
Mistakes were made and lessons were learnt. These days, the people designing these reefs have got a good hold on the relation between physical models, the numerical models and reality. Returning to St Francis, no one has yet put forward the funding for the artificial surf reefs. Maybe local councillors have bigger fish to fry. They decided on the sinking of a bunch of PVC piping to drain the beach and help keep the sand there. A method that is as yet unproven but comes at about one tenth of the price tag.
If done right, multi-purpose reefs will be able to provide consistent, surfable waves, reduce crowds and protect beaches from erosion. We know more now than we did back in the days of Bruce Brown, lets hope that we are in a position to try rectify what went wrong.
