Boscombe Breaks

Raglan-based marine consultants ASR Limited have designed a £3 million artificial reef at Boscombe beach in Bournemouth; work will begin on the seabed project in the next few months with a completion date of late October. ASR is then moving on to Kovalam in southern India, where it has carried out a feasibility study for two reefs in Goa. If Boscombe is a success it expects other British seaside towns to be banging on its door. ASR director Shaw Mead said many beaches in the UK and elsewhere have good swell but no natural breaks. “It’s rare that Mother Nature creates the conditions for great surfing. But we can help create those conditions,” Mead said. ASR also designed the first full-scale movable reef floor, VersaReef, for Florida’s Orlando Surfpark and Mount Maunganui’s Mount Reef.