Sorted Surf Festival - Sunday sunshine

The long awaited and greatly anticipated inaugural Sorted Surf Festival went ahead as planned last weekend on the 20th & 21st March at the newly completed and regenerated Boscombe Seafront, the two day festival saw well over 5,000 visitors which had two contrasting days for spectators and contestants.

See Gallery images below

Sorted Surf Contest

The surf contest was called on for Saturday and given the green light the previous Thursday by the organisers and with a diminishing swell in tricky conditions all four categories had to be completed in one day. The junior event was the first to get underway at 8.30am and was soon followed by the Mens Open, Mens Over 35 and Bodyboard contests (results below).

British Bodyboard Tour

The Bodyboard event saw the first leg of the British Bodyboard Tour take place, the first time this has been hosted on the South Coast and saw excellent conditions on the artificial reef for the Semi Finals and Final while the Mens Open was contested on a peak to the West of the Pier. All categories were completed by 4pm and was immediately followed by an award ceremony that was held in front of the new Overstrand Building where a 300 strong crowd cheered the winners and runners up as they received their prizes. After the main prize giving event a seperate ceremony of prizes was held to comemerate surfing friends that had sadly passed away over the past few years.

Sun Shines on the 2nd Day of the Sorted Surf Festival

The following day saw the best possible conditions for the festival as a gloriously sunny day without a breath of wind graced the beach at the newly completed and regenerated seafront, a stark contrast to the wind and rain of the previous day. The beach and promenade was a scene reminisant of an international sized event with show tents, flags and surfboards stretching for hundreds of yards to the East of the Pier.

The promenade and beach looked and felt more like Californian boardwalk than the Bournemouth seafront with demonstration equipment including Stand Up Paddleboards and Wetsuits that were free to all that wished to try thier hand, the sea was busy all day with paddlers, surfers and kayakers while gentle rock music played from the shops and restaurant as passers by wandered through the crowds looking and trying out various surf, paddle and balance equipment.

The festival was very successful and a fun weekend was had by everyone , the infrastructure, organisation and look of the event was outstanding. Those attending as competitors, suppliers and the general public were full of praise for the two days and there was a general good feeling in the air. Lets hope this weekend is the start to a long warm summer with lots more events like the Sorted Surf Festival.

Surfing Contest Results

Mens Open

1st George Fontaine

2nd James Parry

3rd Miles Lee Hargreaves

Mens Over 35

1st Cliff Cox

2nd David Webb

3rd Gary Greenwood

Juniors (U 18)

1st Miles Lee Hargreaves

2nd James Taylor

3rd Mason Alderman

Boadyboard Open

1st Jack Johns

2nd Remmi Geffery

3rd Aiden Salmon

A big thanks to everyone who cam along and supported the event - the Sorted Surf Shop team are looking forward to making this an annual event and putting on more great surfing activities throughout the year.

Sorted Surf Festival Gallery

Thanks to Mark at www.Extremevisuals.co.uk for the great action photos.

All surf photos copyright Extreme Visuals - images can be purchased online

The Boscombe Artificial Surf Reef was officially opened this week with some great publicity by Bournemouth Council and also on BBC’s South Today.

There has been quite a lot of debate about whether the reef is going to produce the goods - sizeable and rideable waves for us surfers!!

Well here’s the proof that Boscombe Reef can produce the goods. We have had a steady flow of south-westerly winds this week that have helped to push the swell up and when the tide has been right we have seen some pretty decent waves.

Here is a couple of shots from this week just to whet your appetite.

Boscombe Artificial Reef - Hi Res on click

Boscombe Surf Reef going off this week - Hi Res on Click

Plus check out the BBC video of the official Boscombe Surf Reef Opening and YouTube clip below filmed on the 1st November and decide for yourself .

Don’t forget you can check out the surf conditions on the Boscombe Surf Reef Webcam.

Aerial Shot of the Boscombe Artificial Surf Reef

It looks like the final phase of construction is underway on the Boscombe Artificial Reef and local surfers are getting very excited.

According to the construction team they will be focusing their attention on fine tuning the underwater structure by topping up the bags and making sure it meets the original design criteries.

ASR’s Technical Director, Shaw Mead is still confident that the Reef will be finished later this month - “Like any major construction project, there are extensive checks to be undertaken before we can say the project is complete. We are now starting to make all those checks thoroughly and according to the agreed specification.”

Back on the beach the team has also been dismantling their pipelines and equipment into containers, removing containers from the beach and flattening the surplus sand stockpile. It will seem a little strange having the beach returned to its former glory after so long with enormous piles of sand everywhere.

There have been a few negative vibes in the press recently but what we have seen so far we have been encouraged by, and we need to see a winter season if not a whole year before we pass judgement on how good it really could be.

Other locals who have sneaked a paddle out onto the reef have been commenting on the local Dorset Echo site -

woolamai from christchurch says…

2:10pm Thu 10 Sep 09

…. It’s produced quality waves a good few times already on just summer windswells - you just need to be there when it’s working - and if that’s 6am before the sun is up then so be it. And that’s no different from anywhere else in the world. It’s a step up in power and difficulty from the local beach breaks but no reason it can’t be surfed by anyone - boogie boarders, stand-ups, skis, SUPs. It’s going to be killer when the winter groundswells kick-off. Give it 6 months and the only complaints will be that it’s too crowded and we need another one. Boscombe Beach is getting a really good feel - surfers, paddleboards, triathletes and open water swimmers, skis and canoeists all over the place, loads of joggers and bladers on the prom, surf schools, personal trainers with their squads, surf shops and cafes right on the beach. Lifeguards have got really professional. It might not be Venice Beach or Bondi but there aren’t many places to rival this in the UK. I’m going home to Melbourne in 2012 and I’ll miss the place.

Guy Cribb Rides the Reef

Local Windsurfing legend Guy Cribb has also managed to get a few hours shredding on the new reef. Reported to be the first windsurfer to ride it he was pretty ecstatic to say teh least..

“I’ve ridden waves all over the world, but it’s great to be able to nip down to Bournemouth and score some good surf in July. And with restaurants like Urban Reef right on the sea front, virtually on the reef, the waves aren’t the only attractive aspect to the south’s newly formed surf spot.” Said Guy.

Don’t forget you can check out the very latest conditions on the Boscombe Reef Surf Cam.