Artificial surf reef in India

Commissioned by India’s Department of Tourism as a multi-purpose solution to impending coastal erosion that would also “improve ecology” and boost the local economy through increased ocean-based recreation, the artificial reef was completed by ASR Ltd in early 2010. The company, an entity with over 30 years of experience in multi-purpose reef construction, lists over 50 ongoing or completed projects on their web site including artificial surfing reefs in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand and most recently in Boscombe, England.



While the two reefs mentioned have incurred mixed reviews online (Some note the fickle conditions their beach requires. Some say Boscombe gets quite hollow during peak moments. Some call both endeavors “failures.”), ASR Ltd. has certainly gathered favorable attention from the surf community after releasing a video of the lefthander at Kovalam.

Daruka Dasa of The INDIA Surf Club had this to say about the new reef: “We haven’t visited Kovalam since they had the new reef built,” said Dasa, “but we plan to in the upcoming months (pre and post monsoon seasons). Look forward to seeing how it handles some larger swell! It’s also a great thing for Kovalam in helping them prevent coastal erosion. They were really starting to run out of beach.”

Dasa also passed along a message from a member of Kovalam Surf Club, who recognized the positive and negative effects of the new reef. “Unfortunately, this year we had less surfable days because the reef only starts to work when the swell is above 3 feet,” said the Kovalam Surf Club Member, “but when it works it throws up a sucking barrel. When it goes off Kovalam now offers a good quality reefbreak and the level of the kids grows gradually with every surf session.”

Source: Surfer