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Plans for a surfing revamp at St Ouen are a step too far
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From Scott Eastwood.
HAVING been a surfer at the Splash now for 23 years, I write to express my concern at the proposed £10 million redevelopment of the Watersplash to create a world-class family surfing centre.
I understand that one of the aims of this development is to create a year-round surf tourism market in the Island and to re-establish Jersey as a key surfing venue for international competitions.
As a local Island surfer, I have several issues with these aims. First of all, the reason that Jersey doesn’t attract a great deal of surf tourism is primarily due to the fact that the waves are less consistent and of lower quality than many other European surf destinations such as France.
The introduction of an artificial ‘flow rider’ is not going to change the quality or frequency of waves we get in the Island, but it will serve to increase the number of people surfing at St Ouen’s Bay and more than likely lead to higher numbers of surf-related accidents in the water, and also increase the impact on the environment.
Surfing in Jersey is already growing at a phenomenal rate and in my opinion it doesn’t need the sudden increase in numbers that a development such as this is likely to bring.
There is also the issue of wanting to re-establish Jersey as a key venue for international surfing competition as it was in the 1960s. The quality of waves that we get now is certainly no different from the 1960s, but the change in equipment from the longboards ridden in that era to today’s modern short boards means that the typical waves that you are likely to have over a short contest waiting period (certainly in the summer months, at least) are more often than not suited to longboard surfing, not to today’s modern style of high-performance short boarding.
Similarly, the growing emphasis on giving the world’s best surfers the best opportunity to demonstrate their full repertoire of moves in the best conditions possible means that Jersey is not likely to be top of the list as a would-be World Qualifying Series venue.
As already stated by former Jersey Surf Club president Doug Creedon, St Ouen’s Bay has that ‘grass roots’ feel about it, and that is why it is such an appealing place to most, if not all, of the Island’s surfing community.
Does the Splash really need a flow rider, swanky restaurants, board lockers, surf lodges, another surf shop and everything else that has been proposed? I would be the first to agree that the existing structure could do with a bit of a makeover, but I would respectfully suggest that the proposed redevelopment would be several steps too far.
La Maison du Canal,
Rue des Nouettes,
St Ouen.
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