I am a 30 year old Surfer from Aberystwyth. I was born in Aberystwyth and I grew up Surfing, Skateboarding, Fishing etc on the Aberystwyth Waterfront. It is by no Accident that I am still living and working close to the Aberystwyth Waterfront to this day.
I am well travelled and I have also Lived and worked in New Zealand and California so it is fair to say I have experience of “paradise found” and “Paradise Lost”. My Background is in Environmental Impact Assessment and Marine Biology, which again is no co-incidence and relates to my experiences growing up in Aberystwyth.

I am concerned to find out that a new Community project focussing on the Harbour area of Aberystwyth is going to include a Web Camera overlooking the Surf Break near the Harbour Mouth (The Trap). This is exploitation of a Natural resource. As a surfing resource, it is a very small area which will not comfortably hold a crowd of more than 10 surfers. The broader the ability spectrum of the surfers the less of a crowd it will hold. In addition the smaller the waves (typical days surfing are 2-3ft waves) the more stretched the resource is and the greater the number of Collisions and Confrontations. Add to this a variety of Surfcraft, and the reality of being hit by an out of control Canoe or Novice surfer and you have a strong probability of sustaining serious injury (I am no stranger to A&E because of this scenario).

Placing a web cam above the surfbreak openly invites an unquantifyable number of people of mixed ability. It will prove to be too much pressure for this resource. This bares similarity to Tourist based schemes like visits to Aires Rock, where there isn’t enough Water for the Local indigenous People of the area, because it is over subscribed.
A promotion of this surfing resource will ruin it for the Local people whilst making it a horrible experience for the visiting person.

The local crew of surfers have all saved (and slaved) to set up homes and lives close to this area. There aren’t many options for surf breaks in the immediate area, other than Borth beach which is learner friendly but not in the same league as the Harbour mouth wave. I have heard of many, sensationalist developments for Borth, along with an artificial reef which will promote the area as the ‘Malibu of Wales’. I have spent time in Malibu, it is a terrible, crowded and Violent place. Where surfers commit actual bodily harm on each other, when the crowds are heavy and there is nowhere to park. And even the highly publicised Pacific South swells provide 1 ridable wave every 10 minutes for the hundreds of Surfers who have turned up.

Aberystwyth surfing at the moment is still good, but it could be better. The water in the local environment is filthy (PCB’s, heavy metals and Pooh). It is full of Hazards, most of the more serious ones cannot be seen and relate to currents, hence I have developed the ability to battle the 2 rivers in Flood and paddle against the 6knot river currents whilst some who have followed me without careful consideration have had to be rescued by the RNLI. I have almost 20years of experience of this place. Visitors have little or none and still put themselves in Harms way. Recently one individual got their leg caught under a rock weighing 100’s of Kilograms when a wave battered the neglected Sea defence’s near the shore here, and the massive rock landed on top of him, he was a seasoned and experienced person and that is all that kept him alive.
I have met so called surfers, who have arrived in vans, full of glee, and watched them the following morning as they tip their chemical loo/potty’s down the storm drains which flow 15ft out to the nearby sea. These people often have no affinity for the area, and are a menace. Their actions and attitudes on land more often than not carry into the water.

Surfing conditions in Ceredigion are not often at an optimum. The coastline is described as inconsistent, this means that weeks can pass without a ridable wave, but it also implies that when swells arrive, they can have lulls of up to 40minutes between ridable waves. Add to this numerous hungry visitors and a crew of Aberystwyth locals who want a quiet wave after work and you get friction, underlying tensions and potentially trouble.
The Gower peninsula has some of the worst car crime in Europe. Informed individuals of the criminal persuasion keep time tables in their pockets so they can best determine when to break into cars and steal items from Surfers (easy targets) whilst they spend time in the surf. This criminal element is known to have sneaked up to Ceredigion surfbreaks in pursuit of the Swansea based surfers who are seeking sanctuary on these shores, from crowds and Crime. It is starting to happen here!

Surfing operates on a code of conduct, or etiquette system. Surfer nearest the curl has right of way, Don’t cut another surfer off. Often new riders don’t know the ‘rules of the water’ or do not want to comply.
In addition surfing has an unwritten series of Etiquette, adopted globally. Don’t turn up en-masse at another surfbreak (especially one that doesn’t have much space, be respectful of the Local surfers and their environment. Don’t destroy what you came to enjoy etc
All this considerations are implemented on far more consistent beaches, with vast space and better waves across the globe, and still some are too threatening/dangerous/busy to think about visiting.

My hometown is where I find myself wondering about when I’m in the fray on distant shores. I find myself feeling happy I can return home to a quiet and enjoyable surfing scene back at the Trap.

Thus I find it hard to comprehend why a community project would spend money on something that would be to the detriment of the local community who use the break. A camera would alienate the Aberystwyth surfers, just in the same way other heavy handed Harbour developments have over the last 20 years (i.e. the Marina and associated environmental/social impacts, the Harbour dredging, the sewage problems) have pushed us out on a limb. Not being consulted or truly considered. People outside of Aberystwyth get prioritised in these projects, I feel the community already here is pushed aside.

On a positive note, if money is available to improve the area around the Harbour, great! Implement A clean water initiative, educate boat owners about Diesel spills and discarded Fishing tackle; Do something for the Otters (who suffer at the hands of Harbour development…where is the mitigation?) or Dolphins who have the highest PCB levels in their livers out of any Dolphin population in the world!
Put some money into consulting. Let people be your power and generate ideas. A little cash can go a very long way.

by Den

TAKEN FROM THE FRONT PAGE BY SITE ADMIN AND PLACED HERE

Andy Fisher, Aberystwyth Harbour Trap Surfer of 7 years

Being a history teacher I teach my pupils to weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of any opinion before coming to a conclusion.  Unfortunately, whilst I like to give a balanced argument the only positive to web cams is in saving time looking at weather charts and swell forecasts.
The weakness of this is that the weather charts and swell forecasts are far more reliable and any serious water user is likely to refer to these charts long before using a web cam as the web cam provides an instant fix that will not show how conditions are going to change in the coming hours.  What this means is that web cams attract a lot of inexperienced water users to an area.  This creates problems for a number of reasons.  The Trap itself is not suitable for inexperienced water users.  There are a number of reasons for this outlined by others on the discussion board, however, I personally know of two kayaks lost in the Trap that required the intervention of others to save the kayakers and the kayaks themselves were later washed up on Ynyslas beach.  The two kayakers concerned were not aware of the hazards associated with this particular break, to their cost (fortunately financial this time).  Being a kayak surfer myself I have seen a lot of tension between surfers and kayakers.  The reason for this is not the craft that is being used but the inexperience of kayakers using the ocean.  A web cam would only serve to aggravate the issue that has been improving of late due to a growing knowledge of the local conditions by local kayakers.  An inexperienced kayaker is far more dangerous in a confined space such as the Trap than a board surfer because an out of control kayak can cause serious damage to both boards and bodies.  As a board surfer as well I have only recently started surfing the Trap on a board because I know, and am happy with, my limits.  Not all surfers are so happy to do this and it leads to increased dangers in the water.  When the danger increases so do the stress levels and consequently growing numbers of inexperienced surfers can only lead to more tension in the water.  Many of the student surfers in Aberystwyth are aware of the dangers of the Trap and so the less experienced will head to Borth or Ynyslas.  A web cam will not highlight the dangers and so more inexperienced water users will head to Aberystwyth harbour.  My parents live down in Cornwall and I have witnessed first hand tension between water users, often due to one or both parties lack of experience, at beaches with web cams boil over into vandalism and/or violence.
As a teacher, I am constantly reminding my pupils how lucky they are to live in a town like Aberystwyth.  I moved here to escape the crowds that seem to have taken over many other coastal towns in Wales and England.  I would be very disappointed if this was spoilt by something as seemingly harmless as a web cam in Aberystwyth, however, I can guarantee that I will not be the only one who will be upset.  Many of the pupils I teach would not be happy either and as this is supposed to be a community issue, perhaps this should be raised in the local schools to see if the next generation of water users would be happy with Aberystwyth being turned into another Porthcawl or Newquay with their associated water based tension and crime levels on land.
There are certainly selfish reasons for not wanting a web cam overlooking the trap, however, having considered the strengths and weaknesses of this project I cannot help thinking that the weaknesses of the proposed scheme far outweigh the benefits and this conclusion is not based on NIMBYISM but, after considering the strengths and weaknesses of the project for the community, and indeed travelling water users as a whole.

andrew fisher

Amos,

I have surfed ( in various craft) for the last 23 years on Trap, have kayaked (and taught kayaking) extensively in the area, sailed in and out of the harbour and now own a small fishing boat. I am also the Station Training Co-ordinator for Borth Inshore Lifeboat and have strong links with the local Coastguard.

It is clear from this forum and talking to the local surf community that a web cam showing the waves on Trap would not be welcome. Many enjoyng the mellow local vibe that surfing on Trap does have. Fearing how a web cam in other locations has encouraged huge unwelcome crowds. Bringing less experienced surfers to what is quite a difficult wave to surf with severe consequences. Also people from away who tend to surf in more crowded conditions and have developed a more aggressive attitude to other water users.

If this is truely a community facility and the 'surfers' are part of this Aberystwyth community then the web cam will immediately alienate a large section of people and show that this site has less to do with community and maybe for some other reason.

I have also talked to local boat owners. All of who said that they use weather forecasts, especially the shipping forecast, to determine their journeys. They didnt say a web cam would improve their decission making. Many didnt understand the 'fuss' surfers are making, unaware how we value the character of the Trap and how many have seen other surf breaks spoilt by the influence of web cams.

Well thats my view. Is this a community site? Who is to benefit from this site?