But in 2005 the surfers found out that a first draft of the project had been approved and, if it went ahead would completely block all swell to both Barceloneta beaches. This project was publicly displayed and all involved parties were invited to propose amendments. The A.C.S. hired the services of the New Zealand based engineering firm ASR Ltd, which produced a paper on artificial reefs as a possible solution to the erosion problem. This paper was presented by the A.C.S. as a proposed correction to the project. The ASR Ltd fee was paid by the A.C.S. and through donations from local surfers.

On a sunny Sunday of March 2006, and after several months without news, the A.C.S. organized a first demonstration on the Barceloneta beach. Over 300 surfers attended this peaceful event under a SOS SURF BCN banner. The demonstration made the 9 o’clock news that night and first pages on next day’s newspapers. A fierce battle between the A.C.S. and the City Council followed: the City Council tried to portray the surfers as a bunch of selfish citizens who didn’t care about the erosion problems. The A.C.S., meanwhile, maintained that technically both interests could be satisfied at no extra cost. After lots of pressure from the media the City Council agreed to leave some open beach space for the surfers, although it maintained its position against the building of an artificial reef.

The mighty shore break of Hospital del Mar. R.I.P. Photo courtesy of Joan Funkysurfing.

In September 2006 the first works started on the two Barceloneta beaches. The long rocky piers that frame the beaches were lengthened and curved inwards, creating large swell shallows. That killed of one the most charismatic of the Barceloneta beachbreaks, known as Hospital del Mar and the only option during strong on-shores or big swells. But the worst was still to come: an island pier running parallel to the beach was built at barely one meter above sea level, blocking some two-thirds of the total length of the beaches from any swell. Since then only 400 meters of beach (of a total of 1,3 km) are still open to the swell. If the crowding situation was already bad, it got much worse; but at least and thanks to the demonstration and ensuing media pressure there still is some surfing to be done on La Barceloneta.

November 2006: up to 1.000 surfers (with some windsurfers and kitesurfers) marching together trying to save their waves. Photo courtesy of Joan Funkysurfing.

Fearing the worst regarding the northern beaches, especially el Bogatell which although not as popular is also surfed very regularly, the A.C.S. held what has probably been one of the largest demonstrations in Europe by surfers so far. Around 1,000 surfers (along with some windsurfers, kite surfers, kayakers and even dinghy sailors) marched from the Bogatell to the premises of the Environment Ministry in Barcelona on Sunday November the 19^th, 2006. Timing was key as the Barcelona Council elections were due in April the following year.

Three years later
Surfing in Barcelona is still possible, both at the 400 meters of open beach on Sant Sebastià and on the northern beaches -Bogatell mainly- where the works haven’t started yet. The surfers have lost at least one main break (Hospital del Mar) and their playing field has been greatly shrunk along the rest of the Barceloneta. On the other hand the City Council is not entirely happy as there’s still some erosion after every big swell. The city elections were held in April 2007 and the party to which the Environment Counsellor belonged to lost many votes, but the same three parties renewed their coalition and still run the City affairs.

There is a strong collective feeling of pride among many local surfers as they feel vindicated both as surfers and as citizens. They found out that they are alone in this battle as no organization offered them any help. So far only the portion of the project regarding the two Barceloneta beaches has been executed, but there might even be some additional construction: the new designer hotel built at the end of the Sant Sebastià pier is demanding a private beach and would like to have the pier extended to make room for it. If this happens surfers fear that it will definitely block the only swell window left on Sant Sebastià. But the A.C.S.’s spokesperson for the SOS SURF BCN campaign, Ramon Silva, is convinced that not everything is lost: “We showed twice that if we come together, use the media to our advantage and work professionally we get results. And we have managed to save –so far- Sant Sebastià. We’ve done it twice. Why not a third time?”.

Photo courtesy of Joan Funkysurfing.

Surfing in Barcelona is indeed not an oxymoron. Not just yet.

Niegà

Up and down its shores there’s a growing number of keen surfers waiting for these elusive moments of joy and that includes the Catalonian coastline, home of Barcelona. How sad it is then that the waves of one of the most cosmopolitan capitals of southern Europe are being jeopardized by the myopia of its City Council!

Surfing in Barcelona

Barcelona has many things going for it: it’s large but not huge, it enjoys a balmy Mediterranean climate and it has been at the forefront of fashion and design in Europe thanks to artists such as Gaudí, Miró and Picasso, who are closely linked with the town’s past. It is also the capital of Catalunya, an autonomous region within Spain that has its own language and traditions. The ‘92 Summer Olympic Games put Barcelona under the spotlight and the subsequent arrival of low-cost airlines has made Barcelona a town where many foreigners come for a weekend… or for a lifetime.

Then there’s the sea and the beaches: the majority of current beaches are artificial. Get any historic map and you’ll notice that there was only water where the Barceloneta –the neighbourhood by the fishing harbour- is today. Because of its geography, a necessary part of the city expansion has come from reclaiming land from the sea. Such is the case of the Barceloneta and its 1.3 km long expanse of sand comprising two beaches: Sant Sebastià (south end) and Barceloneta (north end). These two beaches protrude from the coastline and face East; a curse and a blessing.

Barceloneta on a classic day. How’s that within a 15m. walk from Las Ramblas!! Photo courtesy of  Joan Funkysurfing.

Surfing in Barcelona started in the mid eighties. Only a few pioneers surfed the Catalan coast before windsurfing, and especially funboarding (the most extreme type of windsurfing), became popular in the Med. The latter involves heavy winds and strong seas, normally associated with winter conditions. After only a couple of winters many young funboarders realized that the Med could also offer good surfing conditions and began riding –without sails- its waves regularly; a new tribe was formed. The coast of central Catalunya -from 40kms south of Barcelona to 40kms north – offers many different orientations for a wide range of different swell directions. This means up to 130 days of surf per year, mostly during the non-summer months. The best and bigger swells, though, come from the East/North East and it’s in these conditions when the beachbreaks of La Barceloneta get going. Besides, the sea platform gets fairly deep just offshore Barcelona which translates into seriously powerful waves. All this within a 15 minute underground, bus or bicycle ride from the city center and Las Ramblas.

Occasionally one of those 130 days happens during summer. Photo courtesy of Joan Funkysurfing.

SOS SURF BCN

The ’92 Olympic Games brought a total facelift to Barcelona. In a matter of months the rail track that hindered access to La Barceloneta from the city centre was buried, and the Olympic village was built by the long beach north of it. This was later split into several smaller beaches, with piers, and a marina was built. A lot of land was reclaimed from the sea… and the sea didn’t like it.

Pretty soon Barceloneta’s existing erosion problems got much worse. Some winters were so bad -or so good from the surfer’s point of view- that come spring there was very little sand left, and the City Council had to fill the beaches up again. This prompted the Barcelona City Council and Spain’s Ministry of Environment to design an extensive project of off-shore and underwater structures, intended to block the swell on all Barcelona beaches; Barceloneta included. Upon discovering this worrying news, several surfers formed the Associació Catalana de Surf (A.C.S.), which would end up having 500 paying members. In 2003 the A.C.S. approached the City Council to find out more about the project.

In spite of the piers – and the illegal hotels being built on public property-, the waves keep rolling in. Photo courtesy of Joan Funkysurfing.

The surfers were worried that the structures being planned might not accommodate their needs (some 3,000 in Catalunya, of whom 80% live in greater Barcelona). The A.C.S. maintained that the needs of the city and those of the surfers were easily compatible. Their proposed solution –a series of artificial reefs- would also highlight Barcelona’s reputation as a forward thinking town. After all, it is one of the very few European capitals with waves.

(come back next week for the second and last part)

Niegà

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