Surfers ride once-a-decade tidal wave

A once-in-a-decade tidal wave surged down the River Severn yesterday morning carrying a horde of surfers relishing the rare natural phenomenon. The Environment Agency classified the wave as a top-rated five star event on the stretch of river that boasts the second highest tide in the world.

Joanne Hillman, of the British Surfing Association, said board enthusiasts had been competing to take the longest ride on the Severn Bore since the 1960s. “It’s pretty dangerous with trees and debris in the water so only skilled surfers take on the Bore,” she said.



“It must be one of the toughest surfing challenges in the world because the key is to ride the wave for miles. Most surfers would struggle to last the distance.”

A spokeswoman for the Environment Agency said the most powerful waves were seen roughly once every ten years. The phenomenon is caused by the funnel shape of the estuary, which narrows as it moves inland from the Bristol Channel thereby forcing the water level to rise.



“Large spring tides come a couple of times a year but when Atlantic tidal levels combine with the right river conditions you have these more powerful Bores,” she said.

The Bay of Fundy, located between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in Canada is the only place in the world to have recorded a larger rise between low and high tide. On the Severn the difference in any one day can be more than 14.5 metres.