This Changes Everything – St Francis Bay Groynes video by Brad Peens

by | Aug 31, 2025 | SFPO, St Francis

Brad Peens has a surfing YouTube Channel called Down The Line and has introduced the current state of the LTCPS or groyne project with his ‘This Changes Everything’ video.

Here, he documents the early stages of the Long Term Coastal Protection Scheme.

Check it out

Read More: Newsflash From St Francis Property Owners NPC (SRA) – Construction Of The Groyne At The Bottom Of Laura Road Is Showing Good Progress – Images

See more of Brad’s videos: Down The Line

 

Newsflash From St Francis Property Owners NPC (SRA) – Dredging Pipe Placements on Ralph Road on Thursday 31 July In SFB

Newsflash From St Francis Property Owners NPC (SRA) – Dredging Pipe Placements on Ralph Road on Thursday 31 July In SFB

by | Jul 30, 2025 | SFPO, St Francis

Thursday 31 July Dredging Pipe Drop Off Zone

 

Today, Thursday, 31 July, will see a delivery of dredging pipes alongside Ralph Road. The drop-off zone will be in the area between Lara Road and where Ralph Road slides away from the beach, as you are heading north. This delivery will comprise 64 pipes of 15m in length. This pipe delivery continues the prep work for the Long Term Coastal Protection Scheme (LTCPS). The scheme will dredge sand from the Sand River Delta and other priority areas on The Kromme to various discharge points along the beachfront for beach nourishment, extending up to Main Beach.

The final dredging pipeline will comprise pipes ranging in length from 15 to 90m. Due to their length, the pipeline will be assembled onsite. This process begins with the delivery of the pipe, and then the subsequent welding will take place over the following 6 weeks.

The third phase will involve moving, placing and joining the pipe in its final location.

The dredging process is estimated to commence three months from the initial placement of the piping.

Miller Engineered Solutions is the appointed contractor for the dredging.

Stay Informed

Further details, updates, and progress reports are available on the St Francis Property Owners Association website under the SFPO NPC (SRA) menu.

SFPO NPC Contact:

Lyn Aitken – Administration Manager

Phone: 042 294 0594

Email: info@sfpo.co.za

Office Address: 9 Philippa Place, St Francis Bay

Newsflash From St Francis Property Owners NPC (SRA) – Access Road Along The Top Of The Spit, Public Moorings Shut Down. 

Newsflash From St Francis Property Owners NPC (SRA) – Access Road Along The Top Of The Spit, Public Moorings Shut Down. 

by | Jul 30, 2025 | SFPO, St Francis

© Barry Culligan

Nu-Plant Projects, a specialist earthworks contractor, is currently constructing a 3.5-metre-wide temporary access road along the crest of the St Francis spit.

This road will serve as a dedicated service corridor, enabling construction machinery to access multiple points along the beach for the purposes of groyne construction and beach nourishment.

Public Moorings Shut Down

For health and safety reasons, the two public mooring points located on the inner side of the ski boat canal, which are commonly used for beach access over the spit, will be temporarily removed. These access points intersect with the construction corridor and therefore fall within the active construction zone.

Stay Informed

Further details, updates, and progress reports are available on the St Francis Property Owners Association website under the SFPO NPC (SRA) menu.

SFPO NPC Contact:

Lyn Aitken – Administration Manager

Phone: 042 294 0594

Email: info@sfpo.co.za

Office Address: 9 Philippa Place, St Francis Bay

See also: Resealing and Rehabilitation of Roads – R200 Million Resealing Project

St Francis Bay Groyne Project: Latest Update – When and Where

St Francis Bay Groyne Project: Latest Update – When and Where

by | Aug 8, 2024 | SFPO

St Francis Bay Groyne Project Update – a regular column where we dig a little deeper into what is happening with the groyne field project in St Francis Bay.

Our second column consists of further questions for Wayne Furphy, the Chairperson of the St Francis Property Owners Association and the SFPO Nonprofit Company.

There are five phases in total identified for the long-term coastal protection scheme. We understand that work will start with phases 1 and 2. When do you think phases 1 and 2 will be finished?

Phases 1 and 2 include three groynes. The construction of the first three groynes and the nourishment of the beaches on the Spit and Main Beach is expected to take 14 months. Construction of the groynes will commence first and should be finished within the first 3-6 months, whereas the sand nourishment will commence later, take longer and will be completed within the 14 months contract period. 

Where will the first groyne be positioned?

The first groyne will be positioned at the northern end of the Spit at the river mouth. The Environmental Authorisation specifies the order in which the groynes are constructed and the beach areas nourished with sand. Hence the phases 1 to 5, shown on the groyne field diagram.

Where is the sand going to come from?

The sand will come from the Kromme River. The areas from which sand will be taken have been identified. This required extensive environmental investigation and surveying the river, sampling and comparing the sand sample in the river to the sand found on the beach to ensure they are of a similar granular size.

How is that sand going to be transported to the beaches? 

The contractors bidding for this project will propose how they will transport the sand from the river to the beach. The most likely method will be dredging the sand from the river onto the beach. We are inviting contractors to offer other alternatives if they are cheaper and quicker.

See Wayne’s first interview here – Furphy Interview

See also: St Francis Property Owners Association

 

 

St Francis Bay Groyne Project: Latest Update – When and Where

St Francis Bay Groyne Project Update

by | Jul 22, 2024 | SFPO

A regular column where we dig a little deeper into what is happening with the groyne field project in St Francis Bay.

Our first column consists of some straightforward questions to Wayne Furphy, who is the Chairperson of the St Francis Property Owners Association and the SFPO Non Profit Company.

 Many questions have been floating around about the progress of the Long Term Coastal Protection Solution in St Francis Bay. Most of the questions pertain to whether we will actually see this groyne field project come to fruition, what the groynes will be constructed out of, and when we can expect the construction to start.  

SFT: Are we going to see the groynes being constructed? 

 WF: Groynes are used around the world to protect and preserve beaches. A groyne field consisting of six groynes forms the basis of our Long Term Coastal Protection Solution in St Francis Bay. The groynes will be constructed using rocks. We start with the two groynes on the Spit, then move to Anne Avenue where we construct the third groyne. We will then nourish the beach between the two groynes on the Spit, as well as Main Beach to the south of the Anne Avenue groyne.

When will construction begin?

WF: We expect to be ready to start construction in September this year. This will depend on (1) the price tendered falling within the cost estimates calculated by Worley (the Coastal Engineers who designed this solution) and the funds we have available at this point in time, and (2) the time required by the contractor to mobilise for this project, i.e. moving their equipment from their current location to St Francis Bay. We expect the construction of the three groynes and the sand nourishment on the Spit and Main Beach to take approximately 14 months. The remaining groynes and sand nourishment will be undertaken once we have additional funding available to do so.

The fundraising update can be found here

Some examples of groyne fields

Maputo

 

Lisbon

St Francis Bay Groyne Project

 

Local R20k Donation To Long Term Coastal Protection Project

Local R20k Donation To Long Term Coastal Protection Project

by | Apr 2, 2024 | SFPO

Wayne Furphy, Dr Gillian Adendorf, Lyn Aitken, Richard Fulford

Local R20k Donation

A big thank you to the contributors to the Camera 57 project in St Francis Village for a local R20k donation. They recently handed a cheque for just over R20 000.00 to Wayne Furphy (Chairman) and Lyn Aiken (Admin Manager) of the SFPO NPC for the Long Term Coastal Protection project. The contributors were represented by Yamaha SFB’s Richard Fulford and award-winning architect Dr Gillian Adendorf.

Camera 57

A few years ago, residents within this section of the Village were fed up with the spike in crime in the area. Assisted by SFPO Director responsible for the CCTV installation, Dave Truter and local security companies, the group raised money to fund camera 57 to provide round the clock surveillance on the corner of Ralph and Saxe Roads.

Much Appreciated Gesture

The project was oversubscribed, and the group agreed that the excess monies collected should be used for the beach restoration project, which will benefit all residents of St. Francis. This is a much-appreciated gesture!
For more details, go to the St Francis Property Owners Association website here
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