Pearns Point Beach Creation

Cummins Cederberg was retained to create a beach for a luxury development on the east coast of Antigua. The development included luxury villas and hotel in a private peninsula overlooking the Caribbean Sea. The main portion of the property naturally exhibited limited beach area, which was an important amenity for the coastal development.

Cummins Cederberg conducted an initial site analysis to observe shoreline configuration, topographic features, sediment conditions, and coastal processes. Site opportunities and constraints were subsequently discussed with the client in order to develop a design in line with their vision and budget.

The coastal engineering study was conducted to understand local and regional coastal processes. Offshore wave data from Cummins Cederberg’s in-house global wave data base was analyzed statistically   in   order   to   understand normal and extreme wave conditions along with potential seasonal variations. Sediment transport patterns are generally dictated by normal average wave conditions, while extreme conditions govern the design of coastal structures such as groins and breakwaters.

Detailed wave and sediment transport modeling were subsequently conducted utilizing the advanced MIKE21 software. Nearshore wave conditions and sediment transport patterns were determined for the subsequent beach and rock groin design.

The beach was designed following natural sediment transport patterns, thereby providing for a cost-effective design and eliminating future maintenance needs.