Seems as though the simmering wave pool talk has finally hit a boiling point in the water. Eastern Surf Mag, the 2nd greatest publication on earth (next to Maxim) wrote an article in the January issue called
'What the Latest East Coast Wave Pool Technology Means For Our Sport' which detailed the possibility of getting a real wave pool built- either here or abroad. If anyone knows the importance of wave pools in our culture, it's the east coast. Wave pools would be a welcome sight to flat spells in the Atlantic that last for months on end. But there are skeptics- and rightfully so- to paraphrase the ESM article: "Some think the technology isn't good enough, while others think it's just financial quicksand. 'It's hard not to be a skeptic' says Florida legend Matt Kechele, a decorated WQS vet and renowned industry rep who has both organized and surfed in big-name contests at East Coast wave pools.
'I competed in the Allentown ASP event in Pennsylvania in the 80's. The ASP said it was 5-6' with barrels. So we show up and I was looking at the pool and I thought it was the kiddie pool. I asked where the real pool was and someone said 'That's it.' I think steel doors created the wave, which ended up being 1-2'. It was hilarious.' But what makes today's wave pool ventures different is that the business model has evolved thanks to such failures and the bubble that is wave pool technology is expanding and becoming more reinforced with time. 'In the past, wave pools haven't made money because the number of waves these pools are able to produce puts one or two surfers on 1 wave at a set interval.' says Matt Reilly, the Director of Marketing and Operations at Surf Park Central, a wave pool promotions media outlet. 'It wasn't sustainable. But by tying the wave pool to some sort of amusement or attraction, the companies have been able to pay their bills.'
For example, the mother lode of all amusements/attractions- Disney World- created Typhoon Lagoon in Orlando, FL. That wave pool has an interval of 90 seconds; that's the time it takes to fill the piston tanks full of pressure to crate a wave. And only allowing one person on a wave every 90 seconds wouldn't be economically feasible without the parks other attractions. But operating a wave pool in conjunction with additional activity offerings- like water slides and a lazy river in the case of Typhoon Lagoon- is a business model that works.
As you've probably read many a times in the North County Surf blog (i.e. articles 'Wavepool Battles 1-4'), there's been many competing technologies out there- like the Wavegarden in Spain, Kelly Slater Wave Company, Dion's Desert Dubai Dredger, and mad scientist/board builder Greg Webber's machine. Well it looks like the first commercial stab at a 'real' wave will be Greg Webber's (and by first, I mean that you're never going to Dubai, Typhoon Lagoon is a mushy bodyboard wave unless you pony up a few grand to rent it for a few hours, and Slater's first attempt went belly-up. So yes, Greg's will be the first open to the public in real waves). Stab Magazine from Australia (my 3rd favorite magazine) reported this week that Australia will be getting the wave pool in September of 2015.
Here's the story: "
The three biggest teases in surfing are: Dane Reynolds’ possible return to tour, Alana Blanchard’s Instagram account, and the coming-to-fruition of technology that produces perfect waves of a decent size, aka a barreling, shoulder-high wavepool. There’s been plenty of decent attempts, the most noteworthy of which has been the
Wavegarden, but the two chlorine waves to promise the most have been the Kelly Slater Wave Co, and Webber Wave Pools. A year ago, the company that was bank rolling Kelly’s Gold Coast wave pool site went into voluntary administration, following investigation for doing shady s#!t. Which left but one name in the race: Webber Wave Pools. Captained by shaper-turned-manmade wave scientist, Greg Webber, just took another step towards actually producing the waves you used to draw on schoolbooks. The company has just signed a memorandum of understanding with surfer-entrepreneur David Baird for the construction of the first artificial wave pool in Australia. In short, Greg’s wave pool concept will now finally be developed into a commercial project. “We’ve been making this kind of tube in the lab and the river for years,” says Greg. “At last, we will be doing it at full scale. The location is somewhere in Southeast Queensland, but we can’t say exactly where just yet.” It’s been a long road for Greg to get bring his vision to fruition, driven by the fact that, among a great many other things, surfers are motivated to travel around the world and surf no more than 100 waves for three to five grand. So what’ll they spend on that many waves in a day trip to a water park? Then there’s the whole thing of introducing the gift of surfing good vibes into the lives of millions more…
The wave itself breaks continuously and without end. It can accommodate multiple surfers at once. The wave height and shape can be altered within seconds in the oval water park. It breaks into a normal depth of water, exactly like an ocean wave, with a softer surface underneath, so if you do hit the bottom, it’ll be spongy. Greg believes that the gradient has been too gradual on wave pool attempts thus far, meaning development of perfect gradients for different wave stages has been a real area of focus within his project. And so, David Baird will be the first developer of an artificial wave pool in Australia. “David is a surfer-entrepreneur with a great business brain,” says Greg, “but still gets very excited about the thought of getting barreled on a head-high wave in a Webber pool.” Baird owns the site where it’ll be constructed, and the finance is already approved.
So what does that mean for us here in the States? Good news is that Webber's Wave in Australia will be the guinea pig. If this can show a profit (and of all people the surf crazed Aussies will make this work) then some casino mogul here in Vegas will jump all over it and MAYBE we'll see a good wave pool here before 2020...
