SURFING’S POOL DEBATE IGNITED
WHY THE COAST IS THE PERFECT LOCATION
THE launch of Australia’s first wave pool at Yeppoon has sparked more than 400 inquires worldwide – and don’t be surprised to see more wave pools built with the Gold Coast targeted as a potential future location.
The Yeppoon facility is only a test facility and basically a full-sized prototype to sell the idea to potential licensees.
The Surf Lake uses a giant wave machine to generate concentric swells in the centre of a lagoon which is about 200m by 180m.
Like a centrifugal plunger powered by diesel generators and compressed air, the waves radiate out and then intersect with four reefs.
Each reef has a left and a right multiple peak.
Each concentric swell creates eight separate waves.
At full capacity it can create around five swells a minute. That’s five swells times eight breaks: That adds up to 40 waves a minute.
Maximum wave size will be about 2.4m face height although the demo day was more like one metre and anywhere in between.
It can cater for the pros, advanced, intermediate and beginner.
It is totally different to Kelly Slater’s wave pool, which resembles a left or right point break using a large foil on a “train” producing a boat wash-style wave.
Whereas the Lakes offers a series of multiple random short and punchy peaks breaking similar to a reef break or beach break.
Wave pools would be a welcome development for the Tweed and Gold Coast where the main breaks are suffering from overcrowding.
This future development would help alleviate overcrowding from the wellestablished surf breaks that have reached saturation point.
The City of Gold Coast is planning to build an artificial reef break at Palm Beach in 2019 with no certainty that it will create a perfect wave, whereas the money is now on wave pools like Kelly’s and Yeppoon.
Most agree that a mechanical wave will never be as good as the natural oceangenerated swell.
The wave pool is predictable and repetitive compared to the ocean’s unpredictable attraction.
It’s incredible when you think that Kelly’s wave pool has created the perfect wave yet it is boring when presented as a WCT event.
First impressions of Yeppoon is that it can only generate a quick ride and needs more size. But hey, these are early days and already the technology is capable of anything.
Keep watching this space for updates.