Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Fake news? SA duo in ‘pool’ win
ing her 30th birthday. ing sideshow to events in the actual ocean.
Lets hope so. I read rumours in the surf media that because it was so successful, there are bigger plans afoot for more ubiquitous wave pools. You hear of construction starting in several places. They are likely to start sprouting all over the show. Imagine paddling out at your local spot and there’s surfers from Vladivostok or San Antonio.
It seems, notwithstanding the rapturous official line, that the event surpassed all expectations. South African surfer Damien Fahrenfort was quoted as saying it was the best event he had ever been to “and that includes the Super Bowl. It was like being at the best festival you could imagine with surf as the headline!”
That might be a stretch, but it seems that some of the hype was justified. Wave pool events offer a carnival atmosphere, with a much more homogeneous aggregation of spectators. Makes for great commentary and interaction.
Another point to have come up in the debate is that much of the criticism comes from people who haven’t been to or surfed in one of the new wave pools. Forget Sun City, this is a proper if small, wave that is mechanically perfect, and it barrels.
Founder of the pool Kelly Slater, who was over the moon last weekend, was his usual elastic self as captain of the US team, but is listed as injured for the Oi Pro in Brazil, which started yesterday.
We know that Slater doesn’t like the Brazil leg of the tour, which is known for small, mushy surf.
How ironic that an inland artificial wave is more appealing than the actual ocean, but granted, it was an historic occasion, no matter your views.
If you’re interested, Brazil took second, while crowd favourites the USA – despite
The handful
of
female all the arm-waving encouragement from Slater – took third.
Australia was fourth and Europe fifth. If they can just improve the wave, and make it a bit bigger, we’d be in business.
Oops. Too late. We’re already in business, literally.
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Clean 3-4’ peaks run along open coast today on a beautifully calm day. No wind at all. The ocean looks like sheet glass.
The surf has dropped since yesterday, but should be a few to be found all over the peninsula and up the West Coast. Muizenberg glassy and clean but small, 1-2 feet. Tomorrow, the swell has picked up with 4-5’ sets but plagued by moderate southerlies, which is not a great wind for both sides of the peninsula. Muizenberg wobbly and onshore and small 2’.