RealSurf Surfers' Forum

Artificial skiing is probably the best comparison - small controlled environment vs great outdoors. Both impressive technical achievements (I'm thinking the Tamworth snow dome rather than a slab of dendix on a hill) and both offering a watered down facsimile of the real thing. Except nobody ever suggested that you'd want to spend a week - and several grand - in a shithole in the midlands doing the same small run over and over instead of going to the Alps.

But wouldn't the average mountain ski run be vastly superior (in slope, length etc) to the Snowdome run.
Whereas one of Kelly's beauties is likely to be clearly superior (in wave shape, length etc) to an average surfing beach wave.

Hmm, good point. Fuck I dunno. Maybe there is no analogy, it just is what it is

godsavethequeen wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:05 pm

Artificial skiing is probably the best comparison - small controlled environment vs great outdoors. Both impressive technical achievements (I'm thinking the Tamworth snow dome rather than a slab of dendix on a hill) and both offering a watered down facsimile of the real thing. Except nobody ever suggested that you'd want to spend a week - and several grand - in a shithole in the midlands doing the same small run over and over instead of going to the Alps.

Lol Tamworth

Beerfan wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 07, 2017 6:04 pm

godsavethequeen wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:05 pm

Artificial skiing is probably the best comparison - small controlled environment vs great outdoors. Both impressive technical achievements (I'm thinking the Tamworth snow dome rather than a slab of dendix on a hill) and both offering a watered down facsimile of the real thing. Except nobody ever suggested that you'd want to spend a week - and several grand - in a shithole in the midlands doing the same small run over and over instead of going to the Alps.

Lol Tamworth

I had to look it up too.

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&sour ... QzXTCOXU4g

One analogy would be modern footy grounds.
Whether it be Wembley, Anfield, Suncorp Stadium or Lambeau Field, they have mostly artificial surfaces. That is how the surface, even in mid-winter, remains so good. An artificial mat with artificial grass, with some real grass sown and grown in. Leads to good footy.
I used to go to most Brisbane League grand finals at Lang Park back in the old days. Most games were played in a cloud of dust. Very dry winters up here and the grass stops growing.

So what you're saying is that Kelly's wave pool is actually better than the real thing? That seems a bold call

I still prefer real tits to fake ones

No GSTQ, I was just throwing in a semi-reasonable positive analogy for a change.

Of course, I am not counting ambience and serendipity, which are very important.
But really, most waves most surfers catch are few and far between, and are short, and are crap, and though we are all highly evolved spritual yogis of the church of the open sky, we would happily compromise a little for a fkn good wave.
Particularly a long one where we can try out a few things.

yes foamy except you will never ride a wave in Kelly's pool. It is not made for retail surfing (and yes that is exactly what we are talking about here, the core feature of surfing becoming a retail item). It is made for top end pros and for Events. Special things. There is only one of these pools and it is in the back arse of nowhere in central California.

meanwhile a gorgeous and near flawless south swell has been slithering up the Australian east coast under moderate offshore winds. I wouldn't swap a single wave I've ridden in the past coupla days for anything in any wave pool I've seen.

Yes well, "attitudes to surf parks [have] changed significantly, even in one year, probably as a result of the opening of Surf Snowdonia and the video showing Kelly Slater’s new wave lagoon. Whereas in 2015, 78% of surfers said they would use a surf park, this figure had increased to 94% in the 2016 survey. Jess also referred to a specific surf study conducted by Barbiere & Sotomayor in 2014 that found that 40% of surfers had taken 10 or more surf trips in the past 5 years – highlighting the great tourism potential of surf parks that, unlike the ocean, can guarantee quality waves during the surf trip" so you're either behind the times, Nick, or deluded or both.

Source: Surfpark Central. The Future of Surfing Outside the Ocean

Surfparks central, might, just might not be the most unbiased source.

It amuses me to think that business decisions may well be made on the back of those survey results

10 surf trips in 5 years? 40% of surfers?

Go to a surfpark for a surf holiday! For Christ's sake, have they taken leave of their senses!

Nick, how long before we get a breakaway surf competition run by surfers?

Please don't tell me never.

Will intermediates trade blue warm water, brown people serving you drinks and the tropical idyll of the Maldives for a surf park "experience"?

Foamingham says yes because the wave is better than the average shitt they surf back home.........I'm very unconvinced.

Post surf at the Ox the other day I was sitting on the rocks chatting with some crew, someone pulled out some very high grade marijuana tincture and we all got pretty sideways in the sunshine.
Chat turned to wavepools and I asked this chap, quite well connected, in fact manager to WSL world champs what he thought.

He said he had been to the one in Malaysia, pretty good wave by all accounts.
He said after 45 mins and the novelty had worn off he was bored shittless........he bought his hand around in a broad sweep to encompass the rocks, the sky, the lineup and said he'd rather the worst day here any day of the week.*

*He might have been a bit sideways and I was definitely sideways so maybe this recount is not note perfect but you get the gist.

Thats the only eyewitness report I've heard from someone not on the PR team.