Re: The Tulla Tub
Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 10:40 pm
Awesome, thanks pinhead.pinhead wrote: ↑Thu Jan 09, 2020 8:57 pmOk had a better session today only a bit of smoke and no asthma.
The facility itself has a contemporary surf retail vibe. It feels like you're on the beach with people getting ready to go out and coming in, boards lying everywhere and so on - but you're not, you're beside a concrete lined swimming pool. Myself and my fellow surfers all seemed to be a little weirded out by the experience - a bit of cognitive dissonance creating an uncertain mood.
The waves come in sets with a wait for the turbulence to settle after each one. Paddling out is a doodle, you zip along on the rip created by water from the previous set draining back into the deep channel. The current also runs toward the breaking wave. If you fall off halfway down the line, Its very difficult to paddle to the shoulder and back to the channel, because of this - you are instructed to get washed into the lagoon after a fall. When the machine starts up, water and anything floating too close to the wave generator gets sucked toward the protective mesh - this is pretty disconcerting at first. It took me a couple of failed attempts to figure out how to catch the wave - you don't really have a sensation of planning - you basically have to paddle hard to stay at the bottom of a lump of water as it stands up and get to your feet quickly - then it feels like a normal wave. Its a little difficult to stay in the pocket to find power in the wave, for turns. Today I got more waves than I could handle - we didn't have a full crew (the left is less popular) but I noticed the staff joined the session and were snagging a few waves that perhaps could have been ridden by paying customers.
I was pretty knackered during and after the session. Your enjoyment level will depend on how fit you are. I prepaid for a bunch of sessions so I'm hoping to lose a fortnight of doing nothing but lazing around guzzling ale and eating rich food and then hit the ocean when the school hols are over.
They have a photo service and the photog is pretty good - although he did manage to make me look like Worm tongue from Lord of the Rings. (see below) However I've decided to cultivate this expression to discourage drop ins when I'm in the ocean.
So is it worth it? Yes if you can afford it, its a good way to keep your hand in.
However as an urban cube monkey I noticed I didn't get the same satisfaction that emersion in nature brings. I'm guessing people who live near the beach and surf crowded line ups, will actually enjoy it more just for the wave count.
I feel similar.BA wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2020 7:09 amAwesome, thanks pinhead.pinhead wrote: ↑Thu Jan 09, 2020 8:57 pmOk had a better session today only a bit of smoke and no asthma.
The facility itself has a contemporary surf retail vibe. It feels like you're on the beach with people getting ready to go out and coming in, boards lying everywhere and so on - but you're not, you're beside a concrete lined swimming pool. Myself and my fellow surfers all seemed to be a little weirded out by the experience - a bit of cognitive dissonance creating an uncertain mood.
The waves come in sets with a wait for the turbulence to settle after each one. Paddling out is a doodle, you zip along on the rip created by water from the previous set draining back into the deep channel. The current also runs toward the breaking wave. If you fall off halfway down the line, Its very difficult to paddle to the shoulder and back to the channel, because of this - you are instructed to get washed into the lagoon after a fall. When the machine starts up, water and anything floating too close to the wave generator gets sucked toward the protective mesh - this is pretty disconcerting at first. It took me a couple of failed attempts to figure out how to catch the wave - you don't really have a sensation of planning - you basically have to paddle hard to stay at the bottom of a lump of water as it stands up and get to your feet quickly - then it feels like a normal wave. Its a little difficult to stay in the pocket to find power in the wave, for turns. Today I got more waves than I could handle - we didn't have a full crew (the left is less popular) but I noticed the staff joined the session and were snagging a few waves that perhaps could have been ridden by paying customers.
I was pretty knackered during and after the session. Your enjoyment level will depend on how fit you are. I prepaid for a bunch of sessions so I'm hoping to lose a fortnight of doing nothing but lazing around guzzling ale and eating rich food and then hit the ocean when the school hols are over.
They have a photo service and the photog is pretty good - although he did manage to make me look like Worm tongue from Lord of the Rings. (see below) However I've decided to cultivate this expression to discourage drop ins when I'm in the ocean.
So is it worth it? Yes if you can afford it, its a good way to keep your hand in.
However as an urban cube monkey I noticed I didn't get the same satisfaction that emersion in nature brings. I'm guessing people who live near the beach and surf crowded line ups, will actually enjoy it more just for the wave count.
“I noticed I didn’t get the same satisfaction that emersion in nature brings”.
I think this sums it up for me. Being out in the ocean and a natural environment is a big part of surfing for me. I seek out quieter, natural spots. I’m becoming quite ambivalent about the tub. If I didn’t live 5 minutes walk from the beach, and able to surf everyday, maybe I’d be a bit more excited.
My dad turns 90 in August (if he makes it), so I’ll be down that way then. I’ll have my boards, but surfing the West Coast sounds a lot more interesting than the tub.
No the hy-fi. Very sparky. I think this arrangement will sell a ton of boards, its a low friction way to try stuff out. Also the rental shop guys are going to learn pretty quickly which boards people like.