STATUS: Churning out the gold standard for artificial waves
WAVES: Super long left or super long right. No split peaks or A-Frames
LOCATIONS: Lemoore, California and Abu Dhabi UAE. Coming to Austin, Texas
Kelly’s design is the most famous of the wave pools. The prototype transformed an abandoned waterski park in Lemoore California into the upscale Surf Ranch, the darling of the WSL and company team-building power perk for the Fortune 500 surf set. The system is a simple plow design, like Wavegarden’s Lagoon and Surf Poel in The Hague. But while those other systems are no longer in use, Kelly’s design continues to thrive, sprouting up in Abu Dhabi and soon in Austin, Texas.
How it works: A specially designed submerged foil is pulled down a straight track at high (or low) velocity, displacing water to create a wave that breaks along the wave pool’s specially designed bathymetry. Adjustments to the large, noisy machine temper the speed of the plow affecting the wave’s steepness and size. Unlike the Wavegarden Lagoon, Kelly’s wave plow only generates a rideable swell on one side of the track. But the system is bi-directional, going in one direction to create lefts and the other direction to create rights with a 3-4 minute lagtime between waves.
The pool in Lemoore is 700 meters long by 150 meters wide (2,200 feet by 500 feet) with the ride clocking in at 45 seconds – the longest of any of the world’s wave pools to date. Waves range in size from 3-to-6-feet. It takes 3-4 minutes for the water to calm between waves.
The Kelly Slater Wave Company has suffered setbacks in La Quinta California, Coolum Australia, and Japan – locations where residents strongly opposed having a surf park. Recently, Surf Abu Dhabi opened with sessions on offer for just under $1,000. A development for a Kelly Slater Wave Co tank in Austin Texas is rapidly advancing after a slow start.
