Australia’s first public wave pool fired up all engines today, unveiling the first series of swells to roll out down under. As one of two full-size Wavegarden Cove designs opening this week, the team behind Urbnsurf is giddy with excitement.

“We’re stoked that the first, perfect waves have been pumping at Urbnsurf Melbourne, and we can’t wait to welcome guests from Melbourne, Victoria and around Australia to surf and learn with us this Summer,” said Andrew Ross, Urbnsurf’s Founder. “We’ve already created a range of wave types to suit surfers of all abilities, with more to add to the menu over the coming weeks.”

Urbnsurf plans to open mid-summer (Southern Hemisphere) 2020 and run Wavegarden’s next-generation Cove technology day and night, year-round.

With today’s media onslaught and surfers worldwide sharing and throwing out virtual shakas with each digital clip, we’re reminded of the way the world was caught up in Kelly’s debut in 2015. In part because as with many public launches, we found out these weren’t the first-ever waves at Urbnsurf. The surf began percolating shortly after the four-day filling process which bookended the weekend of October 4th and 5th.

“We witnessed the first glimpses of bold, barrelling perfection just a week after filling,” said Urbnsurf. “Three Basque engineers touched down at Melbourne Airport, and promptly launched into commissioning Roary, our wave generator. After initial checks were completed, it was time to test the machine, first at low torque, then medium, then full.”

The surf we’re seeing today is the result of a month-long slow-build through the commissioning process. After all the testing, programming sets and creating sessions are fairly simple. Waves can be created with the push of a button.

“Our advanced software allows us to program different combinations of wave types, with height, power, wave period and waves-per-set all within our control,” added Urbnsurf. “Wave playlists. Spotify for surfing.”

While the playlist only has a few songs currently, we thought it a good time to list the wave types at Australia’s first public wave pool:

Tubos – barrelling, low-tide Snapper on the right, or Macaronis on the left.

Giros I and Giros II – two performance-turns waves, offer multiple sections for carves, snaps and cutbacks – designed for intermediate surfers wanting to practice and hone their skills.

Malibu – a gentle, peeling greenwater wave, for learners and beginners who want to get up and riding, gain confidence and have a blast.

Urbnsurf added there is still more work to do. The crew is waiting for Wavegarden’s founder Josema Odriozola (He’s busy in Bristol, England at the moment) to complete the wave option menu and give the machine more precise tuning.

Next up the company will announce the names of the Surf It First promotion winners who will be the first to surf the wave pool. The contest continues for a short while longer. Would-be wave pool surfers can sign on here: https://urbnsurf.com/stories/itspumping/

On-site is a fully-stocked surf shop and hire store offering boards, wetsuits and swimwear, as well as a Surf Academy for lessons, coaching and high-performance training. Lagoonside amenities include hot tubs, day beds and bookable cabanas.