Critics include the Ireland-based
surfer and activist Sophie Hellyer, who
points out that while artificial surf
lakes have the potential to reach out
to less privileged groups – those who
can’t access the sea, disabled “adaptive”
surfers, and novices – it is clearly not a
realistic prospect, and in that context the
big waves these surf lakes produce take
on a sort of showy, elitist significance.
There is another issue with these
waves: their uniformity can give people
a false sense of security and predicta-
bility when entering the ocean. William
Finnegan, the author of the acclaimed
surf memoir Barbarian Days, rode the
Surf Ranch wave last year, and found
it irresistible, yet “strangely soulless”.
Finnegan’s use of the word “soul” istelling; for those who care, this isn’t
just about sport, but about an activity
that can connect people to higher plane
of meaningful existence.
“Surfing politics,” says Sam Bleakley, a
British surfing champion and writer, “can
be very divisive. Simplistically, I think
you can trace a three-way split: the egali-
tarian, mindful and ecologically minded,
often ‘locals’ and regulars to the surf break
[‘breaks’ are natural obstructions such as
reefs, which cause the waves to barrel over
and become surfable]; the ‘aggressive
locals’ who often resent the commerciali-
sation and incomers; and the ‘kooks’, who
are relative newcomers, perhaps attracted
by the glamour and lifestyle. The latter
are often deeply, and unfairly, resented
by ‘aggressive locals’, who complain
that they don’t respect traditional surf
etiquette in the water.” Aggressive locals
are likely to oppose artificial wave lakes
because they’re inauthentic, make people
think surfing is easier and less dangerous
than it is, and are likely to attract yet more
inexperienced newcomers to popular
breaks. “You could say it comes down to
what you believe it means to be a surfer,”
says Bleakley. “But for many, it’s more
about our place in society and in nature.”
Hounsfield – very much a soul surfer
(though he doesn’t use the term) – was
left with a seemingly unfeasible vision,
needing different wave sizes in the one
pool. Progress stalled while he inves-
tigated other technologies. In 2015,
a company called Conwy Adventure
Leisure built the lagoon design as Surf
Snowdonia, on the site of a disused
factory in north Wales, and the reception
from surf journalists was mixed.
Moreover, the first of several stoppages
to drain the lake for repairs occurred
within a month of opening. Despite these
issues, the lagoon is seen as a success.
In November 2016, Hounsfield was
invited by the Odriozolas to see a new kind
of lake they had developed. Standing at
the edge of the mini-lake in the Pyrenees,
he listened attentively as they explained
this new system. In this model, known as
the “Cove”, waves would be generated
by paddles at the apex of a triangular
shaped pool and, after hitting the wall
on the other side of the apex, break down
the pool like waves coming into a coastal
cove. More paddles along one side could
add shape to waves as they passed, but
the real secret to the wave shape lay
in the base, formed from a complex
arrangement of flat-faceted surfaces.
These, devised with thousands of
hours of computer simulation, repli-
cated the effect of coral reefs. Josema
Odriozola had got the idea from
memories of watching waves breaking
over such reefs when he was surfing.‘If we just end up withlots of hyper-cool,worthy surfers who can’tsmile, then we’llhave failed miserably’BELOW: WAVEGARDEN’S R&D POOL IN THE
BASQUE COUNTRY. THE GRID STRUCTURE IS A
DISSIPATIVE SHORE, TO DEADEN WAVE ENERGY09-19-FTwave.indd 133 23/07/2019 16:39