Meanwhile over in Oz the Surf Lakes testing facility is back up and running... Looks shallow but fun. Scroll down for the very tubular shots of bodyboard legend Ben Player on the 'Island' as opposed to Occys peak.

Press Release

Surf Lakes are proud to announce that during recent testing at its Research and Development facility at Yeppoon, the company was able to achieve its maximum target wave face height, being 2.4 metres (8ft). (see images below).
 
Waves are measured from the trough at the base, to the lip of the breaking wave. The maximum wave size target was achieved on multiple occasions at “The Island” break.
The prototype machine and the surrounding reefs were created to demonstrate the capability of Surf Lakes unique 5 Waves technology after years of extensive small-scale prototyping, testing and CFD modelling.
 
Surf Lakes believes that even though this is a test site only, it has created the largest and most powerful wave pool wave available in the world today.
 
Founder and CEO, Aaron Trevis, who, over a decade ago formed the idea for a concentric wave pool after tossing rocks into a lake with his children, was ecstatic to see his dream of sharing the thrill of surfing, take one more step towards reality.
 
“Surf Lakes is extremely happy to have achieved our target wave size goal,” said Trevis. “Now we turn our focus to refining and selling our technology to potential licensees, of which we have had over 300 enquiries worldwide.”
 
“It’s our vision at Surf Lakes, to share the thrill of wave riding with experienced surfers and newcomers alike, so to get the nod from legends such as Occy and Ben Player has made this journey all worthwhile. We are so pleased with the outcome and can’t wait to begin building lakes around the globe.”
 
Surf Lakes ambassador and former world surfing champ, Mark “Occy” Occhilupo, was amongst the first to take the drop on the overhead swells at his own Occy’s Peak (designed by Occy himself) and was ecstatic to see the wave machine operating at full capacity.
 
“This wave is sooo good!” said an excited Occhilupo. “It’s the real deal for sure. It really feels like an ocean wave as it pushes along the reefs here. I am so stoked!"
 
Three times world bodyboarding champion, Ben Player, was also on hand to test out the full-sized waves.
 
“This wave has so much power!” said Player. “It’s hard to believe it’s a man-made wave! The drop is really exciting, and it felt as powerful as some of the heaviest ocean waves I’ve surfed.”
 
More footage of Occhilupo, Player and other surfers will be released over the coming weeks, as it becomes available.
 
Surf Lakes would like to extend its thanks to all staff, engineers, contractors and suppliers who helped to achieve what is a significant milestone for the company and the advancement of the wave pool space.
 
Although further testing and demonstrations at the Yeppoon R&D facility will take place over the coming months, it remains a prototype only. It lacks the necessary infrastructure, facilities and required regulatory approvals for public use.
 
Surf Lakes is working closely with several licensees to open commercial surf parks, using the 5 Wave technology, in locations around Australia and throughout the world in the coming years.

The Wave - a unique inland surfing destination being built on the edge of Bristol -has today released its first wave of surf slots. The general public can now book tickets to surf from 18 November 2019 to 4 March 2020. Tickets went live at midday on 20 August.

The Wave will be in its Warm-Up phase until the end of the year. The lake will be pushing amazing waves and the Clubhouse will be ready, although there will still be work taking place on some of the landscaping around the 70-acre site. The team has decided to open the doors to allow people to surf during this time and provide feedback on their experience.

Founder, Nick Hounsfield, explains:

“We can't wait to get people in to experience The Wave and our Warm-Up will be a chance to get a look at what we have created and to ride some of our first waves.Rather than wait until every little element of the site is 100% complete, we’ve decided to get people in to see the space we're creating sooner rather than later.

“There will be a little bit of landscaping work going on around the edges, trees will still be being planted and not all the grass will have grown, but we want people to come and have a surf, a bite to eat in the cafe, a drink on the terrace and a browse in the shop - and give us their feedback.”

Check out the latest issue of Carve for a full rundown of the Wave Bristol and an interview with Nick himself.

The surf sessions at The Wave will cost £40-45 for an adult and £30-35 for a child depending on the time of year and day of the week. A 1.5hr surf session with coaching will cost £55-60 for an adult and £45-50 for a child.

All prices always include everything you need, including wetsuit and surfboards. Rip Curl, one of the original surfing companies, is partnering with The Wave to supply top quality wetsuits, boots, and even gloves and hoods when needed. Their cutting-edge products ensure that everyone will be toasty, even in the depths of winter.

The inland surfing destination will bring the joy of surfing to people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. There will be waves to suit all levels, whether it’s a child stepping on a board for the first time, or a professional training for the Olympics. It will be the first destination in the northern hemisphere to offer a full size Wavegarden Cove lake that’s open to the public.

The technology provides up 1,000 waves of varying sizes and shapes an hour – around a wave every 10 seconds. Heights  start at 50cm and peak at 1.8m. Every aspect of the surfing experience, from perfect waves and supportive coaching, to tried and tested wetsuits and boards, has been designed to ensure that surfing really is fun for all.

Nick comments:
“Surfing makes you feel alive. No matter what level you are at, being in the water and having fun is rejuvenating. We are all so busy in our day-to-day lives that we don’t take that time out to step back, reset and simply ‘be’. I found that surfing and being close to nature really worked for me and I wondered if there was a way of giving more people access to this feeling of wellbeing.

“I wanted to create a place where anyone and everyone can surf on safe waves, all year round, and experience the many mental and physical health benefits it offers.”

The 200m surfing lake is at its heart, but The Wave is not just about surfing. It’s about sharing incredible experiences with anyone who wants to enjoy them, in a naturally healthy space. It’s about improving health and wellbeing, helping people feel connected to themselves and each other, and having a shedload of fun in the process! As well as the surfing lake, there will be wonderful food and drink, a surf shop, beautiful gardens, meadowland and woodland, peaceful hideaways, and family-friendly camping from Spring 2020.

To find out more and to book a surf visit  thewave.com

Bringing business, networking, surf talks , brands and shaping together

This year the show is expanding with talks from Global Boardriders Inc President, Greg Healy, big-wave chargers Nic Von Rupp and Justine Dupont, and renowned shapers such as Johnny Cabianca, James Cheal (Chilli) and Nick Uricchio will all be present at the event’s exclusive Shaping Bay.

Carve asked Salvador and Patrick what was going, why they set up the show and what visitors can expect in Estoril, 21-22 September.

What were the highlights of last year’s event and what can we expect this year?

Salvador: It’s never easy to set up an event from scratch, with new ideas, with a new concept and so on but the response was excellent. The feedback that we got from our exhibitors and visitors was that the industry was needing a moment like this. A place and opportunity to meet, gather, network and showcase. The first Surf Out event had around 3000 visitors, 50 exhibitors, 27 speakers and major institutional support such as the Portuguese official tourism board, that recognises great value in surfing. We also promoted workshop sessions, live shaping, film screenings and had the presences of surfers such as Tiago Pires, Ben Sanchis and Frederico Morais.
Patrick: This year will mark a clear statement of the event’s efforts in becoming a reference for the gathering of the international surfing industry. Established brands like Billabong, Hurley, Salty Crew, Globe, Hayden Shapes amongst many other already confirmed their presence, and exciting new projects like a new international hardware brand that will be presented at the event for the first time ever. So basically, we’ll have a bigger, better and more internationally focused event.

Why do you feel should brands exhibit at Surf Out Portugal?

Patrick: Surf Out Portugal has a particular recipe which we feel is the most appropriate for the surfing industry. We are firm believers that business opportunities and networking experiences are better developed in person, in a relaxed and friendly environment. The event site (in Estoril, Cascais) is a stunning outdoor venue surrounded by trees and nature, and close to what connects us all: the ocean. Also, Portugal’s scenery, waves, gastronomy, security and quality of life can almost serve as an excuse to come here and do business. A business trip with surfing involved, how cool is that? Additionally, where else in Europe do you find two major cities (Lisbon and Porto) so close to so many quality waves? On top of all of this, the exhibiting fee for any brand is extremely competitive comparing to other trade events.

Do you have any future plans for the event?

Salvador: Since Day One we have had a clear vision about the way an event, with the features that Surf Out Portugal has, would have to grow in order to successfully achieve is purpose whilst improving its holistic experience, year after year. Having a bigger international footprint and getting major stakeholders involved is a pivotal component to reach the established goals. Overall, we are strong advocates of Portugal as a place of convergence for the international surfing scene and, as previously stated, we believe there is still room to improve the country’s value proposition to base, a lot more, of the industry here.

Patagonia will be making repairs on wetsuits, as well as repairing surf (and other) apparel. All brands are welcome as long as the suits are dry and there is one repair per person.

14/9/2019 - 15/9/2019
Seabanks
Tynemouth, UK

20/9/2019 - 21/9/2019
Uni München
Munich, Germany

24/9/2019 - 25/9/2019
Langbrett Berlin
Berlin, Germany

27/9/2019 - 28/9/2019
Langbrett Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany

So get your old suits ready for repair! Here Patagonia explains the concept behind the Worn Wear Tour. 

How has the programme evolved? 
The inspiration and seeds of Worn Wear were planted in 2005 as the Common Threads Recycling Programme. This was Patagonia’s effort to take back all 100% polyester garments for closed-loop, chemical recycling and use the output of the process – 100% recycled yarn -- as a raw material for new clothing. While this was extremely successful from materials and technological standpoint, it didn’t scale because Patagonia clothing is so durable that there really isn’t much that needs to be recycled. This realisation led us to expand Common Threads from a recycling programme to a mutual partnership with our customers to take full responsibility for the stuff we make and they purchase – including repairing and reusing garments before recycling them. In 2011, Common Threads Recycling re-launched as the Common Threads Partnership with a New York Times ad on Black Friday that carried the headline “Don’t Buy This Jacket” and suggested that we should only buy what we truly need and then care for it.

Over the next few years, a blog called Worn Wear was developed by Lauren and Keith Malloy that celebrated the relationship with the garments we love. The value that stories have to make us feel is far greater than preaching an ethos, and so we joined forces in 2013 to make Worn Wear about repairing, reusing, recycling and celebrating the stories we wear.  WornWear.com, our trade-in programme started in April 2017 (US only).

Today we have over 70 repair centres located in Patagonia stores all over the world that repair clothing for free or for a nominal charge and in 2018 we repaired over 100,000 garments globally. At our Reno repair facility – the largest in North America – we have over 70 repair technicians. In Europe, last year, we held 56 Worn Wear events, attended by over 25,000 people.

Find out more here