The circular lake of joy backed by Barton and Occy has been in the works for a while. Finally proof of concept testing has taken place over the weekend and it works. It’s not been tested at full size as things keep blowing a gasket, but that’s the point of a test rig. See what works, see what you need to go back to the drawing board on. The idea seems sound, even if it is all a bit Mad Max, interesting to see what happens when they get it up to full tilt.
–Surf Lakes Press Release–
Surf Lakes International is excited to release vision from the initial phase of prototype testing of their “5 Wave” technology, which produces five different levels of waves simultaneously around a man-made lake.
Earlier this week, as the sun set behind the mountains near Yeppoon on Queensland’s Capricorn Coast, a gathering of staff and pro-surfers, including ambassadors Mark Occhilupo and Barton Lynch, witnessed the first perfect waves peeling across the reefs of the private demonstration facility.
The 5 Waves concept rates each wave according to its level of difficulty, similar to snow ski resort. Each wave difficulty level is colour coded and caters for beginners, through to advanced and pro level wave riding.
The 5 Waves concept allows for learners, experienced surfers and professionals, to surf perfect waves simultaneously.
For operators this means that whole families with ages from five to 75 can enjoy the facility together, rather than waiting for different sessions to run.
At full commercial capacity, 5 Waves can produce up to 2,400 waves per hour, allowing for up to 200 surfers and learners each hour. This productivity translates into the highest possible return for operators.
Also, the five different levels of waves allows for a wide variety of watercraft. The Intermediate wave is perfect for short boards, long boards, SUPs and surf skis. The Advanced and Expert waves suit short boards and knee boards.
5 Waves world firsts
Simultaneous wave types: 5 types of waves, each of which vary in difficulty, size, length and shape, at the same time
Most breaks in a wavepool: 10 separate waves (4 left and 4 right reef breaks) plus 2 beginner waves
Largest surfing lagoon in the world: Water volume 80 megalitres
Largest wave face height: Up to 2.4m face height. 2.2m achieved at mid-level prototype testing
Highest wave productivity: At full commercial capacity, 5 Waves will be able to produce over 2,400 waves per hour, allowing up to 240 surfers in the lake at the same time, all catching 10 waves per hour
Artists impression of consumer version.
Founded by Aaron Trevis, the Surf Lakes team has been working hard to complete the full sale demonstration facility for the past two years. PHD Engineer and Surf Lakes Director Chris Hawley, oversaw the design, build and commissioning of what is essentially Australia’s first man-made surfing wave pool. Funding for the project was raised from private investors by finance expert and fellow Director Reuben Buchanan.
“After years of dreaming, designing, testing and building, to see those first few waves roll across the reefs was quite a site!” said Trevis.
Surf Lakes plan to license their technology to operators such as theme parks, resorts and developers around the world. Surf Lakes will also design, manage construction and commissioning of each facility, as well as providing ongoing services.
Demand for our product is strong, with over 150 enquires from more than 25 countries around the world. Over the next six months, we will be holding demonstration days to potential licensees.
1999 World Surfing Champion and 5 Waves ambassador Mark Occhilupo, was ecstatic after riding his first wave on “Occys Peak” earlier this week, a wave that he helped design.
“I can’t believe it,” said “Occy” with an ear to ear grin. “This is amazing, I knew it would be good… but not this good! People all over the world are going to be blown away when they see 5 Waves!”
Fellow 1988 World Surfing Champ and Pipe Master, Barton Lynch was equally excited.
“I get so excited about waves, so to have a variety of perfect waves at the push of a button is just unbelievable,” said Lynch. “And the fact that it’s Australian designed, backed and built, just makes me very proud.”
Once again we reached the climax of the British Longboard Union tour with The Stable, Fistral Longboard Classic. A firm favourite stop of the more progressive longboarder, and despite the cancellation of the original running date due to non-contestable conditions, the north end of Fistral finally delivered in spades on the second attempt.
The forecast 4-6ft clean swell appeared on time, in the right place and with a big ol’ dollop of power to greet the first round of the Men’s Open as the tide started to bottom out. Local lad and Surf Relik standout Adam Griffiths went straight to work like a man possessed.
The reduced number of entries from the original September dates certainly didn’t detract from the quality on show, standouts of Day 1 including Wales’s Elliot Dudley taking out his Single Fin heat with power, grace and no leash despite the ever-present threat of a punishing swim. In the Women’s division, Jenny Briant and Claire Smail set their stalls out early, both dropping into some significantly chunky walls of water to rack up the points and cruise into their respective semis.
Things were a bit tougher for the Masters and Grand Masters, as the incoming tide seemed to coincide with an additional pulse of power that made the paddle out a coin toss. Those that made it out back were rewarded with some big drops, long hackable walls and another punishing paddle for dessert. Paul Keenan looked nothing but comfortable in the big stuff and made the Grand Master’s final on his first foray into the over 50s club, alongside regular finalist Adam Zervas. The first Masters semi was a very close affair but finally saw Colin Bright and Thomas Gibson go through to meet Damian Hooker and current champ Jason Gray.
Day 2 opened with equally powerful but slightly smaller surf, which definitely made every division that much more contestable. Becky Brown made the most of the bigger surf to take 2nd in her semi and make her first BLU final. Ultimately, former BLU Women’s Champion Claire Smail was able to dig deep enough into her bags of experience to edge out the two Jen’s (Pendlebury and Briant) and Becky with a well-crafted 15 point total that also sees her name back on the perpetual trophy.
The more forgiving conditions and less insane paddle gave the Masters and Grand Masters the opportunity to really get to work, and with Jason Gray’s local knowledge and a vaguely partisan crowd, the result of the Masters final was never really in doubt. The Grand Masters, however, turned up more plot twists than a whole year of UK soap operas. With regular finalist Colin Bright missing out on a place, it looked pretty safe that current champ Adam Zervas would take the win. Enter Paul ‘Keeno’ Keenan to throw the cat amongst the pigeons and take out his first ever final with some style. You couldn’t make this stuff up!
The Single Fin final saw Elliot Dudley continue his dominance since returning from a self-imposed leave of absence.It seems to have paid off, as he managed some of the biggest total heat scores of the weekend, finishing with a score of 16.75 and taking the event and tour wins.
A reduced U16 Cadets, U18 Juniors and U18 Girls field meant that all three divisions were straight finals. This didn’t detract from the quality on show, Jordan Zervas and Jack Gregorius going goofy-toe-to-goofy-toe in the Juniors in a battle which saw Jack take the win thanks to some powerful surfing off the tail in the somewhat wobbly lefthanders. Fistral locals and salt-encrusted beach urchins Joel and Sienna Morison took first in the U16 Cadets and U18 Girls respectively, both finals being man-on-man. Hopefully, the apparent lack of younger longboarders is a blip, rather than a worrying trend.
Last, and most definitely not least, the Men’s Open saw Adam Griffiths, Ben Howey, Jack Unsworth and Evan Rogers battle it out in the almost high tide in front of a genuinely enthusiastic beach crowd. In the end, and despite the best efforts of Adam in particular, this was the time for a fairytale ending 15 years in the making. In spite of his unquestionable ability as a longboarder, a very strong performance at the ISA World Longboarding Games and on the European circuit, Ben had never managed to secure a win at a BLU event. Well, today it all finally came together with a cool, calm and complete performance that only wobbled ever-so-slightly in the dying moments when it looked like Adam may have pulled something out of the bag. With his first place at Fistral, and a narrow defeat to Elliot at Saunton earlier this year, Ben also gets his name engraved into the annals of BLU history as Men’s Open Tour Champion. Congratulations, Ben!
A huge thank you to our event sponsors, judges, support and media staff and all the competitors and spectators who helped to make The Stable, Fistral Longboard Classic 2018 the great success it was. Special thanks go out to our main event sponsor ‘The Stable, Fistral’ who kept the judges and event staff fed and watered, ‘Fistral Beach, Newquay’ for location support and parking and ‘Ocean & Earth’.
As always, special mention to Contest Director Minnow Green and the BLU committee for their continuing and unwavering belief in British longboarding.
To get you ready to take on the winter surf this season, performance apparel specials Gul are giving away a new Viper 5/4MM BS CZ Wetsuit worth £250.
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Twelve junior surfers from across Europe won an all-expenses three day trip to beautiful North Wales; courtesy of O’Neill. All so they could surf with Jordy Smith and get elite level coaching from some of the best in the business. The #RookieRippers comp was open to young European surfers this summer and entries were submitted via Instagram. The cream of the bunch got the call to pack their board bags and prepare for three intense days of fun and waves. On hand to put the young crew through their paces were: -World tour surfer Jordy Smith. -Chris Gallagher Stone, Jordy’s coach and also the US Olympic Team Technical Coach. -Sean Hayes & Chris Drummy: Red Bull High Performance Three full days of surfing went down with the coaches polishing the kid’s acts while also ensuring fun was front and centre. Jordy gave them all a good slice of wisdom from his time as a pro. Video analysis, training routines, breathing exercises and more were all covered. All topped off with a wild presentation quiz night that was an absolute riot. The last day saw a contest with the winners receiving €1000 for their troubles. Portuguese surfer Mafalda Lopez took the ladies crown and Frenchman Tiago Carrique the men’s. The level was ridiculous, and the Welsh Surfing Federation judges had their work cut out to pick them apart. Everyone involved left with a smile on their face, friendships made, surf skills improved and good times had. So much so Rookie Rippers will return for a second instalment in 2019. Check the video for a flavour of the event… Surfers… Lukas Skinner (UK), Tiago Carrique (FR), Daniel Nobrega (PT), Noah Hecht Suarez (SP), Thomas Bebierre (FR), Lucia Machado (CNY), Mafalda Lopez (PT), Julia Gonzales (CNY), Janire Gonzales Etxbarri Lazcano (ESK), Lourenço Gathino (PT), Guilherme Ribeiro (PT) and Beatriz Carvalho (PT).
Autumn has kicked off in the UK and Eire with loads of fun waves right around all our coasts. Here are few highlights from the carvemag instagram crew. Follow us @carvemag, and tag us #carvemag #carvemaglineup #carvemagyounggun if you are under 18 and want to be featured.
There were peaks everywhere. Barrels. Ramps. Long walls and lots of sections. Once it started, it wouldn’t stop — and our team was there to enjoy it.
Need proof? Here’s an edit starring Jesse Mendes, Jeremy Flores, Wiggolly Dantas, Ramzi Boukhiam, Mikey February, Connor O’Leary, Marc Lacomare, Aritz Aranburu, Kanoa Igarashi, Zeke Lau, Joel Paxton, Kael Walsh and Mikey Wright.
