SURF LAKES WAVE POOL IN-DEPTH REVIEW | Is it REALLY that good?
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- čas přidán 10. 07. 2022
- Surf Lakes, a wave pool in north Queensland in Australia, is currently somewhat of an enigma. We've all seen incredibly jaw-dropping clips from the iconic plunge tub and whilst filming for my Greatest Twin Fin Series, I thought it'd be a good idea to share my experience there with you via an in-depth review.
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I was against rock climbing gyms in the 1980s. Now I like rock climbing gyms. I'm going straight to liking the wave park concept. Saves me energy.
Truth!
@@benoitavril4806 I dunno, my fear with wave pools is that people who would probably never take up surfing for a range of reasons will take it up and of course would fall in love with the sport and add to the crowd and probably rip it up.
Can’t wait for this to come out all over Australia. Urban surf is fun no doubt but the wave just feels a little unnatural. This could be the new ski resort for surfers!
I like how the plunging machine looks "steampunk" almost
maaaan. Had this idea in 2nd year Fluid Mechanics many years ago when I saw a fishing float make waves. Glad to see it's came to fruition.
Do you get burned by Occy on Occy's peak?
Yes, but it costs an extra $100 for the 'real life' experience.
I really like the center piston idea
The surf ranch is epic but being able to have multiple breaks at once is huge
Would love to see one in Southern California!
Imagine two plungers. One big one small so that you could create a secondary wave for the perfect take-off wedge....oohhhh the possibilities.
having worked as a snowboard instructor the issue with customers self-grading is real. One person joining an advanced lesson who is intermediate at best really holds everyone back. they've paid their money for an experience, however suck up a lot more energy and time then their share of the wallet warrants, and the tips you're helping them with are largely irrelevant to the rest of the class. unfortunately you can't just tell someone whose paid $200+ for a 3 hour lesson that they stuffed up and need to go play on the side of the jump line while everyone else sends it
There should be some sort of account/membership creation where they can submit videos and have the management assess them. If they don't have videos, they'd have to manually go through all the levels first.
Like in bouldering Gyms you have to undergo a test to see what level you’re at, they should do that here too
Motorbike track days as a newcomer you have to have your first session in the lowest group for safety. Could make all newcomers only allowed to use up to intermediate at most their first session.
Great video as always!!! Thanks for doing what you do!
Thanks Kale best review anyone's done ! Spewing didn't get to see you getting in early on the slab. And yes a much bigger version of it all round 4-5ft waves multi slabs and runners for 300m, let's get it?!
The waiting surfers seem really close to the plunger. As an engineer I’m crazy curious how it’s built and what kind of risk factors are involved if it malfunctions. Would absolutely love to ride those waves!!
Surf lakes have videos on their CZcams channel showing how it's designed etc
These days we live in a nanny state and i would think insurance would be a huge problem. Considering all it takes is one dumb person to deliberately get way to close and be injured. Any kind of barrier would impact the wave structure.
I work for a construction company here in Queensland and we just finshed tendering the works. Stoked about the simple (but effective!) concept design, the sustainability aspect of it all (simple compressed air, at considerably low pressure too!) and the fact that all the obstacles and challenges faced so far at the Yappoon demo facility will be resolved once it goes commercial (and open to the public). Can't wait to try get barrelled there!
What if the single plunger was a seesaw/pendulum/piston thingamabob in the centre of 2 pools seperated by a wall or shock absorber net...basically 2 plungers connected by an arm going alternately at the same time? You could have a pool with different bathymetry on one side that created expert waves (north pool for e.g.), then a more beginner friendly format on the other side (south pool). I don't know anything about engineering obviously, but my peabrain seems to think theres a lot of energy required to lift the plunger. you would think that if you created a mechanism that used the upstroke energy as well as the down stroke it would be more efficient. have a peak either side so 4 guys are roughly up and riding at the same, have the perfectly weighted and balanced pendulum running for ages like an endless set, don't worry about the pool settling down as you have weird refracto waves breaking everywhere haha
great insights kale! Looks super fun but very intimidating sitting under that plunger 😬
Your point about peoples ability is valid I think, if people actually saw themselves surf they would re assess their skill level. I was shocked when I first saw video of my self hahaha
This was a great technical insight Kale Brock.... I wonder how the CEO down at surf lakes would go with studying the idea of a grower...
Jakes in Kalbarri - on the west angle sets, they start off 2 foot and hit the inside ledge sometimes up to 5 foot.
I wonder if this could also create energy - the subsequent breaking wave has 3 times more load and could be harnessed as electricity.
I don't know - is it the bottom that creates growers?
All I know is that growers are fun to ride!
Cheers.
A grower would be sick. Definitely a challenge we'll look into
Great in depth review.........hoping they can utilize your feedback to improve on these small factors that could enhance the efficiency of a commercial Surf Lakes.
I'd LOVE to experience a Surf Lakes. Hopefully in the next 10yrs they can mass produce these across Oz
Thanks for the video, great insight. The issue I see (having spent a good amount of time researching all the wave pools) is the investment being close to 40m or double wavegarden 20m. Yes more waves but double the cost which would require a huge amount of visitors daily. Land requirements are huge, water loss just due to the sun can cost 750k - 1m a year. The wave itself looks amazing but the math to build / run and the realistic number of visitors required is an issue.
The major aspect to consider is not the initial investment but the running costs. This concept keeps running costs to a minimum compared to the typical wave garden pool. Water loss due to the evaporation is something that evey wave pool facility needs to face. I see how this concept will stand out from the rest. Go Surf Lakes!
Yes, but you don't have to target the same market hypothetically. The could raise the price and target a wealthier demographic. Sell it as a "better" wave than wave garden with a more exclusive feel. Kind of like a lesser version of surf ranch.
Now, I'm not saying that would work. I don't know if that market exists, but if it does then it could work.
Awesome vid mate. Very informative
Occys peak😂😂😂😂🤦♂️ where you take off and get snaked by some 50yo dude acting like he’s 20
It's the blond tips that do it for me
There was no snaking going on at the tub
@@KalesBroccoli went to Waco in May for private sessions and knowing everyone in our group got plenty of waves was the best part of the trip. Our collective stoke level was through the roof.
Could have been me but I'm 68👍
Yeah, localism in Yeppoon 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂😅😂🤣😂🤣😂😅😂🤣😂😅🤣🤣😂🤣😂🤣🤣🤣😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I’ll be there Friday! I cannot wait!!!!
Wave pools are the future! As a So Cal surfer who’s watched as the sport has grown over the years, I’ve grown increasingly disappointed in surfing do to crowds, water temp, crappy winds, and lack of solid swell, wave pools mitigate those variables. I surfed Waco, and sure, it’s not Rincon (my home break) but, the water was warm, when my wave came, NO ONE else paddle for it, and it was a blast! Sure, there is room for improvement, but in my hour, I got 12 waves and didn’t get dropped in on once. Where in reality, at home at Rincon, I could surf for 3hours, paddle for 30 waves, and get dropped in on 29 times, before the wind comes up and kills it… I surf for fun, surfing in Ca. Is becoming less fun and more frustrating, wave pools are the answer…
What a awesome opportunity mate. As a coach especially in Adelaide they are great.
As surfer still looks so much fun would love to have a crack oneday. Thanks mate was a awesome and different view point.
Great video, I'm looking forward to the evolution of wave pool technology. Comparing to other technology developments my impression is that wave pools are still sorting out fundamental mechanical reliability issues. I hope they get though it quickly👍
Cool summary - thanks!
Thanks for posting, been wanting to know what’s going on with this wave.
Did they give any word on the earliest public version. I get the R&D facility currently but everyone is hungry for a test drive of the tub mate. Surely an Instagram lottery competition to get a test day? Loved the video though. Very insightful from a surfer's POV and a business POV.
They don't necessarily need to try to compete with wave garden for getting as many surfers on waves as possible to be profitable. They could try to focus more on quality of the wave and then charge a premium for that like Surf Ranch.
So many people miss the point of Surf Ranch and complain about it not being available to "regular" surfers, but that IS the point. You target "exclusivity" by making it expensive and that helps to cover the cost. So you can have a huge 45 second long ride that is so far incomparable to any other wave pool tech. Of course Surf Ranch is the extreme other end compared to wave garden but this thing could be somewhere in the middle. Pay a little more for the quality of the wave, and for not feeling like it's all about wave count for the company.
Thanks Kale, we took a boys trip to urbn surf after one of your reviews, great day so thanks for your research 🧐.
Great video kale
I wish they redesign it so it has grower section that focuses into a bay and last like at least 20 secs. Seems like if they had the space for the pool they could make some really long waves by focusing the energy with bays and also would be cool if the takeoff was further away from the plunger so you had more time to see the oncoming swell
This is amazing!
Bodyboarders will never leave the slab empty thats for sure.
This is a really cool concept. Innovation comes from all sorts of places, in this case skipping rocks lol.
Best of luck to all involved 👍 . Awesome future my prediction
Out of all the wave pools I’ve surfed this certainly has the best potential commercially and ocean like feel. Hoping they don’t ruin it by encasing it with concrete and hotels! Can’t wait to get back up there again soon after the revamp
No. By every measure it has the least potential commercially. This has been heavily researched. Yes, this is the best wave but no it is not the most commercially viable. This isn’t really even an opinion, it’s the truth. The startup and operational costs of this format is crazy and the noise problem is very real.
@@allegorx58 Operational & maintenance costs are less than the other "standard" wave pools. The noise is an issue because the current demo has got the Pressure Pot fully exposed. The commercial version will have it encased in concrete and fully insulated.
@@allegorx58 I'd disagree - cost per wave it's (according to the developers) one of the cheapest to run and the circular design also offers one of the largest "pool front" options for real estate/shops etc. Unfortunately we haven't seen the finalised plunger (as this is the R&D one) but I've been told the machanics can all be encased and muffled, so that shouldnt be an issue in the final product. And full disclosure, I've got no skin in the game on this - just going off what I've learnt from chatting with developers and engineers
We live an hour from a wave pool, The Wave in Bristol, U.K. The waves are great and as a reasonably novice surfer just what I need to practise. The big problem when we went was overcrowding, which was made worse by being constantly encouraged to bunch up. They even stop the wave every so often to bunch you all up again. Sadly I got hit on the head pretty hard by another surfer’s board, which left me concussed for a few days. I’ve not been back. Shame. I guess it’s because they’re so expensive to build that they need that many surfers in a session to pay for it all.
They don't stop it to bunch you up, the waves come in sets. Between the sets there is a little bit of time to ensure everyone is back in the lineup. They have made it a bit better now, less crowding and pretty sure more waves per set.
Well done on a great technology. Hope it all works out for you guys.
This place looks awesome, good job on a rad vid Kale 🤙🤙
very cool! i remember the wave garden a while back and wanted to start something with them here in california, usa. i also saw your model (or another company?) at the time and think yours is much better tech. lots of places here is california to do this, especially in the san franciso bay area. lots of surfers here, great in the fall and winter but shitty surf the rest of the year. i know we would be willing to pay for a good wave pool so please consider and kudos to your progress!
Man that looks fun. Hurry up and open one to the public before my knees get too much older!
Since the Malibu Artist's drone footage chased a lot of us got out of the water, this would be a great idea to have these across the nation.
Haces muy, muy buenos e interesantes trabajos. But one more thing, I don't know if you make any effort in this regard, but you make your speech to be 💯x💯 easy to understand for not native English speakers like me: You come to the point from the beginning till the end. You structure perfectly your telling. And your diction simply fabulous to understand. 🙏🏽 Thank you, from Costa del Sol, Spain.
I’d love wave pools here in California but it maybe that with ongoing water levels dropping precipitously at lake mead and others I wonder if we will ever see them in force.
Plus, some of the best actual waves around
If space wasn’t an issue I wonder if you could create more space between the plunger and the wave breaking, so that you had more time to see the set coming and get in position - like in the ocean
Would love to surf it, looks amazing! But I agree with you about a shit fight with 150 -200 people in the water. I have surfed urban surf in Vic and it was fun but different to ocean waves. Looking forward to the urban surf they are opening in Sydney, an easy freeway trip down from my place up the coast
With marshalls on each break, pontoons in place for rotations, and seamless operations protocols already designed for the venue, we expect it to flow smoothly.
Perfect for a domestic surf trip, Urbz is a write off in winter.
Thanks mate for the inside look. This looks like a real wave where Melbourne's looks like a wave in a pool. Wonder which technology we are getting here on the sunshine Coast??
It's Surf Lakes. Same as Yappoon!
Hey kale good vid as usual.. any tips on booty's . My feet.. well toes freeze .. and im on gold coast.. any booty tips to buy.. i lived in indo for many years never liked or wore .. but no choice with the cold in oz..thanks mste
Wave pools are awesome. You do not need to deal with locals that feel they own the spot and have made surf a territory thing
I love the idea of a "circularly symmetric" wave, so that there are 8 times the number of takeoff points as Slater's wave (4 spots x (left+right)), however, so far, this wave looks smaller and weaker than Slater's, which is to be expected since you have the wave energy spreading out in all directions (3D) vs Slater's wave, which effectively confines it to 2D. I wonder if this can be overcome -- e.g., if the energy required to produce a stronger wave is prohibitive. If it can, then sign me up!
Ive been following the company for quite a few years, and they’ve stated it can easily double the wave height that they use for testing.. absolutely mental if they ever decide to show it
Is there any chance of getting sucked into the plunger?
The wave is consistent with the bottom for every wave, thus securing two poles to the bottom of the pool say 3 meters apart for the left and right break surfer. Surfers 🏄♂️ wait next to their assigned poles left and right, a light or sound would indicate start paddling. Awaiting Surfers in line could also have assigned waiting poles depending on waves in a set, like a starting line at a drag strip 😀. Could you incorporate wave generation to create electricity? Solar panels on the beaches high enough up to create shade without obstructing views, you may have enough power to be completely emissions free 😀.
The Earth allows life that produces emissions. The Earth also emits gasses. Plants, animal, and fire produces emissions.
Heat burns organic matter to change it from solid to gas vapors. If not consumed in fire or eaten by other life it becomes fossil fuel. Heat physically changes minerals and elements from solid to liquid to gas. Carbon fossil fuels are life energy from the 1000's & 1000's of years Sun shining on this planet. All the fossil fuels during their lifetimes produced emissions way more than are stored in peat bogs or between silt layers. Life is consumed by other life, burns, dries up and blows away or turns to fossil fuel. This is a gift from the Sun. The Earth has many a good time swirling around the Sun
At commercial sites we'll likely paint the bottom with signage / lighting to indicate where to sit & take off
Please ask them to build one in Newcastle!
Most dope Mr Broccoli
pretty cool haven't heard "frothing" for a while..........thought that one had died out...
whats the price range you reckon ?
Man, this "Mad Max" device, scares the shit out of me. Its standing There, waiting to take you to the depths....
I liked the video.Thanks to the author, it is written clearly, all
The bodyboarder's will own the slab. It wont go to waste 1 bit..
Why is the water get brown though.
I’ve never ridden a wave pool. But I want to get one set up near me
They should have one shore braek like kekeis on Oahu.
Curious if any other big companies/wealthy individuals have purchased/invested in it as yet? Is it actually going up anywhere else soon?
Yes, we've sold licenses in a number of locations around the world, and have projects in the pipeline. News for each of these will be announced once new developments unfold but it's looking very exciting!
All they need to do is add some sharks and I'm keen!
Once they work out currents, and have zero settling period with wave shape dependent return currents. It's gonna be epic.
why is the water colour brown and other footage has aqua colour?
or are they hiding the bathymetry ?
It is really handy for hiding the bathymetry 😉. We've been testing a number of liners and some have not held up as well as others, hence the brown water. The upside is, this R&D has helped us develop a proprietary liner that will keep all commercial Surf Lakes crystal clear and blue.
@@SurfLakes thanks for the reply!
It must take huge amounts of energy power this thing.
It takes 5MW to 8MW to produce up to 2000 waves per hour, depending on smaller or bigger sets usage. If you consider you can have until 150/200 people in the water at once it fair enough and it can & will usage renewable sources.
thats not backdooring
thats just pulling in
you need to go right thru the opening tube to backdoor
backdooring is much deeper than what you talk about
The plunge is the best
It is a fantastic concept however I fear that this model is now so long in the tooth and has zero commercial installations. The years worth of hearing 'this is going to be better' feel a touch ambitious given it has been what, 4 or 5 years now? I'd love to see them everywhere. Tomorrow!
When was your visit?
amazing tech but the thing in the middle of the pool looks really scary i must say
The noise is attrocious, like something from war of the worlds.
No worries over Great White Shark attacks
I always thought Surf Lakes looked the most like real surf.
far out !!
Looks great... but I hope it can run on green energy...
Man did a SWOT analysis of a wave pool
💯
Where ever had the least amount of people is where i would go
One word....Adelaide.
The slab the most shallow wave you can surf
The Slab will have all the Lid's on it so i doubt it will be epty
So its just a prototype not available to the general public?
Dude been surfing for 25 years over not surfing perfect waves all about the wave pools can’t wait I don’t go out if to crowded or it’s not good. wave pool just show up and surf what’s not to like
the idea though that there is a carbon footprint for every wave I ride, that instead of relying on the energy of the earth we need to burn petrol (or other fuels) to get waves is terrible.
Simpn
Agree. Orwellian commodification of a natural experience. Only benefit I can see is attracting surfers who want this kind of thing out of the ocean.
There is already a carbon foot print for every wave you ride. You drive to the beach. You buy boards and wetsuits and leashes and wax that all create incredible amounts of pollution. Your wax, pieces of your clothing, micro plastics etc...all come off of you and go into the ocean every single time you surf. In fact, wave pools stop that pollution provided they filter their water.
Yes, they need energy to operate but it is possible to set up green energy to power the site and lower the carbon foot print. I get that this is an easy thing for people to point fingers at just to hear themselves complain, and these companies SHOULD address the issue, but seriously....take a look at your own life and ask yourself if you are really doing everything YOU could be doing?
@@tuskedbeast surfing is NOT an natural experience. See above.
@@mb7196 that's so nice to be one upped all the time. you're right, who cares, let's ride oil powered waves and use huge amounts of energy to move water while the ocean does it for free.... if after all I own a wetsuit, I'm as guilty al bloody BP so whatever
Nice video 🔥
Could've been great to talk about the environmental impact of the park ! Is it good ? Did they build it thinking about the safest way for the planet ?
Thanks for you work 🙏
🤢🤮
^^ since when did surfers become the biggest twats when it comes to environmental concerns lol
We have worked with STOKE to ensure we meet their sustainability standards, and will continue to do so for every park we build
@@SurfLakes net zero? Where can we find more about their sustainability standards?
OMG when is thing ever going to start...
Not long enough rides too long a wait too.
Surfing should not cost more money than the equipment already is. I’d rather surfing in my bad waves on my country for free.
I’m calling BS on the noise being that much improved. It’ll still be super loud and very much not like surfing in that regard.
The commercial facilities that are going to be produced already have a change in the design, the caisson will be closed, it will have an internal noise attenuation process and sound will be at 66 dBa 80 mts from the source (like a little more sound than normal conversation)
It is surfing. You mean "not like surfing in the ocean". OK. Who said it had to be?
It's a pity they can't get it, just a bit bigger
We can. Currently operating at about 3/4 capacity
Where is this Surf Park The one that’s Near me isn’t opening till 2024 and that’s the only one I live near
Near the Tropic of Capricorn
I’m too core for wavepools
I'm a turbomachinery/mechanical engineer and I already see the mechanical issues with this setup. Who can I talk with technically at Surf Lakes? Just to add more to this, the plunger should be submerged so it generates waves on both the upstroke and downstroke.
You can probably start here: www.surf-lakes.com/contact/
A LOT of tuning goes into the up and down stroke, both from a wave and energy maximisation. I can tell you, they are all over this!!!!
@@joe.odonovan My thoughts are to use an electric motor (or a HP turbine) that mechanically drives the plunger. Once the perpetual motion of the plunger is in sync with the movement of the water, the torque needed to actuate the plunging motion is considerably less requiring less work for continuous motion. Kind of like an old steam train, slow to start but once its going its takes a lot to get it to stop.
Hey what's up with the tech going wonky here? Ah let's ask the... Marketing guy?
The plunger will only ever fail if the supply of Blonde virgins that are fed into the compressor is depleted....
The waves look great but the equipment for making the waves does not similar to other wave parks with very ugly industrial looking equipment making the waves.
That sucks, I'm 50. 😂
economic mindset yea.... what about the ecological aspect
And what are ya gonna do when it's soooo crowded with student surfers, there's no more solitary sessions.? Bru?