Wavegarden Cove - video

Ben Matson picture
Ben Matson (thermalben)
Swellnet Dispatch

So... here it is: the full length version of Wavegarden's latest innovation, the 'Cove'. 

Does it stack up against Kelly Slater's Wave Pool? See for yourself...

 

Comments

wesley's picture
wesley's picture
wesley Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 5:58am

Nup

thermalben's picture
thermalben's picture
thermalben Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 6:25am

I like the fact that it's a little less perfect than Kelly's wave, as it looks like there could be variety from wave to wave. But it's rather small.. sure, the fine print says they can produce a wave of any size, but why not make the demo wave four-to six feet?

quokka's picture
quokka's picture
quokka Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 11:09am

Exactly

donweather's picture
donweather's picture
donweather Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 1:04pm

Couldn't have said it any better myself.

icandig's picture
icandig's picture
icandig Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 6:58am

Better than Rio.

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 7:53am

Looks fun enough.

Bit of flat day fun.

Wouldn't want to watch a comp in it though.

edit: I agree with Ben, show us the 6ft wave (or even a wave with a 6ft face)

geoffrey's picture
geoffrey's picture
geoffrey Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 7:54am

were they all the fellas that never got invited to kellys joint?

mick-free's picture
mick-free's picture
mick-free Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 4:25pm

HAHA! yep except Kerzy did get a wiggle

50young's picture
50young's picture
50young Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 8:06am

Wonder how the WSL likes their pros promoting the opposition

Craig's picture
Craig's picture
Craig Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 8:11am

After that initial barrel/bowl it tapers off really quick in size. It'd need to be twice the size I reckon.

Island Bay's picture
Island Bay's picture
Island Bay Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 8:26am

They did say that this was only a small demo version (60x80m). Will be interesting to see a bigger, longer wave.
If they can pump out a decent wave every 10 or so seconds, then KS is in deep trouble.

thermalben's picture
thermalben's picture
thermalben Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 9:15am

Alternatively, if Kelly can pump out concurrent twenty-second barrels at the same rate, then these guys might be in trouble.

I'm surprised that after all of the hype, they've opted to launch the next phase of publicity with such a small wave. This would be their primary promotional tool for the next 12 months and I'm not sure it'll warrant the same attention that Kelly's deep barrels have.

IMO, the big difference between the two is that regular surfers would easily be able to surf - and get thoroughly barreled - at Kelly's wave.

But Wavegarden looks trickier - how the air-drop at 12 seconds? The pro surfers in this clip make it look easy but the wave tapers off in size over time (something Kelly's doesn't seem to do?) so after the initial shoulder to head high take off, it levels out around knee to waist high and it's cutback city. Many surfers would struggle in waves of this size I reckon (though it's great for beginners).

Anyway, this is all small talk - crank up the machine and show us some double overhead barrels! 

fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21 Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 10:19am

Kelly only needs to sort out the chop from previous waves issue which could be easily rectified with a horizon pool type scenario. From there it is just frequency, size and mixing up the bottom contour.
From what we have seen, Kellys is prototype #1. Wave garden are at prototype #? and has it realistically improved much from #1??? Not in my opinion.

peabo's picture
peabo's picture
peabo Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 8:49am

I like it. Even though it's small, it looks more like a real wave that Kelly's thing. Looks like there is slight variation in each wave and size. Kelly's is just so mechanical. Even though the barrel is good and long, it'll be like going down a half-pipe on a snowboard. Same every time.

The barrel is clearly only a short part of the wave on this thing, but that's more realistic too.

fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21 Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 9:06am

Without doubt the technology is improving, but there is still a way to go. As mentioned above, they all claim to be able to make waves of all sizes. Well let's see it. Let's see a solid wave. ATM it's just all talk.

abc-od's picture
abc-od's picture
abc-od Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 9:06am

I'm impressed. It seems to have enough variety to stave off repetition and the potential to be scaled up.

Gary G's picture
Gary G's picture
Gary G Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 9:28am

Gary likes it,

Aside from the ample space around the cove for sunning the rig, Gary feels that by surfing the cove you could actually get better at surfing, whilst by surfing at KS wave pool you'd just get better at surfing the KS wave pool.

Fleazool's picture
Fleazool's picture
Fleazool Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 10:35am

Slater's wave looks like ground swell on a point break.
This looks like wind slop on shorey bank.
Both can be fun though.

waverat's picture
waverat's picture
waverat Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 11:04am

Get them all up and running and when you get bored with one, go to the other. Either has to be a better option than not surfing. Would be great for the kids too.

chook's picture
chook's picture
chook Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 11:06am

yeah, looks like a very weak summer arvo wave while on holiday with the family.

gasman's picture
gasman's picture
gasman Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 12:33pm

To the average surfer I reckon this looks great. Heaps better than Snowdonia (which I've surfed). The fact that in the footage you can see them pumping through multiple waves 8-10 seconds apart proves the tech to me. That in itself is a quantum leap from the original wavegarden and presumably makes this about ten times more economically viable as well. Surprised how smooth the face can be with that frequency of wave.

No it's not 6ft and it's not that long (yet). But then the lions share of the market they are aiming at probably don't want 6ft to be honest. And at the end of the day they are looking to make money. I'm sure that Kelly in his utopic money-no-object world will be able to produce you a nice 6ft wave eventually if you're good enough to get a go on it and you can bring your own drone and support crew!

Personally I reckon I could have a great day surfing the waves in the cove, and if they can actually upscale them then all the better. Interestingly The Wave Bristol are cock-a-hoop about this and mentioned the ability to change the wave shape in their blurb. Don't know how much truth there is in that but would definitely add further to the experience.

rablex's picture
rablex's picture
rablex Friday, 12 May 2017 at 2:19am

hey mate. im working near snowdonia and was thinking of giving it a go, just for the novelty. good or bad idea?

gasman's picture
gasman's picture
gasman Sunday, 14 May 2017 at 3:26pm

For sure. I went twice last time I was in the UK - although I was driving from Glasgow to Bristol (and back) so it made a convenient overnight stopover both times. Definitely worth a go even if just for the novelty. You can definitely hack a few top-turns although the wave is pretty short all told and certainly no more than a couple of foot in real money. Great scenery all around, friendly people and a nice setup though. Definitely glad I went, and that is even after I'd just spent the week in Tiree surfing in the crystal clear water of the Western Isles.

thermalben's picture
thermalben's picture
thermalben Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 12:51pm

I'd still prefer a six foot demo reel, with the byline "don't worry, we can reduce this to three foot if it's too big for you".

amb's picture
amb's picture
amb Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 2:09pm

reckon that side wall near the takeoff would need to be higher for anything bigger, than this. Take-off looks cool tho.

crg's picture
crg's picture
crg Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 2:44pm

The size doesn't bother me...it's a scaled version prototype meant to test the technology - which seems to work. If they're not telling lies about its potential then it looks good to me. Even if it doesn't match up to the PR hype I think they've gone the right direction in their development - frequency of wave...directly attacking KS weak point.

seal's picture
seal's picture
seal Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 3:50pm

I like the fact that the wave and surfer move in a more natural direction, i.e. sideways, rather than straight ahead like Kelly's wave does.
When they're doing turns on this Cove wave, they seem more like normal surfing turns than the turns at Kelly's so therefore if the size factor comes in, it'll be a lot more realistic alternative to real ocean surfing. It's getting more appealing to an average surfer I feel.

indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 4:06pm

Kelly still wins hand down, but this vid is a lot better than their last vid and a 200% improvement on that Snowdonia wave pool..

Does look very small though and runs into nothing.

Kellys is a 9/10

This is a 6/10

Snowdonia a 3/10

Wave pool in Arizonia on North shore 0/10

Wet and wild wave pool -1/10

freerider.'s picture
freerider.'s picture
freerider. Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 5:44pm

You guys sound like a bunch of teenie boppers at a Justin Bieber concert. I'm stoked I've got the real thing and all the good vibes that go with it. Have fun forking out your 60.00 bucks an hour. No one--should ever have to pay anyone--to ride a wave.....

peabo's picture
peabo's picture
peabo Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 8:42pm

Lucky you. Obviously the real thing is better. Fucking duh. For someone that lives somewhere 1000km from any surf though, it's gonna cost a lot more than $60 to surf the real deal. This is a good alternative.

freerider.'s picture
freerider.'s picture
freerider. Friday, 12 May 2017 at 4:52pm

Dude--its gonna cost someone living 1000 km from the ocean big bucks also just to get proficient. Probably a few grand paying for the wave tank time just to practice and learn all 'the basics'--then a few hundred every month--for their artificial experience.....

Coaster's picture
Coaster's picture
Coaster Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 8:57pm

It's a more natural looking wave than the KS wave pool. Surfing away from the wall might be a better experience than surfing towards a pier like the KS and Webber wave pools. The downside is the wave size drops off quickly.
They seem to be returning to the older style of wave generation. It looks a bit like these waves at the Japan Ocean Dome that closed 10 years ago, minus the backwash.
https://m.

memlasurf's picture
memlasurf's picture
memlasurf Thursday, 11 May 2017 at 10:14pm

I would think that it wouldn't be easty to scale it up. From the little I know of structural engineering, forces and mass, it could be like a 'j' curve. Once it is over a certain threshold cost escalate really quickly due to the energy and forces involved. The infrastructure to contain a decent barrelling 6 foot wave (12' face) is immense. And as someone said this thing is aimed at the masses. The middle is where the money and votes are. Just ask Malcom.

Ragnar Lolbroek's picture
Ragnar Lolbroek's picture
Ragnar Lolbroek Friday, 12 May 2017 at 12:57am

It's so disappointing to see that it is just a variation to their "wakewave" and really nothing new. They had my intrest sparked with the baseballfield shaped area without a pier thinking they developed a superiour wavemaking machine. Now, instead it has, again, a pier under which a sled is being pulled. Instead now apparantly they have 2 foiled blades so 2 waves can be created without interfering. So it is not a wave every 4 seconds, but more correct 2 waves every 8 seconds.

Who can make the first viable "real" wave, instead of a wake (which btw Kelly's "wave" is too) ?

Dean Mc's picture
Dean Mc's picture
Dean Mc Friday, 12 May 2017 at 5:59am

I wonder if mobile wave making boats/barges could angle park in a line like a slight V in a sandy lake and all do their thing at the same time. The banks can be sharpened up using the Komatsu underwater bulldozer. Surfing comps in the outback perhaps. No issues here with chocky soldiers (dropping the kids off at the pool) or condies crystals.

northeasterly's picture
northeasterly's picture
northeasterly Friday, 12 May 2017 at 6:32pm

Both this and the KS wavepool look the goods for different reasons. Getting barrelled at the KS pool for 500 metres looks amazing. But if this pool was producing bigger waves, which it could be very soon, then I'd be happily paying and get all over it like a rash. Not surfing towards a safety net and a big machine is also more appealing. It's a great time to a surfer at the moment with all the possibilities opening up.

northeasterly's picture
northeasterly's picture
northeasterly Friday, 12 May 2017 at 8:45pm

Both this and the KS wavepool look the goods for different reasons. Getting barrelled at the KS pool for 500 metres looks amazing. But if this pool was producing bigger waves, which it could be very soon, then I'd be happily paying and get all over it like a rash. Not surfing towards a safety net and a big machine is also more appealing. It's a great time to a surfer at the moment with all the possibilities opening up.

freerider.'s picture
freerider.'s picture
freerider. Saturday, 13 May 2017 at 5:44pm

Its always been a great time to be a surfer. Hope you guys all have fun dreaming about your wave pools tonight (well, not really). I'm stoked to have the real thing and all the good beach vibes that go with it.

Dean Mc's picture
Dean Mc's picture
Dean Mc Sunday, 14 May 2017 at 10:58am

Bonfire on the beach or push some yuppy away from heater at the cafe.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Monday, 15 May 2017 at 10:04am

Footage of Pat Towersey at Kelly's pool, shot two days ago.

Comparisons, just because...

 

A post shared by Pat Towersey (@punkerpat) on

 

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Monday, 15 May 2017 at 10:21am

Whatever the argument against wavepools and their dissimilarities to an oceanic wave, that video above looks like an off the chart good time.

thermalben's picture
thermalben's picture
thermalben Monday, 15 May 2017 at 10:21am

Kelly's is still quite a fair way in front (though this latest WaveGarden version has more promise than before).

But hang on.. step-offs at a 2-3ft wave pool? Now I have seen everything.

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Monday, 15 May 2017 at 11:23am

Is that max wave size for Kellys pool ? You think he would have bumped the size up by now if it was possible...or has he and is just holding off with the footage
A Ski in wavepool Aint nothin Green about that Kelly.....

tidak_bagus's picture
tidak_bagus's picture
tidak_bagus Wednesday, 31 May 2017 at 10:36am

Did anyone attend the Surf Lakes media/investor night last night?