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Scriffler
Since 03 Jul 2005
581 Posts
LYLE
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Mon Nov 06, 17 10:50 pm Wavepools in the Northwest |
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Is there any talk of rich individuals,corporations or crowdfunders trying to roll out any wavepools in the northwest? It seems like some Microsoft types would be at least floating the idea? Cheap land comparatively to a lot of surfing Mecca’s. They could easily be accommodating to kiting and windsurfing, placed in the corrIdors of wind or the coast oriented north south to offer two kiteable wind directions. It just popped into my head after reading about bill gates’ daughter having her own horse stable in Florida. What if one of his kids was into surfing?
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Clyde S. Dale
Since 23 Jul 2016
55 Posts
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Tue Nov 07, 17 4:27 am |
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I helped fund this group,I'll see if they want to take on a more ambitious project next.
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Jonpnw
Since 22 Jul 2010
1327 Posts
Pacific Northwest
XTreme Poster
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stringy
Since 23 Jun 2006
1731 Posts
vancouver
XTreme Poster
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Tue Nov 07, 17 7:32 am |
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Not really a wave pool but somewhat the same topic.
up in monroe, washington, the city council had approved the use of lake tyee for cable park. everything seemed to be going the right direction and the community was excited then the developer apparently could not find investors for the park so it died a slow death
http://pskite.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7682&start=0
_________________ www.jimstringfellow.com |
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Windian
Since 28 Apr 2008
892 Posts
Newport, OR
NEWPORT OG
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Tue Nov 07, 17 8:40 am |
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It is inevitable that the NW will get one at some point. Willamette Valley is perfect with all the ingredients; relatively inexpensive flat farm land with large populations nearby, plentiful clean fresh water, warm summers and moderate fall, winter and spring air temps most of the time. KS Wave is a huge success and the technology is only going to get better and cheaper to build.
Soon there will be world-class surfers coming from inland areas that have spent little or no time in the ocean. It is a strange and unusual surfing world nowadays.
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sleestack
Since 07 Dec 2006
182 Posts
Land of the Lost
Stoked
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Tue Nov 07, 17 8:45 am Re: Wavepools in the Northwest |
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[quote="Scriffler"]Is there any talk of rich individuals,corporations or crowdfunders trying to roll out any wavepools in the northwest? It seems like some Microsoft types would be at least floating the idea? Cheap land comparatively to a lot of surfing Mecca’s. They could easily be accommodating to kiting and windsurfing, placed in the corrIdors of wind or the coast oriented north south to offer two kiteable wind directions. It just popped into my head after reading about bill gates’ daughter having her own horse stable in Florida. What if one of his kids was into surfing?[/quote]
Trump is thinking about doing something like this; "its going to be really, really, really great!"
He purchased a bunch of lands all around the US that is close to being waterfront property. His play is to wait for more global warming to occur and to accelerate the carbon footprint of the US by using more coal and oil products, hence the glaciers will melt more quickly and the oceans will rise and he will have waterfront property in the decades to come.
Wait, this might be fake news, or at least partially fake
_________________ Shhhhhhhhhhhh. . . |
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Slappysan
Since 13 Jun 2012
309 Posts
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Tue Nov 07, 17 12:00 pm |
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Windian wrote: | KS Wave is a huge success and the technology is only going to get better and cheaper to build.
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While the wave quality for KS Wave Co is top notch, I'm not sure I would consider it a huge success from a commercial standpoint. The wave frequency is very low and the energy costs are quite high.
In markets where people will pay top dollar for the perfect wave KS Wave Co will probably do okay. I don't see the PNW as that market though.
The Wave Garden Cove looks promising for a high frequency lower quality wave with a lower energy cost and smaller footprint.
Have you looked at N-Land's prices? They are out to lunch IMO.
$90 for the main wave, which is expensive but probably worth the money, only a few surfers per hour.
$72 for the "inside wave" which is basically like a long breaking reform party wave
$60 for the same wave on the otherside, no idea why it's cheaper
$50 for the very end of the pool for boogie bording
Honestly, $90 for the reef wave is fine but these other waves should be like $30 an hour. I mean it's frothy reform.
The big win a standing wave provides for the PNW is access 12 months of the year as even Wave Garden Cove is too big to do in doors. Even in Austin they only open N-Land on weekends during the winter, so up here you'd close completely from Nov-March.
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skideeppow
Since 26 Aug 2011
521 Posts
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Tue Nov 07, 17 1:15 pm |
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Slappysan wrote: | Windian wrote: | KS Wave is a huge success and the technology is only going to get better and cheaper to build.
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While the wave quality for KS Wave Co is top notch, I'm not sure I would consider it a huge success from a commercial standpoint. The wave frequency is very low and the energy costs are quite high.
In markets where people will pay top dollar for the perfect wave KS Wave Co will probably do okay. I don't see the PNW as that market though.
The Wave Garden Cove looks promising for a high frequency lower quality wave with a lower energy cost and smaller footprint.
Have you looked at N-Land's prices? They are out to lunch IMO.
$90 for the main wave, which is expensive but probably worth the money, only a few surfers per hour.
$72 for the "inside wave" which is basically like a long breaking reform party wave
$60 for the same wave on the otherside, no idea why it's cheaper
$50 for the very end of the pool for boogie bording
Honestly, $90 for the reef wave is fine but these other waves should be like $30 an hour. I mean it's frothy reform.
The big win a standing wave provides for the PNW is access 12 months of the year as even Wave Garden Cove is too big to do in doors. Even in Austin they only open N-Land on weekends during the winter, so up here you'd close completely from Nov-March. |
I was at N Land last month. I loved it. I dont think 70 for the inside wave was that much. The wind was kicking in one direction when i was there so the inside wave was reforming and peeling. It was pretty sweet.
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Slappysan
Since 13 Jun 2012
309 Posts
Obsessed
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Tue Nov 07, 17 8:31 pm |
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skideeppow wrote: |
I was at N Land last month. I loved it. I dont think 70 for the inside wave was that much. The wind was kicking in one direction when i was there so the inside wave was reforming and peeling. It was pretty sweet. |
I guess the wind direction is why one side of the reform is more expensive than the other.
I'm glad to hear it was pretty good, but the only reason I could see someone paying $70 for that wave is they lack the ability to ride the $90 wave.
EDIT: I'm not trying to say you personally lack the ability to ride it skideeppow, just that it's a bad value propisition to ride for $70 when you could pay $20 more and ride the real deal.
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deminimis
Since 15 Jul 2014
326 Posts
On the Rocks
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Thu Nov 09, 17 7:45 am |
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I suspect you all know about the wave in Bend. I seem to recall it being mentioned on here in the past. I haven't tried it and I imagine it's near impossible to get a ride on a crowded Summer weekend, but thought I'd mention it in case someone isn't hip to it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hXiHmS_qhg
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Slappysan
Since 13 Jun 2012
309 Posts
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Thu Nov 09, 17 10:31 am |
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I took a trip to Bend this summer and had a blast on the Green Wave at the whitewater park.
It's way harder to get used to surfing than I expected. Probably took me 20 attempts before I got the hang of it and each attempt lasts about 1.5 seconds. Each time you fall you need to queue up again so it does help to go when it's a bit less busy if you know you are going to be falling a lot.
Also they say not to use a leash because of the danger but frankly almost everybody there uses a leash and I highly recommend it. My problem was all my ocean leashes are 8 ft and that length is actually quite dangerous. Buy a 5 ft leash ahead of time (I couldn't even buy a 6 ft in town anywhere).
I had to chase my board down 1 or 2 more rapids and walk way back up when I was learning without a leash. Slows down the learning process a lot.
I thought ocean surfing and wake surfing experience would make it easy to ride that wave, but it's a very different animal.
Even with the summer crowds I found the queue manageable. Once there are only 3 people surfing the wave it actually gets so you are too tired to surf. Usually there are between 5-15 people surfing.
If you go early in the morning or late at night the crowd thins out. I surfed until dark one night.
I also recommend a full wetsuit, booties and gloves for protection from the rocks. I mulched my hand up first session because the water isn't clear and you need to learn the location of the rocks so you don't swim right in to them. Once you learn the rock patterns underwater you can easily get away without them though.
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deminimis
Since 15 Jul 2014
326 Posts
On the Rocks
Obsessed
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Thu Nov 09, 17 1:31 pm |
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^^ Good info. Thanks!
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airon^
Since 07 Aug 2013
290 Posts
Durango
Obsessed
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Fri Nov 10, 17 7:36 am Second for Bend |
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I hate to even advertise it, but Bend has a world class wave.
Many other waves could be produced at a fraction of the cost of the commercial wave parks.
Bend had the first annual River Summit this year, and there are many people trying to go forward with this.
Here in Colorado, it's more difficult because our flows are heavily dependent on snow melt.
But there in the PNW you all have snowmelt plus rainfall in the fall so there's good potential for year round flow.
_________________ surf the san juans |
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Windian
Since 28 Apr 2008
892 Posts
Newport, OR
NEWPORT OG
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Fri Nov 10, 17 10:03 am |
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A standing river wave like in Bend at their river park is not the same as forward moving ocean swells which eventually feel shallow seafloor and then break. KS Wave at the Surf Ranch in Lemoore has masterfully mimicked breaking ocean waves in a confined freshwater pool. The entire physics and hydrodynamics of the two are completely different. To build a manmade standing wave is relatively easy and inexpensive. Just anchor underwater obstacles in a river flow to cause the water to lift upward and spill over and you have a standing wave. To build a moving forward surfing wave like KS Wave or Wave Garden is super expensive and requires mechanical engineering and crazy hydrology skills and application to achieve that task.
You also get what you pay for with this manmade wave game. Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to pay $100 for my chance at 5 waves at the Surf Ranch. The standing wave in Bend I don't even have any desire to give it a go.
Go ahead and compare the two venues and decide for yourself which looks more interesting, fun and challenging:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr9aQ4qvciQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hXiHmS_qhg
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OG
Since 07 Jun 2011
583 Posts
Addicted
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user124
Since 02 Aug 2012
391 Posts
Portland
Obsessed
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Wed Nov 22, 17 11:48 am |
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That was painful to read. Lots of marketing cliche language like "game changer", "innovative", "bullish", "exciting opportunities" etc. To summarize for those that don't want to wade through the annoying business-speak interview of this CEO, she basically said we might build more wave pools but we're not sure.
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chrissmack
Since 08 Jun 2005
528 Posts
portland
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Wed Nov 22, 17 4:07 pm |
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user124 wrote: |
That was painful to read. Lots of marketing cliche language like "game changer", "innovative", "bullish", "exciting opportunities" etc. To summarize for those that don't want to wade through the annoying business-speak interview of this CEO, she basically said we might build more wave pools but we're not sure. |
thanks for the warning. skippin it
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