hello wavepool

Just read a story on swellnet about Greg Webber signing a contract to build the first wavepool in Australia.
I know one of you smart cats will post the link
It looks really nice to me,and I would love to surf it....it will.never replace the ocean,but hey it would be better than what we have had all summer

My question is...will this end up putting more kooks in the ocean?Or will it get more people out of the delicious salty stuff?

My job application is already being drafted yeeeeeoooooooooow

Interesting concept the webber wave pool and I think only equalled by the wavegarden.

I would love to get together a few engineering friends in a few years time, get a loan, start a wave garden somewhere and have a business from it...

Apparently they are pretty cheap to build, aside from excavations everything for the actual lagoon!

Tom

Vanders has got his name all over it

Geez I hope V12 has a big enough granny flat for us brothers to kip down on the floorboards

He has changed his design idea. Lets hope this one flys! Looks like you Queenslanders are going to score - expect more visits from me if this goes ahead

Queensland to get first Webber Wave Pool
On Friday Greg Webber signed a Memorandum of Understanding to build the first of his Webber Wave Pools. The agreement comes two years after Webber's first public proposal. Since then a number of potential developers have been mooted but this is the first time the dotted line has been signed.

The developer is David Baird, an Australian entrepreneur. It was Baird who signed the MOU with Webber and made the venture public.

The exact location of the wave pool can't be disclosed though it's known to be in south-east Queensland. The site was chosen by the developer in conjunction with the local council and is currently under assessment for a Material Change of Use application. This process will decide the scale of development on the site. The MCU is expected to take six months and when complete the location will be revealed.

What is known is that this pool will be a 'looped linear' version of Webber's original ring pool. About 18 months ago Webber Wave Pools made the decision to move away from a full circle toward a straight pool using the same wave-making technology. The reasoning being that a full circle occupies too much land.

The proposed pool will be 160 metres long by 80m wide, which will make 1.6 metre waves with rides of 15 seconds. Waves will move down either side of the pool (see video below).


Speaking in person Greg Webber emphasises the point that the wave he creates will have a trough. ?It's an important distinction,? says Webber. ?Because what that means is that we'll be creating the first operating wave pool that barrels.?

?The pool is all about making a hollow barrel, but it can make softer waves for ripping on though they will be about 1.4 metres.?

Creating a wave that barrels has been Webber's goal since he had a lightbulb moment watching trawler wake break along the banks of the Clarence River against the incoming tide. Webber Wave Pools have built successful scale models at the Australian Maritime College in Tasmania though this will be the first full size pool.

Webber expects to start building the pool later this year and have it finished by September 2015.

Ted, that looks like a similar set up to the wave garden! Still like the idea of the wave garden better though as left and rights break at the same time but I think this one would pump out more waves...

Tom.

S

Just practice trick after trick.....

Nice looking skate park !

Yep a guy from blacktown could be our next ASP world champ

Does look good but would be better if you could make it a fast wave..ie one where you have to race to make it. The current designs look like you have to cut back to stay in the pit.

Or have smaller fins...or stall......also read something somewhere about certain designs requiring too much land.

Words: Mimi LaMontagne

Greg Webber is a bit eccentric. He talks ten times faster than the normal pace of an Australian, and has a whole lot more to say. But for this prodigious board builder it?s a blessing, not a curse.

I?d like to attribute Webber?s streamlined and rapid-fire thoughts to a unique, rare ability ?? envision and create. His brain is so chock-full of ideas, both big and small, that he just can?t help but speak of them in the most dynamic way possible.

The Webber Wave Pool is his brainchild, and after years of its existence as a mere daydream, it?s finally making a mark in reality. Word on the street: the innovation is headed for Southern Queensland within the next year.

Being locals of the Gold Coast we got pretty excited, so we jumped on the phone with Mr. Webber himself. Hearsay? I think not!

Screen Shot 2014-02-17 at 2.54.41 PMA shot of what it all could be like...

Greg? Is this for real?

It?s for sure happening. That?s why we?ve been allowed by the developer to go public with it. There?s no question of if it?s going to go ahead, it?s more just finalising the details. We can?t talk about the specifics of the site because of the attention you can sometimes get from the local community? there?s too much traffic, it might be noisy, what about the green tree frogs? We want to get the rest of the specifics organised before we get swamped with concerned neighbors. But that being said, I?d be dumbfounded if it didn?t happen.

Are you stoked?

I?m not super excited, but that?s just because it?s been such a long time coming, and I?ve gotten used to that by putting it in another part of my brain. Every time I?ve had successes, this happens. When I was 19 I got the news that I made a cover shot in a mag, but by the time the mag came out I had suppressed my excitement so much that I couldn?t even enjoy it. One day, when I really embrace it, I?ll probably have a heart attack and die or something.

Well, let?s hope not. Can you tell us a bit about what the complex is going to hold?

There?s more to the development than just the wave pool, but we can?t talk about what it is. Whether it?s a big skate bowl or a giant water park, I can?t say. There might be a chance of a resort? Our side to it, even though the wave pool area will be 200 metres long by 100 metres wide, will only be about a quarter of the entire property. It?s a big bit of land, to say the least.

THE SMARTPARKDoes this look like the Gold Coast, or what? This image is the latest and greatest from the artists behind Webber Wave Pools...

Can you tell us about the specifics of the wave?

We?ve used a gradient that changes as it goes from the shoreline, which is zero depth to maximum depth. We?ve looked at the range of gradients on the stretch of sand that we tested, along with others in nature, and realised that if we create a range of curves to this gradient we can make a range of waves. We?ll have everything from a big wave that is hollow, a medium size wave that is rippable, and a small wave that will be soft and gentle. The more angle the gradient has, the more sucky it?s going to be.

Are you basing the formation off a particular wave?

For the rippable wave, I?ve been steering towards Trestles. For the tubing part, I want something between Burleigh and Angourie Point. The idea is to have the wave change slightly throughout the ride, because in nature there?s no such thing as a perfectly moving wave. As a surfer you have to adapt and interpret the wave? think about what you?re going to have to do to get down the line? and we want you to be able to do that in the wave pool as well. A five per cent change in the gradient will cause a 25 per cent change in the wave, so we?re barely going to alter it. Just so that when the wave is slightly smaller it?ll break just a little bit closer to the shore. It brings nature into the pool, so it?s not too cold and mechanical.

Texas concept planNow add in a skatepark, and there ya have it folks!

How long are the rides going to be?

The average ride will be about 15 seconds. That?s one and a half times the average beach break, and is equivalent to probably four or five turns. Basically, all you have to do is paddle onto a certain spot, which will be lit up from the bottom of the pool, and paddle a few more metres to get to the peak height of the wave. The waves will be coming by every 15 seconds, because in order to get these things to really work you have to make 500 waves an hour.

What?s up next?

The only thing we?ll be doing after this pool is to work on something that builds up to three metre waves. Surfers will travel huge distances to get perfect, big, empty waves and spend thousands of dollars in the process. At the moment, we?ll be able to make 1.75 metre waves. If we go bigger, it?ll be the top of the line product and much more expensive. This, right now, is the mainstream.

Are you going to build more than one?

Around the world we have more than 170 potential clients. So as long as the thing works here, it?s going elsewhere. That won?t start happening until this thing basically eclipses all other wave pools, which is the plan.

If this is successful, the next two pools will be in South Africa, near Cape Town, and in Florida. Both of those are pretty far along, and I wouldn?t be surprised if you start seeing announcements coming out soon.