I never put my head around surfing. I would not be wrong to say that the sport is non-existent in India, so naturally, I was never interested. But when I came across this gladiatorial arena of man-made waves, it caught my attention, because it rests upon an incredible and intelligent piece of technology.
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| Surf Snowdonia |
Surf Snowdonia is situated in a village in Wales, a country one would not
necessarily attach with surfing, and surprisingly still, this giant structure
is situated in a valley surrounded by a picturesque view of the Welsh
mountains. Apart from the 300m lagoon, it also features camping pods,
cafe-bar-restaurant, a surf shop. It came up at the site of an aluminium
smelter, much of whose iron, steel and copper were recycled to be used in the
construction of the Wavegarden wavepool.
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| Cafe-bar-restaurant at Snowdonia |
Surfing,
unlike a lot of sports, depends as much on a surfer’s skill as the
environmental conditions. Surf Snowdonia ensures a wave per minute regardless
of the weather. So how is it done? Well, innnovation. The spanish company Wavegarden uses a snow plough like machine or ‘wave-foil’, moving back and
forth along an underwater track across the length of the lagoon. Curiously
enough, this technology was developed by a ski lift company. Six million
gallons of artificial hillside reservoir water fill up the lagoon. The really clever bit is the contoured bottom that shapes
the wavefoil’s single pulse into three breaks on each side of the pier:
knee-high for beginners, chest-high for so-so surfers and, for the advanced, a
head-high wave which unfurls for 20 seconds down the pool’s centre. The
speed and size of the waves can be controlled by a computer and range from 0.7
m, 1.2 m and 2 m. The technology has been developed over the past decade and Wavegarden has it’s facilities in Austin, Texas but Surf Snowdonia is the first of
it’s kind to be accessible to the public. There is an unfinished Crash and
Splash lagoon, being constructed at Surf Snowdonia. For the more casual
visitors, there is surf yoga, paddleboarding, swim sessions.
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| Surfers at Snowdonia |
Surf Snowdonia can solve the problem of hosting surfing as an
Olympic sport since most countries do not have waves of quality and consistency
required for a contest. In fact, the venue is to become a hub for the world’s
top surfers with Red Bull Unleashed. It can also be a big source of income for Wales where adventure tourism like mountaineering and kayaking generates £480
million. The £12 million facility hopes to attract 75,000 visitors in it’s
first year.
So
you may be thinking, why suddenly I chose to go with this, after a month of
posting about smartphones, Internet of Things e.t.c. Well, as a tech-enthusiast
I felt Surf Snowdonia serves as a proof to show the scalability of innovative
technology. From Wifi providing planes to artificial waves which can be the
next Olympic destination, to be a part of this rapid change may feel
intimidating but it opens doors for us to explore unchartered territories.
Whoever thought of a ski-lifting technology to generate waves of different
heights. Must be a genius.
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