The growth in wave pools and artificial waves has been huge over the last 5 years, and it looks like surfing artificial waves will become a part of the future of surfing. As new technologies are being developed, more types of wave are being produced and the opportunity to surf being shared more widely than ever.
Whilst surfing in a wave pool can be incredibly fun, it does have a different feel to the ocean & comes with its own risks.
If you’re looking to surf at The Wave or another Wave Pool, our recommendations are:
- Be realistic about your level of surfing when booking a session. There is no point booking on an advanced session if you can’t make the take off
- Allow plenty of time and make sure you listen to the safety briefing and the guidance from the hosts. Artificial waves have their own surf etiquette which you’ll need to follow to get the best out of your session.
- Talk to the regulars and watch some reviews before you go – the take off in particular is different to the majority of UK waves, so being ready for that and knowing it may take a few goes to get used to will help.
- If bringing your own wetsuit remember that the temperature in a lake more closely tracks the air temperature, so it will be much warmer than the sea in summer, but colder in winter.
- Board choice is also important and for a first go, we’d definitely recommend taking an older board or hiring one to save putting any dings in your prized new board. For the more experienced there is lots of chat about the best boards for wave pools, but generally speaking, if your board works well for you in the salt, it’ll work in the pool. If you’re lucky enough to have a few options, then whatever surfs best in the pocket is likely to be a good call.
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