Spoiler alert: Hell YES!
Wavepools will never-ever replace the ocean and what the ocean means to me, as a place of happiness. But they help. They really do.
I have not much to say about wavepools themselves in terms of technology, quality, types, or different sites. I surfed just one (many many times), The Wave in Bristol. That’s as far as I go.
What I can share is a bit of my experience about how as an average, very motivated but not so skilled surfer, it has helped me in a few, but very relevant areas:
- It actually improved my surfing skills. The repetition provided by an hour of the same wave every 90 seconds is the obvious culprit. A skate-park like situation, gave me the chance to try manoeuvres many times over different sessions, ultimately improving when I’m doing them. I’m now more motivated because, even though I’m not getting younger, my surfing average-Joe career is not over!
- I’m more surf-focused, which is always good thing. Having a wavepool 20 mins away from my home, I can now think about surfing as part of my fitness and my health, body and mind. And I’m not alone on that. Now, many people that do not frequently visit beaches can experience the “blue health” effects. You feel more relaxed and less anxious hearing waves rolling. Works for the sea/ocean, but also with wavepools…who knew…
- As an expat surfer in UK, living relatively far from the closest break, a little more than 90 mins away, having a place with “waves on tap”, as early as 7 am in the morning, it’s just heaven on earth. No need for forecasts, long drives looking for the best point covered by the wind, or the least crowded. I just book, pay the price (not cheap, but not prohibitory) and can arrange a regular work day relatively easy. I leave the traditional surf quests for weekends, days off and holidays.
- It allowed me to know people in the surf community (again as an Uruguayan living in UK), that share a big part of my interests. In my mind, I’m slowly becoming a member of the surf community in my home town, which was not the case as a teenager. Strange things happen when you move countries…ego drops and you become more open to new people and experiences. So much so, that I recently received a discount for being a “frequent surfer” at the Wave…was about time!
Not much to say other than that. Wavepools will never-ever replace the ocean and what the ocean means to me, as a place of happiness. But they help. They really do.
Images by @imagecabin and @sbsboards
Tech Tide Talk 
One response to “Wavepools: Yae or Nay?”
[…] I started uploading surf videos to Instagram a while back, particularly videos from the wavepool in Bristol. It’s a place of real stoke for me. I get into more details in a previous post: Wavepools: Yae or Nay? […]
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