Man-Made Waves.
Bristol's artificial surfing lake and waves of change.
The usage of ‘waves’ in our everyday language in the past year has been mostly pejorative. So you’ll be pleased to hear that I’m writing about surfing and not resurgences in infection.
In 2014, the days when my family had a limited amount of internet per month, I was surfing the web (sorry) and I stumbled across a crowdfunder for a ‘Wavegarden’ in Bristol. The idea seemed simple albeit fantastical: a man-made surfing lake that could create perfect waves for people to surf in Bristol. The crowdfunder and the concept were both in their early stages and it seemed more like a fantasy than a reality. But 14-year old Joey (stoked from trying surfing on a foam board and being a complete kook) was sold on this dream.
This infectious enthusiasm for surfing that many people share is not confined to age but I maintain that part of my optimism was youthful. In the years following my crowdfunding pledge of £80, the project was beleaguered by problems of every kind. Political problems, engineering problems, Brexit problems. But at the heart of all these trials and tribulations was one man’s vision to succeed. Nick Hounsfield built this project with the very same ‘stoke’ and passion that I felt as a 14-year old reading his pitch. On the 25th October 2019, The Wave officially opened to the public. A 75-acre site with an 180-metre surfing lake and the capacity to produce a wave up to every 10 seconds.
Aside from feats of engineering, Nick has championed so many important causes in his journey to creating The Wave, which sits today on the outskirts of Bristol. At the heart of his vision is a firm belief in the health benefits of surfing to every individual. A phrase has been coined to capture the healing idea behind being in water: ‘blue health’. From the mental health benefits to the accessibility of The Wave for disabled surfers, Nick has never lost sight of why he started this project. It is a remarkable feat and I believe it is only going to grow in its success.
There is, however, something antithetical to some surfers about a man-made wave. Surfing and its rich history of counterculture seem at odds with the very precise engineering and guaranteed results of The Wave. There is something about surfing in the ocean and being at the behest of nature and the elements that cannot be replicated by any feats of engineering. It is infantilizing and empowering at the same time. There is another concern from some members of the surfing community about the popularisation of surfing as a result of its heightened accessibility.
To my mind, however, this is a misplaced purist and elitist view that contradicts the very principles that surfing purports to uphold. Surfing cannot on the one hand champion its counter-cultural and anti-establishment past and then pick and choose how it is applied. An article in the Surfer magazine picks up on this well, it demands that surfers prove their credentials as anti-establishment in action as well as in culture. It argues that paddling out for unity and joining in arms with the Black Lives Matter movement is being consistent with the history of surfing. Surfing is a sport for everyone.
The Wave strikes the perfect balance. They know there is something different about natural waves and their perfect waves that roll for hours. They know it will never be able to match the uneasy feeling of being at the mercy of the elements. Instead it takes things that are unfair about the ocean and it rectifies them. It promotes fairness, accessibility, and good vibes. The Wave is everyone’s local break. Everyone gets two turns trying to catch a wave and everyone joins the back of the queue after they’ve taken their turn. If surfing more broadly is going to continue its journey in becoming more equal across sex, race and ability then we need more people like Nick Hounsfield. We can’t sit back and let nature’s swell do the work for us. We have to make that change ourselves.
More information on different sessions and ability levels here: https://www.thewave.com/