We are pleased to announce that our Australian licensee, Urbnsurf, will soon commence construction of the world’s first public Wavegarden Cove facility in the city of Melbourne. With funding and planning permits firmly in place, URBNSURF MELBOURNE is scheduled to start civil works as early as March, 2018, on a site conveniently located just 16 kilometers north of Melbourne’s CBD.
The implementation of the revolutionary Cove technology in Melbourne represents a significant landmark in our history, showcasing the fruit of many years of intensive R&D to create the best wave generation system.
Aside from watching the surf action and soaking up the atmosphere, guests can enjoy many of the customer amenities including restaurants, bars, retail stores, a surfing academy, a high performance training center, fitness classes, festival and event spaces, and relaxing, landscaped open spaces.
The final plans for this new generation surfing lagoon are a result of years of exhaustive and pioneering research. Alone, the designs for the Cove’s bathymetry have taken a team of over 30 engineer’s years to perfect with the aid of sophisticated fluid dynamics software and scale model versions to measure forces, power and currents. Literally thousands of CFD simulations were required to master the circulation and water flow, which is essential to create quality waves at a high frequency. Since the demo model, measuring 80 x 50m, was launched publicly in October 2016, millions of waves have been created to test the machinery, civil work, materials and water treatment system for functionality and durability.
The operation of the technology is controlled by versatile software that is capable of producing up to 30 different types of waves. In an instant, wave size, shape and frequency can be changed to adapt to the user’s experience. To ensure user satisfaction, the variety of waves has been approved by surfers of all levels including professionals, elite coaches, several national Olympic teams, adaptive surfers, elderly, families, and school children.
„We are extremely excited to collaborate with URBNSURF to build the world’s first public Wavegarden Cove in the city of Melbourne”, explained Josema Odriozola (49), Wavegarden’s Founder and CEO. We know Australia has a very high population of active surfers, and many others that would like to try, and we’re confident our technology will satisfy everyone’s expectations and demands. Our team is looking forward to applying our knowledge and experience to develop a full-scale version of the Wavegarden Cove. With ocean-like, consistent waves of different sizes and shapes, Urbnsurf Melbourne is going to be “the place to surf” for kids, pro’s, and even people my age.”
URBNSURF’s founder and Executive Chairman, Andrew Ross said, “we are delighted to be bringing the southern hemisphere’s first surf park facility to Melbourne, the traditional home of Australian sport. Melbourne’s 200.000 or so existing surfers, plus all of those who want to give surfing a go, will now be able to enjoy high quality surf, year-round, and all within a 25-minute drive of the Melbourne CBD.” He added, “URBNSURF Melbourne unlocks the geographic limitations of surfing, by bringing the beach to your backyard. We are aiming to provide surfers of all abilities the opportunity to engage in their sport more frequently, more conveniently, and more safely – allowing them to simply ‘surf more‘.“
Urbnsurf Melbourne is the first of many Wavegarden projects under development in Australia (e.g. Sydney and Perth) and across the globe. The team at Wavegarden live by the belief that surfing is for everyone and, as surfers and engineers, we are genuinely pleased to put smiles on the faces of new and experienced surfers every day, giving the gift of waves where there once were none.
