Stab Magazine | Josh Kerr, Shane Beschen, And The Hobgoods Are Opening A(nother) Wave Pool In Palm Desert

Live Now: Chapter 11 Mini-Documentary With Dane Reynolds

813 Views

Josh Kerr, Shane Beschen, And The Hobgoods Are Opening A(nother) Wave Pool In Palm Desert

This one using Wavegarden tech.

news // Jul 6, 2019
Words by stab
Reading Time: 3 minutes

It’s Fourth of July weekend, and what act better demonstrates the Americanized vision of freedom than making your own surf park?

Okay, you’re right—shooting guns in the air while asserting your right to reinstate measles as a global epidemic is probably first, but the wavepool thing is a close second. 

Slater did it first in Lemoore, which was followed by a wealthy and water-loving business owner opening a surf tub in Waco, Texas. Cheyne Magnusson took everything he learned in Waco and applied it to a pool of his own in Palm Springs, which if you’re to believe the Instagrams of CT veterans Josh Kerr, Shane Beschen, and CJ/Damien Hobgood, is about to get a new neighbor and competitor. 

This from @josh_kerr84:

I’m very excited to announce the @dsrtsurf project I’m a part of. This world class surf pool resort will be nestled into the beautiful surroundings of @desertwillowgolfresort in Palm Desert. We have an amazing team that has spent countless hours in the last 2 years to make this dream a reality. We’re getting close to having it across the line and breaking ground! More than anything I’m excited to spend time out here with my family and friends! Yes of course you’re all invited too!

DSRT Surf, a new addition to the Desert Willow Golf Resort in Palm Desert, CA, is set to break ground at the end of 2019 and open in 2021.

While this is very exciting news (and we wish our friends Kerrzy, Besch, and both Hobgoods all the best in their venture), we can’t help but notice a trend in the whole wavepool arms race, that being a whole lotta talk and not so much action. 

It seems there are dozens of pools that are “supposed” to be built across the world in 2019, but even in the locations where holes have been dug and pipes have been laid, we’ve seen a lot of unexpected problems arise, like at the Surf Lakes pool in Yeppoon, where a major component of the wave-making apparatus was snapped in half during testing, or at the Wavegarden site in Melbourne, where a projected January 2019 opening has been pushed back to (insert random guess here).

Speaking of Wavegarden, they’ll be providing the tech at DSRT Surf.

If you recall, Wavegarden constructed a small-scale proof of concept pool in Europe, which can provide up to 1,000 quality waves per hour. The full-scale version will feature a larger left and right under the scope of the same machine, meaning that 2,000 waves per hour is technically possible. That is if/when they figure out how to get a large-scale model up and running. 

https://player.vimeo.com/video/215346823

Bearing all of the above in mind, we hope you won’t mistake our skepticism for negativity. Here at Stab, we love wavepools (have you seen Stab High?) and believe that, within reason, it’s the more the merrier.

We’re just a little frustrated with their general pace of creation.

As great as Waco and Lemoore are, one doesn’t fit our budget and the other is halfway across the nation (east and west coasters) and/or the world (Australians, etc.). So we need more pools in California, Florida, and all over the great Australian nation before we start losing our caca. 

Frankly, it would be best if every wavepool adopted the Waco model of saying absolutely nothing then overdelivering with tantalizing Instagram clips. That way we’d have nothing to cry about if the pool fizzled and everything to gain if they succeeded.

Low expectations, high reward. 

Unfortunately, that’s not the way investing works, so it’s likely we’ll continue to hear about this pool and all the others like it around the world, regardless of whether or not they’re actually going to be built. 

Catiously optimistic,

Stab

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Watch: João Chianca Had A Remarkable Hawaii Season Before His Injury

Plus an update on his condition.

Mar 28, 2024

Pittar’d And Feathered

Do the WSL judges deserve the internet's wrath? We asked the man of the hour.

Mar 28, 2024

Robbo, Pickles, And Tyler Wright Become The Underdogs Breakfast At Uninspiring Winkipop

The foreboding blade sharpens and inconsistent judging prevails on Day Two in Torquay.

Mar 27, 2024

“I Don’t Always Win Heats, But When I Do, I Try To Beat John John”

Slater shines and the axe begins its descent on Day 01 at Bells.

Mar 26, 2024

Back Against The Wall: The Ramzi Boukhiam Redemption

Morocco's first CT surfer on speaking six languages, having no coach, and snatching Fil Toledo's…

Mar 25, 2024

Will Kirra, Babies or JJF Stop a GOAT Winning at Bells?

Bluesky BOAG advice from a Superman specialist and former Trials winner.

Mar 25, 2024

Bells Preview: The WSL’s Victorian Sword Dancing Equinox Ritual

Will a Brazilian crack the Top 10 at Bells?

Mar 25, 2024

69 Shin Bones Later + the Anticlimactic State of Big Wave Record-Breaking

Lucas Chumbo might have surfed the biggest wave ever this year. But how will we…

Mar 23, 2024

Watch: ‘Fresh and Fried’ Ft the Quik Kids

How taxing is it to tackle the Gold Coast’s Triple Crown in a single day,…

Mar 23, 2024

The Popular Vote: The People’s Stab In The Dark With Kolohe Andino Champion

Which board looked best — to you —under Kolohe's talons?

Mar 22, 2024

Six Key Learnings From Portugal

Three CT events in, what do we know? 

Mar 21, 2024

‘Zipper’ Is Going On Tour, Here’s Where You Can Watch It  

Dates, times + locations for the Venice, Encinitas, Sydney + Byron premieres.  

Mar 20, 2024

Dane Reynolds On His Future, His Past, And Chapter 11’s Raison D’être

Our 9-minute plunge into the collective psyche of Ventura's pillar(s).

Mar 20, 2024

From ‘Blue Ribbon Cross Country Runner’ to Vogue – How Steph Again Is Back With A Rip Curl Remix

Everything we know about the she-GOATs sponsorship boomerang.

Mar 18, 2024

Stab Interview: Darren Handley Explains Why You Can’t Buy The Winning Stab In The Dark Model

And his decades-long standoff with Slater.

Mar 17, 2024

Griff Embraces Portugal’s Eternal Time Loop To Vanquish Medina + Ewing, Defay Delays The Inevitable

A redeeming closing act at Supertubos.

Mar 16, 2024

The Secret Behind Lungi Slabb’s Inconceivable Greenmount Funnel

Six broken boards, one leaking forehead, and five days of Superbank mysticism.

Mar 16, 2024

Cheat Codes: A Million Miles Worth Of Travel Advice From Coco Ho

Hard-earned wisdom from more than 2,000 hours in the troposphere.

Mar 15, 2024
Advertisement