Stab Magazine | Webber Wave Pool Could Actually Now Be A Thing

Live Now — Episode 3 Of Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico

51 Views

Webber Wave Pool Could Actually Now Be A Thing

The three biggest teases in surfing are: Dane Reynolds’ possible return to tour, Alana Blanchard’s Instagram account, and the coming-to-fruition of technology that produces perfect waves of a decent size, aka a barreling, shoulder-high wavepool. There’s been plenty of decent attempts, the most noteworthy of which has been the Wavegarden, but the two chlorine waves to promise the most have been the Kelly Slater Wave Co, and Webber Wave Pools. A year ago, the company that was bank rolling Kelly’s Gold Coast wave pool site went into voluntary administration, following investigation for doing shady shit. Which left but one name in the race. Webber Wave Pools, captained by shaper-turned-manmade wave scientist, Greg Webber, just took another step towards actually producing the waves you used to draw on schoolbooks. The company has just signed a memorandum of understanding with surfer-entrepreneur David Baird for the construction of the first artificial wave pool in Australia. In short, Greg’s wave pool concept will now finally be developed into a commercial project. “We’ve been making this kind of tube in the lab and the river for years,” says Greg. “At last, we will be doing it at full scale. The location is somewhere in Southeast Queensland, but we can’t say exactly where just yet.” It’s been a long road for Greg to get bring his vision to fruition, driven by the fact that, among a great many other things, surfers are motivated to travel around the world and surf no more than 100 waves for three to five grand. So what’ll they spend on that many waves in a day trip to a water park? Then there’s the whole thing of introducing the gift of surfing good vibes into the lives of millions more… The wave itself breaks continuously and without end. It can accommodate multiple surfers at once. The wave height and shape can be altered within seconds in the oval water park. It breaks into a normal depth of water, exactly like an ocean wave, with a softer surface underneath, so if you do hit the bottom, it’ll be spongy. Greg believes that the gradient has been too gradual on wave pool attempts thus far, meaning development of perfect gradients for different wave stages has been a real area of focus within his project. And so, David Baird will be the first developer of an artificial wave pool in Australia. “David is a surfer-entrepreneur with a great business brain,” says Greg, “but still gets very excited about the thought of getting barreled on a head-high wave in a Webber pool.” Baird owns the site where it’ll be constructed, and the finance is already approved. Webber Wave Pools will open to the public in September 2015.

news // Mar 8, 2016
Words by Stab
Reading Time: 2 minutes

The three biggest teases in surfing are: Dane Reynolds’ possible return to tour, Alana Blanchard’s Instagram account, and the coming-to-fruition of technology that produces perfect waves of a decent size, aka a barreling, shoulder-high wavepool. There’s been plenty of decent attempts, the most noteworthy of which has been the Wavegarden, but the two chlorine waves to promise the most have been the Kelly Slater Wave Co, and Webber Wave Pools. A year ago, the company that was bank rolling Kelly’s Gold Coast wave pool site went into voluntary administration, following investigation for doing shady shit. Which left but one name in the race.

Webber Wave Pools, captained by shaper-turned-manmade wave scientist, Greg Webber, just took another step towards actually producing the waves you used to draw on schoolbooks. The company has just signed a memorandum of understanding with surfer-entrepreneur David Baird for the construction of the first artificial wave pool in Australia.

In short, Greg’s wave pool concept will now finally be developed into a commercial project. “We’ve been making this kind of tube in the lab and the river for years,” says Greg. “At last, we will be doing it at full scale. The location is somewhere in Southeast Queensland, but we can’t say exactly where just yet.”

It’s been a long road for Greg to get bring his vision to fruition, driven by the fact that, among a great many other things, surfers are motivated to travel around the world and surf no more than 100 waves for three to five grand. So what’ll they spend on that many waves in a day trip to a water park? Then there’s the whole thing of introducing the gift of surfing good vibes into the lives of millions more…

The wave itself breaks continuously and without end. It can accommodate multiple surfers at once. The wave height and shape can be altered within seconds in the oval water park. It breaks into a normal depth of water, exactly like an ocean wave, with a softer surface underneath, so if you do hit the bottom, it’ll be spongy. Greg believes that the gradient has been too gradual on wave pool attempts thus far, meaning development of perfect gradients for different wave stages has been a real area of focus within his project.

And so, David Baird will be the first developer of an artificial wave pool in Australia. “David is a surfer-entrepreneur with a great business brain,” says Greg, “but still gets very excited about the thought of getting barreled on a head-high wave in a Webber pool.” Baird owns the site where it’ll be constructed, and the finance is already approved.

Webber Wave Pools will open to the public in September 2015.

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

Correction: J-Bay All Foreplay, No Climax

Slim pickings on Day 1 of the Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025.

Jul 11, 2025

What Do Hollywood, Surf Lessons, Michael Jackson And Traction Pads Have In Common?

A Stab Interview with Teva Dexter, the man behind surfing's hardest new hardware brand —…

Jul 10, 2025

Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico: Episode 3

"The tribe has spoken," Dane Reynolds pronounced, and a surfer's torch was snuffed.

Jul 10, 2025

How Josh Ku Nearly Died Trying To Cross From Ulus to G Land by Hydrofoil

“If someone finds me dead at least they can find my phone and know what…

Jul 10, 2025

Expect No Kiss, All Climax At The “World’s Most Perfect Pointbreak”

A Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025 preview.

Jul 9, 2025

SEOTY: Liam O’Brien stars in ‘Friction of Perception’

"Hopefully I don’t come across like too much of a peanut."

Jul 8, 2025

10 Shapers To Watch In The Next 10 Years — Part One

“It’s like a drug empire, man. Cut the head off the snakes, and more will…

Jul 7, 2025

Mason Ho Joins Ritual Vision, Releases Remix Of Greatest Hits

Dion Agius riffs on the eyewear brand’s U.S. expansion, Ritualistic Tendencies, and the new stars…

Jul 7, 2025

Is It Time For A New Judging Format?

We have a modest proposal — a WSL head judge disagrees.

Jul 7, 2025

Luke Thompson Turns Last Year’s Priority Disaster Into Ballito Gold

+ earns himself a wildcard into Jbay.

Jul 7, 2025

Fiji Has Its First Professional Surfer, And He’s Unbelievable

16-year-old James Kusitino’s incomprehensible tube lounging leads to a deal with Former.

Jul 6, 2025

Laird Hamilton on The Limitations of Being a Purist, Invention vs. Ownership + Why He Never Had a Sticker Deal 

Untold stories from his How Surfers Get Paid interview.

Jul 4, 2025

When Surfer’s Eye Is Actually Cancer

Erin Campbell's brutal journey from surf camp dreams to chemo drops, cryotherapy, and surgical horror.

Jul 3, 2025

Surfing’s 2025 Q2 Report

An assessment of surfing's vital signs throughout the second quarter of 2025.

Jul 2, 2025

What Actually Happened to Occy’s Mad Max Plunger Pool In Yeppoon?

Surf Lakes’ brass talks: internet hecklers, the unplugging of the plunger, and the Tom Curren…

Jul 2, 2025

Poor Goofy Foots 

Data shows that the world is stacked against goofs — they even make 15% less money than…

Jul 1, 2025

Britain’s First Wavepool Has Closed — What Really Happened?

Bankruptcy, social media hackings, debts unpaid — and yet, reopening looms.

Jul 1, 2025

Watch: Was Matt Meola’s Air Actually Better Than Hughie’s?

Watch the full Swatch Nines highlight reel and decide.

Jun 30, 2025
Advertisement