Holy God. Superlative! Superlative! I wish I could think of something to say about this other than “Oh My God.” I don’t really have much to add, though. All that seems relevant here is that Kelly Slater, a guy from Florida, by working with a team of engineers and business folk – which came to be only as a direct result of pursuing his passion for surfing to a level none believed possible – has undeniably created a manmade wave that enables a human being to get barreled for 30 consecutive seconds. In this case, that human being is Stephanie Gilmore.
Wrote Gilmore on social media:
#ThanksKelly For an experience I will never forget! You do it time and time again, chasing your dreams and creating your visions. It’s incredibly inspiring. I’m still pinching myself that this is actually real! Congratulations @kswaveco || THANK YOU!
In an interview after her flawless wave, a visibly giddy Stephanie Gilmore says, “I was in the barrel going, ‘You should come out and try to do a turn. Then I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? Who wants to come out of this barrel?'”
Not her. Not I. Not no one.
Oh, and Eddie Vedder, Slater’s good bud, scores this tasty little clip with strums from his ukulele. Just to make it more epic. In a very understated way.
Last summer I had a chance to surf the Wavegarden test facility in Zarautz, Spain, and I was floored by their work. The wave was (and is) real. And smart, passionate people have labored over their dream of making perfect waves replicable. I could conceivably fulfill a childhood fantasy of surfing a perfect wave any time that I chose (if I lived in that area). I was exceptionally impressed at their momentum and the fact that they had 21 signed contracts for additional Wavegardens to be built around the world. We are only now beginning to see the fruits of their labor with the announcement of new waves in Austin, Melbourne and Sydney. Surely, more announcements to come.
And Kelly Slater Wave Co. does nothing to discount their work. But, at this point, we have not seen evidence that any peer in the artificial wave arms race has developed a product as compelling as this. The exciting thing for everyone is that this is just the beginning. Obviously, the implications of mass production of a wave like this around the world are fascinating to consider. Troubling. Exciting. Terrifying. Because change is generally terrifying. And we can get to that later. Dive real deep into it.
But, for the moment, let’s enjoy sitting back and marveling at a dream come true.
