Recreating a perfect wave isn’t easy to do. A long time ago, decades, in fact, people started trying. A few came, a few went, a few stayed. Most were underwhelming to begin with — short and sloping, just barely surf-able, not anywhere near as good as a long, barreling, roping point break. And then Kelly Slater unleashed to the world his creation, and the man-made wave world was flipped on its head.
Since then, of course, the technology has come a long way and the Surf Ranch isn’t the only one that offers up a wave that’s not only surf-able but extraordinarily good. The Surf Ranch, however, is the only one that offers up a wave that’s damn near perfect. Too perfect, some might say. It’s odd that the Lemoore pool is, so far, the only one of its kind in existence while other pool technology has popped up all over the world, but time will tell what happens.
The World Surf League recently enlisted Kelly to give the viewer a tour of the Surf Ranch for the Lawn Patrol series. It’s similar to MTV’s Cribs, just a little more surfy. For two short weeks every year, Slater moves himself into an Airstream trailer in Lemoore, amid the smell of cows and dust. The trailer’s not the only home he has. A house in Florida, two in Hawaii, and two apartments in Australia are all on his real estate roster, but as he says of the Surf Ranch, “the surf’s more consistent here.”
Tune into the upcoming Surf Ranch Pro on Worldsurfleague.com
