The Global Paddling Community

For anyone that hasn't been in a wave pool, they are kind of fun, and a good way to get some time in your boat during the off season without freezing. There are two wave generators at the deep end which emit waves in a concentric pattern. At the deepest point, the swells are about 3 feet deep from trough to peak. The pool gradually gets shallower causing the waves to break in a "surf zone" which can be surfed for short periods. There are some esoteric features of the wave pool. For one, the waves lose velocity as they progress to the far end. This means you only have a very short window to spin while the wave is still fast enough to keep the kayak planing; after that, the boat will sink into the pile and get mired. The Delirium was an excellent boat for me at 162# and gave me about as much time as I could hope for to make spins, and even at that I could only get 180 degrees of true spinning. You can see this in the video when I spin into my backsurf, I tend to get in front of the wave. In fact, just staying on the face of the wave and not outrunning it is more of a challenge here than anything.

Really, the video is the best way to get an appreciation for what can be done in the wave pool, and what it's like. So take a look through the gallery and enjoy!

GALLERY