Page 52 - How It Works - Book Of Amazing Answers To Curious Questions, Volume 05-15

How are man-made

waves made?

Deep in north Wales’ Conwy Valley, a giant underwater snowplough
is rolling out some serious swell

ave hunters – rejoice! In an old
aluminium quarry in north Wales,
Wan inland surf facility is edging ever
closer to completion and when it opens, surfers
from across the globe can visit to ride the
world’s longest man-made waves.
Surf Snowdonia is a £12 million ($18.7 million)
project built by surfers, for surfers. The
engineers of Wavegarden are keen wave riders,
and wanted to create something remarkable
that can help existing surfers to train and
budding wave riders to learn, without having to
wait for unpredictable waves at the coast.
The technology that can create these waves
looks a lot like a giant snowplough. It is pulled
smoothly along underwater (with a protective Surfer Miguel Pupo rides the
covering to keep surfers safe) through the man-made waves at a Wavegarden
test facility in Spain
centre of the 300 metre (984 foot) long lagoon,
pushing the water ahead of it into large, tubing
waves that the designers claim are just like, if Wave machine vs ocean waves
not better than, shredding the real thing. At Most ocean waves begin out at sea itself and breaks, like the waves we
their highest point the waves can reach two and are a product of the wind see crashing on the shore.
metres (6.6 feet) high and peel for 150 metres blowing over the water’s surface. The difference between these
(492 feet), which is the equivalent of a 20-second This causes friction and as the waves and those at Wavegarden’s
ride for the surfer. wind continues to blow, the wave Surf Snowdonia is that the
At a rate of one wave generated every minute, builds and builds. A ‘singular’ wave man-made waves don’t have the
the waves that are created by the expertly extends vertically down the water wind to whip them up, nor miles of
engineered snowplough-like wave foil also column and so as it approaches the ocean to grow in size and power.
shore, the shallow water causes
Instead, the wave foil smoothly
interact with the contours on the bed of the drag on the ‘base’ of the wave. This ‘shovels’ the water in front of it,
lagoon. This provides different and predictable causes the wavelength to shorten, pushing it upward and ahead,
wave profiles at various points of the pool, which forces the crest of the wave mimicking the very last stages of a

meaning that there’s a place at the lagoon for higher until it eventually spills over breaking ocean wave on the shore.
surfers of every age and ability.
Totally Water supply Surfers galore
Rainwater from mountain
Up to 52 surfers at a time
tubular tech! Central pier reservoirs will pass through will be able to ride the
A drive system a nearby hydroelectric plant waves in the lagoon. © Wavegarden
A tour of the artifi cial inspired by ski lift tech before powering the waves

surfing lagoon that will move the wave foil in the lagoon.
creates consistent and over the lagoon under
perfectly-formed waves the pier. A CGI impression of
Reversible rides the Surf Snowdonia
Computer tech The plough is pulled lagoon, expected to
open in Summer 2015
At each the end of central forward and back
pier, towers house the across the lagoon,
computer-based technology so surfers can
that controls the wave foil. ride in both
directions.
Lagoon lining
The unique grid-like shore Customisable waves
lining of the lagoon is The beauty of man-made waves is that
designed to dissipate the they can be engineered with the exact
energy created by the waves. parameters needed for the perfect wave.
52 How It Works