Surreal was my primary feeling.  120 miles from the ocean.  Endless farmland.  The slight tang of manure in the air.  Ordering up a cappuccino from the barista as the high tech multimillion dollar wave machine fired up to deliver the first perfect wave.  Back when I was a grom doodling perfect waves in my notebook I never could have dreamed up this scene in a million years.

The frothing stoke on the shoreline? pool side?, deck, whatever you want to call it, was nuts.  Our group of 16 surfers was so excited as the time for the first wave approached.  We were served a vegetarian breakfast during a short presentation about the history of the Surf Ranch.  I learned that this project was a 15-year labor of love for Kelly and his cohort of scientists and investors.  No one anticipated making money.  But “if you build it they will come”.  Today the Surf Ranch is booked 330 days a year (closed in January for maintenance) at a cost ranging from approximately $40,000 to $60,000 per day and booked months in advance.  Amazing!!

Waves go off every 4 minutes.  We entered the water in 1 hour 20 min heats of 5 surfers along with 2 surf coaches and a wave ski driver/wave coordinator.  My wetsuit was a 5/4 with an integrated hood capped off with booties.  The water was a frigid 55 degrees.  Every wave is on video and can be reviewed immediately after your session. You can choose to go left or right during your heat. The wave ski delivered each surfer to the top of the wave at their allocated time when you would tell him your choice of CT2 or CT3 wave which he relays to the control tower.   So surreal.

 

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My first wave was scheduled for exactly 11:04.  I ordered up a CT3, the easier version for my initial effort.  The control tower announced ominously , “30 seconds, CT3”.   My heart was beating wildly.  What if I failed to catch the wave or fell off on take off in front of all the bros and on video?  This wave is expensive!!!  I could hear the cable winding up as this giant locomotive looking hydrofoil started charging my direction.  The power was intimidating!!  The surf coach floating beside me was all smiles yelling paddle, paddle!

The wave seemed taller than what you see in the film.  It is fast and powerful breaking over a shallow concrete bottom.  The CT3 version is fairly user friendly until the last third where it turns into a churning barrel.  The CT2 version is   mostly a barrel that gets intense at the finish, breaking over only about 2’ of water.  Guys often failed to complete the CT2 version.

Both the CT2 and CT3 are very well suited for kneeriding.  Ed Quinn and I seemed to be able to project off the flat bottom portion of the wave better than the some of stand-up guys.  And of course we lived in and around the tube once we gained confidence after 2 or 3 waves.

The services included personalized lockers and lounge, a tasty healthy lunch, no plastic anywhere, hanging out in the hot tub between cold water heats, drinks and fancy coffee served anytime by smiling hosts.

The day was capped off with a group dinner and a Wave ‘O Day award.  My friend, Parry, won with a crazy deep tube with multiple recoveries inside the tube.  Parry was awarded Kelly’s 2006 World Champ Cup amid hoots and cheers.  He responded by guzzling a beer from the Cup.  It was awesome!!

We arrived at 7 AM, surfed from 9AM till 6:30PM.  Most people left around 8.  Parry, Reese and I were allowed to camp in Parry’s Sprinter van and my Airstream Basecamp travel trailer on the Surf Ranch property.  We stayed up late talking surf stories before we felt asleep exhausted.

It was an epic surreal surf day of perfect waves a long ways from the ocean.