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SHAPING THE FUTURE
8th Surfing Arts and Science and Issues Conference looks at waves and equipment - and how both can be made better
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March 4, 2009
7052 views | 5 comments
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Here's the stereotype: Surfers are stupid.
Blame Spicoli, blame the fact that we'll drop our studies, careers and loved ones for a swell, blame the fact that our heroes are idolized more for their cutback than their ideas, blame the surf industry for being obsessed with selling stuff to 12-year-old groms - hey, it's probably our fault, too. A picture is worth WAY more than a thousand words in surf media land, especially when it's an amazing watershot of Bruce at Pipe.
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Ever since the first ever Surfing Arts, Sciences and Issues Conference [SASIC] back in 2001, Hening has hosted a yearly forum for thinkers, designers, scientists and other smart people who surf to share ideas in a supportive, critical and non-commercial arena. (The exact OPPOSITE of most lineups around the world.) SASIC's eighth annual conference, held this past weekend at Scripps in San Diego, was called: "Surfing and Shaping Waves and Equipment" - a broad and bold topic, to be sure. Not that Hening ever shies away from lofty discussions. "We're a lighthouse, a beacon of reason in the surfing world," half-laughed Hening when an attendee asked about the Groundswell Society. It's kinda true: most surfing conferences are centered on some kind of commerce, not new ideas and - get this - ways to make surfing BETTER through science or physics or engineering. Which is exactly what SASIC aims to do. Fortunately for those attending, despite a beautiful sunny SoCal day, the surf out front on Saturday was damn small, making it much easier to focus on the task at hand. Appropriately enough, the morning started off with waves - can we make 'em any better? Marshall Myrman gave an update on Tom Lochtefeld's Wave Loch efforts, which include both bigger Flowrider type machines as well as moving and flying reefs. This writer's personal favorite was a v-shaped wing that could be pulled through a pool or still body of water and would create a right and a left breaking towards each other, like a reverse a-frame. Artificial reef expert (and frequent Surfline contributor) Jose Borrero took the stage next with an overview and update of artificial reefs worldwide. Ironically, despite numerous permit approvals and local support in various places from England to Florida, only one artificial surfing reef has been built in the last seven years. (Here's a feature I did on the subject back in 2001.) And so we're essentially in the same place, minus Pratte's reef, which was dismantled a few months back, and plus New Zealand's Mt Reef project, which was put in at a beach that receives little swell. Failures, concerning Pratte's Reef, are a result of one or all of the following: improper design (too small); improper location (too close to shore, too deep); and/or improper materials (bags were too small and made of woven geotextile fabric).
Borrero's presentation was called "What's the Beef Against a Reef?" and it detailed the successes and failures of all the reefs, one by one. Failures, concerning Pratte's, are a result of one or all of the following: improper design (too small); improper location (too close to shore, too deep); and/or improper materials (bags were too small and made of woven geotextile fabric). Borerro made the point that Pratte's did in fact provide a habitat for lobster, halibut and mussels, but is "not optimistic" about another surfing reef being installed in California. "The jetty at the southern end of Newport (responsible for the Wedge) is over 700 meters long with total volume over 100,000 cubic meters -- Pratte's Reef was 1,400 cubic meters," Borerro explained. "If multipurpose reefs were built on the same scale as other, 'established' engineering structures, the story might be different." Next up was Scripps professor David Sandwell, who presented on "the Physics of Surfing Waves" - another lofty headline. Sandwell actually teaches a course at UCSD by the same name, and offered up some interesting theories and equations on everything from wave generation to the Munk theory of sets to the energetics of a surfer. The most interesting topics were based around legendary oceanographer and original surf forecaster Dr. Water Munk's movie called Waves Across the Pacific. The 1963 science film tracked a south swell from New Zealand to Alaska - something Surfline's Sean Collins first did in 1996. Munk also established why Blacks was such a good surf spot due to wave refraction - in 1947. Great stuff. After a morning filled with artificial waves, artificial reefs and looking into the physics of waves, the afternoon moved into equipment - specifically, fins. First off, Hening presented some photographs of fin turbulence patterns as captured in a controlled environment at Scripps. And while WAY more study is needed in this aspect of design, being able to see how different fins sheared water differently was a big step. FCS's Tyler Callaway took the stage and gave an update on their offerings for the year - primarily Kelly Slater's endless interest in and experimentation with his fins -- much of which is detailed here. The audience was especially curious about an odd shaped new SUP-friendly fin, which will be out this spring. Henning then took on shaper Rick Vogel's theories of swordfish and surfboard design. Vogel wanted boards that'd hold in and go super fast at places like Hanalei Bay, and came up with the theory that you can put three oversized fins on the bottom of a thruster - as long as they're foiled. So you essentially have three giant center fins on the bottom of a sleek, gun shape; the fact that they're foiled makes the board looser than it looks on first glance, while still having the drive of bigger fins. Finally, mad fin scientist Curtis Hesselgrave dove into the "application of known airfoil sections to surfboard fins." The most interesting point to this writer was figuring out exactly how fast we go on surfboards. As Hesselgrave pointed out, there are three methods to test this: the Speed Mate - a device that uses an impeller attached to the trailing end of fin and a reading unit on the deck; a PWC odometer going parallel to a surfer on a wave; Ricky Grigg's method, which determines the speed of the wave then calculates the speed of the board. Cool thing is, these three methods all add up to similar numbers - we're all surfing at approximately 20MPH. (Of course there's no shortage of variables, but that general number came up from all three methods.) After Hesselgraves very detailed and scientific presentation, one thing became pretty clear - Spicoli wouldn't have had a great time at SASIC 8. But for everyone else, hearing experts like this have a chance to bounce heady design ideas off each other and an audience is encouraging. 'Cause here's the thing: even if you can't understand vectors or physics or aerodynamics, the kind of stuff these guys do trickles down and makes surfing better for the rest of us. MORE SURF NEWS SURFLINE HOME PAGE |
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Comments: (5) Add Your Comment
gary royes 03/06/2009 08:24 AM * PREMIUM MEMBER - Real Name
For everyone's information, our almighty Surfrider Foundation has aligned itself with conservation groups supporting the Marine Life Protection Act. Slated, are not only massive fishing closures but ACCESS AND OCEAN USE CLOSURES as well. Wake up surfers/fisherman smell the coffee! These closures will definitely effect surfing spots along our coast.
Noah 03/05/2009 07:43 PM
I love that there is so much Science behind surfing. It can be a brain game if your into it.
Peter Indelicato 03/05/2009 06:18 PM * PREMIUM MEMBER - Real Name
Thanks again to Glenn and the presenters for a great conference. I look forward to next year's event.
Jamie Pyle 03/05/2009 12:12 PM * PREMIUM MEMBER - Real Name
Great stuff! How can I watch online or get a hold of a copy of Waves Across The Pacific?
Barnthalamule Nerdlinger 03/05/2009 05:26 AM
All I need a some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and a hydrodynamic impeller to calculate my velocity! Fascinating, Mr. Spock. ALL HAIL SPICOLI!
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