As far as surf news cycles go wave pools have been a recurring theme in 2018. Not a week goes by without another milestone in the space race for wave pool superiority. Now, Kelly has thrown down the hammer with a sneak peek of his latest adaptation to his perfect wave with a legitimate air section.
Last week Josh Kerr and Albee Layer were invited to the ranch and with the help of the wave pool engineers, and Kelly on hand, provided feedback to help them work on producing a ramp ahead of the CT event in September.
Josh Kerr said this on IG: “Good times working on air sections @kswaveco a few days ago with @live.fast.die.old and @kellyslater. Safe to say the boys dialled in a mental one! Can’t wait to see the world’s best in September hit this thing!”
Today, Albee Layer revealed the pair had flown in on private jets to Lemoore and was still pinching himself after an unforgettable experience, saying this on IG: “The other day @josh_kerr84 and I flew on a private jet to go surf a perfect man made wave then after each wave we had the ability to give @kellyslater and the rest of the @kswaveco crew feedback working on an air section, making it a little better and different every time. A couple sections we try’d out were starting to get crazy and I had no idea the literally thousands of different settings this wave can offer. What a f**ken time to be a surfer and how the hell did I weasel my way right into the thick of this space race going on with the wave pool moment? Like when I was dreaming of a scenario like this as a kid it would of sounded pretty fricken outlandish, but here we are. Thank you.”
Many had been critical of the repetition of Kelly’s wave pool after American Wave Machines revealed their wave pool in Waco, Texas fitted out with spitting peaks and wedgy ramps. The footage dropped the day after the WSL’s Founders Cup event and subsequently sparked heated debate as to which wave pool was better.
When Tracks spoke to Josh Kerr last month he believed the Waco pool was superior but hinted that it wouldn’t be long before Kelly engineered something to eclipse the American Wave Machines wave.
“I think that section that they’ve built at the Texas pool looks on another level for hucking a big punt compared to what’s available right now at Kelly’s,” he said. “I’m sure that’s on their radar with their existing technology there. I’m sure it’s not too hard to do that same kind of thing that’s going on at Waco.”
According to Albee there are still a multitude of untested settings still available to engineers at KS Wave Company to configure the wave to produce a high-quality air section. While the pair have yet to reveal any footage from the day we can rest assured that like all trends in 2018 it won’t be long until Kelly steals the spotlight once again and revels a perfect air section with Kerrzy and Albee putting it to work.
