PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. (AP) — Surfing legend Kelly Slater is building a man-made wave park near Jupiter Farms.
Palm Beach County officials recently greenlighted the surf ranch in his home state. The ranch could be ready in early 2019. Florida might have endless miles of beaches but it's not known for the monster waves that surfers crave.
Florida Today reports the wave-machine runs down a track and creates a right-breaking wave, then runs all the way down to the linear pool. Three minutes later, the wave-maker runs back the other way and creates the left.
In competition, man made waves levels the playing field. It also means no surfing against the clock, no sharks or coral, and no rash burns.
Former world champ Melbourne Beach's Matt Kechele gave it a test run, saying it felt like the ocean but was also very challenging.
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Slater appeared in a 2015 video testing a wave pool that got a lot of surfers excited about the possibility of a surf facility.