This is a topic that WA surfers and others need to keep going.

I could look at my mispelled thread any longer and thought I would start fresh.

I think this idea is briliiant and importantly low cost (compared to Cable Station)

Something a petition or lobbying could achieve at least a trial.

Quote from Poida

"heres my theory on cheap surf breaks using sand capture

You can use a technique similar to dust fences, that capture dust on construction sites. Except use some flexible bouyant semi permeable fencing set out in rows on the sea floor, 90deg to the literal drift, to capture sand, setout in a particular pattern to get the wave shape right. The bottom of the flexible semi permeable fence just needs to be weighed down, until the sand covers the first 300mm or so. The semi permeable fence, would be something like shade cloth to stop fish getting caught, maybe slightly larger holes, and slightly stronger. set them up at staggered 3m-5m centers across the literal drift. That way you dont need to fill too many sand bags, or you could use a combination of the two, with some sand bags to stabilise the edges of the new sand bank would be worth a test section imho straight out front of scarbs, 100m out"

My only added comment is that it needs a substantial fixing system and I would love to see one that also allowed some wave refraction so that it wraps into sideshore for SW winds.

So far the sand bags havent been very successful from what can be seen on the net. NZ UK and India have all got mixed to negative views so far.

The sentiment catching device such as these mats or a fence style set up seems a lot less cost and more easily removed if a failure occurs.

Fence - so many issues. They need to be shallow. What happens when there's not much sand and you get tangled in them? What happens when you hit the upright fixings? What happens when there's a storm and weed comes drifting into them? And 5000000 other issues.

Maybe give Andrew Ross a call - he may have another solution for you

This is from Swellnet



The race to build the first wavepool specifically designed for surfers is heating up. Less than a month after Kelly Slater's Gold Coast project was aborted, Wavegarden, the European-based company, are about to unveil a demonstration lagoon that will, according to their Australian partner, "blow you away."

Until recently it appeared that either the Kelly Slater Wave Company or Webber Wave Pools, both of whom use circular, 'continuous' wave technology, would be the first to build an operating pool. Yet Wavegarden, who create a finite, linear wave have reportedly already built a fully functioning, demonstration lagoon and plan to show it to the world in a simultaneous media release later this month.

The facility is located outside San Sebastian in the Basque Region of Northern Spain and is yet to be seen by the public. It creates waves 1.2 metres high and, unlike the last Wavegarden project, it utilises both sides of the lagoon, creating a simultaneous right and lefthander which breaks into bays at either ends of the lagoon.

The system works by displacing water with a wave foil that travels along the lagoon floor. This then creates a wave that moves down the lagoon breaking along either side until it reaches the end where it dissipates. The foil then reverses and does the same thing in the opposite direction.

Andrew Ross is Wavegarden's Australian partner, his company has secured the exclusive rights to the product here. "Only a rare few of us have ridden the wave," he said of the San Sebastian complex, "but this is going to completely change people's views about what is possible with a wave pool."

According to Andrew the length of the wave is only limited by the land available, and in good news for Australians the Wavegarden projects to be built here will have larger electrical motors than the demonstration pool and thus create larger waves. "The version that we're bringing to Australia will generate a 1.9 metre high wave in the central part of the lagoon," says Andrew.

The business model they plan to use is flexible. Australian built Wavegarden's may be used to add value to housing developments in the manner of Kelly Slater's pool at Maddison Estate, yet equally they may be built in partnership with local councils as communal amenities.

In that scenario Andrew says, "What we'd be offering to local governments, is if they're able to provide the land, then we'll design, build and operate the facility at no cost to the council."

It's been nearly thirty years since Tom Carroll won the World Inland Championships in Allentown, Pennsylvania, surfing waves one foot high with a three second period. Suffice to say a good wavepool is a long time coming. Yet despite this Andrew is being patient and refuses to be drawn on when Australia will see its first Wavegarden.

"I want it to happen as soon as possible, but we're being very pragmatic. It's going to take us a period of time to secure land, which is the most important element of this, and once the land is secured it's approximately twelve months of construction till the facility is commissioned and operational."

Keep an eye on Swellnet for Wavegarden's global media release later this month.

I'd rather stick to surfing in the ocean.

Legion

The fixings I would think would be driven to floor level so not protuding except at attachment point.

Rather than shallow I think it needs to be well out so that .

The mat link seems to have addressed some of this but for a different purpose.

The weight of the sand and even weed material would bed down the material and even multiple layers could be used.

If the predeictions of sea level rises are true then offshore sand banks could take the wave energy off the beach and reduce erosion.

yeeow

it seems like a cheap option to experiment with
similar to what they use on the dunes to build them back up with the wind erosion
but without the post etc, could be like a kelp bed of poly fencing to trap sand, many options

yeah id rather stick to natural breaks, but to add to the existing breaks to help solve the population pressure, this seemed cheaper than rocks and large equipment, and mills of dollars.

I wonder what the cost of a trial would be at say Scarborough using the matting system.

I would think a lot less that the Cable Station artificial reef.