by Kevin Cody
Easy Reader News- The Drop Zone, May 2012


Download PDF of The Drop Zone

SOLANA BEACH, Calif., May 8, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — American Wave Machines, Inc. (AWM), world leader in artificial wave technology for the emerging surf parks market, announces their selection as supplier of a 35,000 square foot PerfectSwell™ Model 1672 wave pool for the Sheksna Resort, nominated as Russia’s Leading Spa Resort by World Travel Awards.

PerfectSwell is an entirely new approach to generating large waves in pools with the emphasis on wave quality and the surfing experience. With no moving parts in the water, sophisticated computer controls modulate wave shape, ride duration, frequency and energy efficiency. Analogous to a phased array design, PerfectSwell wave size is unlimited. Three simultaneously barreling waves across the width of the pool can be generated at intervals as short as six seconds.

The system includes innovative sanitation and a green heating system extending the operating season with no additional energy usage. “For my resort, I want a pool that will cater to active families and allow them to learn to surf. The design is great for contests, events, and shows,” said owner Victor Lipukhin. “AWM has provided excellent project support working with my local requirements.”

“This is a great opportunity for my company to work with a visionary client focused on his customers’ quality of experience,” said Bruce McFarland, President of AWM. “PerfectSwell completely changes the economics of surf parks. We’re ramping up to deploy systems worldwide including in the resurgent U.S. market.”

About American Wave Machines, Inc.

AWM is the creator of wave technology for surf parks, hotel/resorts, recreation, and research applications. SurfStream®, the world’s first standing wave machine, is a technology breakthrough that delivers authentic surfing capability in a compact space. The company also offers PerfectSwell™ generators for wave pools, custom surf pool design, and integrated water treatment systems for surf pools. www.americanwavemachines.com

About Sheksna Resort

Residing on 14 hectares of landscaped parkland in one of the most picturesque and ecologically clean places on the Black Sea coast, Sheksna resort sits atop a hillside with magnificent views of the sea and mountains. The resort offers a range of amenities geared for families with European standards of service and comfort. www.sheksna.ru

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SOLANA BEACH — Surfer Bruce McFarland has achieved much success as the founder of American Wave Machines where he has developed wave technology for applications in both research and recreation. Moreover, he’s followed in the family business.

Uncle "Sonny" Charles Wright, 1925

Great uncle Charlie Wright promoted surfing in San Diego in the beginning of the last century after learning the sport from friend Duke Kahanamoku, the “Father of Modern Surfing.” Wright, a San Diego lifeguard, was able to replicate the design of Kahanamoku’s surfboard for popular use.

Today, McFarland recalls recognizing the genius of Uncle Sonny as a 10-year-old.

“Uncle Sonny made an early form of a diving hookah (air supply device used in free diving) when he lived in the Philippines,” he said. “He had a pool that was green, and said my brother and I could swim in it if we used his hooka to dive and scrub the pool with a brush. We had never seen a diving apparatus. We were stoked.”

Growing up in Manhattan Beach, McFarland began devising his own gear including skim boards, skate decks, surfboards and bikes using parts. After high school, he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from UC Santa Barbara as well as a master’s specializing in fluid dynamics and experimental methods. He did post-graduate work in structural dynamics at UCLA.

His first job after graduation was as a staff engineer with TRW Space and Technology in Redondo Beach. A job offer with Structural Dynamics Research Corp. in Del Mar brought McFarland and his family to Solana Beach in 1989.

Bruce McFarland at SurfStream Peru

For a while the family lived in a VW van while he kept his options open, hoping to find a career fit that would lead to developing surf machines. That happened in 1991 when he met an inventor of sheet flow technology who needed help developing a ride. Recognizing a ground floor opportunity, McFarland co-founded Wave Loch Tool & Die in La Jolla.

Subsequently, McFarland was inspired to start his own company after watching a video of beachgoers at the Waimea Rivermouth riding surfboards on a standing wave.

“I knew that it could be recreated in a pumped water system,” he said. “A guy living in Hawaii already had a related patent. I licensed it.”

In 1999, McFarland founded American Wave Machines, or AWM, in Solana Beach.

“The rest has been a nonstop pursuit of making waves,” he said. “My wife, Marie, the kids and the extended family have supported it all the way.”

AWM began doing research and development of standing wave apparatuses and was issued five patents. In the fall of 2004, on ABC’s “Don Polec’s World,” McFarland introduced SurfStream, the first hydrofoil standing wave machine. Manufacturing and sales began in 2006. Products started shipping in 2008.

Today, McFarland touts that SurfStream delivers the ultimate surfing experience — “the long ride.”

In January, pro surfers Cheyne Magnusson and Anthony Walsh, representing Body Glove, provided a demonstration at the Ola Movistar Surf Arena in Peru.

Body Glove pro surfer, Cheyne Magnusson, on SurfStream in Peru

Body Glove CEO Robbie Meistrell is on the AWM board of directors.

“Body Glove looked far and wide for the most authentic wave technology,” Meistrell said. “Bruce and his company share the same vision as Body Glove, to bring the passion we share for surfing to the world.”

AWM offers a second product line: PerfectSwell and WindSwell wave generators, which are used at facilities such as the University of Texas for ocean energy research related to harnessing wave energy.

The technology is more popularly known for recreation applications at waterparks, surfparks, hotel resorts and sponsored wave-riding exhibitions.

AWM is also riding the wave of the fast-growing market niche for surfing dogs. At this year’s Tournament of Roses Parade, stoked canines, hanging 20, demonstrated SurfStream on a float sponsored by Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Pet Foods.

Body Glove sends surf pros Anthony Walsh and Cheyne Magnusson to Peru’s ‘Ola Movistar’. Check out the video!

& ICE

Swedish Surfing Association hosts Hang Loose SurfStream Open indoor championships with blizzard outside. See the short film.

by Allison Arteaga
Eastern Surf Magazine

Most couples looking for a winter getaway this time of year are probably headed straight for the tropics — someplace warm and sandy where they can defrost and sip embarrassing fruity cocktails complete with mini umbrellas. But the Cocoa Beach, FL-based Hollands are in no way a typical couple. Todd, a former WCT warhorse, and Lauren, a former East Coast women’s surfing champion, opted instead to jet off to Sweden this February to compete in the Hangloose Surfstream Open.

The contest was put on by the Swedish Surfing Association and made use of the latest in artificial wave technology developed by American Wave Machines, a California-based company that has been working closely with the Hollands to develop high-performance standing waves that work with real surfboards. The event was held during a snowstorm, but all the competitors stayed toasty indoors, and Lauren took first in the Women’s division while Todd put on a show in Men’s. Both left stoked by the experience and took some time to chat with EasternSurf.com about their Scandinavian adventures and the future of artificial waves.

ESM: So how did you two end up partnering with American Wave Machines?

Lauren Holland: Three years ago Ron Jon Surf Shop flew me out to the grand opening of Beaches Turks & Caicos to go showcase a brand new surf machine. It’s a little tiny knee-high wave, and Todd and I had seen YouTube footage of it, so we sat down and thought, “Wouldn’t that be cool to actually bring a surfboard and surf it in the machine?” So we designed a little tiny surfboard to fit in my luggage, and when I went out there, I got to meet the developer of the machine. He was real impressed with the board and saw that I actually brought a surfing style to the machine, which is what his real goal is: to create a standing wave that allows a real surfboard with fins.

American Wave Machines now uses me to showcase grand openings of their venues, and this time they invited Todd to go along with me to an event in Sweden, because he’s been designing new surfboards for the machine but actually had never had a chance to ride it. So this time he got to come and bring his professional surf style to the machine, and he brought his surfboards for the other riders to check out.

ESM: Was it cool getting to visit Sweden?

LH: Yeah, this was Todd’s first time coming to Sweden, and it was the first time either one of us had seen snow in probably 20-some years, so that was pretty cool. And we climbed up a mountain. Well, I’m not sure if it really was a mountain, but everything over there looked like mountains to us, because we’re from Florida. But we hiked up there and found their old town that was built in 1752. It overlooked the town center, so we really got to see how water surrounds these people’s culture.

Todd Holland: It was about a three-mile hike in the snow [laughs].

LH: It was a blast though. And to see a surf-stoked culture in such an out-of-place environment was kind of surreal. But those people honestly do love surfing and everything about it. They’re all about promoting surfing and introducing it to the youth. They’re developing a following out there, and the wave machine brought people from all over to showcase what they’ve learned to do over the year and half that they’ve it.

TH: One thing that was really cool about the machine was that, obviously, we were in Sweden, so when we landed, all we saw was snow everywhere. That doesn’t really make you want to go jump in the ocean. If you were going to go surfing out there you might only last an hour. They actually did try to get us to go surfing the last morning we were there, but it got cancelled because the ice came in on the ocean. But with the machine, you’re in an enclosed space, so even though there was two feet of snow outside, people in those extreme weather conditions can surf year-round and really work on their skills.

ESM: Could you tell us a bit more about the machine? How does it compare to a real wave?

TH: Well, you’re not going 100 yards down the beach when you’re riding the wave, but the way it’s designed, you can still work on your positioning as if it was a real ocean wave. You can move out onto the shoulder or surf it more in the pocket. It’s big enough that you’re able to move four or five feet to change your positioning on the wave to be in a more critical or less critical spot. There are so many maneuvers you can do on it that are so similar to surfing that I think it could be a really good training tool for actual ocean surfing.

LH: You can practice a trick over and over again in a controlled environment, really learn how to stick each maneuver, and then translate it into ocean waves. Todd looked like a kid in a candy store when they brought out the high-performance barrel for us. It’s a right, open-faced little tiny barrel, and he had so much fun he didn’t want to get off. It’s addicting, and I’d personally like to see one here in Florida for the flat spells.

TH: The other good thing about the machine is that the transition from the last surf we had there to when we got back and went surfing in the ocean on our regular boards was nothing. There’s not that much you have to change about your surfing other than reading the ocean to catch your wave, so that’s a real positive part of it.

ESM: How about the special boards you two have been designing for this machine?

TH: As more machines get built and this gets more popular, I’m hoping to learn more about it. After going over there and surfing on it, I’ve learned how far I can go with the width of the board, and I can possibly change some fin placements to make it an even better training tool for regular ocean waves.

LH: Overall though, there’s not too much that’s different about the boards. It’s basically a surfboard that’s a foot shorter because you take away the paddling power that’s necessary in normal surfboards. The fin placements are very similar, and the board design is very similar. If the machine was bigger, then you could take your actual surfboard that you use in the ocean and put it in the machine. There’s one in Montreal that’s opening in August, and that’s what the goal is, for us to be able to fly up there with our everyday surfboards and put them in the machine.

ESM: So are you guys sold? Do you think these machines have the potential to be the next big thing?

LH: Well, the company that sent us out there, American Wave Machines, not only produces standing waves, but they also make wave pools, and they’re always trying to create technology that caters to the surfer. They use our input to help develop better, higher-performance waves. This is the closest you can get to actually being in the ocean. I’ve tried other machines that were very similar, but without fins it’s really not surfing.

So with these fins, and with us showcasing what we can do on the wave, hopefully we’ll attract more people. It could spark interest in surfing in places where there has never been interest before because there isn’t an ocean. That’s something I’d like to do, and it’s really cool that they have Todd on board trying to develop real surfboards for it. There are good things to come with a bit more financing, and there is a lot of interest, so hopefully we’ll see more of them built.

View article at Easternsurf.com

A special thanks to the venue host, Himlabadet, the Swedish Surfing Association, and co-sponsors Hangloose, O’Neill, Surfer’s Paradise, Fahlensurf, and Ljud and Ljus Control Sundsvall – not to mention all of the talented surfers who tore it up!

Results:

Open Men 1. Gerry Schlegel, 2. William Åhlund, 3. Sebastian Hansen

Open Women: 1. Lauren McLean Holland, 2. Lina Bergqvist, 3. Maria Edqvist

Juniors: 1. Odd Persson, 2. Joel Åberg, 3. Gustav Kalm

Visit official contest website // View more contest coverage // Hangloose photo gallery

Surfers showed off on the SurfStream barrel at the Nike 6.0 Night Riders Surf Attack after-party and awards ceremony on Feb. 4. Skullcandy sponsored the ultimate surfer/skater showdown in search of the best trick on Feb. 10. Check out video highlights.

What’s  next? The Summer Thai 2012 Muay Thai tournament on Feb. 18 featuring the best fighters in South America, followed by a surf exhibition and concert by the band Kobra Kai. Punches, waves, and rock ‘n roll!

10:30 pm February 4, 2012