I am thinking of joining a cult in Waco Texas

[oldmansurfer]

[billie_morini]

Ol' Man,
seriously, Waco is very drastic move. It's past the point of desperation (severe racism, religious cults, over-amped FBI response). A less radical location would be something near Kelly Slater's Surf Ranch, 18556 Jackson Ave, Lemoore, California. It's in California's Central Valley farming country. It's kinda between Kettleman City (sheep & cattle ranching, crude oil production, and haz waste disposal facility) and Visalia (good farming, especially for onions; I truly like this town).

Only a couple of weeks ago, Kelly's Surf Ranch hosted the 2018 Founder's Cup competition. It was broadcast live on the internet. Did you watch any of it? We watched some of it here in Santa Barbara.
billie

[oldmansurfer]

Yeah I watched it and I am keeping track of the OiRio Pro as much as I can. It’s on at midnight our time. I think this wave is better than Slater’s but the water quality is not as good

[billie_morini]

Ol' Man, the two wave parks we're talking about here both use fresh water. I have only surfed in salt water. The idea of surfing in fresh water seems a little bit weird to me. But, this is based solely on lacking experience. I do know this: fresh water dries out my contact lenses, which prevents them from working correctly (e.g., stick to eye ball and don't move like they're supposed to). I cannot see when this occurs. Salt water does not dry out my contact lenses. This is one of the delights discovered when I switched from prescription sunglasses to contact lenses. I have not had to use prescription glasses when surfing since getting contact lenses.

[oldmansurfer]

I have wondered about the fresh water aspect of it. For one it is probably a mostly closed system so the water needs to have some type of filter cleaning etc or if not then it may cost more due to using more water or ??? not sure. Other thoughts are probably different boards are needed for freshwater.... a little more flotation probably what else???? Some maneuvers more difficult or easier???? Fresh water algae/bacteria problems???? in the eyes nose mouth??? I don't know just thoughts but in reality I don't want to go to a surf park, however if there was one near me I might recon it to see if it seems interesting

[billie_morini]

Yes. These are closed systems. Otherwise, tremendous water volumes would be wasted. Plus, a lot of time would be consumed filling them. Contained water, especially fresh water must be treated to control bacteria and algae. This is particularly true in locations like these that receive lots and lots of sun light. In addition to physical filtration, there is chemical treatment. The most effective filtration media is diatomaceous earth. There are several ways to chemically treat the water: 1) chlorine (like many swimming pools), 2) ozone and/or ultra-violet light (like water treatment plant), and 3) electrolytic salt (like some swimming pools in which operator wants less chlorine than traditional chlorine pool. Even though called "salt water" pool, it isn't really. The "salt" refers to a different chlorine generating process. Instead of adding chlorine to the pool, you add salt that is converted to chlorine when it passes through and electrolytic converter. The water is slightly salty, but mostly fresh and the water feels softer). I know these things from designing and/or maintaining water treatment plants and swimming pools. However, I have not found out what the Surf Ranch is using. If someone in our forum knows, then please tell me.