URBNSURF Melbourne

The intermediate sessions will also take place at the Points. The intermediate waves will offer a playful, open face that measures 3-4 feet high. Surfers will get a chance to ride 10-12 waves in each one-hour session. Surfers can ride each intermediate waves for 12-16 seconds.

The waves produced during intermediate sessions resemble some of the classic intermediate breaks around the world. They are often compared to the waves found in Malibu, California: perfect for having fun and improving your surfing!

The wave playlist for intermediate sessions at URBNSURF Melbourne will consist of these waves from the wave menu:

• Malibu I -IV > An intermediate wave with a playful open face, good for stepping up your turn game.
• Giros I-IV > An open face wave perfect for carving.

Each surfer in an intermediate session will have a shot at 10-12 waves.

Beginner sessions and lessons take place in the Bay. Beginner sessions and lessons both offer a great opportunity for people of all ages to catch their first wave and get comfortable popping up.

During beginner sessions and lessons, the URBNSURF wave pool will offer 1-3 foot white water rollers that reform after the intermediate or advanced waves. The ride lasts up to 10 seconds.

During beginner sessions, URBNSURF limits the number of surfers to 24 on each side of the pier. The lessons are limited to 8 surfers on each side of the pier.

Passes and Memberships

URBNSURF Melbourne offers memberships. one hour sessions and lessons.

The Aqua membership is for intermediate surfers and it costs $117 AUD for and an adult and $100 AUD per child, per month. As an Aqua member, you’ll get 2 intermediate sessions per month. You’ll also get one free surf session pass every 12 months, membership to the URBNSURF Boardriders Club, an unlimited spectator pass and more perks. There is a minimum 12-month commitment for the Aqua membership.

The Gold membership costs $259 AUD per month. As a Gold member, you’ll get 4 advanced sessions per month and two additional passes every 12 months. You’ll also get free spectator access anytime, membership to the URBNSURF Boardriders Club and discounts on other purchases. There is a minimum 12-month commitment for the Gold membership.

The Foundation membership costs $3500 AUD a year, and there are only a limited number available. It gets you everything the Gold membership gets you plus an exclusive half-day experience before URBNSURF Melbourne opens to the public, some swag and invites to VIP events.

All the membership sessions are “use it or lose it”, so if you don’t use it in a month, it’s gone.

A single one-hour advanced session will cost $59-79 AUD ($40-54 USD) depending on your age and the day of the week. Lessons run from $69-79 for adults and $59-69 for kids, depending on the day of the week. Multi-packs are available and they save you around 10%.

Nuts and Bolts

The Wavegarden Cove technology at URNBSURF Melbourne is housed primarily in the pier that runs through the center of the lagoon. In that pier, surrounded by steel, are 46 pistons that fire in sequence to create waves on either side of the pier. “The system uses one kilowatt per wave, and we make 500 waves an hour, ” Ross told the Sydney Morning Herald. That may sound like a lot, and it does draw critics, but Ross says URBNSURF uses half the power that a regional aquatic centre would use. “And we’re powered entirely by renewables, a certified mix of hydro and solar, which is more expensive but that’s the way we wanted to go.”

The URBNSURF lagoon is filled with 23 Million Liters of water harvested primarily from stormwater from the Melbourne Airport precinct. The water is not heated, so customers will require a wetsuit in the colder months. However, Ross does not expect it to be as cold as the ocean thanks to some wind protection.

URBNSURF cleans the water through a variety of mechanisms. According to Andrew Ross (URBNSURF Founder), the water will be “100 percent oxygenated” thanks to all the wave action.

URBNSURF keeps kids under 6 out of the pool to help minimize risk for fecal contamination. The team also modeled the amount of urine and sun screen that they expect to see in the pool and built a custom system to meet their own, specific requirements.

The system’s details can’t be shared publicly, but the outcome will be lightly chlorinated water thats similar to Melbournes drinking water. “We won’t be drinking from it”, Andrew Ross says “but, after 50 waves you can just dunk your face into the lagoon and drink.”

The thoughtful orientation of the URBNSURF lagoon means predominant winter winds (N, NE) will be offshore and “blowing straight into the barrel” according to Ross. In summer, the typical wind will blow onshore. However, the wall right next to the advanced and intermediate wave provides some protection. Additional protection will come from wind shades if necessary.

On-Site Experience

The onsite experience is still under development, so the details are fuzzy. But there is a load of excitement around the fact that Three Blue Ducks will be providing the food at URBNSURF. The restaurant will include indoor and outdoor dining areas, with great views of the surfing lagoon. According to URBNSURF, “Expect plenty of smoky flavours and fresh, locally-sourced produce from the kitchen, which will include a pizza oven, rotisserie and charcoal pit.”. Those local ingredients will come from an on-site garden and fertilized from their own composting. They’ll also offer a variety of beer, wines and spirits, sourced from all around Victoria.

In addition to the restaurant, customers will have access to other fun activities including bouldering walls, skate ramps, and plenty of areas for relaxing.

History

Andrew Ross, the Founder and Chief Executive at URBNSURF, was bit by the wave pool bug around 2011 when he heard about the Kelly Slater and Greg Webber patent battles. He explored ideas with Greg and Kelly, and through those conversations became aware of the work Wavegarden was doing who were working on some of their earliest prototypes.

In 2012, Ross visited the Wavegarden research facilities and left with a solid impression.

In 2016, the Wave Park Group (owners of URBNSURF) secured the 7.1 hectare site with a 30-year lease and got planning approval. The original plan called for a 3.9 hectare lagoon serving 300,000 guests annually with 100% of its power coming from renewable resources. The airport precinct will supply the 25M liters of water required (per year) to operate the pool. The filtering process bring the water to “nearly potable” standards before entering the pool’s circulation system.

Local proponents were also excited about the economic benefits of surf pool. The plan forecast the creation of 45 full time jobs an $267M AUD in gross economic contributions to the Melbourne region over the park’s lifetime.

The original plan anticipated an $18.5M AUD price tag and an opening date in late 2017. But, as we know, plans change and timelines have a tendency to drift…

In March 2018, construction commenced on a smaller 2.1 hectare pool with an updated price tag of $28.3M AUD. URBNSURF partnered with Ertech for construction. The updated target opening date was April 2019.

In February 2019, the URBNSURF team announced that they’d be producing the first waves around Easter 2019. They also said they planned to open to the public in the spring of 2019 (September through November).

The construction team completed the build and filled the pool in October 2019. After some extremely fun testing, the team narrowed in on an opening date in January 2020.

We’ll see what the future plans reveal after opening, but tentative plans include more supplemental activities like climbing walls, bouldering courses, splash pad for kids and more. We’re excited to see what URBNSURF Melbourne becomes.

Sources: URBNSURF Melbourne, ausleisure.com, WavePoolMag, Forbes, Thebusinessofsurf.com.au, Onlymelbourne.com.au, Sydney Morning Herald