Okahina Wave Futuroscope

Description

A lake adjacent to Futuroscope, the futuristic French theme park, will be home to the first public prototype of Okahina Wave technology. The circular wave pool technology, which can be installed in exiting bodies of water, uses rotating foils to push waves toward the center of ad atoll 36m in diameter. The Okahina Wave installation at Futuroscope will create waves that measure between .8m and 1.3m (2.5 and 4.2 feet) high on the face of the wave.

A letter of intent was signed by the Department of Vienna owner of the site in March 2019. The next hurdle is a vote by the Department of Vienna. The facility will open to the public in 2020 if everything goes according to plan.

The total cost is €3.5 million ($3.9 million USD).

Wave Size and Shape

The Okahina Wave installation at Futuroscope will create barreling waves that measure up to 1.3m (4.2 feet) high on the face of the wave. Okahina Wave technology allows operators to control the size and shape of the waves which means they can also create waves that are smaller and more suitable for beginner and intermediate surfers.

Its not clear if the Okahina Wave at Futuroscope will be able to create waves with a variety of sections for high-performance turns, airs, etc. on one wave.

The foils can rotate in either direction allowing an installation to produce left or right-hand waves that can be ridden for up to 12 seconds.

Productivity and Capacity

Three foils will rotate around the 36m atoll continuously, passing a take-off point every 10 seconds where a surfer will start a new ride. The duration of the ride is about 12 seconds, at which point the surfer exits the wave leaving it open for the next surfer waiting at the take-off point.

That means the Okahina Wave at Futuroscope will produce 360 twelve-second rides every hour assuming they don’t stop running occasionally to allow the water to settle and/or reverse direction of the foils.

Its not clear how many surfers will share the waves in a one-hour session, but Okahina Wave installations will support up to 50 surfers at a time, according to Les Echos.

The 36m atoll at Futuroscope is smaller than the standard Okahina Wave installation. For example, the planned diameter of the Okahina Wave Libourne is 60m.

Access

One-hour sessions will cost between €25 and 30 euros ($28 to $33 USD).

Environmental Protection and Enhancement

Okahina Wave technology also provides unique ecological benefits to the installation site by naturally oxygenating the water which subsequently leads to cleaner water and healthier aquatic life. Its also relatively environmentally friendly because it requires less power to operate than other wave pool technologies, according to Héquily. According to Franceinfo.fr, a 1.2 meter wave requires about 35kw to generate (roughly the power required to run an electric car).

Sources: Les Echos, Okahina Wave