Wavepool maestro Tom Lochtefeld fires back at claims hotly anticipated Palm Springs Surf Club tank has been shelved, “We’ll be filling her with water at the beginning of 2023!”

But no sign of wave-creating virtuoso Cheyne Magnusson nor his guy-pal, the hot Hawaiian eye-candy Kalani Robb!

Two years ago, the world’s best surfers were lining up to jiggle their thumb tips against the Palm Springs Surf Club’s pygmy dingus, a proto-wavepool built on the site of the old Wet N Wild in that storied little desert town. 

Wet N Wild was the pool used in the opening sequences of North Shore, a film from 1987 that tells the fictional tale of Rick Kane, a boy who learns to surf in a wavepool and then attempts to transpose his skills to Pipeline with mostly good results.

The surfing world quickly fell under the spell of the Hawaiian surfer Cheyne Magnusson who had singlehandedly altered the course of aerial surfing at BSR cable park in Waco.

Magunusson joined hands with the “godfather of artificial waves” Tom Lochtefeld and his Surf Loch tech to soup up the ancient Wet N Wild site.

“I come in and play the piano,” Cheyne told me of his role complementing the wave tech. “Give me a bunch of knobs to move water and I can make it sing.”

The pint-sized proto was built and surfers, including Mason Ho, Jackson Dorian etc, came from all over the world, flared and made clips. The pool was then demolished to make way for the full-sized tank.

Now? 

Crickets, as they say. 

The PSSC Instagram account is blank, Magnusson hasn’t posted about the tank in two years and hasn’t responded to messages from BeachGrit re: the project, the pool’s creative director Jamo Wills hasn’t posted about the tank since November 2o2o, Kalani Robb, also involved in the joint, hasn’t posted about the tank in a year. 

It’s Facebook page is, to be generous, perfunctory, fifteen likes, zero followers. 

Worried that the joint has been shelved, although not shelved in the sexy sense, I contacted Thomas J Lochtefeld who reassured me the PSSC will be ready to be filled at the beginning of 2023. 

Lochtefeld also offered me a free flight to dance on his waves in the coming American spring. 

“Are you game?” he asked.

“Yes, daddy,” I said, lips parted, eyes closed, ripe for the act.

As for Magnusson, Lochtefeld says he’s still consulting for Surf Loch.

“He is a phenomenal wave composer, a virtuoso on our equipment.”