Advertisement
New Kelly Slater wave pool in Abu Dhabi draws ire from surf fans.
New Kelly Slater wave pool in Abu Dhabi draws ire from surf fans.

New Kelly Slater wave pool in Abu Dhabi provokes shock reaction from surf world

"Genocide rhymes with Ecocide!"

Overnight, we saw the first video from the long anticipated Kelly Slater wave pool on Hudayriyat Island in Abu Dhabi, proclaimed by developer Modon Properties as the “longest wave pool in the world.” 

Still boyish at almost sixty and surfing as upright as a dart, Kelly Slater demonstrates the blue-water wave to perfection, even treating his fans to a little alley-oop at the wave’s eventual conclusion.

“It’s hard to believe that this thing exists,” says Kelly Slater. “We knew if somebody could build something to the best quality it would be here in this part of the world… I think we made a pretty spectacular wave here in Abu Dhabi.”

Surfers, you’d think, would be in thrall to the man-made marvel. It’s the first commercial version of the famous Kelly Slater tank and eight years since the Lemoore prototype’s spectacular debut.

Of course, surfers, inflated in ego, low in intelligence and perspective, are difficult to predict,

And to the masses who swarmed various Instagram pages and below the line on BeachGrit, the Kelly Slater pool represents a cruel absurdity, with some even linking it to Gaza’s invasion of Israel.

(The UAE ain’t afraid to loose the hounds on its brother Muslims: “The military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in Yemen has killed thousands of civilians in airstrikes, tortured detainees, raped civilians and used child soldiers as young as 8,” reports the NY Times.)

Yeah! Go “surf” in a fossil fueled cess pool in the midst of a Palestinian genocide! Genocide rhymes with Ecocide! Go Kelly Slater!

How appropriate: “surfing” in a fossil fueled cess pool in Arabia during the midst of Palestinian genocide!? Kelly Slater is such an inspiration! More carbon emissions per “wave” than the 20 hour flight (first class of course) from the white trash capital of the universe (Florida — or is it California? Same thing). Oh wait – Genocide rhymes with Ecocide! Go Kelly!

Did they try and just google a place with even less available water than Lemore and say 📍 that’s the spot?

Are women allowed?

I’m so fed up with hearing about all these fucking wave pools being built where either A) the location produces world class waves already on the regular by Mother Nature or B) in a location where no one cares or knows absolutely nothing about surfing in the first place. Guess I’ll either be 85 years old or dead by the time they makes surf parks more accessible like skate parks are now. For fucks sake.

Ugh. A shame he’s doing business in that neck of the woods.

and only 45 Nepalese slave labor workers died of heat stroke building it just so Kelly can surf while avoiding the common peasants taking his waves. what a modern marvel!

Elites making waves for other elites. They are destroying the oceans so they have to build these so they all have somewhere to surf. Good luck poor people…

Who the fuck wants to go surfing somewhere where you can’t smoke a joint without getting beheaded

Yeah let’s make wavepool on the desert, take the most flights possible and call us in harmony with nature 🔥 that’s radddd

The Matthew effect. Who cares about woman’s rights? Who cares about freedom of speech? Who cares about human rights? Who cares about how others are suppressed by bigotry, and patriarchy? Why care when you are filling up your pockets with millions of dollars. I have lost all respect for this guy. It’s all about their personal interest.

Dang Kelly Slater, oil money and their ‘shaka spirit’ towards women speaks to you…smh

We’re effing up this planet with nonsense crap like this. Ronaldo should go, I won’t.

I guess building pools is his gig now. This is not going to end well for his career. All of that hard work and building his reputation to throw it out for a stupid pool where Women, Gays, and the Lower class people are treated with 1400’s year old le laws. Nice going Kelly. This time you out did yourself.

Now, nobody’s shoving a muzzle under anyone’s jawbone to go, so why the envy and hatred?

0 0 votes
Article Rating

Commented on Disqus? Log out, tap the Disqus button, and your old name and comments come back. The box is ours.

Join the discussion

Your comments are still here. Every one of them.

Twelve years of BeachGrit comments came across from Disqus. Connect and we will show you how many are yours. We get your username, nothing else.

Unclaimed
Handle
Comments
Posting since

Connect Disqus to reveal.

Subscribe
Notify of
122 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Black Rubber

I’ve heard that from someone who has been a whole lot and doesn’t pay. Even he feels it every time and, in theory, he has less on the line than the average sap who has paid $$$$ to get there.

AI (for ever) .

Zigs agent has finally found a buyer for the wsl.

I wonder how Kelly felt meeting his new owner?

J lee

Perfect now all the haters that never got to surf lemoore can continue to tell us about how much better their wave pool is…

NEGATRON

Best to quiz Twillsy! I got zero skin in the game only questions myself.

blindboy

Keliwatu, rich fellas wave.

davidcarson

yes it’s a very forward thinking country……

NEGATRON
NEGATRON

Twillsy has been involved in the pool game and I’m quoting him from memory.

Abscessed Llama

Having seen first hand the energy of a wave generated from air blown out of pipes. The first couple waves completely spit, but didn’t take that long to destroy the bottom liner holding the tub intact. Making the wave is only part of the problem..

Stick man

uggh…

Stick man

Hey you got Box-water barrelled! You were claiming soo hard!

blindboy

Are yes, the other prominent form of life down here, the pedant.

justiceminister

In Slater we trust.

tim_nelsen

love our pretzel logic!

tim_nelsen

apparently all experts don’t agree. and as such, the debate RAGES! what’s new at the rookery?

disqus_00d1gIXedO

no sea level rise yet, just sea lion levels rising

Dovakin

I bet Steph only surf the right.

tim_nelsen

two blondes “splitting the peak…” would be a major victory in the middle east culture

Stick man

Gleaming the Tube?

Stick man

..and then left.

Mapski

Where is the air section I was promised?

Stick man

Y mota!

Rocks local

apropos of nothing, and in honor of a day that to my knowledge has no independent meaning, I’d like to pause for a moment in appreciation of the BG commentariat. In perusing the Internets recently chasing news about world (and sporting) events other than another artificial wave, I have observed that many websites are i) too chickenshit to have a comments section, ii) have a free comments section that is full of such dumb shit or pure trolling that it makes one wish that alphabets had never been invented, or iii) have ‘premium’/paid subscriber-only comment sections that despite being curated for only posters willing to pay up still suffer from either excruciatingly boring commentary or a dumb ass –> semi-intelligent comment ratio of roughly 2/1.

Not to polish too many apples here, but BG has somehow created a free comment space that manages to hit the sweet spot (at least a slight majority of the time). So polite Wimbledon claps to all of you. And I probably just jinxed it, but knocking on wood as I hit the post button.

Michael Flatlately

Probably clap for Neggles and Co. From what I saw at a news org, it took a punishing toll on the Mods. Well, not like injures, but more they got so deep in all the muck it fucked up their personal lives. So the org pulled the comments. Perhaps it’s his plumbing background that make him so resilient. No stranger to sludge.

Rocks local

Excellent point. And since the Kiwis are up all night listening to sirens anyway, happy that the added productivity is to our benefit.

tim_nelsen

music selection is key: flight of the valkyries or echoes is the delta between war & peace…

Stick man

it can get a little busy but everybody seems to get their share…

K0o_o0K

I wonder if they sell outerknown burkinis in the gift shop.

Michael Flatlately

And bars of tropical Procreation Wax

tim_nelsen

red means go. black means no.

Stick man

#trolllogic


122
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x