'Endless' wave part of park plan
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
The surf is coming up at Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park.
Operators of the West O'ahu water-theme park plan to introduce a stationary "endless" wave for bodyboarding and possibly stand-up rides in the next year or so as part of a five-year expansion plan for more slides, rides, mini-golf and maybe even drive-in movies.
Of all the planned additions, the stationary wave is expected to generate the greatest swell of excitement — and maybe a little disdain — as it would be the first artificial surfing wave in the surf capital of the world.
The closest Hawai'i has to such a ride is perhaps the occasional wave that forms when a swollen Waimea River breaks through deep beach sand into Waimea Bay.
Man-made wave rides using advanced technology and design have become popular attractions at water parks around the world, and Hawaiian Waters is confident the novelty will draw local surfers, visitors and maybe a stop on one of the artificial-wave contest tours.
"Hawai'i being where it is, Hawai'i could be a (contest) finals," said Jerry Pupillo, Hawaiian Waters general manager.
Professional and amateur surfing coach Rainos Hayes from Sunset Beach said the success of such a ride depends, in his view, on how challenging it is.
"It's going to have to have some kind of punch to it," he said. "With surfing being so close at hand ... a wave that's less than par — the kids are going to call (it lame)."
Hayes, a former professional surfer, said he had a blast last year learning to ride a large tube-forming stationary wave at a skate and wave park in Durban, South Africa.
"It looks kind of like surfing in the sense that the shape of the water is the same, but the water is getting sucked backwards and you're not going anywhere," he said. "The sensation of the barrel is very realistic. It's pretty exciting."
A special board without fins is required, and some artificial waves produce enough power to do aerial tricks on boards with foot straps.
Pupillo said Hawaiian Waters hasn't decided what kind of a wave ride to purchase. The park is considering two models from La Jolla, Calif.-based Wave Loch Inc. One can produce a barrel for stand-up or prone riding. The other doesn't curl and is for bodyboarding only.
Another option is a stationary surfing or bodyboarding ride from American Wave Machines Inc. of Solana Beach, Calif.
Pupillo said waves range from about six to 10 feet, but the park has to study what would be most viable. "Any time you go towards the extreme, you lose some of the beginners and people that might otherwise be able to enjoy the ride."
Chris Johnson of Kailua, who grew up bodyboarding at Sandy Beach, said he had fun on one of the milder wave rides at a park in Colorado where he went to college.
"It didn't really have a barrel, but it had a whitewash that you could do tricks on," he said. "That thing kept me sane while I was there with no ocean."
Johnson said he would ride something similar at Hawaiian Waters. "I'd be going there on the way home from the beach," he said. "I've talked to people here and asked, 'Would you get a season pass?' Ten out of 10 said yeah. I think it'd do great."
Pupillo said the park expects to add the wave ride in 12 to 18 months. Two other rides are scheduled to open sooner — next spring or summer. One is a giant whirlpool funneling riders down a three- to six-story drainlike ride, and the other is a steep serpent-shaped tube slide.
The park also plans to add a putting golf course designed to resemble an ahupua'a, or mountain-to-sea land division, expected to open around the same time as the stationary wave.
Three or four years out, the park would like to turn its parking lot into a drive-in theater at night.
The planned additions are part of a five-year expansion initiative to keep the park fresh with new attractions.
The 25-acre park opened in 1999 with eight rides and a wave pool that produces small, rolling waves. Since then, major additions have include the four-story "Shaka" halfpipe slide that opened in 2000 and the four-lane racing slide "Volcano Express" that opened in 2002.
Pupillo said the park has averaged nearly 340,000 visitors a year, with a kama'aina-visitor percentage split of 70-30.
Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.
