Nick Carroll, a writer who surfs well, gives his take on Dirk Ziff’s wave pond in a really, really long story on BeachGrit.com. Deja vu. As much as we love Nick, and cherish his contributions to surfing lit, we again didn’t read the entire story, however, we don’t think he mentioned William Finnegan nor The New Yorker magazine. He did however offer up an epic butter-em-up-then-poop-on-their-plate overview of the place in the last few paragraphs. Here it is:
You ride waves, but that’s it. . . And ultimately, this is dissatisfying. The WSL Surf Ranch is an ideal venue for major pro surfing competition. It’s an epic showcase for pros, and a theme park for good surfers. It’s almost impossibly original, and fun as hell. I’m flabbergasted by what Kelly has done up there at Lemoore; at some moments I think maybe it outdoes all his world championships. After all, people won world titles before him, and they continue to do so since; none, however have built anything like this. . . But as a surf experience, it just doesn’t hit the spot.
We’re assuming you can learn how Nick arrived at this conclusion by reading the entire piece.
