On Pacific Beach in San Diego is a spot called the Wave House, where we watched a few brave souls try their luck at “Bruticus Maximus” – a man made wave machine. The basic technology behind “sheet waves” is the use of multiple, high-energy pumps to project a three inch layer of water over a surface that has been shaped to emulate an ocean wave. Essentially, this means that sheet waves are stationary waves with the movement derived from water flowing over the shaped surface. The water flows at between 20 and 30 miles per hour, with 100,000 gallons of water a minute being propelled by the pumps.

The longest ride we saw was about 2 minutes, and it’s a serious wipeout at the end, the surfers curl into a ball and cover their head before they are spit out. Even Mike wasn’t game for this one!

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