We started with our dream of a powerful, easily customizable wave that would help other surfers build local river surfing features. As we created our designs we discovered the limitations and conditions of our river and ideas so we repeatedly adjusted our plans & actions and shaped an effective solution. These are the conditions the Surf Anywhere features meets to evaluate waves for river surfers everywhere. The design will be explained in a later article.

River Conditions

The fundamental river restriction is how much water is available and when it is available.

A River Rising – No Flow to 30 cms in minutes (1000 cfs): The Kananaskis River turning on as it does daily. This is where we are building the Surf Anywhere Feature.

Kananaskis Conditions

• River shuts off completely every night except for some periods during spring run-off.
• River runs continuously for some periods during spring run-off.
• River flows every day of the year
• River does not freeze over because of the large flow changes
• Water is clean
• Water is cold (Summer: 10 – 15 C or 50F – 59F, Winter: 0C or -32F)
• Regular River Flow: 25 – 35 cms or 850 – 1200 cfs
• Typical Annual Flood Flow: 50 – 70 cms or 1,700 – 2,400 cfs
• Maximum River Flows: 250 – 300 cms or 8,500 – 10,500 cfs
  • Highest flow in past hundred years was in 2013

Strength

The feature must remain safe and strong in the worst conditions.

The Power of Water – Dam in Flood Upstream of our Waves: Barrier Dam that controls our river flows during the biggest flood in the past hundred years in Spring 2013.

Normally the dam shuts the river off every night allowing us to build. This was the most water in past hundred years and at the highest point  there was over 10 times the normal flow. Our feature will perform and last through:

• Large volume of fast moving water
  • Survive impacts from boulders, rocks, trees and picnic tables
• Regular wear
  • Movement of small rocks and debris
• Weather Exposure
  • Hot summer days of 30C or 85F
  • Cold winter nights of -40C or -40F
  • Submerged during part of most days
  • Expose to air during part of most days and all of most nights
  • Be removable in case a dangerous condition develops
• Multiple Seasons
  • Undergo regular inspection
  • Document durability / repair
  • Try other materials and document results

Current River Usage

The Kananaskis river is regularly used by a wide range of river craft and must allow all users to safely pass through. The feature will allow eddy access from users so they can get onto the wave without leaving the water.

River craft include:

• Surfboards
• Stand Up Paddle Boards
• 12’ Rafts
• Kayaks – Playboats, Creekboards and Race boats
• Canoes
• River Boarders

Environmental Restrictions

We want to improve the river while maintaining the environment and feeling of the beautiful natural space. So the Surf Anywhere feature will:

• Look good and natural
• Minimize bank and bottom erosion
• Allow passage of local fish
• Avoid all pollution

Surfability

The feature must be wide, powerful and adjustable so we can create world class waves and test wave ideas from surfers around the world. The key factor is smooth, fast flowing water which we will create with:

• Large drop
• Smooth bottom
• Low Angle in slope
• Straight vertical side walls
• Adjustable flow through channel to show how waves change with more or less water
• Adjustable slope to find the ideal water direction for each wave shape
• Adjustable wave ramp to perfect the surfing face(s) of the waves

This my second article on wave construction for the Surf Anywhere Project. My next piece will be on the Surf Anywhere feature design. As the Surf Anywhere Project creates, builds and shares waves the information will be refined, shared and will eventually cover all key areas of river surf wave construction from feasibility to testing.

Stoke & Flow

Neil Egsgard
Founder & President
Surf Anywhere Project
http://SurfAnywhere.ca

The post Surf Anywhere: Conditions for the Trial by Water appeared first on Riverbreak.

Drop Provides Wave Speed

If you have a 1 metre drop in a river with a 30 cms flow you can build one of the best waves in the world.

The drop in elevation from upstream of a river wave to downstream is the wave’s energy source.  The larger the drop the faster the water.  The faster the water the more energy available for the wave.  The Eisbach has a drop of about 1.1m or 3’7” from the channel bottom above the drop to the channel bottom after the drop.  If you have a 1 metre drop you can build one of the best waves in the world provided you have enough flow. The figure below depicts how these components relate to each other and how they work together so that a river wave forms.

Flow Provides Wave Thickness

The flow is the volume of water per second going through a river (depth X width X velocity).  The more flow you have the bigger and thicker the wave can be. The average flow rate of the river above the wave, on the wave and below the wave is always the same.  If you increase the velocity than the width and/or velocity or must decrease.  The Eisbach has a flow of about 30 cubic metres per second (cms) or 1,060 cubic feet per second (cfs).

How Water Changes With Drop and Flow

 Drop     Water Speed      Water Depth

Flow    Water Depth

River Width     Water Depth

Making Waves With Drop and Flow

High Flow + Wide + Big Drop = Wave

If the channel is too narrow then the water will be too deep for a wave.  If the drop is too small the water just fills in the wave.

Small Flow + Narrow + Small Drop = Wave

If the channel is too wide then the water will be too shallow for a wave.  If the drop is too big the water will be too fast and therefore too shallow for a wave.

Amwelle: Low flow, narrow, small drop and a fun wave

Eisbach: Higher flow, wide, larger drop and a good wave

Surf Anywhere Project

This is the first of a number of articles on building river waves driven by the Surf Anywhere Project.  The other articles will cover different fundamentals of river wave building making it easier for surf waves to be built everywhere.  If you have any questions about building waves near you or information to share, please contact me – negs (at) riversurfing.ca

This article was written by Neil Egsgard, Surf Anywhere Project Lead 
Surf Anywhere Project — SurfAnywhere.ca
Alberta River Surfing Association — RiverSurfing.ca/forum

The post Surf Anywhere: Drop & Flow appeared first on Riverbreak.

Effects

Cold water in your ear canal causes irregular bony growths inside your ear called exstoses.  As the ear canal closes you begin experiencing the following symptoms:

• Reduced hearing until complete loss of hearing
• Water stuck in your ears
• Debris stuck in your ears
• Ear infections  more often
• More serious ear infections

These symptoms develop slowly over years.  The blockage and symptoms only get worse over time and require surgery to fix.

Diagram of clear ear canal vs surfer’s ear

Cross-section of normal ear and Surfer’s Ear (Photo: cdn-surfline.com)

Clear ear canal vs surfer’s ear

Left, a healthy eardrum. At right, an eardrum with Surfer’s Ear (Photo: cdn-surfline.com)

Causes

Surfers ear is caused by cold water and time.  The more time you are exposed to cold water the more bone grows.  The colder the water in your ear, the faster bone grows.  River surfers who surf in below freezing temperatures are at particular risk.  If your river has ice in it you are surfing the coldest water possible, colder than most oceans, which means you will lose hearing faster.

A Japanese Study of Surfers Ear in Professional & Amateur Surfer
See pictures of surfer’s ear and overview of a study on Surfer’s Ear.

Treatment

The ear canal is cleared by surgery.  Typically either a small drill or chisel is used to remove the bone growths.  The drill or chisel either enters through the ear canal or the ear is cut open from behind.  After surgery, if you surf to soon you risk infections and other problems.  Typically it takes a couple of weeks to months to recover depending on the surgery and the surfer.

UCIrvine video of surgery to remove surfer’s ear

Prevention

Wear ear plugs and a hood in cold water.  Wearing both ear plugs and a hood can completely stop or at least dramatically slow surfer’s ear.

Example of moldable ear plugs that shape to your ear

Moldable Silicone Putty Earplugs

Example of pre-shaped ear plugs

Ear Seals Ear Plugs

You can also get custom made ear plugs with help from an audiologist or a hear aid dispenser.

This article was written by Neil Egsgard, ARSA President.
Alberta River Surfing Association — RiverSurfing.ca/forum
Surf Anywhere Project — SurfAnywhere.ca

The post Cold & Deaf: Losing Your Hearing to Surfing appeared first on Riverbreak.

You will not be able to reach your ankle leash to release it or cut it because you will not be strong enough to bend your body against the river. Imagine a giant grabbing your ankle and pulling your leash leg straight then another giant pressing your body flat. The more you fight to reach your ankle, the harder they push you down.

Two Near Drownings at the Kan

In winter 2013 over a span of four months two river surfers in Alberta, Canada, almost died because of their ankle leashes. In both cases the river was waist deep and not moving particularly fast. With no warning their boards went to one of side of a deep underwater rock and their ankles floated down the other side. Suddenly, they felt a huge force pulling on their leash leg. Their boards disappeared, their bodies were forced flat with their heads downstream and they struggled to keep their mouths above water.

How They Escaped

The first surfer had two friends nearby in the river who were barely able to fight the current and pull him upstream to release the leash. The second surfer was alone. He managed to get one leg underneath him and struggled to keep his head above the waist deep water. After 5 minutes he was about to give up and then his leash broke. Without slow water, friends and luck both of these river surfers would be dead. In a fast river, if your ankle leash gets caught your friends watch you drown.

Minimizing Leash Entrapment Risk

I heard five solutions to leash entrapment while talking with different river surfing communities:

1. Don’t Wear a Leash: Learn to land on your board when leaving a wave and how to swim a river to catch your board when it escapes. You have the most control on your board and on it is typically the safest place in the river.
2. Wear your leash on your back arm: Attach your ankle leash to your back arm. If your leash is caught you can release it with your other hand and if you can’t reach it you may just slide free. A downside is it may get in the way during more aggressive surfing.
3. Use a waist leash: Waist leashes attached around the waist with a belt, the release mechanism is on the belt and reachable with either hand.
   An example of a waist leash.
4. Never put your feet down when floating down the river: If you are floating down stream do not stand up. If you have to stand up, swim against the current to slow yourself down as much as possible before standing up.
5. Wear a knife to save others: If a surfer’s leash gets caught you may be able to cut their lease with your knife unless you are to far away or the river is too fast or you left your knife on shore because you never use it.

I hope this article and the ones that follow will help us share information about river surfing dangers and safety so fewer surfers die as river surfing becomes more popular.

This article was brought to you by Neil Egsgard, ARSA President.
Alberta River Surfing Association — RiverSurfing.ca/forum
Surf Anywhere Project — SurfAnywhere.ca

The post Your Life On A Leash: Ankle Leashes Will Kill River Surfers appeared first on Riverbreak.