Saturday, July 08, 2006

Miami: Surfing U.S.A?


Wouldn't it be cool if after working downtown you could grab your surfboard and walk across Biscayne Boulevard to Museum Park to surf? Or, walking from your dowtown condo over to the park to get in a little surfing before going to work?

The City of Miami Planning department recently revealed a model for the proposed Museum Park (see picture). It shows how they envision incorporating the existing unused ship basin which is well-conceived. But wouldn't it be cool if that basin was transformed into a wave pool for surfing? That would be one long ride! It sits directly opposite the city's designated nightclub district. A "surfing nightclub"? Sure! Why not have a 24-hour surfing spot? And, why not contract with a company that makes these things to build and operate a surfing theme park downtown? It would also appeal to passive recreationalists who would get their rush watching the waves and the surfers from shaded berms and seating along both sides of the channel. And, of course, as always, having a permanent surfing pool would help our chances landing the summer Olympic Games. That's my opinion. What's yours?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

agreed! one of the things miami tragically lacks is good surfing!

Verticus Erectus said...

Well, dude, if we had a surfing pool, we could be, like, stoked forever! Let's petition the politicians!

Anonymous said...

They are already building a wave pool park in Orlando. It's seperate from the one they have at typhoon lagoon. It would be amazing if they built one there.

Anonymous said...

All the bums in the area would hog up the good sets.

Verticus Erectus said...

I like that one, Anonymous. It gave me a good visual. Truth is, once those chi-chi condos start filling up with their rich owners, the bums will be a thing of the past. Those condo owners won't put up with it and the leverage of their campaign dollars will make sure they get what they want. Too bad most of them will be too old to surf. Of course, Hobie Alter is one old rich dude now, if he moved in, it might be a different story.

Verticus Erectus said...

Lou, I sent an email to a company based up there that makes wave pools linking them to this blog. I wanted them to have a heads up about what Miami was planning. Never heard from them-- unlike Gehry's people.

Anonymous said...

haha.

i WISH.

i highly doubt it will ever come to fruition... but it is a nice idea to throw around in one's head.

what could we do, as a community, to really try and help this thing work?

anyone got any good ideas?

i mean, other than sitting here on blogger hoping, that is...

lol.

ANOTHER IDEA:

Tropical Park in Westchester...

That huge, unused lake...

WAVE-POOL?!

I dunno, but I personally have thought about that before.

Anyone else?

Shoot, I'm just looking for ideas anywhere I can find them. ANYTHING.

ANYTHING FOR WAVES!!

Verticus Erectus said...

Surfstar, thanks for commenting. My focus is on downtown Miami. That basin is perfect for a wave pool although the bridge crossing it could be a problem-- that's the City of Miami's planning department's vision and it's cool, but I'm sure they never thought of using that space for a wave pool. Of course, surfing around the bridge columns would add an element of interest to the surfers and the people watching from the bridge and from the sidelines. As for doing something about making it a reality, the first thing is to email city officials stating your wishes linking to this blog. You can find their email contacts on the right of this blog. If they get enough emails and maybe one of them actually surfed (or still surfs), maybe something will happen. It is at least worth the effort.