We talked to avid surfer Honza Maršík from Surfwave about how surfing dreams come true, where the best waves are and that it's no fun to build your own artificial one in the middle of the city.
Honza, how did you get into surfing in the first place?
I was snowboarding a lot and a lot of the guys on the mountain were raving about how cool surfing was, so I didn't hesitate too much and decided to give it a try too.
It's love at first pitch, right? Where have you experienced the best waves?
Yes. It's hard to pick one specific place, but I've had some really good waves in Indonesia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and the Canary Islands.
When there are so many great spots, what made you want to build an artificial wave in the country?
I've been to Munich a few times and loved the surfing on the Isar River there, at the legendary Eisbach spot. Seeing a guy on a bike in Munich riding a surfboard and wetsuit is a pretty normal thing, even if the nearest ocean is hundreds of kilometers away :-). I thought it would be cool to have a wave like that here. But back then I was still traveling a lot and trying to be in the mountains or by the ocean as much as possible. The right moment came around 2010 when my first daughter was born and I started to live more of a family life. That was the time when the first concrete things started to happen towards the realization of the first artificial wave in the country.
So you were inspired in Munich. But how do you create such a wave, what is needed to make it happen?
Some places are lucky enough to have a wave in a river that is created by nature or by accident during construction work, but the aim is something completely different. This is also the case with the Eisbach in Munich. It's a nice, fast and powerful wave, and that's why I've been finding out every last detail of how it works. I have an accurate drawing of the bottom of the channel under the wave, data on the flow, depth and speed of the water, etc. I've had many hours of discussions with local surfers and water engineers. The goal was to get as close to it as possible, but unfortunately we lack such good conditions in CR. When building a wave, each place requires a different solution and individual approach. It's not like you build an obstacle according to some instructions, throw it into the river and surf :-). Building a wave is a complicated and complex thing that is not easy to explain. Moreover, it is not a cheap affair and for example in Innsbruck (where conditions are very good) they have been trying unsuccessfully to build a wave for 8 years...
Your wave was self-made, right? How long did it take?
I started actively looking for a suitable location for the wave in 2010. After two years, I had to abandon my original plan of an artificial wave somewhere in the countryside outside of populated areas where surfers would gather and enjoy surfing on the river. Unfortunately, such a place does not exist in the country. There is always the problem of water scarcity, hydroelectric power, fishermen, boaters or conservation. So I had to proceed to plan B. Make an agreement with the boaters and build a wave in the channel for water slalom. Some of its parameters allow the implementation of a wave, but again there was a problem with the attitude of people in the leadership of the sports clubs, who were not very keen on surfing in a "boating" channel. :-)
Finally, the best deal I got was in Brandys nad Labem with Ondra, who was just starting to revive the local 20 years dilapidated canal. In 2013, after thorough preparations, I started to modify the bottom and install the first parts of the obstacle. Tuning the right shape of the wave lasted until the summer of 2014, when the wave was opened to the public and the first riversurfing spot in the Czech Republic was created. The budget for building the wave was very limited, we could not find any sponsor or investor. I paid for everything out of my own pocket and spent almost all my free time here. Of course, I also went to a normal job. Here I have to say a big thank you to my family, who were very understanding and helped me a lot. Another thanks to my friends and other enthusiasts who helped me for a token fee or volunteered to help me.
You follow the latest trends in artificial wave building and related fields. What's coming up now?
Yes I do follow and am constantly in touch with friends and colleagues in the surf community who have built artificial waves elsewhere in the world or are looking to build them. We visit each other, surf and exchange experiences and information. This is very important because there is no substitute for practical experience. Theory and computer modelling are fine, but in practice the water always behaves a little differently than you expect. Surfing without the ocean, whether in rivers, surf pools or surfparks is a phenomenon that has experienced a huge boom in the last 10 years. All over the world there are more and more places where you can surf without having to travel to the ocean. The culmination of this effort is the inclusion of surfing in the Olympic Games program, where in the future surfing will be competed on an artificial wave in a surf park.
Do you have any places in the Czech Republic where another similar wave could be built? Are you planning to expand to the world?
We are not going to expand to the world :-) I have some other places in the Czech Republic, but unfortunately I can't reveal them yet.
Sadly. Besides surfing under the castle, you're also organizing a surfing holiday, right? Tell us more about it.
I have a very good friend who is from the Canary Islands. He's a nice and cheerful person who is also a great surfer and teacher. He runs a certified surf school and has been organizing surf camps for more than 15 years. We get a lot of beginners who come to our wave to try surfing for the first time and often ask where the best place to go to the ocean for the first time is. Tenerife is the perfect place both in terms of waves and other activities. The content of the holiday can be more individual than at the classic surfcamps, but the programme is of course similar. Accommodation in a stylish surfhouse just off the beach, surfing with an instructor, equipment rental for the whole stay, transport to spots around the island depending on conditions, a trip to Turtle
Bay on SUP, a trip to the volcano Pico del Teide or Masca Gorge or other activities by individual agreement. More info here http://www.surfwave.cz/surfcamp/
It sounds like a complete idyll. But let's get back to your wave now. When can people ride?
The ride is every day for 2 hours. The wave is open from 6pm to 8pm on weekdays, and from 2pm to 4pm on weekends and holidays. Our wave is also suitable for complete beginners who have never surfed but would like to give it a try. There is surfboard and wetsuit rental on site, just bring your old knickers and go surfing! We also offer surf lessons, where you have an instructor with you the whole time and you improve faster.
For all the surfers out there- Thanks Honzo, we love to come and enjoy this great wave.
Who will you give this amazing experience to?
