Wave machines, and wave pools, were created to recreate nature. It’s pretty much impossible, but with each passing year, technology is getting us closer and closer. Still, though, the real thing can’t be beat, so when you find a wave that is just as perfect as any wave pool, it’s one of the best things in surfing. That, perhaps, is exactly why wave pools will never totally measure up: because the scarcity is what makes those perfect days so perfect. When we’re served up perfection at the push of a button, perfection becomes average.
Nathan Florence recently surfed a wave that wave pools strive to be like. That’s the thing about surfing, though — you can ride artificial waves as much as you want, but if you don’t have the skills to surf a particular natural wave, the frustration is real. You know what you want to do. You know what would be possible. You know someone can do what you want to do, but sometimes, the waves are just a little too hollow, a little too big, a little too fast. Not so with Nathan Florence. Give him the biggest, the hollowest, the fastest waves, and he’ll match power with power, speed with speed, and get as deep as he possibly can. Nathan Florence surfs well enough for pretty much any wave, natural or artificial. Case in point: the video above.
