The secret’s out. Eleven-time world champ Kelly Slater took to Instagram a couple of days ago to show off the first waves ridden as his new wave pool, Surf Abu Dhabi.
Surf Abu Dhabi’s claim to fame (okay, one of them) is being the “world’s longest ride, biggest barrel, and largest man-made wave pool.”
It’s powered by the Kelly Slater Wave Company, the same technology behind Slater’s Surf Ranch in Lemoore, California. As Slater is known for doing, he invited a group of the world’s best surfers to test the wave pool and the clips keep coming.
Australian eight-time world champ Stephanie Gilmore was lucky enough to get an invite and surf the legendary pool along with Filipe Toledo, Strider Wasilewski, Caroline Marks, and Gabriel Medina.
Her post features a couple of still shots of the wave with the already iconic Abu Dhabi backdrop, a clip her getting the “world’s longest ride,” and a shot of her throwing a solid shaka.
Gilmore shared the post above today and captioned it:
“What a trip! Thank you @kellyslater@kswaveco and @surfabudhabi for the invite to Abu Dhabi.
“A world class wave in the UAE! Thank you for making us feel incredibly welcome and congratulations for bringing the project to life! #SurfAbuDhabi #ByModon #HudayriyatIsland#FindYourWave“
The pros–all former world champs–got chatty in the comments section:
Slater said: “Newest backhand barrel master!”
Carissa Moore commented: “Looks insane.”
Slater offered her an invite: “Gotta get you out here soon. You’d love it.”
Joel Parkinson wrote: “The goat in the goat’s pool”
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