IN IMAGES – A wave of surfing on the river in the heart of Annecy
No more sand and salt water. It is now possible to surf in the heart of Annecy, on the Thiou at Cran-Gevrier. A wave of river surfing was inaugurated this Saturday, November 20, by the association “Freshwater surfers“. The artificial wave is formed thanks to a system of valves, which allows water to pass on a slope, then former a vortex using an underwater module. It has been in the experimental phase since the month. of March and for the moment, only members of the association can surf.
Ocean and river, two different techniques
Surfing in a river is a big first for Thomas.
It’s complicated to find your balance. There the water comes under you, against you and takes you back. You have to stay static. While in the ocean, you advance with the wave that pushes you.
For Julien, member of the association, “it is very different. There we sit on the structure and we are immediately on the wave. In the ocean, you have to know how to position yourself, go where the wave is, there are many more parameters to take into account. It’s very nice to have a mountain environment, we have a good time and we share it with our friends.“
“Biodiversity is not changed”
Laurent tightens the floodgates. He participated in the creation of the installation. “I closed the valves on the right side so that the water went a little more to the left side. To make the wave, we just added the ramp, the springboard, and the two wooden modules for channeling. The small waterfall was already there, the valve system too, abandoned. We use this already existing to surf it. The biodiversity of the river is therefore not modified.“To create the wave, everything depends on the water flow of the river (the wave requires between 10 and 20 cubic meters of water per second), and therefore on the rain.