Prince Harry Drops $50k to Surf Kelly Slater’s Wave Pool (Video)
Since Kelly Slater first unveiled his Frankenstein monster of a wave pool to the world back in 2015, the Surf Ranch, as it’s come to be known, has been at the upper echelon of synthetic surfing – both in terms of quality, and exclusivity to ride the coveted wave.
As such, it’s been a hotspot for celebrity surf sightings.
One usual suspect at the Surf Ranch is Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, who stepped back from the royal family with his wife Meghan Markle, to split their time between the UK and US. And while Harry has been stateside, he’s been honing in his skills at Slater’s wave pool, under the tutelage of surf coach to the stars, Raimana van Bastolaer.
In Raimana’s latest clip from the Ranch, he shows his good buddy Harry, adeptly navigating the tube section, captioning: “Cannot stop you my brother for having a good time.”
Previously, Markle posted a video of her husband surfing the manmade wave in Lemoore, California, which sparked criticism due to Harry’s environmental activism.
Commenters wrote:
“Eco-Warrior Harry, who lives on the Californian coast, drives inland to an artificial surf school that uses vast amounts of vast amounts of energy to create waves.”
“That’s not surfing, that’s simply cruising on a man made wave machine.”
And so on.
However, the wave pool has made it point to have its facility as environmentally-friendly as possible, utilizing the likes of “solar-powered wave generation system, sustainable building materials like crushed shells and upcycled foam dust for roadways, and a commitment to eliminating single-use plastics,” per GQ.
But that doesn’t mean a session at the Surf Ranch is cheap. It’s anything but.
According to reports, a private session will set you back quite a few gees. From our post on every wave pool in the world, it’s noted:
“High-season daily rental is around $70,000, while low-season costs are $50,000. Daily per person rate (at 10 surfers) is $5K to $7K. Hourly cost per person works out to $875 High Season $625 Low Season. For 12 waves, it works out to $425-to-$575 per wave or $9.50-to-$12.75 per second.”
Does money buy happiness? In this case, it appears so.