BILLINGS — Oasis Water Park opened its newest attraction, the Ripbreak WaveSurfer, to the public Sunday, a first in North America.
“We are excited to open this venue to the public for a truly unique experience,” said Chuck Barthuly, Oasis’ chief operating officer. “You have to travel miles to experience something like this, and right here in Billings, in our small, landlocked city, we can really ride a wave.” (CHUCK)
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Barthuly was inspired to bring WaveSurfer to Oasis after testing one on vacation, and with the help of a large donation from Harvest Church, Barthuly and his team were able to make that dream a reality within a few years.
The Ripbreak is an artificial wave machine that allows anyone to surf on wave boards. While there are other similar wave riders in the country, this particular brand, WaveSurfer, is based in Belgium and is the first time such a machine has been built in America. The surfboard is wider and longer in the back for added safety than most standard wave riders.
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“It has some unique features that other brands don’t have, and I personally think it’s the best brand, just in terms of safety, the experience you get and the ease of being successful,” Barthuly said.
Karel Dubois is the CEO of WaveSurfer Belgium and travels all over the world to install his wave surfers. The machine parts also come directly from Belgium.
“We are unique in that we are the only ones in the world that do the engineering, design, production, installation and also training. We also have our own operating facilities,” Dubois said.
Dubois spent 12 days in Billings and participated in a three-day training session for Oasis staff to ensure everything runs smoothly before it goes into full operation.
“I’m extremely pleased with Montana, how they’re experiencing this as a whole community. The people are very nice, in their interactions, and the teaching was also incredible; it was one of the best groups we’ve ever had for training,” Dubois said.
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The water park was busy on Sunday afternoon with their first guests trying out the surfer.
“It seems like this new attraction has taken over. It’s a lot of fun,” Andy Pentland said.
Ripbreak is also easy to learn, as many have quickly discovered after playing a few times.
“It’s a lot of fun to ride. It’s very difficult to get started, but once you get the hang of it, it’s good,” said Spencer Pentland and Abe Gumbij.
Barthuly said the park felt it had previously lacked attractions for teens and young adults, and hopes this new addition to the park will add more reasons for all ages to enjoy the Oasis.
“We hoped that we would just be a place where families could all come and create those fun, lasting memories that would leave an indelible mark on their childhood where, ‘Remember when we used to go to Oasis and just get carried away?’” Barthuly said.
On opening day, the Ripbreak looked like it might be able to accomplish just that.
“Small guys, big guys, as old as me, I mean, there’s older guys that ride it and they seem to have a lot of fun, and it doesn’t cause a lot of pain. So I think it’s fun,” Pentland said.
Sessions to book a time slot to surf the wave can be found here.
