Page 13 - July_2014

Mary Robinson learns to paddle at the Waterbury Reservoir.
Photo by Evan Johnson
VENTILATION

had 43 percent of first-time participants The choice is yours, but for us on
in 2013.
the Waterbury Reservoir, the boards un- German Engineered Since 1898
*********** der our feet made for an easygoing trip. It
SUP got its start in Hawaii about
was a quiet evening and the views stand-
NEW
a decade ago and has eventually worked ing up were great, and that’s exactly what
its way inland, moving from one large we were looking for – at least for now.
body of water to the next. Jason Starr,
owner of PaddleSurf Champlain, first
encountered the growing sport when he
was living in Colorado while trying to
Here are a few businesses
establish what would become Starr Surf in Vermont that supply SUP
Skis, a variety of boards that allow a
rider to “ski” bigger waves.
equipment or instruction:
It was while working to get his com-
pany started that Starr became attuned to RENTALS AND INSTRUCTION:
trends in the broader surfing community

in 2007. One of the manufacturers Starr Clearwater Sports
FUTURA PRO 42 & 34 SL
was working with told him about the va- Waitsfield, Mad River Valley
riety of paddleboards he also made.
www.clearwatersports.com
Patitucci Photo
“That’s when I really caught wind Visit www.deuter.com
of it,” he said. “What really sparked me Paddlesurf Champlain
Oakledge Park, Burlington
to start the business was looking at what
was going on in Lake Tahoe.”
www.paddlesurfchamplain.com
“I always felt that Lake Tahoe and
Lake Champlain were kind of kindred WND&WVS
lakes,” he says. “It was like whatever was Lake Champlain, Burlington
going on at Lake Tahoe could definitely www.wndnwvs.com

happen on Lake Champlain.”
Later, in 2009, in addition to start- Northshore
ing his own company, Starr Surf Skis, he Lake Champlain, Saint Albans
opened his own SUP guiding service that www.kitensail.com
he bases out of Oakledge Park on Burl-
ington’s waterfront.
Umiak

“Champlain is good because you Waterbury Reservoir, Lake Champlain
get a variety of conditions,” he says. “You Stowe and S. Burlington
can have flat days, you can have moderate www.umiak.com
wind and moderate waves, and then you
can have some really significant wind and Vermont Canoe & Kayak
Lamoille River
waves, which adds a challenge element to
stand up paddling.”
www.vermontcanoeandkayak.com
Starr focuses most of his work on
introducing people to the sport and de- RENTALS:
veloping habits that they can use for SUP
as well as transitioning to surfing. While Middlebury Mountaineer, Middlebury
www.mmvt.com
Champlain isn’t known for surf breaks,
big weather events can create swells from
two to four feet – and if that wind is head- First Trax Sports Shop, West Dover
ing onshore, that can create swells as high www.firsttraxsportsshop.com
as five feet.
“While it’s not exactly the surfing that Equipe Sports, West Dover
www.equipesport.com
many know, that doesn’t mean it’s any less
fun... It’s definitely different from ocean
surfing, but it can happen,” he says. “And Stratton Mountain, Stratton
when you get experience with the sport, www.stratton.com
those are the days you start to look for.”
SUPs have been used to cross Lake Village Sports Shop, Lyndon

Champlain and many proponents use www.villagesportshop.com
them to surf ocean waves, as well as
cruise through class IV rapids in larger
rivers.

JULY 2014
VTSPORTS.COM 13