When stand-up paddleboard racer Spencer Slaven-Lazzar first started paddling around Lake Washington seven years ago, puzzled onlookers would question him, confused as to what exactly a stand-up paddleboard (SUP) was.
“Is that a surfboard?” he said, imitating with lighthearted incredulity in his voice. “Are you walking on water?”
It’s less often Slaven-Lazzar, a 27-year-old auto detailer who lives in Issaquah, gets that type of wonder in the Pacific Northwest nowadays. Paddleboards easily contend with kayaks in popularity on Lake Union and elsewhere around Puget Sound in summertime. The sport has been growing fast among lollygaggers and racers alike.
“(Paddleboarding is) exploding, I’ve never seen anything growing like it,” said Dwight Jones, manager of Seattle’s Elliott Bay Marina and one of the leaders of Paddle for Parkinson’s, a nonprofit that stages races to raise money for research into Parkinson’s disease.
Five-race Paddling Series
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With more paddlers have come more competitions, including this spring’s five-race Seafair Northwest Paddling Series. A collaboration of the Northwest Marine Trade Association and Seafair, it benefits the Parkinson’s organization.
Two of the races have already been run. The third is May 9 on Lake Sammamish, leading toward a capstone event Aug. 1 when SUP racers will loop the Lake Washington hydroplane course in front of hydro fans — a likely live audience of tens of thousands — in a 4-mile championship the Saturday of Seafair Weekend. The race will also be televised.
For local stand-up paddlers, it’s a high-profile validation of their sport.
Slaven-Lazzar, who has already earned one of 15 men’s qualifying spots in the championship, remembered the scarce numbers from his first race in Washington, Mercer Island’s “Round the Rock” loop. In 2009, the 13-mile race had about 75 entrants. Last year, there were almost 200.
“I’ve seen (paddleboarding) grow exponentially,” said Renick Woods, another racing paddleboarder who is expecting to qualify for Seafair.
Surfing roots
Slaven-Lazzar first learned about SUPing through magazines featuring legendary surfers such as Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama, who incorporated paddleboarding into their Hawaiian surfing lifestyle.
As an aspiring surfer growing up on Mercer Island, Slaven-Lazzar’s access to the water was easy. Finding waves, not so much.
“We can’t always get to the coast and go surfing but we live on an island,” Slaven-Lazzar said, describing his thought process when he began paddleboarding. “Let’s get some of these boards and surf on the lake, and get the experience of being on the water.”
For many racers, an original interest in surfing sparked them to take up paddleboarding.
Woods, 39, a graphic designer in Ballard, started SUPing after growing up surfing during summers spent on the East Coast and at Westport, Grays Harbor County. Following a knee injury, he couldn’t surf but wanted to get out on the water while recovering. He quickly took to the sport and has been racing ever since.
Ballard’s Sarah Sandstrom, a 35-year-old fisheries biologist, is a top contender to win the women’s Seafair race. She started out surfing in California, and now likes to paddle in the Columbia River Basin of Central Washington and on Puget Sound. While surfers have been influential in starting the SUP scene, outsiders are always welcomed, she said.
Beginners to elite
What tips do these accomplished racers offer newcomers to the sport? Some basics: Bend your knees, face waves head-on and keep your paddle in the water if you’re losing balance.
But most important, Woods said, don’t be afraid to fall in the water — just be sure to leap safely clear of the board.
The learning curve is relatively easy for the sport’s basic skills, a huge factor in the growth of paddleboarding, Jones said. While not everyone can immediately sprint 10-minute miles, standing can be grasped quickly enough.
A skeptic might point out that kayaks are easier to maneuver and balance, with less chance of falling in. But Slaven-Lazzar said standing offers greater freedom, and the workout is more entertaining.
“You have the ability to move your whole body,” Sandstrom said.
“When you’re on a paddleboard you can see down into the water,” added Woods, who likes to paddle on Shilshole Bay where seals and other wildlife are prevalent. “It makes exploring and being out there different.”
Paddleboards have become easier to find and cheaper to buy and rent, too, adding to the influx of those dabbling in the activity.
Even now, though, Woods said it’s not difficult to find peace and quiet on the water if you know the spots.
“With surfing, when you’re surfing a point — there’s only so many waves to go around per hour so it can get crowded,” he said. “Out here (paddleboarding), it doesn’t matter, you can paddle wherever you want.”
If you go
The next Seafair Northwest Paddling Series race is Saturday, May 9, as part of Northwest Paddling Festival at Lake Sammamish State Park, Issaquah.
The festival (May 8-9) features paddle-sports vendors offering canoes, kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, paddling equipment and accessories. Events include guided kayak tours, SUP Jousting, and Kayak Polo.
For newbies, First Time SUPin’ clinics are offered, on a simulator or on water.
Free admission; $7 to try watercraft. Parking: $10, or free with Discover Pass.
The 6-mile Seafair qualifying race is at 10:30 a.m. May 9. A 2-mile race is 12:30 p.m. Open to all. Cost to register: $35 for either race. Top three SUP finishers, male and female, advance to Seafair championship.
Other SUP races
Final qualifying races in the Seafair series are both in Seattle:
• Alki Paddling Challenge, June 27, on Alki Point
• ZICO SUP Competition, on Green Lake, July 11
The championship is 5 p.m. Aug. 1 on the Seafair hydroplane course, off Seattle’s Genessee Park, on Lake Washington.
More information
• Seafair Northwest Paddling Series: nwpaddlingseries.com
• Northwest Paddling Festival: northwestpaddlingfestival.com