SUP Mag UK lo-res free to readers April 2014 lo-res free to read | Page 18

Chilika Lake SUP travel
SUP travel to the lake could eventually partially replace more damaging
ways of visiting. Viewing dolphins, in particular, by motorized transport
could eventually make Chilika an unattractive place if left unchecked.

You can find out more about Paul Hyman and
Active 360 by visiting www.active360.co.uk

SUP tourism could boost the local economy with well paid and
enjoyable work such as guiding and coaching, providing boat transport
across the lake and manufacturing SUPs and paddles. Local fishermen
and the many skilled boatmen, who work on the lake, would make ideal
SUP guides – if they are properly trained. They have a detailed
knowledge of the environment and an understanding of risks.
The two brothers who guided us were friendly, skilled boat handlers
and very good cooks. They seemed to enjoy the experience and picked
up SUP very quickly. There are some similarities with SUP and poling
boats after all.
Potential for local boat builders to build SUPs and paddles is obvious.
We visited several working on the lake and discussed manufacturing
with them. They were very interested and keen to try. Plans and kit exist
for SUPs to be built in home workshops from wood and we are confident
that production could be set up in Odisha with minimal fuss. It would be
ideal if this could happen on the shores of Chilika. Visitors could then
pad dle on locally produced equipment which would add to the
experience. Some help with training and sourcing materials may be
required to ensure that equipment is lightweight and high quality, but
this is just detail.

Environmental SUP
Participants in watersports often take an interest in protecting marine
life. They could be encouraged to take part in short duration clean ups
at some of the areas they visit. In this way SUP could not only minimise
any negative impact, but also help improve the environment.
At this stage SUP is a very new sport in India and except for the work of
Sanjay Samantaray and the Surfing Yogis there is no SUP happening in
Odisha – or in North East part of the country. This could soon change, with
some assistance and investment from regional government, and Chilika
could annually have thousands of SUP visitors within five or ten years.

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