Saturday, May 7, 2011

103 Feet High and Rising (a 2011 preseason paddle)

Welcome back to the third season of the Stand Up Paddle Vermont blog! All eyes in April and May have been on Lake Champlain as it has risen beyond 103 feet above sea level.

This is a record height for the lake and homeowners along the shore are dealing with immense flooding and wave damage. A disaster area for northwest Vermont has been declared and FEMA agents are on their way to survey the damage.

This is a serious situation for sure, but our curiosity took us out on the water to play around nonetheless in what was a very unique spring Stand Up Paddle in and around the Burlington waterfront.

High water means lots of debris as the Champlain basin rivers empty out ...

A different kind of playground at Perkins Pier.

Soft light as the sun went down ... Looking west (above) and looking east (below) with downtown B-Town as a backdrop.

One of the best Lake front eateries, Breakwaters, was completely swamped. It's a sad sight and will take a big effort to recover from. Wishing the best for a full recovery this spring.