Jason Starr displays half of a set of Starr Surf Skis he developed to ski down the face of a wave. Photo by Chris Braithwaite
WEST GLOVER — Jason Starr of Colchester grew up skiing, but didn’t try surfing until the year he graduated from college, about 20 years ago.
The idea struck almost immediately, and he’s never been able to let it go.
“The idea was to use waves as a slope to ski on,” Mr. Starr said Monday during an interview on the shores of Parker Pond, where the waves are very small.
On the surfboard, he recalled, “I was making that heel-toe snowboard-style turn.” The question that came to mind: “Why can’t I be making that ski turn?”
The answer, after five years of work on the Starr Surf Ski, is that he can. The day after Hurricane Bill did its worst on the east coast in August, Mr. Starr took his set of prototype skis into the surf off Maine.
“They work pretty well,” Mr. Starr reported. “They carve a turn — which is a pretty big thing.”
To support a skier who weighs up to 150 pounds, the surf skis are pretty big, much longer than Mr. Starr is tall. He’s developed a second design, a much lighter ski that can’t support a person who isn’t moving, but can be towed into big waves by a Jet Ski, then released.
Mr. Starr said he’s also ridden his skis on the wake of a motor boat, powered by the wave itself.
“Any wave anyone is surfing, I’m trying to ski.”
As he demonstrated on Parker Pond, the skis can also be used to stride across flat water with the aid of a long paddle, using a leg motion much like that of a cross-country skier.
But Mr. Starr doesn’t believe his invention’s future is on flat water. That’s a better medium for the stand up paddlesurf boards he demonstrates and sells on Lake Champlain. These look like big, stable sail boards without the sail, powered by a long paddle.
Mr. Starr’s imagination is clearly captured by the idea of carving ski turns across the face of waves. Much of his time has gone into the study of the patent process, he said, and he’s obtained a “method patent” on the idea of towing athletes into waves on skis.
Mr. Starr relies on others to produce the prototypes he’s designed. “Because I’m not that adept at building things with my hands,” he said, “I’ve had to work with people who are.”
Among companies he’s found who are willing to experiment with his designs is one that makes water skiing equipment for people who are disabled.
Meanwhile, Mr. Starr supports himself as a journalist on the Essex Reporter and Colchester Sun, two Chittenden County weekly newspapers.
The pace of his development efforts, he said with a smile, reflects that income source.
He acknowledges politely that he does, indeed, have an idea how much money he’s invested in his surf ski, but would prefer not to share that information.
“I know there’s this desire to ski waves,” he said. “I hope to get someone else involved.”
That someone, he said, would have the means to see the idea through to a product that could be produced in quantity and marketed.
“I’m trying to prove there’s a market right now, that the concept works,” he said. “Beyond that I don’t have any concrete plans.”
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