Why do so many of us find peace and contentment while on open water?
Adventures on the Water: The power of paddleboarding to change lives explores the uplifting and restorative power of stand-up paddleboarding (SUP). Compiled and edited by passionate paddleboarder and adventure advocate Jo Moseley, it features personal stories and collected wisdom from a wide range of Jos fellow paddlers. Immerse yourself in the physical and mental health benefits of paddleboarding, as well as the warm and inclusive community around the sport.
If youre a new paddler, youll learn about the diverse and welcoming SUP community in Shilpa Rasaiahs story, who paddled the length of the Grand Union Canal at the age of nearly sixty. Experienced boarders and wildlife lovers will be interested in world-record adventurer and charity founder Cal Majors story, as she describes encounters with orca and her feelings of fear while paddling at night on a traverse of Scotlands coastline. Find out about SUP yoga from Kathy Marston, who recounts how it gives her the space to process her anxiety and move through life with more resilience. If you want to see what adventures are possible on a paddleboard, read about extreme sports enthusiast Dean Dunbar who, despite being registered blind, took on a daring Atlantic Ocean paddle from North Uist to St Kilda.
Wherever you are on your paddleboarding journey, these stories will uplift you and inspire you to get out on the water.
Introduction
Cal Major: Paddleboarding with orcas
Heather Peacock: SUP surf in the North
Shilpa Rasaiah: Paddleboarding home
Brendon Prince: Circumnavigating Great Britain
Kathy Marston: SUP yoga: embracing the wobble
Anna and James Little: Mother and son racing together
Dale Mears: Father and daughter on the water
Scott Skip Innes and Craig Sawyer: North of ordinary: Yukon 1000
Caroline Dawson: Anything is possible on a paddleboard: the power of
mindset
John Hibbard: The early days
Melody Smith: Healing: my cancer journey
Leeanne MacKay: Blue Space Highland
Simon Hutchinson: Paddleboarding podcast
Clare Osborn: Blue health and blue spaces
Emily King: Knowing where I am meant to be
Gemma Palmer-Dighton: Unearthing unity
Sarah Thornely: From champion on the water to star behind the mic
Linn Van Der Zanden: Scottish Five Islands Challenge
Steph Barnicoat: SUP with a pup
Will Behenna: Designing for inclusive paddleboarding
Daisy Best: Queen of the canals
Adya Misra: Making a difference
Dean Dunbar: Extreme dream to St Kilda
Cathy Miles: Sunrise sun salutations after a stroke
Katie Simmons: A healing journey
Jo Moseley: The joy of SUP: how paddleboarding transforms lives
Contributors
About the editor
Top tips
Acknowledgements
Further reading and links
Jo Moseley came to stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) in her early fifties as a way to heal her knee after an injury. From the moment she stood on a paddleboard on Derwent Water in the Lake District on 24 September 2016, she fell in love. For the first time in a long time, she felt like a warrior not a worrier. In 2019, she became the first woman to paddleboard coast to coast, 162 miles along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the Aire & Calder Navigation, picking up litter and raising money for the 2 Minute Foundation and The Wave Project. A film about her adventure, Brave Enough A Journey Home to Joy by award-winning Frit Tam of Frit Films, has been screened at prestigious adventure festivals including the Kendal Mountain Festival, Keswick Mountain Festival and Shextreme. Jo has written two bestselling books: Stand-up Paddleboarding in Great Britain (2022) and Stand-up Paddleboarding in the Lake District (2024). A single mum of two grown-up sons, she lives on the Yorkshire Coast. She loves sea swimming and paddleboarding at sunrise and does a daily 2 Minute Beach Clean. She is an Ordnance Survey Champion and an ambassador for Seaful. @jomoseley
