Paddleboarding patron

her own terms, rather than as a wife and mother, and she had become quite insular.

Looking back, Jo can see that an outlet like NWR could have made a big difference in this respect, and this is one of the things that attracts her to our organisation. It is a space where women can talk to each other with confidence and in their own right, and not feel alone with their difficulties. She loves not just that we are continually learning, but also the fact that we are active participants in that learning.

A passion for paddleboarding and beach cleaning, a successful first book, speaking engagements aplenty— new NWR patron Jo Moseley could be poster girl for the fulfilled, fifty-something female, but 10 years ago things were a little different. Judith Charlton finds out more.

When Jo took her first paddleboarding lesson seven years ago, it wasn’t her first experience of water sports. She had been a keen swimmer, scuba diver and snorkeller when she was younger and, after studying social anthropology at university, successfully applied for places on a number of trips to far flung places—the Phillipines, Alaska, even leading an expedition to Tanzania. Then, as now, it was a question of looking for opportunities, and taking them.

Next came marriage and children. Working for her husband’s business alongside raising two boys left Jo with little time for adventures until the day in 2013 when “I found myself sobbing in the biscuit aisle of Tesco’s, looking at the chocolate Hobnobs and wondering how my life had come to this.” The stresses and strains of divorce and two parents undergoing chemotherapy at the same time were taking their toll. At this point, a friend lent Jo an old rowing machine, suggesting that exercise might be helpful. It was, and things started to turn around.

The next year, a rowing challenge in memory of her mum raised £10,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support. Living in rural Yorkshire, she was able to pursue the outdoor life that she loved, and finally take that paddleboarding lesson.

But how did Jo get from there to here, I wondered, making the transition from paddleboarding as a hobby to part of her career? Step by step, was the answer. In 2019, she became the first woman to stand up paddleboard coast to coast, 162 miles from Liverpool to Goole. Along the way she picked up litter and raised funds for The Wave Project and 2MinuteBeachClean Foundation. She made a film about it and then in lockdown, as well as starting a podcast, she started on her book. The book did well, speaking engagements followed, as did an idea for her next book. There was no grand plan, just the question “What can I do next?”

Finding herself a single mum also provided impetus. Her divorce had left her feeling quite broken, and she had to think of what she could do to bring joy and restore confidence.

Marriage, and the fact that she also worked with her husband, had left her few opportunities to go out and meet people on https://www.jomoseley.com/ Instagram @jomoseley

One of Jo’s other big enthusiasms is for the environment, something her hobbies make her keenly aware of, and she is an ambassador for the 2MinuteBeachClean Foundation. Her guiding motto is that “I can’t change the whole world but I can change the little bit around me.” For her, the focus is on her daily litter picks and reducing the single use plastic in her life, for others it may be eating less meat, giving up flying or not buying new clothes. The important thing is to do the things you can do, and to share the message—it could be the nudge that someone else has been waiting for.

Asked which of her achievements she is most proud of, Jo’s response was that, apart from being a mum, it was her book. She is well aware that it is no easy matter to get a book published in the first place, and this book is already on its first reprint, sales having far exceeded expectation. It has also given her the opportunity to share her enthusiasm for the natural world and her paddleboarding hobby.

Jo’s next book will be on paddleboarding in the Lake District, so please come forward if you are a paddleboarding local, now is your chance to be immortalised in print! Or take it up—it is easier than you might imagine and very good for core and balance. Age is no bar, and women are generally good at it. Jo would love to hear from you!

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Find out more about Jo’s book: https://tinyurl.com/3xcfpejp