Cal Major - World Records, Night Paddling, Ocean Optimism and Finding Joy in Tiny Moments

I am thrilled to launch the first series of The Joy of SUP with an interview with Cal Major, a friend and true inspiration to me and many in the paddleboarding community.

Cal Major is an ocean advocate, world record stand up paddle boarder and veterinary surgeon. She founded Paddle Against Plastic in 2016 to bring a positive message to the plastic pollution crisis, and to inspire and empower positive change through stand up paddle boarding adventures.

Her 2018 expedition saw her SUP the length of the UK, from Land’s End to John O’Groats. She was awarded the Prime Minister’s Points of Light award on World Oceans Day to celebrate her campaigns and efforts to conserve our oceans.

Cal is passionate about connecting people to nature, to protect mental health, and to drive a desire to protect our natural world. As such, she is currently working on setting up the charity The Vitamin Sea Project. Cal loves to engage people through public speaking, writing and film. She lives in Devon where she surfs, kitesurfs and sea swims whenever possible.

In this episode, we talk about Cal's incredible adventures paddling round Cornwall, the Isle of Skye and the length of the UK and her films Skye's The Limit and Vitamin Sea (which you can access on her website).

We also get the most recent news on her mental health charity work, qualifying as a SUP instructor and hopes for making paddleboarding available to more young people. Cal shares her own mental health journey and the connections she made when cycling the country touring her film Vitamin Sea.

There's her Mum's homemade flapjack, the support of HM Coastguard, puffins galore and how joy in tiny moments in nature help her start her day.

It was an absolute honour and joy to interview Cal. She very generously gave me so much great advice on my own SUP adventure and inspired me to make films about paddleboarding with the words "just write and film what brings you joy."

You can follow Cal on Instagram @cal_major, on Twitter at @calmajor_ and her website CalMajor.com.

Cal is an Ambassador for Palm, Kleen Kanteen, Dryrobe, the Midlands Cooperative, Keen and Starboard.  She trained as a SUP Instructor with Water Skills Academy.  To see more of James Appleton's beautiful work find him on Instagram @jamesappletonphotography.

Thank you for listening! I do hope you enjoyed the podcast. If you have any questions or would like to suggest a guest please get in touch! My email is thejoyofsuppodcast@gmail.com and our Instagram page is @thejoyofsuppodcast_  Follow #thejoyofsuppodcast on Twitter and Instagram.  The website is jomoseley.com.

Wishing sunshine and joy, please always put safety first and thank you for joining us. See you again soon. Jo @thejoyofsuppodcast_

Please note: Cal talks about depression and the suicide of her close friend in this episode.