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Journey’s end.
Not a moving boat in sight as Jason paddles his way along the canal.
Paddleboarder stands up to highlight plastic pollution in waterways By Janet Richardson
Jason meets volunteers from Burnley FC in the Community cleaning up the canal.
Why paddleboard?
Stand-up paddleboarding is not only the world’s fastest growing watersport but THE fastest growing sport, Jason said. It has become much more popular over the last five years and among the first people to practice it were surfing instructors in Hawaii so they could speak to more people on the water. “The thing about paddleboarding is you can choose your level of intensity,” explained Jason. “There are many different shades of grey in between and you can do it on any body of water and at any degree of fitness. “Part of the motivation for doing this trip at this time of year is to show people that not only is the
canal network open and usable but so is paddleboarding. A lot of people use the towpaths for walking their dogs and cycling but they are not using the water and if more young people could get on the water they would have more respect for that environment.” Although more expensive than a kayak, which you can buy secondhand on eBay for around £30, a good stand-up paddleboard costing a couple of hundred pounds is still a low-cost way of getting afloat, Jason said. “With canoes you have got to get in and out of the canoe and the water but with paddleboards it is easier as you are standing up. I hope it is something I can keep doing into my 80s!”
WEST Yorkshire recycling company boss, Jason Elliott of Hebden Bridge, has paddled his way from Bootle to Goole to raise awareness of waterborne plastic waste. He followed the Desmond Family Canoe Trail on his stand-up paddleboard, taking 10 days to complete the 162-mile journey along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, River Aire and Aire & Calder Navigation, finishing near the Yorkshire Waterways Museum on February 16. Jason, 54, has also been raising money for marine conservation and campaigning charity Surfers Against Sewage, which aims to protect the UK coastlines and at the time of going to press, his Just Giving appeal had already exceeded his £2000 target. There is still time to support his effort – see website address in the panel on the facing page.
A lifelong surfer, canoeist and paddleboarder, Jason is the managing director of British Recycled Plastic in Hebden Bridge, a company he started to be part of the solution to the problem of plastic waste. He told Towpath Talk that Surfers Against Sewage was primarily involved in coastal campaigns but now realised that a lot of the problems are inland so are starting to get involved here too. “The Canal & River Trust spends over £1 million every year removing litter f ro m towpaths and waterways and they do a great job… but the plastic problem is not going away. The biggest
difference we can make is by moving away from single use plastic packaging and disposing of our waste responsibly – something each and every one of us can do.” Jason referred to the degree of rubbish he had encountered, particularly in the Blackburn area of East Lancashire. He commented on how clean it was when he entered West Yorkshire and it was not until he reached Leeds that there was any noticeable waste in the water. “Councils have a duty to lead the fight against waste but they don’t whereas in my home part of Calderdale they tackle it head-on. “What was di sapp ointing was the number of plastic coal sacks in the water where there were narrowboats moored. Please make a bit more of an effort to secure and dispose of them properly.”
“What was disappointing was the number of plastic coal sacks in the water where there were narrowboats moored. Please make a bit more of an effort to secure and dispose of them properly.”
Swan alert
A rare sight as a narrowboat comes into view.
Plastic waste apart, Jason’s worst moments on his journey were when he was set upon by aggressive swans. “I had just gone through Foulridge Tunnel – one of the first paddleboarders to do so since it was opened to paddle craft – when a swan saw me and made a beeline for me. “It took about an hour to shake it off and I lost my sunglasses when another swan went for me near Skipton. However I developed a strategy after finding that swans were less likely to attack if I stood up straight on my board.” On the plus side were the sightings of other birds including kingfishers – “I saw about a dozen along the way which was a real treat” – and herons.