Water Safety campaigners join forces as they paddleboard to Parliament
The challenge along the River Thames aims to raise awareness and money for charity
Last updated 9th Jul 2026
Campaigner Sam Foyle has so far raised almost £40,000 as he paddleboards the length of the River Thames to Parliament to promote water safety.
Mr Foyle has campaigned for changes after he lost his best friend Simon Flynn in a paddleboarding ankle entrapment accident on Cornwall's Camel Estuary in August 2020.
This week he's being joined on legs of the route by others who have lost loved ones, leading industry members, and members of the RNLI and governing body Paddle UK.
Mr Foyle said: "There's a number of things that still need to change in the industry around ankle leashes and when they are worn, the education of it and manufacturers in terms of what they are selling."
"Having been on the River Thames for the past six days, every day from 630am until 630pm I've seen 75 people - I've counted as I've got a lot of time on my hands as you can imagine doing this - and only three have been wearing waist leashes.
"There's been three or four that are not wearing any leashes at all and the rest were all wearing ankle leashes, and that shows I've still got a lot to do."
Last year more than 200 people died accidentally in the water across the UK and a decade-long water safety strategy ends this year with no agreement yet announced about what will replace it for 2027 and onwards.
Stewart McLean has also this week joined the challenge on the Thames after he lost wife Julia Hamilton through leash entrapment.
The 57 year old went paddleboarding on May 31, 2024, something she had done many times before with husband Stewart, and she was described by him as a 'stickler for rules and safety' and that day followed the guidance which came with the board suggesting she wore an ankle leash.
Mr McLean said he wanted to join Sam's challenge because 'my heart breaks because I know the grief and the pain that the families are going to go through'.
"It is just trying to get the message out that water on a hot day - but any day - is dangerous."
Also on the water was Sarah Thornely, founder of the SUPjunkie blog, who is a multi-award-nominated media personality and former British SUP champion - who has campaigned for those buying boards to get more information and lessons.
She said: "Someone can just go and buy a paddleboard and say it's a stunning day and I'm just going to go out on the water.
"If you've never had any experience of water - and I'm one of those people I never did. I would go down to the beach when I was a kid and swim but had no understanding of tides, wind or river flow and which side of the river to paddle on."
The money raised by Sam is being split between the Simon Flynn Foundation in the Gloucestershire teacher's memory 'to help remove obstacles that may prevent children having the opportunity to learn and thrive' and Devon-based charity Above Water, founded by Torbay lifeguard and multiple paddleboarding world record holder Brendon Prince.
Mr Prince said: "From the charity's perspective over 50 per cent of the schools we visit do not teach swimming and do not teach water safety. That is an accumulation of issues with funding, Covid and lack of swimming pools."
The latest figures, for 2025, show the number of RNLI related call outs to rescue paddleboarders was 133 in 2024 and 160 in 2025.
Sam Hughes from the RNLI said: "We know when there's a heatwave, particularly over 25 degrees, we see more accidental drownings.
"That's really tragic and really sad and we know that's preventable."
Paddleboarding is the UK's fastest growing water sport and a new national Governing Body - called PADDLE UK has been created to oversee both the competitive and safety sides of the sport.
Lee Pooley, from Paddle UK said: "We're working with retailers and manufacturers. We've got 24 non-specialist retailers the like of Tesco, Sainsbury's, Amazon, eBay, that we are working with to ensure that they are putting out the appropriate point of sale information to those people purchasing boards for the first time."
Where can I find advice for buying or using a paddleboard?
Click here for a wide range of advice and articles about paddleboarding from the new joint governing body, which is a partnership between the newly rebranded Paddle UK and Surf England