Row, row, row your boat… right across the sea

Norman and James Beech became the first British father and son to row an ocean when they successfully rowed from La Gomera in the Canaries to Antigua in the Caribbean. At sea for 82 days, they completed the challenge in support of WaterAid.

Norman had ambitions to take part in an ocean voyage from childhood, although he initially thought this would be aboard a sailing boat.

Having seen various teams taking part in the Woodvale Challenge – known as the world’s toughest rowing race – he started thinking about taking part. Participants in the transatlantic rowing race use specially designed self-righting rowing boats.

He didn’t have a rowing partner in mind, but when he shared the idea with the rest of the family James volunteered to row with him. Having cut their teeth on other adventurous pursuits made the father and son ocean rowing partnership a solid one from the word go.

“The daily routine of rowing for two hours on and two hours off for the duration of the crossing is as much a mental challenge as a physical one,” Norman says. “This is particularly so at night time when the two hour alarm goes off, signalling that you are back on the oars and you feel as though you have only been asleep for ten seconds!

“If you don’t sit up straight away and leave the cabin there and then it’s all too easy to fall asleep again. Even lying down to get your lifejacket on can result in you instantly returning to the land of nod!”

At one point, James pulled a muscle in his back, which made any movement – especially rowing – very painful, but amazingly he kept going. Knowing family and friends were praying for them was a great source of encouragement. Every day they read a Psalm together and prayed. According to James, if ever one was a bit low the other was usually able to give encouragement.

As well as the dangers, there were many highlights to their voyage. James remembers seeing whales and dolphins right next to the boat and the fun of making pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. He even ate his 19^th birthday cake in the water next to the boat! The absolute highlight, however, was reaching the end of the race. “The final row across the finish line and entering the English Harbour, Antigua, was incredible,” he recalls.

“We were met with the sound of boat horns and applause as diners at a quayside restaurant stood up to cheer us in, along with the greeting party assembled at the harbour wall, which included two special people: Christine and Lydia, the other two members of their family.”

A few year before the ocean adventure, friends of the family working for WEC in Senegal had raised funds for a pipeline to bring water into the village near the school they where they worked. This meant people didn’t have to walk long distances to collect water or become ill from drinking polluted water.

So James and Norman approached WaterAid to see if funds from the row could be used to support the charity. It seemed fitting since the pair would be surrounded by undrinkable water, just as one in eight people in the world are.

The two men also hope their adventures will give them a platform to share the gospel. “Lots of things in life can seem good to go after, but only Jesus can quench our thirst,” Norman concludes. “Jesus came to give us life and to enable us to live life to the full, and we hope this message has been communicated through our achievement and the telling of our story.”  

Read more about this the Beech Boys’ incredible cycling feat in the next issue of Sorted magazine.

Stop making excuses!

The mighty Sorted magazine hits WH Smith

I’m not going to write a long rant, but I do want to make a strong case in favour of an amazing venture and opportunity.

Sorted magazine launched in 316 WH Smith stores this month. Established back in 1792, ‘Smiths’ has 550 high street stores and 440 travel outlets. It’s the first place most people think of when they want to buy a magazine. So the fact this industry-leading newsagent is stocking our magazine is the result of the team’s incredible hard work and God’s intervention.

Why am I telling you all this, you ask? Well, I just want to remind you how amazing it is that this awesome magazine (yes, I know I’m biased) is available to buy on the high street alongside Loaded, Nuts and FHM. But we want to do more and we need your help.

You can make Sorted a real contender in its field and, more importantly, a godly witness on the high street.

Here are my top five reasons to get off your blessed assurance and buy your copy today:

It’s a good witness to the retailer. I’m all for complaining about bad lads’ mags and signing petitions to bring in modesty covers, but how about doing something positive too? Find out whether your nearest WH Smith sells it/has any copies left, and if not, ask them about it, then go and buy one. We want them to know there is a genuine demand for something more wholesome. This will send a powerful message to the high street.

It’s an easy way to share the gospel with your friends/colleagues in a cringe-free way. You could buy a copy (or five) for your staffroom, a neighbour, or your friend/family member who doesn’t want to hear the gospel but likes to read interesting articles and features. Then just leave it sitting there. It’s evangelism the easy way.

It’s a chance to get some exercise. My nearest Smiths store that stocks it is a good 30 minute walk there and back. Use your lunch hour to get some fresh air, get your heart pumping and pick up a great treat for later in the day (if you can bear to wait that long).

It’s great value. For just £3.50 you get 92 pages that are full to the brim with good stuff. That’s just £1.75 a month (less than the price of one posh coffee) for the bi-monthly mag. It will keep you entertained for hours with exclusive celebrity interviews, sports features, blogs from Bear Grylls, Dan Walker and Andy Kind, words of wisdom from the like of J. John and Carl Beech, gadget and film reviews, fitness and lifestyle tips, and lots more.

It’s an easy way to support a Christian company and ministry that donates thousands of free copies a year to members of the armed forces, commuters, school children, police stations and many others. This magazine has the potential to reach the world, so play your part!

Okay, so maybe that was a bit of a rant, but it’s something I’m really passionate about. It’s primarily aimed at men, but I know lots of women who read it too. The perfect gift for Father’s Day, birthdays and all the occasions in between, it’s time to get behind this enterprise and help it to reach its God-given potential.

Let’s make sure we tell our churches, our families and our friends about it; that we create a buzz that gets people talking about it (and buying it). The more copies sold, the more we can achieve through it in the future.

We need to put our money where our mouths are and start spreading the word. Feel free to take pictures of your Sorted-buying escapades and send them to the wonderful Steve Legg (steve@sorted-magazine.com)!

It’s good to talk

Whenever I settle down for a quiet read on the train, another passenger invariably plonks him or herself down and inadvertently sabotages it. It’s usually a chubby, middle-aged man who immediately takes over the armrest and insists on engaging me in deep conversation as he choffs down a pungent cheese and onion sandwich. Either that or a student sits in the seat behind and hollers the events of a wild night out down the phone while repeatedly kicking the back of my chair.

These episodes really used to grind my gears. Why can’t people just keep themselves to themselves, I would ask myself as I pushed Keith/Geoff/Malcolm’s arm off the armrest? And why can’t Charnelle/Alicia/Mia relive her drunken night via text? I’ve bought a brand new novel for this journey and they are ruining it for me!

But rather than trying to persuade my fellow passengers to keep quiet through the use of dirty looks and overloud sighs (as I used to do), I’ve come to realise that as human beings we need to interact with each other, to tell folk how we’re feeling, to make people laugh, to gain approval, to unburden ourselves.

And one of the benefits of train talk, I guess, is that it’s more or less anonymous (unless you’re spilling your guts in the same carriage as your boss). That way, our sex-obsessed student can voice the most intimate of thoughts without being overheard by her mother or the housemate she hooked up with last night. And cheese and onion man is free to express himself in the safe knowledge I won’t be able to shop him to anyone he knows.

As Christians, I feel we have a responsibility to engage with people who are desperate to be heard. On several occasions I’ve felt overwhelmed with sadness about other passenger’s lives: the loss of a loved one; the terrible aftermath of an affair; or a confidence-shattering work situation.

I’m not saying we should make lifetime commitments to help these people, and women, particularly, should be cautious when talking to men they don’t know. But I do think it can help people to know someone is prepared to listen, is interested in what they have to say, and can offer helpful advice where necessary. An opportunity might arise to offer prayer or to share the gospel, but often people are just looking for a willing ear.

It’s also worth remembering that trains aren’t the only venues where we encounter people who need to talk. I’ve heard the life stories of several people while waiting at bus stops (what is it about Brits and public transport?!). I’ve been drawn into deep conversations in the pub. And some of the neediest people I’ve met have unburdened themselves to me over a cup of coffee at church.

Since making myself more available to people, I’ve discovered that the listening process actually works both ways; that you literally reap what you sow when you make the effort to ‘love your neighbour’. For me, talking to random people has led to job offers, an opportunity to buy a much-needed new bike for next to nothing and help organising heavy luggage, to name but a few.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love to lose myself in a good book, but there are occasions when we should put what we’re reading down, turn off our iPods and allow people to open up.

You never know, maybe the next time we’re on the train Graham/Susy will tell us the story of a friend who got on a train, met someone who offered up a simple piece of advice and experienced a major turnaround in his or her life.

As the old saying goes, a problem shared is a problem halved...

Read more from Joy in the next issue of Sorted magazine.