#39. Georgian Bay Ont. c.1970

My Dad always said that being windbound should be seen as a great opportunity and not an inconvenience. This is a wonderful approach to living with, and responding to the rhythms of nature. But it is not always easy to do, and it also should be noted that the opportunities you encounter may be most unexpected.

I remember the first time that I was windbound. It was on Georgian Bay and I might have been 6 or 7 years old. I was with my Mom and Dad and Paul, as well as Ken and Sue Buck and we were filming for my Dad's canoeing films. We had made our way out to the Bustard Islands, a few kilometres off-shore, and had got some great camping shots. It was our last day, and just as we were getting ready to head home the wind came up. And the waves started crashing on the shore. And we were stuck. Windbound.

My Dad had always packed our trips, but this time, with all the bulky camera gear, he had decided to leave some of our extra food at home so all the camera stuff would fit. This was not good...we were almost out of food.

The wind was unrelenting; for days it blew. We got hungry, really hungry. At one point I seem to remember my parents talking about us foraging for frogs. That's when I decided to try to chase all those amphibians off the island. After all, I wasn't that hungry yet! Finally, one evening the wind got quiet. Then the lake followed suit, and by morning it was safe to return to the mainland and make our way home. What a relief, we were saved!

In retrospect our time being windbound on that trip really was an opportunity. An opportunity for my Mom to evaluate the situation and make it very clear that my Dad would never pack the food for another family trip! And although we got windbound many other times over the years we never, ever ran out of food again.