We’re in Cold Bay, Alaska. We’ve been in Cold Bay, Alaska for three days already, still waiting for the weather to improve for us to be able to fly to Nelson Lagoon on the north side of the peninsula.
This is a very strange weather bound period. I have been weather-bound before on paddling trips. I’ve been on a multi month trip where after ten days of hard paddling in the row one was looking forward to bad weather day to have a rest and not to pack the whole circus again in the morning. I’ve been on trips, when the weather was so bad that one was weather-bound every 2 days paddling, and had to keep good faith that the destination will be reached.
I was weather-bound for few days in the middle of now where and one had to learn to entertain oneself with whatever was available. What I learnt here was to do one activity at the time to allow the time to pass easily and to stretch any distraction from waiting for as long as possible.
I’ve been weather-bound for so many times within one trip that we had to change our aim altogether and learn to make the most of both the sea and the being on the land. Giving in allowed us to explore places that we would not have otherwise.
I was weather-bound for so long during one trip that the journey had to be finished after long wait for the weather improvement. And while the time waiting was exciting, as we became farm hands for few weeks, the end was difficult, as we did not step out of a boat at the end, but rather of a tractor.
I am weather-bound now. It’s a new one for me. My four weeks paddling with Freya has commenced, and we are weather bound already. We haven’t placed a blade in the water, we haven’t even pack the kayaks yet. I have never been weather-bound at the start of the trip. But the feelings and anxieties are the same. Is this ever going to lift? And when it does, will there be actually any time left for paddling? How far would we be able to go? We want to go as far as possible, will we make it there? What are the conditions going to be?
How do we keep our sanity and not look at the weather all the time talking numbers (Freya) and colours (me) trying to see when and how long for we can be on the water?
