Rock Skipping

One of my favourite beach past times growing up in eastern Quebec was skipping rocks along the shore behind our house. With enough practice, I actually had my moments of being a half decent rock skipper. Though it still amazes me how our kid neighbour’s dad could fire a stone at the water and graze the surface for what seemed like 10 jumps. My luckiest number was more or less 3.

That long lost childhood activity came back to me recently while walking along the beaches of Leith and Big Bay. As a matter of fact, Big Bay even goes so far as to proclaim itself ‘Stone Skipping Capital of Canada’! The challenge of rock skipping in Georgian Bay compared to the Atlantic comes down to the types of rocks. Anyone who has lived near a salt water beach can tell you about the huge differences between the sand, stones, plant life and oddities that wash up on shore.

Finding the perfect flat rocks for skipping is a tougher task these days for yours truly. Rocks near the lake tend to be bigger, heavier and rounder than those tossed up by the sea. But with enough patience, effort and a good eye, good skipping rocks are attainable in these parts. And I can still reach my triple jump benchmark!

If one doesn’t already exist, I think a rock skipping competition would be a great asset to one of our summer events. Or we could all just head to Big Bay some weekend to test the waters (pun intended) of their claim and enjoy a cone of homemade ice cream from the Big Bay General Store afterwards.