Family canoeing across Canada hits windy adventure in Manitoba

Most people go out to celebrate when they complete a PhD, but not Benoit Gendreau-Berthiaume. He's marking the milestone event with a cross-country canoe trip with his wife and five-year-old son.

They left Edmonton in early May, paddled through Saskatchewan,and this month they have made it to the lakes and rivers of Manitoba.

"We've had some crazy adventures on the big lakes of Manitoba," Gendreau-Berthiaume said.

A bit of a change from the Saskatchewan rivers where we were always by the shore, always wildlife to see, every river bend was a new scene.-BenoitGendreau-Berthiaume

It started on the sandy banks of Lake Winnipegosis. The couple and their son were asleep in their tent when the winds picked up. Benoit and his wife Magali got up to reinforce the pegs, when the winds took hold of their tent.

"It actually rolled over with Mali (their son) in it,"Gendreau-Berthiaumesaid.

• Family canoes through Saskatchewan en route to Montreal

The experience was unsettling, but their son is fine.Gendreau-Berthiaume said their son has found the big lakes a bit boring.

"A bit of a change from the Saskatchewan rivers where we were always by the shore, always wildlife to see, every river bend was a new scene," he said.

Gendreau-Berthiaume said the past two months have turned them into experienced weather watchers. They can now read the winds and the clouds and know what weather they are heading into.

They expect to reach Montreal by mid-September.