Sunday, August 06, 2006

Comfortably Numb

I learned something new yesterday. Despite the Knitting Urban Legend you may have heard about, going one day without knitting will not cause you to loose mobility in either of your hands, and the Little Yarn Gnomes will not steal from your stash while you're not looking. You may feel "off", or wonder "I feel like I've forgotten something...", but nothing whacked-out will occur.

Case in point.


Say hello to the "Comfortably Numb" (well, as I've christened her anyway). Moored at Toronto's Outer Harbour Marina (on Lake Ontario, of course), she's a lovely 23ft. sailboat, and where I spent most of my Saturday.









The Captain, readying the sails.

We could not have asked for a better day. Knitsters, if summer could always be 27C, no humidity and practically no smog - I wouldn't whine so much about how lousy summer can be in Toronto. We didn't have a great amount of wind; top speed with the sails was a scant 4 knots (Marji - not the best, but when you're out on the water, sometimes it just doesn't matter, right?!).



A lovely view of the Toronto skyline. Hey, that would be me steering while The Captain lowered the front sail (and it has a name, everything on a sailboat has a name, damned if I can remember what it is though), and snapping a picture at the same time. We are getting ready to sail through the gap between the Toronto shoreline, and the Island Airport. You can only pass through on motor power, and stay well away from the buoys surrounding the approach to the Island...something about the planes (and this is just a small regional airport) getting a little bothered by sailboat masts in their view as they're trying to land... And a $10K fine for sailing withing the buoys. We then sailed off to Centre Island, and a cold one.

Despite slathering myself with sunscreen, I'm still as red as Christmas. Owwie! My crap SPF 30 sunscreen (for sensitive skin, my ass) did not live up to it's name. The one spot on my back where The Captain slathered on some of his No Name SPF45 - looking just fine. You can see where it ends, and the SPF30 begins.

And get this. When we were coming in, at around 7:30pm - Knitsters, I was COLD!!! Yes, cold. When the sun goes down on the water, it gets quite chilly. But, it was the perfect ending to a perfect day.


A lovely shot of the Toronto skyline at sunset...










So, wow. I survived at day without knitting. By the time I got home, I was so pooped I could barely feed the Little Dudes. But I did. Something about the "I will jump on your sunburn in the middle of the night. Oh yes. I will." look that Atticus gave me...

And - in the morning before all of this... I met up with Lorraine and family at the St. Lawrence Market for a little breakfast and produce shopping. How great a day was that!?

I hope your Saturday was equally as wonderful!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

A great day - I believe it - an I hope you'll survive without knitting. Tell me, and maby I'll try it one day :)

Anni from Denmark - and it's hot here - hope for clouds and rain soon

Anonymous said...

Gawd! Now, such a day definitely makes up for not being able to knit! I would have so loved to join you cruising around! These pics are most amazing, what a fantastic boat, and I'm still blown away by the Toronto skyline! Showed it to CM and he had to agree this is reason enough for us to go on a trip through Canada soon! ;)

Carrie K said...

Oh man, that sounds like a FABULOUS day! Sailing is an acceptable trade for knitting.

Those pix are gorgeous.

I use Bullfrog SPF 50 million or I fry like an egg slathered on before I leave the house, and frequently throughout the day.

FYI for your next outing.

Chris said...

Sounds like a wonderful Saturday indeed! But bummer about the sunburn. :( My skin's really picky about sunscreen, so I'm always trying different oil-free stuff for sensitive skin... What type was it that failed you?

Anonymous said...

You missed a great knitting opportunity there -- I'd love to have seen a photo of you, steering the boat while knitting a sock -- well, maybe the Captain might have wanted you to pay attention to your driving (please forgive the non-nautical lingo).

Marji said...

How do I get a smile on here to mirror the one on my face as I read this post? Fabulous pics, sounds like an ideal day. It doesn't always need to be blowing stink to go sailing (and yes, that's a nautical term!) The head sail is also known as a genoa -referred to as a jenny or a jib sail. And yes, actually, while you were steering you were 'driving' the boat.
White linen - lightest weight linen you can find, in a big breezy shirt - best sun block there is. I'm going to make dh several pirate shirts in white linen because there isn't enough sun screen in the world for my hubby.

Nicole said...

The pics from the sailboat look beautiful! It's been quite some time since I've been out on a boat... and no current trips are anywhere in the forseeable future. Ah well.

(I found you via Wendy, curious about the kitty comments. Gandalf is too cute!)

DeeAnn said...

OK, I feel like I've had a vacation just checking your post - I love sailing, what a lucky woman you are!! Ahhhhhh.......

Anonymous said...

Have you been to numbsailing.com