Canoes, super sunburn, and pain

I don't know if you have ever paddled a canoe. The senior class had decided to all take a canoe trip on the local river that flowed by the campus. This was a major event as we were all living in a boarding academy that was church owned and run and was super strict. We just might get to look at our fellow female classmates in swimming suits, which was something really out of the ordinary. No two piece suits mind you--no, no, no!

Actually, most people wore cut-offs, and wore tee shirts. Oh well. I too went with a tee-shirt and cut off jeans.

When you are sitting in an aluminum canoe, the sides of the canoe are almost parabolic, and the canoe acts as a parabolic mirror reflecting ALL the suns rays into the middle of the canoe. And the sun's rays are bouncing off the water too. I don't know why I never realized this before the trip.

Within a couple of hours of getting into the canoe, I knew I was in big trouble. My legs which were NEVER exposed to sunlight were turning a nice shade of pink. Of course I did not have any long pants with me, and the sun tan lotion wasn't doing its job--this was years ago before people discovered how to create effective sun blocks. Another hour and I was in pain. The sunburn was bad. The worst thing was that the trip was about half over, and there was no getting out, no turning back.

It occurred to me that I was actually grilling my legs in a primitive solar oven. My legs turned bright red and the pain was unbelievable. Even the light breeze blowing across the bow of the canoe was painful. When I finally got home, I was almost unable to walk with the pain. I hobbled off to my dormitory room and smeared something on my legs to alleviate the pain.

The next day, I discovered that my shins had BLISTERED. My legs just hurt so bad. It took about three days before the pain began to subside. I could scarcely wear pants. But I had too. Cut-offs were not allowed in class, and besides, if I did wear them, I would only be getting even more sunlight. When the sun warmed up my pants I was in pain. I could hardly stand to walk, because the fabric rubbing against my skin was just excruciating, and the salve I had smeared on my legs was causing the fabric to stick to them. I was in complete and total misery.

If you ever go canoeing, or boating, or ever go anywhere near any body of water, limit the time your skin is exposed to sunlight. Wear appropriate LONG clothing and cover up just as your skin turns the least bit pink. A little sunlight is good, but please don't get burned. It makes the whole outing a misery.

Happy boating,
David A. Youngs