2020 March 20 - October 15th. A Covid summer in Toronto. Fast Forward - "After The Boys of Summer Are Gone" - Don Henley 👍

Thursday, October 15th 2020. Toronto, Canada

March 20th - October 15th 2020. Home (Canada) (again)

I'm fresh back from Uraquay, Chile/ Argentina mountain hiking (see separate entries). 

Justin told me to come home as the world is shutting down (he was totally right!)

I need 2 weeks of quarantine. 

Heading back to harbour after a cruise around the lake
and dinner at the Boulevard club with Ron

Lets see how this works out

 In the beginning: 

 

Two weeks of quarantine, as imposed by our friends at health Canada
It could have been a LOT worse folks! Room Service was excellent

 

I'd make a terrible prisoner. I have the top floor
 and attic, and bored out of my brain
 Here I'm sorting all the accumulated
flotsam and jetsam and artsam of many years

Free at last! April 8th, post quarantine (just!)

I even managed to hang
this one and several others
There was lot of spare walls

I'm allowed to be part of the household again
Life as it became for a large proportion of the Covid world
I start baking, like 50% of the rest of the world

 

Post winter view from the lighthouse lookout. 
April 18th

Spot spring arriving? 
It's in there somewhere

Covid land is bleak.
There's hardly anyone
around.  
Lots of bike paths for my exclusive use

 

Kayla starts to get into her baking frenzy

April 24th. Part of the joys of the wild. Thousands of them everywhere. 
I eventually worked out that its just these Mayflies version of a high school dance. 
Find someone and procreate or similarly go through the motions, urgently!

Happy 71st.  May 5th.
Birthday goodies arrive
In the nick of time!
Thanks team.....

 Slowly, the sun encourages the land to cast off
winter

Luckily, it's still casting off other visitors
a month later in June

Another victim of Covid. 
My hair continues to grow

I continue to bike, the homeless continue
to be homeless, this during the early Covid panic.
Here at Queen and Dufferin
 

Here at Queen and Sherbourne

 I head off on a biking extravaganza in the wilds of Scarborough 
and almost to Pickering with a new sailing connection 
Back home around midnight, almost 100Km
Although I'm emotionally dazed and beaten up, philosophically, I'm content 

Finally, the government has
approved boat social stuff
Now I have boats to
actually sail on 

Covid is slowly being beaten back
Distillery, night

Kayla & I bike en famile
to the lighthouse. Mid June

On our way to a newly opened Distillery
Fries and beers. It's like getting out of jail
I didn't even mind the outrageous prices

This is it. The exact summer equinox 
(June 21st, 17:43 (EST)

Heat and out on the deck, with feet and family

"Midsummer's Day"
Extended
Sunset at the lighthouse

July. Occasional street flooding. 
Luckily, the neighbours have a basement 
that's more likely to flood than us,
so they are out clearing the drains well ahead of me

I'm back on a boat
It felt like forever..
Under sail, heading back to National

•  Heading past clothing optional beach,
  Toronto Island on one of out checkout
  cruises
  

Even though its full Covid

there are allowances for 

boating, 

maybe because a lot of 

cabinet members have a boat

Cruising around the lake

heading to 

National again

If you haven't done this before, 

well, it's pure magic especially after or even 

during a Covid lockdown

Toronto's west, from the lake of course

• Deep Covid and we are

• all supposed
  to wear masks etc. 
  Mostly, we don't bother
  with anything as
  recommended

Early July. It's getting too hot and sunny to bike during the day
now I leave the house after dinner, back, maybe after midnight

I've been biking since I was let out of quarantine, April 3rd

Now I'm biking down to the lighthouse 6 days a week. 

About 250km. Getting even fitter than after mountain hiking

Occasional rain, but I have 10 hours a day to bike in

And so on......

 

And this is my project -
The required finish for
 sanded teak apparently
 The boat had been left
totally exposed for 2 years.
Ugly mess
I really put a LOT of time,
and because the
temperatures can reach
into the 30's, a lot of sweat 
and effort into cleaning
it up
I become quite the expert

There's a lot of mechanical stuff that is worn out on the boat
I'm the closest thing to a mechanic this week

I work out that I can work
on the boat, take a shower in the
facilities and sundowner before I
stop for the day
Ron is a major part of the
action, but mainly he's on
the phone to his lawyer 
most of the time

I now know enough people through the club to be invited to
crew for a "sail past" at National
Not my bag so I tell them I'm washing my hair.
It (the sailpast), was a washout, twice and some boats even get into trouble
As I sit out on the upper deck with my beer, there's lightening everywhere.
It's a great evening to contemplate a new future
It's scary

And now, even Balzac's is open for
business

Rons (my skipper at Outer Harbour) previous life, before the accident forced him to liquidat his previous boat

This boat has been left out in 2 Canadian 

winters, so it is a bit of a wreck

I'm super keen to fix it up as that means

I have more moral coercion over what 

we (Ron and me) do with it

Most days I'm slaving on the boat. 

The engine has fallen apart often and we get

a mechanic to rip it apart. 

Full Covid with masks et al inside the boat

Finally, it's fixed and we motor out

in the eastern channel 

and anchored, finally put up the sails in 34C

Eventually, we dock at Bluffers Park.

Being relatively new to this sailing gig, even in only 8 - 10 knot winds we were flying as we head toward and around the lighthouse 

Summer is well and truly here. 

Beer and burger (not very good) after my

slaving's

One day, it will be difficult to remember that

an open bar, cafe was an item of pure luxury

during Covid

For an entire country that

is borderline locked down,

I'm having a great time

this summer

Late nights at the lighthouse.

August 17th, 8:40PM

Island Yacht Club. 
What a scorching day it was 35C. I love this reciprocal membership
thing with National.. Just park your boat, (admittedly,
a new strange concept) check in and go
This applies to most yacht clubs around Toronto.
 

Sunset at the Boulevard Club. 

I could get blasé about this

And, of course, 

motor back 

through the harbour.

Total Magic!

Docking at The Boulevard Club
Ron, the total master of this as totally new
lifestyle
Truly, a new lifestyle. I could be tempted
by all of this
In true liberated style, the boys still pay,
of course

My favourite stopover in Ontario Place heading to outer harbour. 
Almost a daily occurrence Always a great view. August 22nd

Are you feeling lucky, kid? Local Brew Pub
My new life now revolves around Outer Harbour 
and local craft beers. Late August. 

 Ron's tools of the trade
He has so much to teach me

August. Ron & Normadene sailing out in
the outer harbour channel

Ron desperately needs more/ any competent 
crew. I've invited a friend along.
We met at a navigation course last year.
We were the only two on the course who
didn't
own a boat.
"The only sane ones here" according
to the instructor 

Rita, Jimmy's partner
getting into the
swing of sailing

We head to National and wait until my
other guests arrive at National

 I took my car to Jimmy's for a service. 
He saw me go into National one day, so I invite him out for the day:  
Absolute party time complete with dancing in the cabin.
August 30th.

Remember me this way.
Wild!

What a life you say

If only, I say

Skip Ron, and Normadene. 
Not sure who is the sidekick here

Of course, you must be on a boat
to witness this view

I wake to this view. head down to Starbucks
 for my coffee and day old muffin.
Does it get any better?

There's some kind of allowance for being

outdoors to get "exercise"

I get lots, here again, Ontario Place

September and its
back to serious stuff: 
Searching for Toronto's
best Ramen
This one actually has black
garlic oil. Not bad at all

And again again, Ontario Place
Mass yoga

Once you start eating your
breakfast at dinner, it's time

Not to diminish my

horticultural 

adventures. 3 metres of 

tomato 

plants and they were 

all awful

Of course, I kept the 
consultants pony tail

The house, as ever, pure delight

September 11th. My almost annual pilgrimage 
to Massassauga park begins.
This time, it's a solo event, even so, the canoe, which has taken the entire family before, is totally packed

And it's all just mine for 6 days and nights

Frozen salmon fillet vin rouge
con riz a la boef for dinner

My first activity. Firewood
There's always a dead tree around somewhere

Payback!
All of nature, all of the time, 
but after the paddle, I stink
 and I'm dirty. Lovely!

It rains
And this is also what it's all 
about too. I wake up with 
pools of water in the tent
In my sleeping bag etc
Phone is slightly flooded

 

Results of consequences of weather
with attitude, without tarps
I'm texting to Kayla for weather updates
(and other mates for other
spiritual sustenance's) 

With all of the travails, we must 
keep our spirits (or wines) up
Pig chop, baked spud and lots of butter

I do a fantastic bacon and
egg sandwich too

I expose myself to the
world
All day, just skinny dipping

September 15th.
This is man vs
nature, red in tooth and claw

Sorry ladies, just a landscape on this one.

And so the days glide by,
not even a bug to bug me...

This is the facilities block, in case you were wondering

 

How else would you like to say goodbye to 
one of the best summers?

I used to be able to navigate just with a map
Now Google is essential

Regular readers will be
aware 
of my penchant for the 
homeless
Toronto still well up there

I snagged a Covid test in Barrie 
on the way up: 30 minutes 
for the test, so I can see 
Margaret (who is 88)
5 days for the result. Really?

While camping, I've got 

3 invites to crew.

Outrageous!

I've been asked to crew on a charter. Well, crew, steward, plumber and sales assistant.

Back to the sailing grind. 

Still faking it

Turns out to be a sales pitch for a luxury yacht currently in the Bahamas 
NO prospect on board is remotely capable of sailing. 
We sail around the island, have a sales spiel, head to a mooring & lunch. Really good!
3 huge bags of booze was just enough for the assemble guests and skipper for the day

Finally, the skipper has
done
his sales bit and head to a
mooring 
for a pretty good if late
lunch

We eventually get both sails up after the anchoring and sales pitch
 Then there's a born again revival on board
(yes, really)

It was certainly a great day for a sail. 
Motored most of it. 
My boat for the day is definitely not a charter
boat

Through Toronto harbour 
Can you believe it? I actually got a tip for this
Although with all the crap I had to put up with
I actually deserved a hellofalot more!

September 23rd. Queen street east has some
fantastic restaurants.
This is Punjabi By Nature. 
Magnificent paneer and Naan. Beer is crap
As ever, I dine alone

We all start to realise that our season is about to end
Ron and Normadene heading out from the outer harbour

Crewing with Ron & friends, back at the

Boulevard club 

Through Toronto harbour past NYC

  Motoring back to Outer Harbour, I realise, for the last time this year
Now it's Official! The end of the season

Aiden & Kayla do their culinary delights for
the festivities, if that's the right term
September 27th. Missus birthday, quarantine
style 

But wait! There's more
The missus 70th birthday
September 27th

 Count them, if you dare

We are back to baking in the house. 
This is marrow bread
Ugh! 

Well, there's still ravines and bike trails
September 29th. Don Valley

Fall approaches, but what
memories!

A great day to be out
October 3rd. I volunteer for 
NYC de masting.

One of the skippers drops her
phone  in the lake.
Gallantry is not dead
apparently

We are supposed to be 2
teams
but we all just get on with it

Sad, but I'm in the thick of it actually
making a difference

15 in one day.
Now I'm an expert

I definitely wasn't the only
one
that had a fantastic summer
Ron & Normadene having
silent reflections 

Cradle lay out, October, with safety helmet
I'm now a fully paid up expert, ie, I bring my own tools

Haulout day at National
It's something like 6:30AM and the sun is just rising
as I head out onto the Lakeshore bike path, my 2020 home

Haulout, National style. It's a great fall day again
I'm doing this to partially meet skippers,
so far it's a total bust

October. I find an alternate bike route
Taylor Creek trail, fall version
This is where I contemplate the wonders of life,
2020 version

 November. My contemplation dell on the Taylor Creek trail
I note and share that I have fantastic delayed gratification
As long as I can see the future being kind,
I have no problem waiting for it

Almost where I started. Summers gone, winters coming on
Lets hope we, and the world, make it through to the next one

I've had such a magnificent summer, have met wonderful people and made many good friends, had incredible experiences and like the hermit crab, have grown out of my old shell, and funnily, have found that my old one was just lying there, unused for decades, and it still fits me perfectly.

Look out world, I have a lot of living left in me

From Your Correspondent