OK, let's put later info first ...
It is now the end of November 2020 with snow on the ground here ...
We have a warm spell coming up, but will the winds align ??
I personally stayed away from the beaches and people until I was sure people followed some distancing suggestions !!
So, from May until September I sailed on a small country lake with a BIC SL200 and HSM SPF8.5
HSM SPF 8.5 = Hot|SailsMaui SpeedFreak 8.5 m² dacron sail
From September until November I tried to go to OKA Parc as often as possible
That's less than ten sessions - with an average rating of 7.5 outta 10
Typically with my Shark HSM 145 and the HSM SPF 8.5 or the NorthSails Duke 6.9
NorthSails is now called DuoTone
---------------------------------------------------------------
in May 2020 :
Today I went on my first COVID-19 pan damn it excursion alone ...
There was chatter that SEPAQ parks like OKA were allowing personal watercraft out...
So, I drove out to the parc today after work - Thursday 28MAY2020, which was another blistering hot day. The last two(2) have been scorchers -- 100° F / 38°C and feels like HELL on fire !!!
Before I left, I double-checked to make sure that I had everything including my Park Pass
I do, but it expired in like October 2019. What year is it again ??
Oh well, I usually know the gate keepers and they let me get away with stuff ...
Damn, are the drivers worse than before the pan damn it ?? Farque me man ...
Remember Joe, the ONLY entrance is from the 640 ...
Okay, go around the circle and roll at 50 kph for a loooong time ...
Come past the gate up to the STOP sign and ...
Damn, It's some "older kid" sitting in a chair with a flashy safety vest
"Do you have your pass?"
"Yes" and I show it to him ...
"2019 to 2019... it's expired"
So, I explain I just want to do a quick tour and not even get out the car ...
"Je m'excuse, je ne peux pas faire ca. Vous n'avez pas une telephone pour acheter une passe journalier en ligne.?"
Non, non ... I just wanna tour the park ...NON !!
OK, OK.. is la Crête open then ?? Non and camping and other things will start soon ...
Yesterday and today the Park is packed ... WHAT ??
Oui, Oui .. They all want to go to the beach...
What about all this social distancing?? Yes, they are supposed to ...
And WHO is policing this ?? (pardon the pun)
The agent then explained that there is some governmental group that passes through and does spot checks. Farque, I hope they don't give out thousand dollar tickets #$%^&*
So, I continued ma journée with the intention of visiting Pointe aux Anglais.
Which meant I was going to drive through the town of OKA, right beside where the Kahnasatake Mohawks live that blocked access to the parc just last week ...
There was a sign just before town with a stop sign and three(3) kids with safety vests.
The sign said "Emergency Measures - Local Residents ONLY"
I have long hair and a beard and grew up near an "Indian" Reserve
The Five Nations people used to drink and do whatever the heck they wanted...
So, at the sign, I stopped, left my window up, nodded to the kid and continued ...
He sat back down on his chair ...
When I reached the bottom of the hill just below the reservation area there was another sign. It too said Local Residents ONLY..
Somehow, even tho there was NO kids and still, that sign was MUCH more foreboding.
You are a local who lives here, you know who lives up that hill.
Do you remember the OKA crisis, back in 1990 ??
Maybe this pic will bring you some flashbacks !!
The lesson learned there and maybe in some other parts of the white man's history book ..
DON'T farque with the Indians... and so, I turned around and headed home ..
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obviously if you are in a warmer section of the world than I, when we here are currently on April 1st, 2020 with a foot of snow (that is NO April Fool's joke) and socially distancing ourselves from our fellow man and woman by two(2) meters ... then perhaps you have access to a warm body of water where you can go alone or maintain a "social distance" (ironic terminology) from others ... One site is suggesting staying away from old people ...lol
Yeah - what kinda FUCKIN day is this anyway ??
Hats off to SailWorks who are making an effort in supplying face covers - can they make them such that we don't even need sunglasses any more ... or .... perhaps keep them so dark that we can become a faceless society ? Pink Floyd like ..
Stay Home !!
It is now end of April 2020 and I am reading on windsurf forums and seeing videos of people windsurfing / windfoiling ...
At first I was quite upset.
Well frankly, because I have NO access to water lol. (and it is still cold)
Then I was concerned what about this virus moisture laden drool coming off these active windsurfers and dropping into the drinking water ?? My retiring colleague, Ed, informed me that CORONA is lipid based and does not last long in water (yes, he IS retiring during the COVID-19 pandamnit AND he reads more than I do :-)
btw If you do retire during a "house lockdown" order, you still hafta stay home.
You just don't hafta work 😍
Okay, it is now Saturday, May 2nd, 2020 and the Quebec premier, some dude called Let'sGo is saying perhaps it is time to send the primary school kids back to school = WTF. So, now everyone thinks the restrictions have been relaxed and it's time to go back to "normal" ?? It is very warm today - like 20 degrees C and this is at the local boat ramp and park on Rivière Milles Isles !!!
https://www.peconicpuffin.com/the_peconic_puffin/2020/05/that-was-a-weekend.html
AND just check out what Florida beaches looked like weekend of May 9th = WTF !!
pic stolen from CNN or some other syndicate
Global News says:
Federal officials says some trails, day use areas, green spaces and recreational boating will be available starting June 1 at national parks, historic sites and waterways and national marine conservation areas.
Apparently OKA Parc was open in mid-May, but the Kanesatake Mohawks were blocking both entrances. They even closed their weed shops like the medicine box.
so... what do people do during the "pan damn it" then ??
how about using your DIY skills and building a man toy ??
