The Urban Voyageur: This to That [Toronto Islands]

The Morning After, a photo by Michael Mitchener on Flickr.

Time: ~5:30 AM to ~9:00 AM

Launch Point: Cherry Beach, Toronto, Ontario

Destination: Toronto Islands

Crew: Michael Mitchener & William Self
Conditions: Light and variable winds with smooth seas

Sightings: Tall ships (from a distance), sleepy boaters, duck w/ducklings, a swimmer with face firmly planted in the lake, dragonboaters, rowers, one stand-out island home, sunrise, Cherry Beach dogs, and a lot of tree fluff.

Today was the first canoe trip of the year (I know Dean, there's no excuse) and it was great to get back on the water and take Nessie for a spin. We headed out at 5:00 am to Nessie's new home with no problems and hit the beach around 5:30. Surprisingly, there was no one there! Given this was the first paddle of the year, we treated ourselves to a wee dram of scotch whiskey with a borrowed line from a boat blessing by Lucille Clifton as a toast (full verse appended at the end of this blog entry):

May you in your innocence sail through this to that

Untitled, a photo by William Self on Flickr.

The scotch was smooth and peaty and surprisingly good at 5:30 in the morning and a perfect way to start the season. From there we pushed off from the shore and headed over to the Islands with Bill in command. T'was a beautiful morning with smooth seas and warm temperatures. We were hoping to see some tall ships but found they were docked across the bay and decided we'd stick to the island side of the harbour.

Absolutely No Wake, a photo by Michael Mitchener on Flickr.

Untitled, a photo by William Self on Flickr.

It was a peaceful paddle through the various marinas, channels and lagoons as we made our way past Far Enough Farm to Centre Island where we realized this was dragonboat weekend and there was much activity in preparation for the races. We opted not to venture into the dragonboat course and headed back to Cherry Beach along the north side of the islands past the RCYC. By now, water taxis and ferries were starting to make their runs back and forth to the city so we kept our distance and took a few pictures.

Untitled, a photo by William Self on Flickr.

After a while, we found ourselves back at Cherry Beach where we took our time unloading and wandered the beach taking pictures. We followed the paddle with a coffee at Mercury Espresso Bar, took Nessie back to her home and called it a day. All in all a great morning and hopefully one of many this summer. Next trip we hope to include Frank Lemire who was slumming in Muskoka this weekend. Thanks Bill for a great paddle.