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Jul. 18th, 2022 08:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
camwynBought a kayak over Fourth of July weekend. The inflatable one hasn't been used in several years, so I didn't know how it'd handle being unfolded and inflated; besides, the main reason I didn't take it out more often was because I had to spend 10+ minutes with the pump every time I wanted to use it, then another ten minutes with the pump deflating it when I was done. I wanted one where the biggest rigamarole I had to contend with was the process of strapping it down to whatever wheely thing I was going to use to transport it to the water. (The inflatable, while easily stored, had to be moved in a Radio Flyer wagon or something else of that nature. Enough plastic to constitute a nine or ten foot boat takes up a good deal of space even folded down small.)
The reason I wanted to use a kayak again is another story. It wasn't just 'I wanna go out on the water' this time. I mean, partly it was, especially since in a kayak I could get close enough to Snake Island to do some good bird observations- from the boat, you understand. Much as I'd love to get out of the boat and walk around on the island, it's a nesting ground for oystercatchers and possibly least terns, and I don't want to disturb them. But the big reason was that I'd noticed that on days when I took the ferry into the office- my office has gone to 'two days a week on premises, three days a week work from home'- I had very little tinnitus during the rest of the day. The days with the least tinnitus notice corresponded with days when I still felt like I was going up and down long after I got off the boat; I thought maybe it had something to do with the nerves of my inner ear, rather than the sound of water or the sound of the engine.
I've been out on the water in the new kayak twice now, for about half an hour each time. Both times I've made some good bird observations (so many willets!). I found out that the little grey statue someone put up on Snake Island is of St. Francis of Assisi. (Couldn't make out from my usual observation point whether it was St. Francis, the Blessed Mother, or possibly Kwan Yin/Avalokitesvara.) And both times I've had no perception of tinnitus while I was in the boat. On the first day I only had minimal perception of the noise afterwards for several hours. On day two I had no perception of the noise at all until I was getting ready for bed. This boat was worth it.
(I am not sure how it escaped my notice at the time of purchase, but I only happened to spot the 'Made in Canada' label on the boat after I'd already hauled it out of the water the first time. In Laval, QC, specifically. I don't know if kayaks are supposed to be named or christened the way larger boats are, but after I scraped my leg trying to secure the thing into that little wheely cart in the picture, I have opted to christen this boat with the name Tabarnak.)
The reason I wanted to use a kayak again is another story. It wasn't just 'I wanna go out on the water' this time. I mean, partly it was, especially since in a kayak I could get close enough to Snake Island to do some good bird observations- from the boat, you understand. Much as I'd love to get out of the boat and walk around on the island, it's a nesting ground for oystercatchers and possibly least terns, and I don't want to disturb them. But the big reason was that I'd noticed that on days when I took the ferry into the office- my office has gone to 'two days a week on premises, three days a week work from home'- I had very little tinnitus during the rest of the day. The days with the least tinnitus notice corresponded with days when I still felt like I was going up and down long after I got off the boat; I thought maybe it had something to do with the nerves of my inner ear, rather than the sound of water or the sound of the engine.
I've been out on the water in the new kayak twice now, for about half an hour each time. Both times I've made some good bird observations (so many willets!). I found out that the little grey statue someone put up on Snake Island is of St. Francis of Assisi. (Couldn't make out from my usual observation point whether it was St. Francis, the Blessed Mother, or possibly Kwan Yin/Avalokitesvara.) And both times I've had no perception of tinnitus while I was in the boat. On the first day I only had minimal perception of the noise afterwards for several hours. On day two I had no perception of the noise at all until I was getting ready for bed. This boat was worth it.
(I am not sure how it escaped my notice at the time of purchase, but I only happened to spot the 'Made in Canada' label on the boat after I'd already hauled it out of the water the first time. In Laval, QC, specifically. I don't know if kayaks are supposed to be named or christened the way larger boats are, but after I scraped my leg trying to secure the thing into that little wheely cart in the picture, I have opted to christen this boat with the name Tabarnak.)
