Back in the late 1990s, there was a famous essay entitled “Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young,” written by columnist Mary Schmich and published in the Chicago Tribune. It was a “hypothetical commencement speech,” the kind you’d hear at a high school or college graduation. Interestingly, the essay went “viral” via email and became known as the “Wear Sunscreen” speech. Baz Luhrmann turned it into a spoken word song called “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” and it was a hit. The song, too, got its name shortened. People refer to it as “The Sunscreen Song.”
Basically, the essay and song made many points of advice about how to live your life in order to make it a good one. The main point, though, was that the best advice was to “always wear sunscreen.”
Many people come to Burntwood Lake Lodge in Manitoba for fun fishing, hunting, and boating. With over 1000 miles of shoreline to explore nearby, Burntwood Lake Lodge is ideally located for people who want to “get away from it all” while still enjoying some of the comforts of home.
While at Burntwood, it’s not unusual to spend a lot of time on the water on a boat. And here’s some good advice: if you’re going to be out on the water for a while, and even if you have some shade, it’s always best to wear sunscreen. The last thing you want to get is sunburn where you turn so red that you look like a lobster.
Sunburns are awful. They hurt. There’s redness, of course, as well as swelling, inflammation, and sometimes blisters. If you get sunburnt often, you increase your risk for getting skin cancer.
So, if you’re going to spend time on the water on a boat in the Manitoba wilderness, slathering on/spraying on sunscreen to the exposed parts of your skin is the best way to avoid sunburn. Make sure you get your nose and the top parts of your ears. You’ll also want to cover your arms and legs and feet.
One other good tip for avoiding sunburn while on a boat is to wear a hat. Ideally, you should go for one that protects both your face and the back of your neck from the sun’s relentless rays. Meanwhile, a hat covers your scalp, too, which is a good thing. Even skin under hair can get burnt, so it makes sense to cover it up when possible.
With sunscreen and a hat, you’re making smart choices for your time on the water boating around Manitoba.