Sunburn at the Sandbar

A couple of weeks ago, we were invited to go out on our friend’s boat. Having been on the wrong end of a sunburn before, I was dressed in a hat, long sleeve shirt and a skirt over my swim suit. I did not want to get burned.

As we were heading out to the sandbar, the water was calm and clear. It was a perfect day. We encountered a couple of dolphin on our way, who swam over to the boat to say hi. Incredible.

When we got to the sandbar, I applied sunscreen liberally on all exposed skin. Or so I thought. I did not want to make the rookie mistake of not enough sunscreen at the sandbar. Sadly, I know from past experience just how painful that can be. I thought that spray sunscreen was the greatest because it could reach places I could not get to on my own, like mid-back. I was wrong. So, so wrong.
It turns out, that one must be incredibly diligent in applying even the spray type of sunscreen. It does not magically get from can to back while chatting, spraying and contemplating how warm the water is. It seems that I was very thorough in spraying arms, legs, neck, stomach, and, apparently, less so when I got to the back half.

I even reapplied halfway through our outing. I was trying to not be burnt to a crisp. I had learned my lesson many times over, or so I thought. I was wrong.

Our day on the water was a bit longer than anticipated, which was great, because any time spent on a boat or at a sandbar is a good time. But it did make me slightly less vigilant in the reapplying of the sunscreen before we headed back. By the time we headed back, I did not put back the long sleeves or skirt, instead opting for a beach towel, as I was soaked. It seemed to make sense at the time. As it turns out, a beach towel wrapped casually around one’s waist, tends to lead to sunburn on one’s back. Oops.

I think that I have really learned my lesson this time. Time will tell. Meanwhile, take my advice: reapply your sunscreen often, and pay attention while you do it. Trust me on that one.  And reapply often.