Swimming in the Toronto Beaches

[Bender]

Well, it's summer and I'm antsy for a dip somewhere, but I don't want to travel very far. I checked up on some of the water conditions and the beaches and turns out I live a 10 minute drive from Sunnyside Beach. It's not a blue flag beach but it's got some consistently low e-coli levels this year. I'm a bit apprehensive though since it's so close to the Humber, but I've read that the City's done a pretty good job making it swimmable again.

Any thoughts on the Toronto Beaches? Would you swim in them?

[Deleted Account]

I wouldn't recommend it. The water is cold too. Sunnyside and High Park pools are nice alternatives, though a bit crowded.

If you do go in, make sure you wear some kind of foot protection. My friend went in one year and cut his foot on a bottle. It got horribly infected.

[Bender]

You know, I went to Sunnyside today and while it had it's faults (some bird feathers washing up on the shore) it really didn't seem all that bad. The e-coli levels were low today, a few people were taking a dip. I didn't dunk my face in or anything but it seemed clean enough for a 20 minute dip and some sun tanning.

Next time I'll probably go to Woodbine beach, but I don't know why people are so against the lake. The blue flag system seems pretty rigorous I think, and there were a number of times Wasaga was closed due to e-coli if memory serves me correctly.

[Deleted Account]

Why didn't you dunk your head? "Seemed clean enough" and "didn't seem all that bad" are not exactly glowing reviews. I think you answered your own question about why people are against the lake (as rhetorical as it may have been). Many people are not willing to take the risk. There is enough negativity surrounding the lake already that one look at a floating plastic bag or one look at the Don and Humber rivers are enough to dissuade those already skeptical about it.

As I said, my friend cut his foot on a broken beer bottle during a short swim in the lake. That was enough for me.

All that being said, good on you for taking a dip. To each his own! How cold was the water?

[Bender]

Why didn't you dunk your head? "Seemed clean enough" and "didn't seem all that bad" are not exactly glowing reviews. I think you answered your own question about why people are against the lake (as rhetorical as it may have been). Many people are not willing to take the risk. There is enough negativity surrounding the lake already that one look at a floating plastic bag or one look at the Don and Humber rivers are enough to dissuade those already skeptical about it.

As I said, my friend cut his foot on a broken beer bottle during a short swim in the lake. That was enough for me.

All that being said, good on you for taking a dip. To each his own! How cold was the water?

Well Sunnyside isnt blue flag. Id have no problem at woodbine beach. It was pretty cold at first but it was so hot outside that I got used to it pretty quickly. Funny enough my apartment has an outdoor pool but I guess I just wanted the beach feeling. I must say the beach had more good looking women than I expected

[Madferret]

Was anyone at the H.O.P.E this past weekend?

[Potvin29]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/marcus-gee/i-swam-eight-toronto-beaches-in-one-day-and-lived/article2107245/

[Madferret]

...is probably not the greatest idea.

[Potvin29]

Scared of a little water.  Man/woman up.

[Madferret]

Scared of a little water.  Man/woman up.

More like scared of a little hepatitis. 

[Potvin29]

Scared of a little water.  Man/woman up.

More like scared of a little hepatitis.

I'm sure all of the hepatitis concentrates itself around the Toronto beaches and latches itself into your bloodstream as soon as you go in.  That does sound reasonable, to be fair.

[Sarge]

On a (kind of) related note, we went to Splash Works at Canada's Wonderland today. Great time and I'd like to thank all the fully-clothed East Indian women with life perservers on spalshing around in the wave pool. Ladies, thanks for the chuckles.

[Madferret]

Scared of a little water.  Man/woman up.

More like scared of a little hepatitis.

I'm sure all of the hepatitis concentrates itself around the Toronto beaches and latches itself into your bloodstream as soon as you go in.  That does sound reasonable, to be fair.

I heard you get it as soon as step barefoot in the hepatitis concentrated sand.

[Deebo]

On a (kind of) related note, we went to Splash Works at Canada's Wonderland today. Great time and I'd like to thank all the fully-clothed East Indian women with life perservers on spalshing around in the wave pool. Ladies, thanks for the chuckles.

Does that fact that they were east indian make it funnier?

[Mordac]

On a (kind of) related note, we went to Splash Works at Canada's Wonderland today. Great time and I'd like to thank all the fully-clothed East Indian women with life perservers on spalshing around in the wave pool. Ladies, thanks for the chuckles.

Does that fact that they were east indian make it funnier?

No. Just a higher octave.