René Seindal

Yesterday we had one of the first acqua alta’s of the winter. It wasn’t exceptionally high, reaching a level of 100cm above the historical average water level, but it was just enough to wet a few places around the city, and more than enough to ground all but a few of the gondolas of the city.

The basis of the tide is the gravity of the sun and the moon, which gives the astronomical tide. In Venice the astronomical tide is from approximately from -40cm to +70cm at spring tide, and from 0cm to +50cm at neap tide. The astronomical tide is predictable and can be calculated for years in advance. A year’s worth of tables are available on the city’s web site.

On top of the astronomical tide comes the meteorological tide. Sustained strong E or SE winds in the Adriatic Sea push more water up into the Adriatic and then into the lagoon when the tide is rising, and impede the water flowing out with the falling tide, causing both lows and highs to stay above the level of the astronomical tide. The meteorological tide can be forecast for several days in advance.

The municipal tide forecast office publishes updated forecasts several times each day, for three day periods.

Yesterday’s high tide consisted of an astronomical high tide of +41cm, and a meteorological tide of +59cm. The wind in the lagoon was F4 NE in the morning, rising to F5 NE in the afternoon.

We went paddling, at bit with the hope that we could have a bit of fun on St. Mark’s square in a kayak

A couple of hours before the expected high the water was already at the edge of some campi, like here at the Campo dell’Arsenale. I often take people under the the bridge behind the lions, but there was no chance of doing that today, so we paddled back out to the Bacino S. Marco to enter the next canal.

At the Campo SS. Giovanni e Paolo, or Campo Zanipolo in Venetian, the water was also at the edge of the square, without spilling over.

We had timed our arrival at St. Mark’s to match the highest point of the tide, and as we arrived under the Ponte di Paglia (from where you can see the Bridge of Sighs), the water was washing over the pavement on the left.

The wind didn’t make itself much felt inside the city, but outside it had a free reign. In the city there were no gondolas about, because the level of the tide blocked their passage under most bridges. This was the only gondola we saw working all day. It does look like its can be a cold, wet and rather hard job being a gondoliere in Venice.

The tide was not enough to paddle across St. Mark’s. There were maybe 20cm of water on parts of the square, but the parts closest to the bacino are higher, just about the 100cm mark, so there was no water just behind the gondolas, unlike further in towards the basilica.

This building in Rio S. Zulian, just behind the basilica, was clearly build when the level of the city was higher and the tides lower.

The Campo di Guerra had a bit of water on it.

The Fondamente della Regina in the Rio Baratteri had the water up to the edge of the fondamenta.

This gondola in Rio delle Procuratie is not going anywhere with this tide,

and neither will these

There are some low lying areas around the Rialto too

including the Erbaria where the cafés often have tables outside, only today their guests would have gotten wet from above and from below.

The Ca’ d’Oro is on the best preserved Gothic buildings on the Canal Grande, dating from the 15th century. It is a nice portico towards the canal, albeit a bit humid today.

Not many have done this before

The inside of the Ca’ d’Oro is a museum, where they have boats too, and water on the floor.

Two hours after the highest level of tide the water was still high in the Cannaregio area, as here on the Rio della Misericordia. Normally in Venice you’d step down into a boat, but here you’d step up into it.

When we started heading back home it quickly became clear that the NE winds in the lagoon were well above their remaining strength, so I decided to tow the two boats back, and let the couple return to the camp site with the vaporetto. It was a bit complicated towing two boats down narrow canals in a headwind, but at least I was moving forwards. When I arrived in the Canale S.Pietro and the Rio Quintavalle, which leads out of Venice in a NE direction, the wind was so strong that I only managed to move forwards at a snail’s pace.

In front of me I had the Canale delle Navi, which is one of the busiest canals around Venice. It is the main passage from central Venice and the Lido to Murano and the airport.

The time was about an hour before sunset. Light was waning, the sky was overcast and it was raining a bit. The canal in front of me was full of two feet waves with white foamy crests.

I would have been foolish trying to cross it into a F5 headwind with two empty boats on a rope, moving at less than a knot, with vaporetti and taxis moving up and down the canal around me.

Consequently, I entered a little harbour on the island of Olivolo, where I hauled the two kayaks up and tied them safely to a railing, before I took my own kayak and started the paddle back to the Lido to meet the other two.

Without the two kayaks behind me I made good progress and crossed the Canale delle Navi quickly, only meeting a couple of vaporetti. They crew pointed at me and made some gestures that probably meant they didn’t think I were in any kind of sensible place and situation at that time. They might have been right, but I still made it to the other side.

Just as I came across the canal and passed the elephant sculpture in front of the Certosa island, lightning cut across the sky over the Lido. Thunder followed a while later, indicating the lightning was some two kilometres away. Somehow the weather forecast for the day had let that part out, or I would have cancelled the tour completely.

I paddled around the Certosa island as close to the shore as I possibly could for wind and waves, and found some shelter in a small canal behind the Sant’Andrea fortress. A few more lightnings greeted me along the way, now a bit closer.

I waited a bit, and spend the time finding some headlamps and glowsticks in my hatches, while I counted the time between lightning and thunder until I had the impression that the thunderstorm was moving down the Lido over the sea, away from me.

The crossing from Sant’Andrea to S.Nicolò is only about 250m, but its the main canal from the sea to Venice, used by everything from small motorboats to fifteen storey tall cruise ships. I paddled as fast as I could, it was now very dark, looking left and right to make sure any other traffic would spot my blinking headlamp and avoid me. There were nobody else stupid enough venture out, it seems, because I saw nothing.

I was more or less in the middle of the canal, when my phone rang (playing one of my favourite Leonard Cohen songs), lightning blasted across the sky and thunder roared simultaneously. The thunderstorm had turned around and it was now straight above me. I sped up (and didn’t answer the phone).

Once across, I hauled by kayak out of the water, carried it into the camp site and started taking my inflatable platform up.

My guests called back, came back after a while, and we got the last few things in order before I closed the gate and headed back home. The couple were as wet as me, and probably more tired. We all got a bit more adventure than we had bargained for.

I still have two kayaks tied to a railing on the Isola di S.Pietro, and will have to go and fetch them tomorrow.

Kayaking in Venice: who needs a gondola? by Teresa Machan in The Guardian, September 26th, 2009.

Forget water taxis and tourist rides, if you want a fresh perspective on La Serenissima, jump in a kayak and paddle up to St Mark’s Square

It’s rush hour and there’s a traffic jam on the Grand Canal. Popping out into the canal from one of the narrower waterways is a trio of gondolas; hurtling towards them is the number-one vaporetto (water bus) loaded with its summer cargo. So far so familiar, but in the midst of this waterborne whirl of gondolas, buses, taxis, pleasure and motorboats there’s me, in a kayak, with a honking, crane-bearing delivery boat up my backside.

Thanks, Teresa

There are strict speed limits on the Canal Grande, and its under constant surveillance, but the speed limits don’t apply to the fire brigade, as can be seen from these photos.

When you hear the siren you better move – or even better – keep to the sides always, as any rowed boat is expected to do in the Canalazzo.

The photos were taken on September 5 on the Canal Grande just in front of the City Hall, Ca’ Farsetti, very close to the Rialto Bridge.

This is not a regular occurrence. I have only seen it twice this year, and I do spend a good deal of time around the Canal Grande.

There has been a larger than usual mammal on the loose in the lagoon this summer.

The life size elephant stands on a shallow island near the Certosa island, just east of Venice, on the canal that leads to the airport. Most boats pass at a distance, but we can paddle right up under its trunk. It doesn’t seem to mind, though.

It appeared there in early June, just at the opening time of the Biennale, so it probably has something to do with that. If that’s the case, it will likely disappear in November when the Biennale closes.

Seen up close it looks like its made from old car tyres, heated and moulded into shape, and some pieces of drift wood.

Some have suggested that the little red ball is like a key stone on an arch. Remove that, and it’ll all come apart

At high tide the water in the canals at Murano is clean enough for the local children to swin and play in the water. The kids were jumping from the bridge in front of the medieval church SS. Marie e Donato.

There’s a place at Riva degli Schiavoni in Venice, in the Bacino S. Marco, which is used for mooring shiny luxus yachts – some of which are very shiny.

S.Marco reflected in the side of a yacht

Myself and two others with S.Giorgio Maggiore in the background, reflected in the same yatch.

The 35th Vogalonga was held on May 31st, on the Sunday following Ascension as tradition dictates.

The Vogalonga is a 30km non-competitive “race” through the city of Venice and the lagoon. It starts a 9 from St. Mark’s with a cannon shot, and proceeds around Sant’Elena, past the islands of Certosa, Le Vignole, Sant’Erasmo, San Francesco in Deserto, Burano, Mazzorba, San Giacomo in Palude, Murano back to Venice for a final trip down the Canal Grande back to the finish at St. Mark’s.

As an exception to an otherwise firm rule, Venice Kayak rents kayaks for the day of the Vogalonga, so we were a bunch of people launching from the camp site, in addition to the maybe 50 or more other kayaks, canoes, inflatables and other boats starting from there too.

Marco and I had to get everybody off safely, so we launched last, at about 8.30, with the prospect of not getting to the start on time, as the paddle to St. Mark’s normally takes about 40 minutes.

The weather gave us a hand, though, for which we paid dearly later. The forecast was for a NE wind, turning ENE later, of force 4 to 5 for most of the day. The sky was ominous, dark and menacing, but we were spared any rain during the day. The only trial would be the wind.

With a F4-5 tail wind and waves of ½m we half paddled, half surfed down the Canale San Nicolò and around Sant’Elena to St. Mark’s, where we arrived in less the 20 minutes, well before the cannon blast and the start of the Vogalonga.

The start was as chaotic as ever. One thousand five hundred boats or more, assembled without any order or system, all starting at the same time, is bound to create some disorder. Being in a small vessel you need to be careful and look over your shoulder every once in a while. A gondolone with twelve, fourteen or eighteen oarsmen cannot turn or stop in a jiffy, and the many backwards rowers often have little idea of where they’re going or what they’re hitting.

The first critical point was when we turned left at Sant’Elena, straight into the wind. Many rowers weren’t prepared for the wind that suddenly hit them, and had difficulties turning the corner. A caorlina just in front of me completely cost control and veered to the right, straight across the path of many other boats struggling to turn left. Much shouting ensued, but being behind and left of the fight I didn’t get involved.

The next 15km was one long hard slug into the headwind. Initially, the canals there were narrow and the field still close together, so there was little choice but to keep up with the speed of the others. The average speed of the many Venetian boats with four, six, eight or more oarsmen was around 5km/h in spite of the headwind, so we just had to push harder and keep up with them.

After a while I spotted Marco maybe 200m ahead of me, paddling in a leisurely pace just in the wake of an eight oarsmen gondolone, shielded from the wind by the much higher Venetian boat, and I started paddling even harder to catch up with him. I didn’t gain one metre on him, but I did succeed in geting very tired way too soon during the Vogalonga. After a while I gave up and found a similar place in the wake of a caorlina, where I could relax a bit. There were still over 20km left of the trip, and I had no intention of pushing myself out of the race.

I followed other boats like that for a good part of the northward part of the itinerary, breaking away every once in a while to try to take some photos. It was almost impossible to photograph anything. As soon as I stopped paddling, even for the few seconds it took to pull the camera out of the pocket to turn it on and drop it on the spraydeck, the wind would cause me to lose speed and turn sideways across the path of the others. The few photos I did manage to take were almost all shaken because I had to lower the camera before the autofocus has finished.

As we turned left around San Francesco del Desterto towards Burano I made a small mistake. Most other boats kept a course more to the left, downwind, which seemed to take them south of Burano, not north of the island as the official itinerary said. I assumed they had been blown a bit off course by the strong winds, so I kept more to the right towards the northern side of Burano. As a consequence I ended in secca, in shallow waters due to the low tide, and for about 1-2km I had to fight the winds from my right with only 10-15cm under the keel. Had the tide been just a little bit lower, I would have been stuck.

As I approached Burano and finally got enough water under the boat to paddle faster, a completely devastated Marco pulled up besides me. He had ended up behind me earlier because he wanted to take some pictures, and had had to paddle like a madman to catch up.

We agreed on taking a break after we had rounded Burano, in the canal at Mazzorba, where the wind would be in our favour. We picked up some drinks and bananas at a service boat in the canal, and as I ate my bananas and drank the sugary greenish stuff they had give us, Marco paddled across the canal to say hello to a friend. I drifted along, leaving Mazzorba towards the island of Madonna del Monte, while I took photos of the passing boats.

Each year in the Vogalonga there seems  to be a boat that attracts more attention than the others, and it usually involves female rowers for some unknown reason. Last year it was a beautiful wooden sandolo with a couple dress in white with golden scarfs, and this year it was a smaller sandolo or mascareta rowed by four women from the Remiera Querini in Venice.  The boat was adorned with blue flowers and the girls dressed in matching colours.

Most rowers were relieved of having turned the corner and now having a good strong tail wind, but for some the problems seemed to get worse. Many of the backwards rowers seemed to have problems with the following waves, and many went way off course. A black gondola, the only one I saw doing the Vogalonga, also went off course at times, but they definitely made it, as I saw them later in the city.

The strong winds and the open landscape in the middle of the lagoon gave more and larger waves than I have ever seen in the lagoon. As I approached Murano, especially after I had passed the island of San Giacomo in Palude, the waves were between ½m and 1m, which is a lot in a shallow lagoon. It was definitely enough for me to catch a wave and surf a little. I had loads of fun, until a backwards boat almost rammed me from behind as I was waiting for a wave.

I was full of energy as I entered Murano and continued towards S. Alvise on the NW side of Venice. The official route was towards S. Alvise then right to the start if the Canale Cannaregio where we were to enter the city canals.

The waves were building up as I came closer to S. Alvise, and they were now mostly around 1m from the back slightly on the right side. When I was almost at the Canale Cannaregio, I had to do a detour because a large area was closed off by a floating barrier. As I paddled around the area, I noticed a sunk dragonboat and two or more backwards boats in the water, in a mess of oars and other stuff from the capsized and sunken boats. A couple of persons were swimming inside the area, apparently trying to collect oars and other floating items.

(Press photo)

The Canale Cannaregio, especially at the Ponte Tre Archi, is another critical point where boats often pile up. This time is wasn’t that bad, but the backwards people still caused problems as they had problems getting through, even hitting the central arch with getting too close to the sides.

Once I was through the Canale Cannaregio and into the Canal Grande everything eased up and traffic flowed without problems. There were no vaporetti or taxis, and very few gondolas. It was a fantastic experience paddling slowly down the completely quiet Canal Grande which hardly had a ripple on the surface.

At the finish I got my diploma and medal, and moved over to the side to watch the others coming in. Marco arrived soon after, as did the gondolone from the rowing club Diadora (where I’m a member now) with Lino Farnea a poppa, and the splendid red peata from the Remiera del Brenta.

Tony from the UK was the only one of ‘our’ paddlers who came in at that time, and the three of us started our return paddle towards the Lido. To avoid having to fight the wind again around Sant’Elena, we went through the inner city canals until we came out at San Pietro in Castello, which is little more then 1 km from the camp site.

We returned very tired, with the expectation of finding several of our guests there, as it was clear that a substantial number of participants had dropped out of this year’s Vogalonga. To our surprise there was nobody.

They all came back in ones and twos during the afternoon, and everybody who started made it through to the finish. Most were completely exhausted after many hours fighting the headwind, but also content.

According to what I’ve heard and read afterwards, the Vogalonga 2009 was the hardest ever. Over 100 boats left the race shortly after the start when they got hit by the headwinds at Sant’Elena, many others were blown on ground in too shallow waters, and some 30 boats sank or capsized at the Canale Cannaregio. About 80 rowers ended in the water there, and 20 in hospital with minor injuries.

Press coverage:

• La Nuova Venezia
• Il Gazzetino

Venice Kayak

Naturally, my future plans mostly revolve around Venice Kayak, which is after all a ’strategic’ choice I have made.

Currently I work closely with a camp site on the Lido di Venezia, where I have all gear and equipment, and I have to follow their season. They open on April 24 and close at the end of September, so these points in time are fixed for me.

I much prefer having people in Venice for several paddling days, so we can explore more of the city and the lagoon, but I also do single day paddles ‘on-demand’ for people who are already there.

Venice Kayak is at www.venicekayak.com.

Voga alla veneta

When I return to Venice in April I want to become a member of a local rowing club there, the Circolo Canottieri Diadora, where I had a few Venetian rowing lessons last autumn.

Venetian rowing, or Voga alla veneta, as it is called locally, is the art of rowing standing up in the boat, facing forward, pushing the oar with the arms and body weight. The rowing style has become famous because gondolas are rowed like that, but the Venetians have a plethora of boats rowed Venetian style, from small racing boats to huge cargo freight boats weighing several tons.

Somehow a Venetian paddling experience is not complete without at least having tried to row in the local way, and I want to learn that and be good at it.

Symposium in Catalonia

During Easter the Catalan paddling association Pagaia organised the third international sea kayak symposium in Llança/Port de la Selva, on April 4-6 with the possibility of remaining until April 12 for further paddles and talks.

We participated in 2007 and it was a great experience. The setting was fantastic. A rocky coastline with lots of Mediterranean ‘macchia’ as its called in Italy, provided for good varied paddling waters. The symposium was held on a very good camp site with its own beach, and add to that a well organised gathering and great food too It was very nice, and I want to go back.

I hope to be able to make a presentation on paddling in Venice during the week after the symposium weekend.

The Pagaia symposium web site is at www.pagaia.cat/sympo09.

Vogalonga

The 35th Vogalonga is a must when one work in Venice. The Vogalonga is an annual rowing celebration. It is a 30km non-competitive ‘race’ through Venice and the lagoon, open for all kinds of paddled or rowed boats. In 2008 for the 34th Vogalonga, there were over 1600 boats registered, and an unknown number of unregistered boats.

It is quite a sight with that many human powered boats in one place, and I wouldn’t miss it for anything.

This year the Vogalonga is on May 31.

The Vogalonga is held on the Sunday following Ascension, which is an important religious holiday in Venice, called the Sensa.

The celebrations of the Sensa includes a magnificent procession at sea, with parade boats from all the rowing associations in Venice, and a ceremony where Venice, represented by the mayor and the patriarch, throws a golden ring into the sea to celebrate a symbolic marriage between the city and the sea.

The Vogalonga web site is at www.vogalonga.com.

Symposium in Bibione in Italy

Bibione Kayak organises a kayak symposium in Bibione Pineda, circa 70km north of Venice, in the week following the Vogalonga.

This is the second Bibione Kayak symposium. The first was last year, with participation of Nigel Foster, Kristin Nelson, Jen Kleck and many others, and they will be back this year, where they will teach and instruct.

There’s no registration fee for Bibione Kayak, in fact there’s no requirement to register at all. There will be a lot of activities during the symposium week. It will be possible to participate in the Vogalonga, take classes with the international guests present, and probably also daytrips for paddling in Venice.

Its a fun event and a great way of getting to know Italian seakayakers.

The Bibione Kayaks web site is at www.bibionekayak.com.

Commercial trips to other parts of Italy

It is my hope that it will be possible to organise kayaking trips to other parts of Italy, to places I know and where I have contacts, such as Sardinia, Elba, Sicily and maybe elsewhere. This is very much at a preliminary stage, but something I’m thinking about. I love Italy and I love kayaking, so I want to kayak as much in Italy as I can get away with.

Circumnavigation of Sicily

The paddling journey that went pear shaped in Sardinia in 2007 was supposed to include the circumnavigation of Sicily as well. That never happened, which still bothers me because the circumnavigation of Sicily was what I originally wanted to do.

I have travelled in Sicily since 1992, my wife is from Palermo, I wrote my MA thesis in History about Sicily, and I never get tired of the jewel of the Mediterranean, which has nature, history, culture, food and wonderful people in such abundance.

I’m not sure that this will be possible at all, as the project would take at least one month. The journey is about 1000km and I’m not a racer. I usually want to see things and meet people along the way, which also takes some time.

So the kayaking season is over here in Venice, and I’m heading back home now.  I have most things packed, and just need to check oil on the motorbike before I’m off, heading north towards Denmark, Copenhagen and Valentina and Jamil.

Yesterday I had a very interesting meeting with Maria and Andrea from Venice Canoe and Dragonboat, which is quite another way of experiencing Venice in a non-traditional way. I have rarely met nicer people, and I’m really looking forward to working with them in the future.

Now its my way and the highway

(photo from May on my way down here)