René’s old blog

This site is some twenty-five years old, and it contains lots of ancient stuff, much of it utterly dated and useless.

Sorry about that.

If anything, I post very unevenly, and about whatever occupies me.

Some featured posts

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Most recent posts

  • From Corsica to Genoa in kayak

    I’m posting this on behalf of some friends of mine. Michele Ghezzo and Massimiliano Valerosi, both from Venice, are going to paddle from Macinaggio on the island of Corsica to Genova in northern Italy in a double surf ski. The journey is about a 100 nautical miles across the open sea, which they hope to…

  • Vogando a poppa

    Yesterday I had my first real lesson in Voga alla Veneta, the Venetian style of rowing standing up. I went out with Lino, one of the coaches at the Canottieri Diadora on the Lido di Venezia, in a mascareta like the other two times I have tried it. The first two times I’ve tried to…

  • Vogando

    Vogando

    My little voga alla veneta adventure continues, at a slow but accelerating pace. I haven’t had a chance to try it again as work paddling around Venice with tourists have taken almost all my time, but today Enzo gave me a call and asked if I wanted to try again today. I threw down a…

  • A Busy Paddling Bee

    Its been a busy week. I’ve had a group of ten Danes here in Venice for the part week, with an assistant guide from our partner kajakhotellet in Denmark. Its been a great week. We’ve done some fantastic paddles, in Venice and in the lagoon, by day and by night. As one participant said this…

  • Narwhal massacre in Greenland

    Narwhal massacre in Greenland

    The Danish press has reported on a narwhal massacre in Greenland recently, where 42 narwhals have been killed, for their tusks and a limited amount of flesh. The rest of the whale were left to rot on the shore. The remains of the whales were discovered by a boatful of tourists on August 17th. The…

  • Voga alla Veneta

    Voga alla Veneta

    Today I’ve had my baptism at Voga alla Veneta. I went with Enzo, who has a small garden near the Camping San Nicolò where I stay, to the Circolo Canottieri Diadoro to try to row a bit with him. I had about half an hour on the water with Enzo, before his next appointment showed…

  • Voga alla Veneta

    Voga alla Veneta

    Tomorrow will be the basis of another anniversary. I have just made an appointment to have my first lesson of Voga alla Veneta, or rowing Venetian style, tomorrow.

  • Anniversary

    Anniversary

    Today is my two years anniversary with sea kayaking. I did my first sea kayaking course at Kajakhotellet in Copenhagen, Denmark, on August 19th and 20th, 2006. Since then I have paddled almost 2500 km, circumnavigated the Mediterranean island of Sardinia and started a kayaking business in Venice, Italy. This is the most recent photo…

  • Terra di San Marco

    Terra di San Marco

    I’m back in Venice now, in the camping getting the last things ready before a group of Danes arrives on Sunday for a week of magic Venetian paddling. I was lucky enough to find myself a vacant window seat on the right side of the plane. The airport of Venice is built on the edge…