Venice Kayak

The Certosa island where Venice Kayak is based, have been severely damaged by a tornado on June 12th.

Hundreds of trees have been uprooted, ancient ruins have collapsed, and our kayaks have been tossed around like leafs in the wind. Most have survived the ordeal, but there’s quite a bit of damage to the fiber glass boats.

The area where we have the equipment is no longer safe to use due to fallen and half-fallen trees and branches.

On June 12th just after 11am a tornado (strength EF2) hit eastern Venice. It formed south of Venice between the Lido and the Giudecca, then moved northwards passing Sant’Elena, Certosa, Vignole and Sant’Erasmo. Nobody got serious hurt by the tornado, but it caused material damages of €10 million or more.

Venice Kayak is based on the Certosa island, and our base there got a direct hit. The tornado ran across the island, first close to the hotel where tables and chairs were strewn all over the area, then down the middle of the island uprooting large trees and causing the collapse of the only building left of the medieval monastery which has give the island its name.

It then reached the central part of the island, where Venice Kayak and the Venice Sea School have their boats and equipment. Boats, both kayaks, sit-on-tops and smaller sailing boats were thrown around, some landing over 50m from where they were.

The tornado then continued over the northern forested part of the island, uprooting still more trees, before continuing  across the Vignole to Sant’Erasmo.

On the Certosa island over one thousand trees were uprooted, broken or damaged.

Compared to the damages others have sustained Venice Kayak has escaped the worst, but the damage is more than enough to cause problems for a small company like Venice Kayak.

Most of our fiberglass kayaks are damaged, some severely. One was thrown under a container, which then fell down from its supports and squashed the kayak completely. Another was hit by the bow on another kayak, which must have been thrown like a dart at it. René’s kayak ended underneath the others, and has serious damages front and centre. Most of the other fiberglass boats have lighter damages, but bad enough that they cannot be used unless repaired.

All our plastic boats survived without worse damages than detached hatches and some superficial scratches.

Venice Kayak is still able to do tours, thanks to the robustness of the plastic boats and a bit of good fortune.

We’ll be operating from a different location on the island, and tours will start from the marina rather than from the beach, as there are too many fallen and broken trees in area where the beach is.

Photos from the kayak area

Photos from the rest of the island

America’s Cup comes to Venice in May, 2012. We’ll be there to watch the races and the boats from our kayaks, and you can come and join us.

In 2012, the real action will heat up May 17-20, as teams compete for top honors in both match and fleeting racing championships as well as the overall winner-take-all title. Similar to other AC World Series venues, Venice offers both great sailing conditions and proximity to the racing, allowing spectators to see the world’s top sailors compete just off the shore.

via America’s Cup | Venice to host AC World Series.

Venice Kayak has done several evening tours lately, enjoying stunning sunsets in the lagoon, but the weather is getting colder and windier now. As a consequence Venice Kayak has decided to put an end to further evening tours this season.

We’ll be happy to make exceptions for experienced paddlers who bring their own dry suit for the tours.

Evening tours will resume next season when the weather is better again.

Filming during a paddle tour in the dark is difficult at best but Ola Eide, who participated in an evening paddle in late September, managed to get some footage with a special night vision camcorder.

Link to YouTube video.

“À faire en Italie : la liste de François-Étienne” is a different travel series in television, produced by Canadian Evasion TV.

Venice Kayak features prominently in one of the two Venice programmes:

Dans cet épisode, François-Étienne apprend à créer un masque pour le carnaval de Venise, il monte dans la célèbre basilique Saint-Marc pour y admirer ses chevaux et il visite la réputée boutique Venini où l’on vend du verre de Murano. Aussi, il contemple Venise d’un nouveau regard en participant à une expédition de kayak dans ses canaux et il découvre ses secrets les mieux gardés grâce à Ana, la Vénitienne, qui l’initie au visage moins touristique de la ville. Et, bien sûr, il est hors de question pour François-Étienne de quitter Venise sans manger son plat typique, les seiches, et sans passer par la célèbre piazza San Marco!

The kayaking part of the programme is online on Vimeo, from where the video below comes.

The video footage was shot in the summer of 2010, and the other paddlers are Canadian Steve Lutsch and Venetian Loretta Masiero.

Paolo Brandolisio is one of the few remaining makers of traditional Venetian oars and oarlocks for gondolas and other Venetian rowed boats.

Last year, out of curiosity, I took a couple of my old worn Greenland paddles down to his little workshop close to San Marco, and asked him if he could make me a replica, if only a bit shorter, sharper, smoother …

Within a week he passed me a paddle, from his doorway on the canal behind the workshop, so I could give its try. It was absolutely brilliant, even if it was just a trial cut made of whatever sticks had littered the floor of his shop.

Paolo is truly a great craftsman, and an artist.

He has by now started a small production of beautiful Venetian kayak paddles, which can be bought directly from his shop, where you can also find many other things, like miniature oarlocks and carved ornaments.

Paolo’s paddles are made from a variety of wood, depending on where it goes on the finished paddles, just like each bit of a gondola is made of a specific type of wood, for the correct degrees of weight, durability,stiffness and water resistance.

They’re not only high quality paddles, they’re little works of art and history, embodying a thousand years of wood working traditions.

Paolo currently makes three different models.

The basic paddle is made of one single piece of wood, with inserts of hard wood to reinforce the edges of the blade.

The paddles I have are made of more pieces of wood, to make a light, stiff and yet durable paddle. The paddles are all individual, but usually made of light wood in the middle, reinforced by inserts of hardwood along the edges and tips of the blades.

Lastly, Paolo can paint the paddles on the same designs as gondola paddles are often painted. This makes for some very Venetian souvenirs to take home for display, or use if you can get yourself to do it.

I now have three of his paddlers, some of the very first. They’re now as worn as the ones I brought him a year and a half ago.

Venice Kayak will for a while–for practical reasons–do the tours from the island of Certosa, which is just east of Venice city.

The island is reachable by vaporetto 41, which passes the S.Lucia station (departure at 9:15 for arrival at the Certosa at 10am), Piazzale Roma (9:18), S.Marta (9:24); and on the Giudecca island: Sacca Fisola (9:28), Palanca (9:31), Redentore (9:34), Zitelle (9:37); and S.Zaccaria (9:41), Arsenale (9:44), Giardini (9:47), Sant’Elena (9:50); with arrival at the Certosa at 9:56.

By vaporetto 42, from Murano Museo  (9:23), Murano Navagero (9:26), Murano Faro (9:29), Murano Colonna (9:32); then Fondamente Nove (9:41), Ospedale (9:43), Celestia (9:45), Bacini (9:48), San Pietro di Castello (9:55); with arrival at the Certosa at 9:58.

The Certosa stop is by request only, so tell the sailor on board that you need to get off on the Certosa island, when boarding the vaporetto.

Both vaporettos run a 20 minute schedule, so the previous vaporetto is 20 minute before the times mentioned above.

There’s a hotel on the Certosa island, and the meeting point is at the bar there, so the ones coming early can have a coffee and a snack.

The Sensa – Ascension in Venetian – is an thousand year old ceremony where a symbolic marriage ceremony between La Serenissima and the sea. The celebration has its origins in 997, following a military victory in Dalmatia which brough those lands under Venetian control.

The central part of the ceremony is a procession on water from St.Mark’s to San Nicolò on the Lido, where the Patriach of Venice will bless a golden ring, which will then be tossed in the water by the Mayor (in lieu of the Doge) as a symbol of the Venetian dependence on the sea and its dominance of the seas.

The Doge travelled on the Bucintoro – the golden ship – but the last Bucintoro was destroyed in 1797 and never rebuild, so now a less impressive ceremonial boat is used.  The rest of the procession will be of sports gondolas, all with four oarsmen, from the various rowing associations of Venice.

Following the procession and the ceremony is a regatta of four-oared gondolas, starting from St.Mark’s going to San Nicolò.

This year the feast is on May 24th.

The procession with the Patriarch and the Mayor will start at St. Mark’s at 9am with the ceremony taking place on arrival at San Nicolò. The regatta starts at 11 am from St. Mark’s.

Venice Kayak has a kayaking tour of Venice on May 24th, with an early start from San Nicolò, so we can be there and watch the ceremony. As we paddle towards the city we will also be able to see a part of the gondola race as the row down along the Riva degli Schiavoni.

Kanosport Zwalker, a Dutch outfitter of kayak and canoe holidays, is organising a week long trip to Venice in the week May 16 to May 24.

There are still a couple of empty kayaks available for this trip, so it is a chance to get on a unique kayaking holiday in Venice and lagoon.

The program is:

• Saturday, May 16 – Arrival,
• Sunday, May 17 – paddling tour of Venice (Castello, Rialto, Cannaregio),
• Monday, May 18 – Venice again (St. Mark’s, Canal Grande, San Polo and Dorsoduro),
• Tuesday, May 19 – Northern lagoon (Sant’Erasmo, Burano, Torcello),
• Wednesday, May 20 – rest day for exploring on land or going to the beach,
• Thursday, May 21 – afternoon visit to Murano, dinner in the lagoon and evening paddle through Canal Grande,
• Friday, May 22 – Venice (Giudecca, Dorsoduro, Santa Croce),
• Saturday, May 23 – Venetian rowing class in a local rowing club, learn to row like a gondoliere,
• Sunday, May 24 – departure.

Included in the package:

• Kayak, paddle, life vest, jacket,
• Italian and English speaking guide,
• Dutch coach,
• Camping in tents.

Not included is:

• Airfare or other transportion to and from Venice
• Food
• Accommodation upgrades (caravans in the camp site or nearby hotel)

Price:   € 645,-

Full announcement from Kanosport Zwalker (in Dutch).

Further inquiry: Paul van Boerdon, pablo@zwalker.nl