Venice Kayak

Venice Kayak is closed for the winter holidays from December 14th to January 15th.

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

Due to popular demand Venice Kayak opens a week early this season, with tours starting on April 17, and availability from April 20, for those already in Venice and looking for a day trip in kayak.

The Financial Times Deutschland had a weekend section on Venice this weekend, in occasion of the Venice Film Festival, with a 2/3 page article on Venice Kayak.

Journalist Inke Suhr visited us on Friday, August 22nd, and we went for a very nice, half day paddle around parts of Venice city.

The full article in PDF format (7Mbytes).

The online article from Financial Times Deutschland.

The German kayaking magazine KANUMagazin.de has a short article on Venice Kayak in their June-July issue.

Auf der Liste der schönsten Paddeltouren der Welt steht die Stadrundfahrt durch Venedig im Kajak ganz oben. Nun kann man dank »Venicekayak« dieses Vergnügen auch ohne eigenes Kajak im Schlepptau genießen.

Venice Kayak has partnered with Point 65°N kayaks of Sweden.

Point 65°N, founded in 1996, is the leading kayak brand in Northern Europe and one of the fastest growing kayak companies in the world. Nigel Foster, the world renowned paddling personality, heads Point 65′s R&D-department.

Several Point 65°N models will be available at Venice Kayak for trials and sale, starting from late May. Initially the models XP, X-lite, Sea Cruiser and the brand new Whisky 16, designed by Nigel Foster, will be available.

The participants of Venice Kayak’s tours and excursions will also have the possibility of trying and enjoying the Point 65°N kayaks in the waters of Venice.

Venice Kayaks has partnered with Sea Kayak Designs, a new Italian kayak company by renowned kayak designer Raymond Varraud.

From late May one of each of Sea Kayak Design‘s three models, the 486, the 516 and the 526, will be available at Venice Kayak for trials and sale.

Participants in tours and excursions organised by Venice Kayak will have the possibility of trying the Sea Kayak Design models for extended periods.

When not designing sea kayaks, Raymond Varraud works as a professional photographer.

Sea Kayak Design 526

Sea Kayak Design 516

Sea Kayak Design 486

The website of Venice Kayak is now open. The company as such is not there yet, we expect that to be in order sometime in April, but now you can see what we’re up to

Please don’t hesitate to send us feedback, good or bad, on the idea behind Venice Kayak and on the website.