Le Vignole -> Portosecco -> Chioggia

Le Vignole

Once again I'm up early, before the girls. Sitting by the open door of the boat, watching the small fish swim by in busy schools, watching seaweed floating by, listening to birds, pheasants, church bells, chickens, a cock, a peacock! I write a few notes on my phone that I'll use to make blog entries when we get home. Two men row past in a gondola.

I notice a thick black line along the wall on the opposite side of the narrow canal. I had also noticed this along the edge of the canal at San Francesco. What could it be? Skid marks left by unskilled houseboat pilots? These boats have thick, black rubber rubbing strakes along the sides. Maybe it's the high water mark? But why black? Algae? It's strange how I like getting up early on the boat. Normally I'm not a morning person at all, but these early mornings on the water are something special. 

The girls are up now, and before we go we want to take on water, so Eileen and I start by warping the boat around. The current is flowing past, so to turn the boat all we have to do is release the stern and give it a little push. The flowing water does the rest. Now that we are facing the right way, we can just drive off ahead. We pass the sailing barge and the few small hire boats moored behind it. Our hose is still too short. We need to move back a bit, but there is a mooring line in the water from one of the hire boats, and I don't want to get it stuck in our propeller. We take the rope off, slide the boat back, and finally the hose reaches our tank. But the hose keeps wanting to pull out of the intake pipe. It occurs to me that a rolling hitch would be perfect for keeping it in place the time to fill the tank. The only problem is that I can't remember how to tie a rolling hitch... But wait, I've got a knot-tying app on my phone! A few minutes later I've got the hose under control with a rolling-hitch to a stantion. We have a quick breakfast and prepare the boat to leave. We're later than planned, again.

But before we leave we want to see if we can visit the tiny church on the other side of the bridge. We walk over, taking a few pictures on the way. Actually the whole lagoon must be the most photogenic place I've ever visited. For the first time since I've had this camera (Canon PowerShot A710IS, nearly 8 years!) I've run out of space on the memory card. I actually had to delete some of the less successful photos last night, and now it's full again. I'm going to have to use the iPad to take pictures from now on. I feel a bit self-conscious. I've seen more and more people taking pictures with iPads lately, but I still think it looks stoopid! The tiny church is locked up, so we return to the boat and cast off the mooring lines. Venice, here we come again!

A Goldola crossing Bacino di San Marco

We leave the peace and quiet of our little canal and hang a right onto the Canale San Nicolo, which leads directly to Bacino di San Marco. This is the stretch of water between San Giorgio and Piazzetta San Marco. Soon we can see the Doge's Palace to the right. Traffic is getting really crazy now, with boats of every size heading in every direction. Tour boats and vaporetti are pulling in and out of quays all along the edge of San Marco. Work boats are chugging by. Water taxis are speeding past. We are the slowest thing on the water, except for a lone gondola crossing over from La Giudecca. Wow, that's bravery! 

The boat is pitching and rolling heavily as we hit the crossed and confused wakes of all the passing boats. It's utter madness. I'm trying to take pictures. Eileen is at the wheel, and to my amazement she is absolutely calm! Laura and I are keeping a lookout, calling out positions of boats passing from behind, crossing from the left and right, coming from ahead, sometimes all four at once! I hit the "Video" button on the iPad, thinking what a great video this will make.

Doge's Palace and the Piazzetta San Marco

As we proceed up the Canale della Giudecca things calm down a little. By now we've passed the entrance to the Grand Canal, and now we've got Giudecca on our left and Venice on the right. We pass by the super-yacht Space, moored up to the quay. In the distance we can see the tops of hulking cruise ships sticking up over the buildings. There is quite a controversy surrounding the presence of these cruise ships in the Lagoon and the damage they might be causing to the canals and the fragile base on which Venice rests. Not to mention the atmospheric and visual pollution. 

We come to the top of La Giudecca and circle around to the left, tucking in close to the other side of the island. This side of the island is very different, with many small shipyards at first, followed by beautiful country villas. We see the futuristic "Tender to Space" tied up. Down near the bottom of the canal we turn left and take a last tour of San Giorgio past the church of the same name, the campanile, and the marina where we had been thinking of staying. In the end we were happy with our mooring on Le Vignole so we spent a second night there instead.

Now we are heading away from Venice, the start of our journey back to Chioggia where we will spend the last night, giving the boat back first thing in the morning. Hard to believe we'll be flying out tomorrow. Today is overcast and much cooler than yesterday. Venice is receding into the cloud and mist as we head along the Canale San Spirito through a quiet and peaceful part of the lagoon. Soon all that's left are the campaniles. Eventually those disappear too. 

Laura is at the wheel now, and there is virtually no other traffic. We pass several small, mostly uninhabited islands; Isola San Clemente, San Spirito, Poveglia. There is a certain melancholic atmosphere in this part of the lagoon, especially after the adrenaline-inducing bounce up the Giudecca Canal. The realisation that our holiday is coming to an end adds a bit of sadness too.

Poveglia

There is a recommended anchorage on the other side of Poveglia, and I'm tempted to stop there for lunch. The island, like many of the islands in the lagoon was originally populated by those fleeing the barbarian invasions on the mainland. Many buildings, churches, and fortifications were built as populations grew. When these small islands became impossible to defend, the people were relocated to Venice and the islands remained mostly uninhabited. Eventually Poveglia was used as a quarantine, and then as a hospital for the mentally ill which finally closed in 1968. As we pass the southern corner of the tiny island, the bricole peter out, and we don't have a depth sounder so we chicken out. We can't afford to run aground when we have to have the boat back in Chioggia tonight.

We continue to Malamocco, and from here on we are retracing our steps from the outward journey. We decide to try to stop in Portosecco, where several moorings are indicated on the chart. We spot rings along the wall opposite bricola 53 and head in towards them. Tucking in behind some piles, we come alongside the wall. Eileen tries to lean down to thread a line through a ring but she can't reach so I take the line and hang over the wall precariously, just managing to get it through. We tie up the boat in line with the steps, get a few things together and head ashore.

Portosecco is a very small, simple fishing village with a very pretty-looking church. We wander over trying to find the entrance to the church but end up in someone's yard. Backtracking a bit we come to the church entrance but it's closed. We decide to head for the beach. It's a five minute walk from one side of the island to the other, and then up some steps and over sand dunes and we're on the Adriatic Sea. It's deserted except for a group of people sitting on one of the embankments that protrude out to sea. We walk along the beach for a while, Eileen and Laura dipping their feet in the water. The sun has come out now, and suddenly it's getting very hot. 

Beach at Portosecco

We walk on for a little while then turn around and start to head back. The sun is blistering hot now and it feels very humid. There are showers forecast for this evening, and we had planned things so that we would be back in Chioggia before then. I'm watching the sky carefully and I can see thunderclouds gathering on the horizon. I'm starting to get worried that we'll be caught in a thunder storm, so I hurry us along back to the boat.

We untie the boat and set off again along the canal towards Chioggia. We're only about half an hour away, but it has clouded over completely now and I'll be glad once we're tied up for the night. We cross the Bocca di Porto di Chioggia, looking out for ship traffic whose path we would be crossing. Off to our starboard side a small ship is approaching. I keep an eye on him, and he is steadily falling back so we'll pass safely ahead. Once across the channel, I'm surprised to see that he is turning in and coming up behind us. I wonder if it's wide enough for him to overtake here? He seems to think it is! Eileen is at the wheel and once again she is staying calm and cool as this big hulking ship slowly overtakes us.

Ship overtaking. Keep calm and carry on!

We hesitate a bit over where to go, but eventually identify the entrance to the port of Chioggia and then the canal that takes us back past the moored fishing boats and over to the familiar Rendezvous Fantasia base. At first it doesn't look like there is anywhere to park, but then we identify an empty berth near the end of the pontoons. We head up, turn, and start backing in. There is not much wind so this shouldn't be too difficult. Laura is watching the stern, and she warns me that I'm going to hit the mooring pile to port. I give it a little blast of ahead and the stern moves over to starboard. Back into reverse and we slowly slide between the piles towards the pontoon. Someone from RVF is there to take our stern lines, and soon we are moored up safely. Wooohoo! I get a great rush of relief and pride all at once. I'm relieved that we made it back safely, we didn't break anything, and nobody got hurt. I'm also immensely proud of my crew who were brilliant through it all! 

After spending a week in a watery, boaty universe it feels strange and somehow unpleasant to see cars, buses, and all this road traffic. It's early evening so we should still have some time to see more of Chioggia before getting something to eat. Chioggia is not flooded with tourists who all disappear at sunset, so it's quite busy and animated on a Friday evening. Along with the cars and scooters it's also surrounded by canals and boats, so it makes for a gentler transition from our water world back to dry land. 

We walk the length of the main street, Corso del Popolo, visiting churches along the way. We walk out to the lagoon end of the street and there is a vaporetto stop with boats going to Venice. Very tempting, I could probably find the shop with the glass squids but they would almost certainly be closed, so I give up on the idea. Eileen is intent on going back to the same restaurant where we ate the first day, El Fontego. Large, heavy rain drops are starting to fall as we arrive, and waiters and customers are rushing to move inside off the terrace. 

Good choice of wine! My cheeks hurt...

We are seated quickly, inside also this time. I'm feeling adventurous and in a mood to celebrate so I order the "big gnocchi" starter followed by calamaretti for the main course. I choose a wine, and the waiter makes a sour face and shakes his head disapprovingly. He comes back a few minutes later to say that he is sorry but my wine choice is not available. He suggests another and I accept. Several minutes later the waiter and proprietor come to the table looking very serious. The proprietor apologizes profusely that the wine suggested by the waiter is not available, but in any case he would recommend a different wine anyway and is sure that I'll be happier with this recommendation. I think it was my choice of red wine with fish that threw them off. They weren't going for it though, and I had no choice but to accept the white. And a good choice it was, too!

We're all feeling relaxed and quite relieved and our holiday is coming to an end, so we are really enjoying ourselves. The wine probably contributed something too! Laura is making a serious face, and it makes me break out in laughter. I'm trying to get the waiter's attention with the Irish finger wave. It doesn't work. Every once in a while the table sways back and forth, as if from the wake of a passing boat. Laura has to hold her cheeks cause they hurt from laughing so much! Eileen finally manages to get the waiter, we pay and head off in search of gelato. It's pelting rain, with thunder and lightening in the distance. Earlier on we had scouted out all the gelaterie, and there is one across the way that stays open til midnight. We eat our cones while sheltering under the arcade, strolling along and window shopping. When we're finished our ice-creams we hurry back to the boat in the rain, jumping over puddles. Sleep comes easily.


Log Entry for Friday 10 May 2013:
From: Le Vignole (depart 11:00) Towards: Chioggia (arrive 17:45) via Portosecco (arrive 15:15, depart 16:15)

Tides
▲ 1220 0.8m
▼ 1710 0.4m
▲ 2305 0.9m
▼ 0600 0.0m

Baro: 1011.5 hPa
Wind: 3 kn gusting to 10 kn
Temps: Low 16° High 20°
Rel humidity: 83%
Forecast partly sunny AM, then mostly cloudy. 65% chance of showers from 17:00. 90% chance of showers from 20:00

Engine hours: 554.5 - 559.9
Water: 3/8 -> 4/4 (filled up in Vignole)
Battery (12V): 12.5
Battery (24V): 25

Venice

Venice here we come!

I'm awoken by the most beautiful bird song. Not sure what kind of bird it is, but it has the most amazing and varied song. Even out-doing the resident blackbird in our courtyard in Paris. Eileen is still sleeping, so I just lie there listening for a while. Eventually I get up and sit on the step in the saloon, with the sliding door open onto the canal. There are rings spreading out all over the surface of the water, made by feeding fish. I hear a sploop and when I look up I see a fish completely out of the water, falling back in with a louder splash. 

A few moments later I hear a splish ... splish ... splish, then two men slide by on a gondola, one at each end, standing up facing forward and pushing their single oars ahead in synchronised strokes. We have seen lots of these around, one, two, and four person boats being rowed around in the early morning or sometimes in the evening. These are simple boats, not the usual black lacquered and velvet upholstered jobs. Practicing for an upcoming regatta? 

We want to fill up our water tank, so we take out the hose and stretch it fully towards the tap but it's too short. I thought we might have been blocking access to the tap, but nobody would be able to get water from here. It's too far. We decide to leave the water until tomorrow morning when we leave. We'll shift the boat back behind the sailing barge, fill up with water, then leave. 

The sailing barge doesn't look like it's moved for a while. Maybe they are here for the summer? There are two small barky dogs flopped on deck, but no sign of humans. There is also a dog that looks a bit like Josh in the field next to the path. Every once in a while the boat dogs bark at the field dog, or vice-versa, but they invariably co-operate to gang up on any dogs and their masters walking along the path. 

We have breakfast and start getting our gear together for a day out in Venice.  We check the vaporetto times and decide it's too late to make the 09:07 one so we'll aim for the 10:07. This is it, the big day! Everything has been building in a crescendo towards this day. We started in the far-off remote southern end of the lagoon, with its quiet fishing villages, wild beaches, and lack of tourism. We came to visit bigger and more urban islands, with increasing traffic, tourists, shops, restaurants, museums, and hustle-and-bustle. From Michelin one-star "worth visiting" to two-star "worth a detour" to three-star monuments that are "worth a voyage". Today is going to be the grande finale of sights, sounds, smells, crowds. La Serenissima! The forecast is for sunshine and a high of 25°C so it should be a great day!

Gondolas are poetry in motion

We arrive at the vaporetto stop a few minutes early, and it's right on time as usual. From Le Vignole, the 13 line goes directly to Murano Faro, then on to Venice Fondamente Nove. We only have one day to spend in Venice, so it's going to be difficult to see everything I want to see. 

In fact it would be impossible to see even a fraction of the sights in just one day. But I'm relaxed about it and just want to enjoy the day and whatever we end up seeing. Venice is the kind of place where you can just walk around and enjoy the atmosphere, with surprising and beautiful views around every corner. And these days I'm more into quality than quantity. Better to see a few of the sights and have taken some time to really enjoy the experience, than to run from place to place snapping pictures on the fly. The only "must do" item on my list is Saint Mark's Basilica. Everything else is a bonus.

We start off by visiting the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, better known as I Gesuiti. The interior of this church is notable especially for the green and white geometrical patterns on the walls, which appear to be of tapestry or fabric. Many of the decorative elements of the interior appear to be flowing velvety curtains or rugs or tapestry but on closer inspection turn out to be solid marble. We stroll slowly through the church, light some candles, and sit for a few minutes to rest and reflect. We are still a bit tired from our busy day yesterday. We leave the church and head out down towards the Grand Canal. The plan had been to visit Ca' d'Oro next, but we just don't have the energy so we'll head straight for the Rialto bridge and Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari on the other side of the Grand Canal. 

Traffic jam on a narrow rio

Actually it's impossible to head "straight to" anywhere in Venice. It's like a maze. The neighborhood we're in is not quite as touristy as the San Marco area, and it's very enjoyable to wind your way along the tiny streets, along the edges of winding canals (these small ones are known as rii, plural of rio), over bridges, across campi (squares), around churches. Everywhere you look there is something interesting, unusual, out of the ordinary. The sunlight filtering through adds to the pleasant atmosphere. At the same time it's hard work keeping track of where you are and where you are going, but I keep telling myself that getting lost is part of the fun. We've been walking a while and spot a café with tables on a small square so we decide to stop and have a coffee. Laura has a gelato (of course!). We sit for a while just relaxing and watching people go by while we rest our weary feet.

Time to get going again. Navigating is not easy because the maps in my guide book are not very detailed. They only show the names of the major calle so there is a fair bit of guesswork involved. We head off again in search of the Rialto Bridge. The decrepit state of many of the buildings is quite a contrast to the manicured perfection of old buildings in Paris. Much of Italy is like this, and I guess it's also part of the charm. A bit like an old well-worn piece of clothing or furniture that just feels so comfortable. But at the same time it makes me wonder if it's all just going to come crumbling down one day from a lack of maintenance! After a while we pass a nice looking little restaurant with an empty table on the street and three empty chairs. Surely this must be a sign! The temptation is just too great and after a quick look at the menu we stop for lunch. After a very nice lunch of panini-like things we are on the move again.

Shop 'til you drop!

After some dead-ends and backtracking we're nearly there. We emerge onto a tiny street and I can see the Grand Canal up ahead and the Rialto Bridge should be just off to the left. But before we get any farther I'm sidetracked into a small Venetian glass and jewelry shop by Eileen and Laura. It's packed with glass dishes, ashtrays, lamps, picture frames, and vases. They also have a lot of glass-bead jewelry including earrings and bracelets. 

Many of the glass shops don't have any silver or gold jewelry and we want silver earrings for Laura so they won't bother her ears. This shop has silver, but the earrings are too big and heavy for Laura. Eileen finds a silver and bead bracelet she likes, and spends a lot of time with the shop assistant choosing the colour of beads that will make up the bracelet. You can custom-make your own bracelet by threading coloured doughnut-shaped Murano beads and Swarovski crystal onto a silver chain. The beads can also be threaded onto earrings. Quite a neat system really. Laura decides she'd like one too, and the shop assistant shows us a version suitable for young girls. Soon the whole counter is covered with coloured glass beads.

Rialto Bridge

I finally manage to drag them away from the shop, up to the end of the street and there it is, the Rialto Bridge! Right where it's supposed to be! We head towards it, but not so fast. Before I can even step onto the bridge Eileen and Laura have spotted another shop, this one only has jewelry, a very large selection of glass necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Laura finds a suitable pair of earrings at last! Eileen manages to find herself a nice pair too. Well, that's a couple of birthday presents sorted for this year! Yeah right, I'll never get away with that...

Now we climb the steps up the side of the bridge and admire the views over the Grand Canal. But wait, Laura wants to put her earrings on, now! Okay, put them on then... We continue down the other side of the bridge and as we pass a shop I notice a display case with various pieces of glass sculpture. Then I spot three small glass squids, wow, too cool! Hmm, €350 each, not so cool. I'm still loitering by the squids, but the girls have gone on ahead and are calling me to come on.

Now we've been walking a while and I'm not sure where we are anymore. It's not that we're lost, I'm just not sure where we are! There are signs for the train station, but we shouldn't be anywhere near the station. I see a workman standing near an open trench. I go over and ask him how to get to I Frari. He speaks quickly in Italian, and I'm struggling to keep up. "Ah, how to get to I Frari from here. Easy to do but not easy to explain! To start with, you're in the wrong neighborhood!" He tells us to head over there, then go left then right at the corner of the church then follow the calle straight over two bridges then you will come to I Frari. I keep repeating this to myself as we walk along, "left, right at church, straight, two bridges". We pass a gelateria and just have to stop. "Left, right at -lick- church, straight, -lick- two -lick- bridges".

View of the Grand Canal from Rialto Bridge

We find it at last. The directions were spot on! We find the entrance and pay the €3 each (children are free) entrance fee. This is a massive church, with many extraordinary paintings, tombs and monuments, including the pyramidal tomb of the sculptor Canova, monuments of Doge Giovanni Pesaro, the composer Montiverdi, and Paolo Savelli on a horse! The row of chapels is also quite unusual. We sit for a while to contemplate. And rest our weary feet! We visit the sacristy which has a sign at the entrance saying "No photography" and a number of interesting art works. There's a woman walking around taking pictures of everything. The painting above the door of a freshly beheaded John the Baptist freaks out Laura.

After I Frari I had been planning on visiting Ca' Rezzonico, a magnificent Palazzo completed in the 1750s and now a museum that houses a collection of art, furniture, and glass recuperated from other Venetian Palazzi. But I can tell we are too tired and scratch it off the list. We'll just head straight (ha!) for Piazza San Marco instead. To get there, we need to cross the Grand Canal again and that means finding the Accademia Bridge. Would have been nice to visit the Accademia too, maybe next time...

Like the Rialto Bridge, the Accademia Bridge also opens up magnificent views over the Grand Canal. We linger a while watching boats pass by and marveling at the Palazzi lining the canal. Down the other side, and by now my feet feel like pieces of squid. There are signs for Piazza San Marco, which is a good thing because I'm too tired to read a map. Streams of people are flowing towards San Marco. We join the flow. By now we're starting to suffer from visual overload. Lethargy is starting to set in. Maybe the heat is getting to me? Buck up, we're not finished yet! The best is still to come.

Piazza San Marco

We arrive at a narrow street that leads suddenly to the huge square that opens out onto Saint Mark's Basilica in the distance, its towering campanile to the right, the clock tower to the left, both sides flanked by the long arcades of the Procuratie Vecchie and Procuratie Nuove. In the right corner you can just make out the end of the Doge's Palace. We stroll through the square, taking it all in. Saint Mark's is drawing us forward like a magnet. We arrive at the door and for some reason it's closed. Where's the entrance? Did they change it? Then the immense deception hits as we read the opening hours on the sign. Closed. We're too late! I'm stunned, crushed, gutted...

We console ourselves by admiring the clock tower, the Byzantine facade of the Cathedral, the four bronze horses that were such a strong symbol of the independence and power of the Venetian Republic. We sit on a bench in the arcade of the Doge's Palace. Across from us, the campanile is still open and there's a long queue at the entrance. We're tempted, but the idea of having to stand in a queue plus the possibility of there not being a lift and having to climb steps puts us off. We just sit and rest and take it all in. I'm a bit disappointed that the grande finale is ending with a fizzle, but like so many things in life this has really been about the journey and not the destination. And it's been a fabulous journey. And it's not finished yet. We still have tomorrow when we are planning to take the boat up the Giudecca Canal past San Giorgio Maggiore and the Piazzetta di San Marco. Right past the Doge's Palace!

Looking out across the Bacino San Marco

We wander over to the edge of the water and look out across the Bacino San Marco to San Giorgio. I clearly remember standing here maybe 30 years ago and thinking how great it would be to be able to get on a boat and head off and explore the canals and islands beyond Venice. It's getting late now and we have to think about dinner and getting the vaporetto back home. We decide to head in the direction of the vaporetto stop and try to find a restaurant over there, as it is a bit less touristy than San Marco. We pass the Bridge of Sighs, which gave convicts their last glimpse of Venice before being lead to their prison cells. If I'm sighing, it's only because of my murdered feet!

We continue in the general direction of Fondamente Nove. A quick check of the Michelin Guide shows the two-star Church of San Giovanni and San Paolo somewhere between here and there. We try to find it but have to backtrack a few times. Eileen wants to find a grocery store to get some bread for tomorrow's breakfast. The only shop we see that doesn't sell either carnival masks or Murano glass is a health-food store. Eileen comes out with a bag of gluten-free buns. Yuck. Shortly after that we start seeing loads of people with Co-op bags full of groceries. We head in the opposite direction of one person, but don't find the Co-op. We see more people coming up another street and I head down that one to check while Eileen and Laura wait on the steps of a bridge. Pass an Irish pub, and then find the source of the Co-op bagged shoppers. Eileen agrees to go get a few groceries while Laura and I wait on the bridge steps. 

Laura spots a tiny take-away pizza joint next to the bridge. It's doing a steady trade, and Laura likes the look of the pizzas in the window. Eileen returns with the grocs, and we agree that if there is a place to sit we'll eat there. There is and we do. They sell pizza slices and charge by the size of the slice, however big you want. It's very good. Eileen is feeling a bit homesick and goes for the spud pizza. I can imagine that one being quite popular at pub closing time! We wash it down with Italian beers. Feeling slightly refreshed, we head off in search of San Giovanni e Paolo. But first things first, we can't pass that gelateria! We eventually find the church but guess what, it is closed! Another one on the list for next time. Boy, next time is going to be awfully busy... 

Bridge of Sighs

We come to Fondamente Nove and we've half an hour to kill before our boat. We verify the stop and the time of the boat, then sit at a café/bar by the water's edge. After waiting for a while, a waiter comes and tells us the place is closing, we're too late! There's definitely a pattern here. Only problem is that Laura is dying to use the toilet. Eileen asks and they refuse! A bit of heated discussion follows but they don't give in. Shame on you. We walk over to another place, a bar/restaurant that looks lovely, and quite posh. We sit at a table outside and I tell Eileen to just go and take Laura to the loo. I'll order us a drink. They head for the loo, pretending to be customers. Meanwhile waiters rush in and rush out, and back and forth past the table, but they never slow down enough to realize that we are there. In any case it's nearly time to catch our boat so we just get up and leave. Next time we'll come for dinner, I promise.

We catch our vaporetto home in the dark. There is a lone driver who also acts as conductor and also handles his own mooring lines! We cross the little bridge on Le Vignole and there are more late-night fishermen with flashlights. Again we feel our way along the path back to the boat. Forgot the flashlight again. We have a cookie and a drink before turning in. Glad to be home. What a day! An unlit boat passes in the dark. Those Marines again? Fishermen? Bed. Sleep.


Log Entry for Thursday 9 May 2013:
In Port (Le Vignole)

Tides
▲ 1145 0.8m
▼ 1700 0.3m
▲ 2300 1.0m
▼ 0550 0.0m

Baro: 1015.1 hPa
Wind: 3 kn gusting to 9 kn
Temps: Low 14° High 25°
Forecast sunny, dry

Engine hours: 554.5
Water: 1/2
Battery (12V): 12.5
Battery (24V): 25

La Serenissima

View Laguna Veneta 2013 in a larger map

I'm not sure where the idea came from. When Eileen asked me later, I couldn't really say. Maybe I read about it on a boating forum. In any case, the idea stuck in the back of my mind. Even though I'm more sail than power, the idea of visiting Venice by boat just seemed so perfect.

I started searching the web and found Locaboat Holidays, a company that charters canal boats all over Northern Europe. And they also have a base in Chioggia at the bottom of the Venice lagoon. I sent some emails to see what they had available during Laura's school holidays. Easter would be late this year, so the weather should be just about perfect for us. Not too hot, not too cold. Well, in theory anyway...

A Penichette 1020 FB

Locaboat is a French company that charters canal boats, but they also build their own boats they call "Penichettes". It means "little barge" and is patterned after the barges that were used to transport goods all over Europe through the rivers and canal systems during the last century. So they look traditional and sturdy but not very sexy! Perfect for Amsterdam or Brugge, but in the stylish land of Armani and Ferrari we would stick out like sore thumbs. Time to swallow my pride. They had a two cabin 33 footer which would suit us perfectly, available for our dates.

A little more research showed that the base in Italy is run by a company called Rendezvous Fantasia which is an unusual name to say the least. But they have been doing this for a long time and I couldn't find anyone who had anything bad to say about them. You might be able to get a boat a bit cheaper by going through them directly, but I prefered to deal with a French company so we went through Locaboat.

We sent off a deposit and they sent back some very good documentation, including a chart of the lagoon that RVF edited themselves. I'm not sure if it's available separately, but anyone navigating the Venice lagoon would do well to get a copy of: "Navigar Più Facile. Laguna Veneta; Chioggia, Jesolo, Treviso".

They also sent several possible itineraries which I spent many evenings studying. Eventually I came up with a plan that would hopefully be easy, relaxing, and interesting. I wanted to visit as much of the lagoon as possible, not spend too much time motoring each day, and have a day or two in Venice. A tall order for one week! I also prefer to get as far as possible from base on the first day or two and then be able to slowly work our way back. That way you are not too far from base if the weather turns bad at the end of your holiday. Of course this has to be balanced with the fact that you usually arrive completely exhausted after the final crazy-busy-panicky days at work and the long voyage. It also takes a bit of time for us to get used to being on a boat again. Finally, I wanted to start slowly in the quieter more remote parts of the lagoon, moving in a crescendo towards the grande finale of Piazza San Marco.

Of course a carefully planned itinerary can then be rendered impossible due to bad weather, mechanical problems, illness, or a hundred other known and unknown knowns. So you have to remain flexible and be prepared to wing it if necessary. 

The departure date is creeping closer. By coincidence, there are several Venetian-themed art exhibitions in Paris this winter. We visit the Canaletto - Guardi exhibition at the Musée Jacquemart-André. We buy a Venice calendar that goes up on our kitchen wall. I order several books on Venice. Julianna sends us a first edition of "Venice" by James Morris that she found in a second-hand bookshop in Ennis. The anticipation is really building!

The weekend before we leave, Laura is in the final of the Concours Musical de France. She's playing Valse Favorite by Mozart. She is cool as a cucumber as usual and plays beautifully, but forgets to play a reprise. Darn. Even with that she gets a Premier Prix and we are very proud.

The boat's inventory doesn't include binoculars and I can't go boating without, so I ordered a pair of Fujinons. They arrive just in time, so we are all set. Up half the night packing as usual, then off to bed for a few hours sleep before our early start tomorrow.