Many of you know that in a Venetian regata, there are typically nine boats, which are identical except for their colors.The Commune di Venezia owns nine-boat fleets of several types; all are painted in the same rainbow of colors.
But what about club boats?
Rowing clubs do have their own "in-club" regatas.
Most rowing clubs paint their whole fleet in the club's color scheme, with the exception of some of the more dramatic ones kept only for special occasions.
The boats at the GSVVM are prime examples.
The club has a builder on-site, and he does an amazing job.
Sometimes I want to just kidnap him and bring him back to California.
The mascaretas in the above photo, which I took in 2006, were built for the GSVVM. They bear the orange and blue which are the club's colors. The decks are kept in varnish, and every detail of each boat is identical the the other eight mascaretas...except one:
You'll notice that there's a funny curved piece on the starboard side of each boat - it sticks up above the rail. That piece is there for the forward rower to rest his or her right knee against for balance.
It comes in really handy when a big moto-topo goes blasting by in the afternoon. Believe me!
The GSVVM, in an effort to keep track of the different boats in a race, has painted each knee-rest a different color. All nine boats are in the shot - you can tell by picking out all nine colors.
These same boats are available for viewing on Nereo Zane's blog, which I linked to in a previous post, but here it is again:
http://gondolasolidale.wordpress.com
The post is from the 30th of October, 2008.
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