Tandem Sprint!

photos by Elisa Mohr

After we finished the slalom competition, everyone loaded up the boats and rowed down river to an open area that was perfect for the races that Marcello had in mind.
That day we did the solo distance race on two gondolas, while a tandem sprint time trial took place on a separate boat.
Video of this race was not easy to get, but I managed to snag a few decent takes.
Here's a short clip of Joe and Steve from Gondola di Venezia in Boston at the top of the course:

You may have noticed that the gondoliers standing on the bridge raise and wave their hats as soon as the ferro emerges from the bridge - this signals the timekeeper to start the clock.

Third place was claimed by Bepi and Ricardo of Sunset Gondola.

Second place was the team of Marcello and his brother Alessandro - who would "wow" us all even more in the distance version.
Video of this race was not retrievable, but I managed to snap a shot of them as they neared the end of their run.

The fastest run of the series was that of Cole and Eric ("The Snapper") of The Gondola Company in Coronado, California.
Halfway through the clip, you can see Marcello and Alessandro rowing upriver at the beginning of their head-to-head contest in the solo distance event.

Tandem Sprint - complete results

Place  Name                                      Origin                             Time

1.             Eric “Enrico” Bender                 San Diego, CA                  1:37.6

         Cole “Colombo” Hanson            San Diego, CA

 

2.     Alexander “Alessandro” Haynes  Providence, RI                 1:40.7

        Matthew “Marcello” Haynes        Providence, RI

 

3.     Richard “Ricardo” Corbaley         Huntington Beach, CA       1:41.2

        Tim “Bepi” Reinard                    Huntington Beach, CA   

 

4.     John “Giovanni” Kerschbaum       Stillwater, MN                   1:44.7

        “Gondola Greg” Mohr                  Newport Beach, CA

 

5.     Greg “Rafaello” Coffey                 Providence, RI                  1:48.1

        Tim “Amadeo” Coffey                  Providence, RI

 

6.     Adam “Ivano” Alves                    Providence, RI                   1:55.8

        Bryan “the Mainiac”

 

7.     Miles “Fabrizio” Disney                Providence, RI                   1:59.3

        William “Alberto” Oberg               Providence, RI

               

8.     Charlie “Carlo”                            Boston, MA                        2:05.0

        Tony “Antonio”                           Boston, MA

               

9.     Steve “Stefano” Bruno                 Boston, MA                        2:19.0

        Joe “Giuseppe” Gibbons               Boston, MA