Racing Gondolas in America

In 2012 Matthew "Marcello" Haynes and his fellow gondoliers at La Gondola in Providence, RI decided to hold the first modern gondola race on the waters of their city. 
It is possible that gondola races may have been held before in the US, 
but if it happened, it would have been a hundred years ago, 
and the rowers would have been transplanted Venetians.

The races in Providence back in 2012, 
which were called the "GondOlympics" were the starting point of something truly great for the sport/craft/skill that is known as "voga-alla-Veneta".

A California gondolier named Tim "Bepi" Reinard attended and enjoyed it so much that he proposed another installation of it the next year in his home waterway of Huntington Harbour.

The next year the races were held, with competitors from Providence, Boston, Minnesota, and several California servizios. 
A new name: the "U.S. Gondola Nationals" was given. 

From that point on, gondola racing became part of what we do, 
and it has made us all better rowers.

We've become friends with gondoliers in other locations and that social interaction has lead to a great exchange of knowledge and experiences - benefiting all involved.

In training and competing, gondoliers have sought out better instruction and techniques, and we've all gotten stronger (which not only helps win races, it also helps when rowing in wind or current).

In subsequent years Nationals was held in Newport Beach, 
Stillwater MN, and again in Providence and Huntington Harbour.

New race categories have been added.
Competitions on other types of Venetian boats have also been included - introducing many American gondoliers to new vessels and even new ways of rowing.

At each one of these gatherings, some gondoliers get the opportunity to row a passenger cruise or two in the host waterway.  
One of the highlights of Nationals for me has been to row in the famous "Waterfire" in Providence.

This weekend we gather once again for Nationals.
At least ten gondola operations will be represented.
Nine racing categories, with sprints, distance races, 
and even slalom courses will be on the agenda.

While we all enjoy the competition part of it, the camaraderie is what really draws many of us back each time. There's a brotherhood among gondoliers.
When you walk into a crowd of other people who perform the same unusual task, and you're all wearing the same striped shirts, it's hard to tell who is from where.

We are like members of different chapters of the same fraternity, except unlike a fraternity, we have both men and women in our ranks, and we come together around a job, which is also an athletic activity - voga-alla-Veneta.

Simply put:
Nobody understand you, and that weird job you do, 
like someone who does that weird job too.

The U.S. Gondola Nationals is this weekend - October 26th and 27th at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club in Newport Beach.
More information can be found at www.usgondolanationals.com

All photos from the 2015 US Gondola Nationals in Newport Beach, California

Timekeeper

This one's a throwback to the 2015 USGN in Newport Beach,
but since the "Timekeeper" in this photo just celebrated his birthday yesterday
I decided to post it.

Here you see the moment where Ben Landis crossed the finish line 
and Mark Schooling of Gondola Paradiso recorded the time 
(with a horde of gondoliers from various places - all standing on the dock watching, cheering, and some...crossing their fingers).

Ben did well, snagging some medals that weekend.
Mark, as always, was solid and dependable on the docks - with stopwatch in hand.  

The timekeeper is the ultimate "unsung hero" of our event.

American Medals

photo by Ignus Holm

Like many of you, I've given a fair amount of my time and attention lately to the Olympic Games going on down in Rio.

I was raised in a house where every four years we were glued to the TV,
eating it up like the best thing ever shown on screen. 

Summer and Winter Olympics, I love them both.
I enjoy watching spirited competition, but I also like seeing the friendships between athletes from different countries.

Of course I'm pushing for the home team, but I also appreciate a good contest, and if the other team really earns it, then they often earn my respect as well.

At the end of the final match, they award the medals.
Today's post features a photo of Michael Ruffino - winner of the silver medal in the Solo Distance event of the 2015 US Gondola Nationals.
He's one of my favorite American gondoliers,
and I believe he captures the spirit of our competition.

To read more about Mike, see my post "Ruffino - From Cage to Rage" .

Returning Home

As you may have guessed by the lack of activity here on the Gondola Blog,
I've been away - driving through parts of America that are remarkably beautiful...but woefully deprived of wi-fi.

Ahh, but just like the tandem finish in the above photo - I always return...
to my home, to my harbor, and to my gondolas.

Snapper's Solo Sprint to Gold

At the 4th Annual US Gondola Nationals in November of 2015,

there were many different races to compete in.

 

Perhaps one of the most exciting to watch was the Solo Sprint.

 

It took off right in front of the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club

(where everyone in attendance was watching),

headed north up the canal,

turned at a buoy in front of the Balboa Island Bridge

(where there were more spectators),

and raced back to finish in front of the yacht club.

 

Sprints are all energy. 

From start - all the way to finish,

it's a matter of burning every ounce of fuel you've got in the tank. 

There's not a lot of pacing yourself.

Adding to the excitement, this year we were able to field four gondolas

in each heat.

This means you're not just racing the clock, or one other guy.

You're up against three other guys who all want to get to that buoy first,

not to mention beat you back to the finish line.

Oh, and the challenge of not bumping into each other

can also make for a fun race to watch.

This year the fastest guy on the water in the sprint event was Eric Bender.

Yeah, the guy I like to call "The Snapper", because he actually snapped an oar in the 2013 Solo Sprint competition.

(see "The Snapper")

 

 

Eric smiling right before his heat in the Solo Sprint event.

The challenge of getting all four guys (and their boats) out,

evenly positioned, and properly spaced...well, it's not nearly as easy

as Marcello and the guys on the dock made it look.

I will be forever thankful for the ingenuity and dedication of the gondoliers who made the starting procedures happen so well.

It's officially "GO TIME!"

Some guys bend their oars more than others.

 

Now and then we saw heats where all the racers were from the same servizio, and that was the case with the heat that our story revolves around.

Starting of, from nearest the dock to furthest, we had Al Macina,
Cole Hanson, Eric Bender, and JR Starlin.

Watching four gondolas take off together is awesome.

The route for sprint events this year covered .58 miles/.94 kilometers.
This was a bit further than previous sprint routes, and having a buoy turn
made for some great spectating.

Cole Hanson begins his turn at the buoy, two guys approach the turning

point, while "The Snapper" begins his charge towards the finish line.

photo by Mindy Schauer

We were lucky to have a GoPro camera mounted on the boat that Eric Bender rowed in the Solo Sprint race.
Thanks to Simon Atkins, here is the video from that heat:

As with many of the other races, the top placing finishers had times
that were very close to each other. 
Without a doubt - every second counts.

Top 3 finishers
1st   Eric Bender     The Gondola Company       Coronado, CA          7:46:73
2nd  Ben Landis      Gondola Getaway              Long Beach, CA       8:01:02
3rd   Jakob Easton  Gondola Adventures, Inc.   Newport Beach, CA  8:05:59

Matthew "Marcello" Haynes announces the medal recipients.

From left to right:
Eric Bender, Eddie Rivera (receiving for Ben Landis), and Jakob Easton.



About to Cross the Line

As Simon Atkins and I were nearing the finish of the pupparin time trial
during the 2015 US Gondola Nationals, the dedicated staff on the dock
were waiting to record our exact finish time.
Here you can see the hand and the eyes monitoring that finish line.

Tails and Flags

photo by Al Macina

 

Taken during a rare quiet moment during the 4th Annual US Gondola Nationals competition in Newport Beach.

 

We placed flags on several of the boats.

The two flag stickers on the back of the boat in front have been there since she was used for an expedition around Staten island in 2009.

 

Big thanks to Al Macina of The Gondola Company in Coronado, CA for this and many other photos.

Chasing Tim and Richie

featuring photos by Ignus Holm

 

  

"Race drama" - that's what we've been calling it.

When more than one boat is on the course, and there's some sort of pursuit,
or struggle between the competitors to win, to pass each other,
or simply cross the line before the other, we call it race drama.

It seems nothing can bring out your greatest effort quite like the desire to beat that other boat.

John Kerschbaum and I had first-hand experience with it during the 2013 US Gondola Nationals against the Surprise Boys of Gondola Company of Newport.

This year we saw plenty more of it at the 4th Annual US Gondola Nationals.
I witnessed many duels between two, sometimes even three boats.
Sometimes these struggles happened at the takeoff, or at a buoy turn.
Other race drama happened as boats were approaching the finish line.

We were fortunate enough to have four-boat heats,
which made for more of these encounters.

One race saw two boats struggle the entire race.
I know this because I was on one of them.

The Race
The Tandem Distance race in gondolas was held in several four-boat heats.

Following a counter-clockwise loop around Little Balboa Island,
Balboa Island, and Collins Island, the course measured 2.2 miles.

Two noteworthy turns, one bridge passage, and the crossing of paths with the Balboa Island ferry were among the obstacles on the course.

The Start
This was the final heat of the Tandem Distance event.
After lining all four boats up in the channel, we waited for the command, and were off - rowing as fast as we could toward the southern tip of Little Balboa Island.

Tim Reinard and Richard Corbaley of Sunset Gondola had claimed the inside position, with John Kerschbaum and Michael Serge from Gondola Romantica in Minnesota to their left.
Jakob Easton and I were to the left of the Minnesota boat.

I honestly can't remember much about the fourth boat, simply because in short order, Jakob and I found ourselves tangled up with the boys from Minnesota.
Some bumping and scraping was punctuated by maybe just a little bit of yelling, and then we were apart - both boats moving fast towards the turn.

Tim and Richie had gained a lead of about two boat-lengths.
I believe the fourth boat was behind us, wisely avoiding our bumper-boat episode.
Kerschbaum and I steered our gondolas side-by-side around the tip of the island and into the headwind.
Straightening out after the turn was a challenge for both of us at that speed.
Jakob and I maintained, while the Minnesota boys ended up fighting a spin.
We pulled ahead of them and I told Jakob that it had just become a two boat race.

The Pursuit
We set our sights on catching up to Tim's gondola.
He and Richie were still about two boat-lengths ahead.
With the sun and the wind in our faces, Jakob and I worked to stay in rhythm, while rowing as fast as we could.

I was determined to catch that boat.
Tim was running low on sleep and had mentioned that he thought he might be catching a cold.
I felt like if ever I would beat him and Richie, today would be the day.
Plowing forward, we cut the lead in half.
Our prow was about thirty feet from the tail of the lead boat.
We remained there for a quarter mile, then I told Jakob in a quiet voice that we were going to wage an attack in three strokes.
Three strokes later and we were moving faster, but so were they!

We had no problems passing the ferry terminal,
but Jakob and I were having trouble catching Tim and Richie.

This happened three times before we reached the turn at Collins Island.
The first two times I wasn't sure if Jakob and I were actually accelerating because we weren't closing the gap more, but watching their strokes, I could tell that with each attack, they had increased their pace.

Can they hear me?
I thought.
No, there's no way my words have been loud enough for them to hear me.

A few days after the race I was talking to Tim and he told me that while they couldn't hear our words, they could hear the rush of water being pushed by our bow with each stroke.
Tim was noticing the increase in volume of that sound and whispering to his team mate to pick up the pace.

This cat and mouse pursuit continued All the way to the finish line.
Me, launching another attack, thinking Tim was  too tired to hold us off.
Tim, hearing our approach and whispering to Richie to pour on the speed.

Eric Bender And Cole Jamison of The Gondola Company in Coronado were on a chase boat following the action.
Eric told me:
Richard and Tim were in such unison.
It was like a dance.
Complete focus and determination.
It was truly a beautiful performance.

Finishing Logic
We passed under the bridge to Balboa Island one right after the other,
and then it was a sprint to the finish line.

Two guys in one boat and two guys in another boat,
rowed their guts out all the way to the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club.

The whole race Jakob and I had been fighting so hard to pass the other boat, not only because, well, that's what you do in a race, but also because of finishing logic:
In a multi-heat competition, typically you find that the winning boat of each heat goes on to place in the top three.

The Finish
We never did catch Tim and Richie.
They held us off for the entire race.
For over two miles the gap between our two gondolas stayed between one and three boat-lengths.

Like the bridge passage, we crossed the finish line one right after the other.
A chase from beginning to end, with friends and family cheering from the dock.
Jakob collapsed and I did my best to remain standing and keep the boat on course.

Jakob and I crossing the line.

photo by Simon Atkins

After we'd both finished the race,
Tim looked back almost immediately and said
"Thanks a lot Greg, you guys really pushed us"

I was happy to see a friend finish well,
but inside I was frustrated - certain that coming in second in the heat meant that Jakob and I had secured something like fifth place or lower.

Tim - saying "Thanks"

Then it happened:
The timekeepers announced that Tim and Richie had just won the gold medal...and then pointed to us and told us that we won silver!

We all yelled and screamed in celebration,
although honestly, I still thought it was a mistake.

John and Mike from Minnesota finished strong - looking good and joining the exhausted madness that often occurs at the finish of a long race.

Here are some photos of the end of the race.
Photos in this sequence were taken by Ignus Holm.

 

 

Looking Back
In reviewing the race and all the details of that heat,
I spoke with both Tim and Richie.

While we might have been frustrated as the pursuing boat,
the guys in front of us were in a different frame of mind.

Richie told me:
"I kept looking back and you were right behind us.
We were terrified you were gonna pass us"

As I'd expected, they couldn't understand my conversations with Jakob: 
"You were close enough to hear you talking but we couldn't understand"

He went on to detail the same pattern of rowing:
during that race we started off sprinting as fast as we could, set back into a pace,
then sprinting again.
pace, sprint, pace, sprint.

One competitor, pushing the other.
In the end, they both finish stronger than they might have without the other.
Each forcing the other to match or beat their pace.

"Race drama" - that's what we call it.

Tim and Richie on the dock after the race.

Crossing the Line

photo by Ignus Holm

 

Whether you're in a field of several boats, or rowing a time-trial,

It's a race.

He who crosses the line with the shortest time wins.

For this reason, we saw many competitors go totally nuts this year,

sprinting to the finish line.

Lots of guys had to sit down after they finished.

Some even laid down on the deck.

 

As Mike Ruffino phrased it:

I wanted to push my pace, because I wasn’t just racing the three other guys, I was racing everybody.

(quote from "Ruffino - From Cage to Rage")

Some competitors managed to edge out others by only a few seconds.
As you can imagine, there was a lot of attention focused on what was happening down at the end of the dock, where a guy with a stopwatch was recording those finishing times.

At the center of it all were a few guys who went above and beyond,
to make the 2015 US Gondola Nationals run so smoothly.

Mark Schooling of Gondola Paradiso,
and Matthew "Marcello" Haynes of La Gondola
carried that burden like pros, with a couple other guys helping along the way.

In the above shot, we see Mark Schooling recording the exact time the ferro crossed the line during one race, with several of us looking on.

Raus Rows

photo by Lawrence Sherwin of the Orange County Register

 

Here's a great shot of gondolier Matthew Raus of the

Gondola Company of Newport, as he competed in a solo race

during the US Gondola Nationals this year.

 

I enjoy passing this guy regularly as we head in different

directions on the waters of Newport.

He's always ready with a cheerful greeting,

and I can tell that his passengers are always happy in his boat.

Special thanks go out to the staff at the Orange County Register
for allowing me to feature their images from the competition.

To see the full slide show, go to:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/gondola-692353-gondoliers-newport.html

Ruffino - From Cage to Rage

Photos by Mindy Schauer of the Orange County Register

 

 

The Fight
Next Level Sports Complex in Garden Grove, October 24th.
Mike Ruffino, who'd been training for quite some time,
prepared himself for a unique competition;
one that wasn't so much a challenge against another man as it was one against himself.
Like so many contests, it wasn't so much a question of winning or losing as it was a question of how much of himself he was capable of throwing into it.
He centered himself, imagined what would happen next, and called upon his training and his memories of training.
When it was time, Mike stepped into a 27 foot cage with a referee and another man.

Why was Ruffino in a cage fight?
it was partly a bucket list thing,
not only, like so many thing Mike does, a challenge against himself;
but also, because in his own words, he believes in heroism:
I believe in heroism.
I believe it is not exclusively reserved for military,
law enforcement, or fire fighters, but that it is a trait of the common man. I believe that if you have the ability to help someone in dire need, then you have the responsibility.

In my life and travels I have seen muggings, multiple-attacker brawls, and even knife fights, but even if I had not seen any of those, one could spend 10 minutes on Facebook and see videos of people doing something horrible to each other.
What we are less-likely to see are videos of people
stopping something horrible.

This is wrong.

I have been very fortunate to have fared well in all of the worst-case-scenarios that have crossed my path,
but what if I see someone being set upon by another who actually knows what they are doing?
A trained aggressor who knows how to really hurt someone?
My beliefs command me to get involved, and my ability or inability to help someone when they truly need it directly relates to how well I prepare ahead of time.

Mike stepped into the ring, fought like mad, and held his own admirably.
A couple rounds later he was the subject of a TKO.
His opponent had won the match, but Mike had won on so many levels - conquering his own needs and fears, learning what it's like to be in such a situation, and truly becoming more prepared for such time as he might be called upon to be heroic.

The Race
Three weeks later Mike stepped on the back of a gondola in Newport Beach to compete in the solo distance race:
2.2 miles around Balboa Island, Collins Island, and Little Balboa Island.

Preparing for the race, he once again centered himself, imagined what would happen next, and went out with the plan to fight like mad and demand everything of himself.

Race Mates
As it happened, Mike ended up rowing in a heat where all four competitors were from his home servizio – Gondola Company of Newport.

I’ve been fortunate to share the water with these guys for years
(Mike's been there since 2008). 
They’re a great bunch of guys who, like most gondoliers,
really love their job.

Along with several rowers, there was a noticeable fan presence
from friends and family, some even showing up with signs.

One sign referred to their home team as “G.C.O.N.”.

When these four guys shoved off and started rowing,
there was a lot of cheering going on.

Many of us caught the fever, and found ourselves cheering “GO G-CON!”.

I spoke with Mike Ruffino about the heat.

He said:

Rowing with all GCON was cool because it felt like we were all representing our dojo.

Being on the water together, we were also able to encourage each other.

The Start

With the same intensity he’d given to his cage fight in October,

Mike took off like a madman.

By the time he reached the Balboa Island bridge he was already

a few boat-lengths ahead of everyone else.

The trip up behind Balboa Island was smooth,

allowing him to move his gondola swiftly in the wind-shadow.

Rounding the corner at the tiny Collins Island,

things got a little choppy – but nothing a good gondolier can’t handle.

Pushing Himself

Even though he was ahead, Mike wasn’t taking it easy.

He’s never been the kind of guy who just does the minimum,

and today was no exception.

I wanted to push my pace, because  I wasn’t just racing the three other guys, I was racing everybody.

From time to time, boats started to encroach.
 

A couple of times I had to shout for some people to get out of the way, which was kinda fun because I like to yell.

Never the quiet type in competition,
I’m sure he benefitted from the energy-release of yelling.

Ferry crossing

Mike had an interesting thing happen as he crossed the Balboa Island Ferry.

I hadn’t been on the ferry in a while, so I assumed that when they dock, they go all the way in.

He’d timed his pass well, planning to move by the back end of the ferry right after it docked.

He watched the ferry enter the docking cutout, expecting it to keep going further in:

I didn’t realize that the overhang was normal.

I’d been trying to stay as close to the shore as possible. 
When the back end of the ferry didn’t disappear into the cutout,
I had to do a quick stop and 90 degree turn.

At that point I started to pick it up and try to navigate effectively.

Sixty Degrees
Thanks to photographer Mindy Schauer of the Orange County Register,
we have some dynamic images of Mike Ruffino’s trip to the finish line.

The last turn of the race is a tight sixty degrees, at the tip of Little Balboa Island.

On that day, rowers were approaching the turn with the wind at their back, and turning left into the leeward side of the island.

Hit the turn too fast and you’ll either overshoot it or spin out.

Mike told me:

What I thought was best to do with that turn, it was all power strokes, and after the turn, a really hard back stroke.

It was at that point where Mindy snapped what I’ve been referring to as
the “dance photo”.

 

photo by Mindy Schauer

It looks almost like Mike’s dancing on the back of the boat.

Sean Jamieson of The Gondola Company in Coronado even told me it looked like Mike was breakdancing on the gondola.

Pure Rage

With the finish line within view, Mike went all-out crazy.

He channeled pure rage into the remainder of his run,

rowing with an intensity I’ve rarely seen.

I didn’t really want to finish without giving it my all.

The only thing worse than losing a race, is finishing and knowing you had more you could have given.

Post Race

He knew he'd finished well in his heat, but Mike was surprised to learn that he'd secured second place overall.

He hadn't rowed cruises since summer, and had only spent an hour or so tandem training the day before Nationals.

He credits other training exercises with his readiness and level of conditioning.

In preparation for his cage fight, Mike had trained in martial arts – boxing, kickboxing and grappling with a mixed martial arts center known as Bearpit.

Mike also does a variation of hot yoga which includes weights.

Some of you might be tired of hearing me say that gondoliers are interesting, but Mike is a prime example.
In addition to all of the above, he's been a sculptor's model for seven years now. He's worked with world renowned artists and some pieces based on his posing have been displayed in galleries.

His bucket list no longer includes "cage fight,"
but there are plenty of other interesting items.
He'd like to work on a cruise ship,
drive in a demolition derby,
and "bulldog and alligator."

On Christmas Day he'll head to Northern Ireland
and work at the Vagabonds Hostel (another bucket list item).

The Photo - I Mean THE Photo
With all of the sculpture posing and other remarkable "image captures" he's ever been the subject of, I really don't think anything can compare to the photo Mindy Schauer snapped of Mike Ruffino, just a few strokes from the finish line.

photo by Mindy Schauer

If the world sees only one image of voga-alla-Veneta in the United States,
I hope it's this one.

Special thanks go out to the staff at the Orange County Register
not only for showing up and taking great images,
but also for allowing me to post them here.
To see the full slide show, go to:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/gondola-692353-gondoliers-newport.html

Simon Atkins managed to get a GoPro camera on that boat before the race,
and the full run is viewable on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYzlZ2_RckI

photo by Mindy Schauer

 

I have it on good authority that Mike will be joining us next October

in Minnesota for the 2016 US Gondola Nationals.

I can't wait to see him row again.