Stella, Stella, Black and Yella

Recently our beloved gondola Stella decided that she wanted to leak.

She had been fiberglassed before we acquired her, 
so hauling and glass-patching seemed the thing to do.

Meanwhile, we'd been working on a new set of floorboards in a rather nontraditional color.  
Previously she'd been sporting some purple ones,
(see "Bride Transport")
but, well, we learned a few things about what penetrating epoxy can and can't do, so it was time for a new set.

By "we", I mean some great guys who I've been lucky to work with:
Mike Olsen, Evan Kliewer, and Kalev Pallares.

So after lots of fresh paint (and the aforementioned glass-patching)
today was the day to put her back in the water.

 Stella at dock, just after launching.

 Looking forward.

There's nothing like a freshly polished ferro.

It makes for a great funhouse-style self portrait.

I pushed away from the launch ramp dock and Stella and I made our way towards the home dock.  Rowing through parts of the Back Bay means that you often encounter interesting birds.
These shorebirds crossed my bow, on their way to another part of the harbor.

The wildlife in Newport is fantastic.


Arriving at the home dock, I ran into Eddie, who was at the tail end of his afternoon cruise with happy passengers.

Eddie snapped a photo of Stella and me on a very memorable day. 

New Paint (among other things)

 I woke up this morning, drank a bunch of coffee, 
and my friend Mike and I went over and got the gondola we call "Lucia" and hauled her on trailer over to my house.

At first she was just a freshly painted hull, 
but I managed to get all of her removable pieces back in place.  
When she was all together (see above photo) it was time to launch her.

Lucia has new paint (inside, outside, top and bottom), 
and her new floorboards look great.
I ended my day by launching her and rowing her back to the dock.
Tomorrow I expect the ferro will come back from the polisher and she'll be complete.

There are few things I enjoy more than seeing a gondola on launch day - whether she's a brand new gondola, or one that's received a makeover.

Just like rowing into the sunset...it never gets old.

Two Fresh Launches at the GSVVM

video by Nereo Zane

The folks at the Gruppo Sportivo Voga Veneta in Mestre have a fleet of beautiful boats - Venetian vessels of all types.  
They love them all, and take great care of each one.  
Recently they had the occasion to launch not one, 
but two boats for the first time:
a mascareta and a caorlina.

Here's a nice video by Nereo Zane of the two boats being hoisted into the water and then rowed around along with a few other boats.  
Looks like it was a bit chilly that day, but nobody seemed to notice.  
They must have been having a great time.

Smash!

At the traditional varo for Alessandro Santini's new gondola, 
his wife Roberta Billi did the honors of christening the new boat 
with champagne - delivered, of course via a bottle-smash.

Fortunately the ferro of the new boat is a solid piece of steel, 
so she was able to proceed without concern of damaging the new boat.

Here's a great photo that was taken just as the smash took place.
To see more photos from the varo, view my previous post:
"Santini's Varo"

Santini's Varo

I first met Alessandro Santini here in California.
He and his wife Roberta were vacationing with their kids in August of 2018.  In between family surf sessions and sightseeing, 
we had tacos and talked about gondolas.

He told me about the boat he was having built and I pretty much begged him to send me photos of the varo (a ceremonial launching party in Venice).
I had hoped to get to Venice in time to attend the varo, 
but it was not meant to be.

A career gondolier in Venezia, Alessandro had the boat custom built.
He chose the famous Venetian regata-winner-turned-boatbuilder Franco Crea.

 A beautiful work-in-progress.

There are only a handful of outfits producing gondolas in La Serenissima these days, and Crea is by far the most prolific.  He and his accomplished squerariolo Francesco began the process in July, and by late October she was complete - ready to kiss the waters of Venice.

But conditions weren't the best for a perfect new boat.
Strong scirocco winds, very high tides, and people away on holiday convinced Alessandro to wait for a better time with the right weather.
The perfect showpiece of a gondola waited patiently in Franco Crea's facility until the big day.
 

 

When you're an established gondolier, and you're having a boat built,
you have certain things custom-done according to your wishes. 
Signore Santini arranged with the accomplished Venetian carver "Marzio" to design and create some remarkable pieces to serve as the portela in the front, and the scimier mounted atop the seat-back.

Custom portela.

 

 Scimier.

In addition, the pusioli (arm pieces) were custom carved, along with the decking areas in the stern around the forcola - complete with a flat charcoal black background to contrast the raised carvings.

 
Throw on a regal red carpet for the gondolier to stand on, and remi and forcola from Saverio Pastor, and she was almost complete.
Santini didn't scrimp on the details though - he chose crown-adorned fully shaped cavalli on either side and a traditional "delfino" as his canon decoration on the bow - all in flawlessly bright polished brass.
The ferro is stainless steel with a brushed finish.

 Cavallo with crown.

 Flag-bearing trident delfino.

Envy-worthy brushed stainless ferro with engraved initials.

After more than eight months of building, finishing, and then waiting...
it was finally time - the right time for her varo.

Friends and family assembled outside the Crea facility,
and on a brilliant day in March, Alessandro rolled her out into the sun. 

the roll out.

Alessandro's wife Roberta smiles for a shot with the new gondola.

Maestro Crea himself talks about the boat.

Signore Santini soaks up the moment with Matteo Sinibaldi -

a good friend and fellow gondolier.

The beautiful black boat was rolled into position for her christening.

And it was Roberta's duty to do the honors.

The proud owner cleaned her up, and she was ready to float.

With the aid of a hoist, she gently kisses the water for the first time.

This moment must have been fantastic for Alessandro. 

I wish I could have been there to witness it.

Taking her for a spin.

After the festivities, Alessandro's son Samuel stepped 

on the back to take a few strokes.
I wouldn't be surprised if we see him in stripes one day.

Alessandro Santini is a well-established gondolier in Venezia, 

who now rows a gorgeous new boat.

you can see the gondola and her gondolier in action along the Grand Canal.

Alessandro operates from a docking area in front of the Monaco Grand Canal hotel - just steps from the famous Harry's Bar.

So grab a spritz at Harry's, and then take a ride with Alessandro. 

You'll be glad you did. 

The Blue-Light Special

photos by Chris Wilson

One of our gondolas in Texas just came out of the workshop after a full restoration, and the blue LED rail lighting is a hit with both clients and gondoliers.

Here are some shots taken by our expert staff photographer out there, 
with Woody rowing the cruise.

Heading down one of the canals.

 Smiling for the camera.

 The boat takes a turn towards Glatter Falls - one of 

several waterfalls on Lake Carolyn.

 There are several other waterways above the lake 

and they feed these great water features...

 ...which are the perfect place to drop a message-in-a-bottle.

A remarkable illusion occurred when the boat turned right in front of the waterfall, as the blue light creates the appearance of the waterfall continuing.

Light reflecting on water is one of my favorite things.

Gondola Rides Return to Napa River

Our friends at Gondola Servizio are back on the water and cruising 
once again on the Napa River.

They've been on Oakland's Lake Merritt since 1999, 
and they operated for a time in Napa, 
but in 2006 the docks were removed from that part of the river.

There's a beautiful new dock facility now, 
and what may be the most beautiful gondola in the US...is parked there 
(when she's not taking passengers, that is).

Here's a nice piece in the Napa Valley Register:
Gondola rides return to Napa River

Congratulations to April and Angelino on a successful re-launch.
I hope to get up there and see it all for myself some time.

https://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/gondola-rides-return-to-napa-river/article_2078c26e-64ba-5a30-b60c-f141355bd0d7.html

It's All About the Wood

Earlier this week I was in the Bay Area and was fortunate enough to meet up with Angelino Sandri of Gondola Servizio, and see his newest gondola.

A friend of mine had seen her, and sent me a few teaser photos.
Knowing Angelino, I was certain that the boat would be impressive,
and she was.

He offered to roll her out into the sunlight, 
and allowed me to take photos from every angle. 

Like other boats on Lake Merritt, 
this gondola came from Cantiere Dei Rossi.
Her container arrived in Oakland just a few days before Christmas.

Note to self:
I need to follow Angelino's example next Christmas.

We didn't launch her that day, but Angelino and I pointed her prow out over the water for a photo that was a little more natural.

The upholstery was done in a classic and traditional black, 
with the fuzzy fringe that's become standard on gondolas.  
The loft of the main seat looked to be somewhere between six and seven inches - making for a very comfortable ride.

With some boats the focus is on brass fixtures, 
or deck carvings, or perhaps a unique floorboard color.  

In this case...it's all about the wood.

Of course, all Venice-built gondolas are made of wood.
In many cases it's eight different kinds,
but so often that beautiful lumber is painted black.

Not so with this gorgeous gondola.

Like I said: wood.

Varnished wood, and LOTS of it.

The ferro choice: 
brushed stainless, 
which goes nicely with everything else - including the rails and deck plates.

On either side of the portela, there's a deck plate.
This shot displays the beautiful combination of colors and wood tones on this new gondola.
A dark wood portela, a light wood trasto da prua, gloss black paint, and mirror-polished stainless steel.

Looking straight down at the trasto da prua gives one a better appreciation for the artistry of the intagliador - Antonio Peroni - a guy who shows up with a bag of carving tools, and leaves masterpiece work in his wake.

Angelino is also an expert on wines, and has been involved with Italian wine for over a decade, so the statement on the stainless plate is appropriate.

"el vin l'e bon par chi lo sa bever" 

As he explained it to me, it means:"Wine is good for those who know how to drink it"

At the stern of the vessel, I discovered non-skid at the poppa deck, 
as well as the two trastolini boards located ahead of that area.

For the longest time I've thought that area needed something other than smooth paint that can get slippery in wet conditions.

The classic tailpiece ties together well with the stainless steel rub rail.

This was one of my favorite details of the boat.
the aft port side of the boat (that edge just to the left of the gondolier) 
tends to receive the brunt of the punishment during docking and when the boat 
is moored to poles and other things.

I've seen a number of fortification efforts at this spot on the boat,
but this is the most artful ones I've ever seen.

A strong stainless trim piece runs down the trailing edge of the boat.

The caenelo is often the place to look 
if you're wanting to know who built a gondola.

Usually there's some identifying notches or other marks on the bottom edge of the vertical piece, but in this case the name of the establishment is displayed beautifully and prominently.

This is the decorative plate over the forward forcola buso. 

The stainless steel on this boat was so brilliant, 
that after the first glimpse of it, I asked Angelino 
if it was stainless steel or nickel plated.

Peering into the passenger area, the different woods used are all varnished, but each glows with it's own light or rich tone.

Looking closer, you'll see two different types of holes:
The round one is a tethering spot - suitable for either tying with a bowline or other loop knot, or simply feeding the end of a thick dockline through, and then tying an overhand knot big enough to prevent pull-through.

The other holes are smaller and harder to spot.
They form tiny triangular drain holes, which will prevent water from pooling in back corners and causing maintenance problems.

In the past, when so many things were made of wood,

people took the beauty of it for granted.

But these days we rarely see beautifully finished wood, 

and quite often it's either a thin veneer or some simulated stand-in.

This gondola serves as a living example of what we've been missing.

While varnished wood has faded further and further away,

it glows brightly in this new Dei Rossi creation.

After all of the photos had been taken,

and we'd finished talking about all-things-gondola,

Angelino and I rolled his new beauty back into her boathouse portico.

She was launched and rowed in Venezia, 
but has yet to grace the water stateside.
When she does, some lucky passengers 
are bound to have a wonderful time.  
I wonder if they will understand just how special this gondola is.

I told Angelino that he now has the finest gondola in North America.
With a sheepish smile he replied:
"well, I don't know about that, but she's definitely the healthiest".

As of this writing, the new gondola is at Lake Merritt in Oakland, California.
The plan, however, is to launch her in Napa (California's famous wine region).
 
If any skilled gondolier is looking for a job,
and lives in the area or is willing to relocate,
Look up Angelino - you might just be lucky enough to row this beauty.

Congratulations to Angelino on the new arrival,
and my compliments to the Dei Rossi family for sending such a fine example of Venetian craftsmanship to the US.