Solo Sandolo Valesana Sprint - USGN 2018

photos by Greg Mohr

Valesana.

The art of rowing with two oars, crossed, and operated almost scissor-like.

The rowing style of valesana has been used in many instances, but is best known lately for it’s use on a smaller member of the sandolo family known as the “s’ciopon” - a duck hunting boat.

These days you can usually spot this unique rowing style employed by older men in the lagoon of Venezia, or in regatas. You won’t see a valesana race in Regata Storica, but it’s a common sighting in regatas matched between rowing clubs.

To read more about the actual methods used to row valesana, see my post:

"Left Side, Right Side, Ay-yay-yay!"

The crossed-oar event has been an official event at Nationals three times now.

The first time was in 2015 when Tim “Bepi” Reinard brought his small sandolo to Newport for the annual races.

The next time was two years later in 2016 when Tim hosted Nationals in 2017 in his home port of Huntington Harbour.

Later that year, the boat was sold, and transported to Providence, Rhode Island.

It seems that where the boat goes, the valesana goes.

As such, we had our third valesana timetrial in Providence.

Nobody was surprised when Bepi finished first -

he’s always been the best in this event.

I was happy to see my friends Marcello and John Kerschbaum pull in the silver and bronze medals, with Michael from Minnesota pulling a solid fourth place.

Here are the top four finishers:

TANDEM DISTANCE

1. Tim "Bepi" Reinard                   Huntington Beach, CA    53:38
2. Matthew "Marcello" Haynes       Providence, RI              59:86
3. John "Giovanni" Kerschbaum     Stillwater, MN             1:08.7
4. Michael "Remo" Arnold              Stillwater, MN            1:18.9

As I said in my post:
"Left Side, Right Side, Ay-yay-yay!"
"If the oar off the right side...is operated by my left hand...but the left side of the body is supposed to be controlled by the right hemisphere of my brain...AAAHHH!!! It makes both sides of my brain hurt!"

Last-Minute Launch

photos by Tony Storti, Patrice Greenberg, and Greg Mohr

On the morning of the first day of Nationals this year, everything was in place, but one boat still needed to be launched.
Bepi rolled in with his sandolo on trailer, and we all jumped into action.

Here's a photographic play-by-play:

 First contact.

 "Here's what we're gonna do..."

 The lift.

 The carry.

 

Tipping her towards the water.

 

 Parker with a quick smile.

Tony had a great angle from on the water.

 Reaching the beach.

 "How do I do this without getting my shoes wet?"

...aaaand touchdown!

Solo Sandolo

Among all of the gorgeous and iconic gondolas in Venice,
there are a few smaller black boats that might look similar
to the untrained eye, but are quite uniquely different in their own way.

These are called sandoli, and the passenger versions of these boats
are a rare treat to ride in because their compact size,
and low clearance allows their operators to take them
some places where a gondola might not venture.

Here we see a lone sandolo plying the waters of the Grand Canal,
with happy passengers - taking in the view and the experience.

Cannaregio Cruiser

 

Crossing a bridge in the Cannaregio district of Venice,

I looked over to see a little hidden gem of history:

an old squero, which is privately owned now and still has boats in it

(but not gondolas).

 

Coming up the canal was a beautiful fully varnished rowing boat.

I had to stop and watch.

 

 
The bridge spans the Rio della Sensa - one of several long canals
that make up Cannaregio's long and organized grid-like layout
(noticeably less chaotic, compared to many of the canals in the city).

 

 

So there he was, a solo rower on what may have been

his own personal boat, rowing along. 
I don't know where he was going or where he'd been.

 

Of course, like many true Venetians - he's got a special bond with his phone.  For most of the time I observed him, he was either on it or fiddling with it.

But then it is his boat, and his time,

No passengers to complain,

and you really only need one hand to row.

 

 

Just another beautiful boat in Venice.
Looked like a sandolo to me,

but there may have been some mascareta-hybrid traits in there.
Either way - a boat I'd sure like to row if I lived there.

 

 

And just as quickly and quietly as he arrived,

he and his well-cared-for craft were gone,

rowing of to who-knows-where.

Sandolo Sighting

 

Wandering around Venice, you never know what you'll see

as you turn corners and cross bridges. 

At one point I stepped onto a small bridge overlooking a canal

and noticed this sandolo cruising my way. 

 

Like their gondola cousins, sandoli are traditionally rowed by one person,

with one oar, off the right side at the back of the boat.

 

Because they are shorter and have a lower clearance

(there's no ferro up front or raised tail in the back),

sandoli are uniquely suited to exploring the tight canals of La Serenissima,

and can even go places that most gondoliers won't take their boats.

 

Looking down the centerline of the boat,

we see a bit of that familiar Venetian asymmetry.

 

And like the iconic gondolas, many passenger sandoli are not only

painted black, but have nearly all of the same types of trim and decoration.

 

Arm-pieces with brass cavalla, ropes with pom-poms,

floorboards painted on a theme color with scallops between the frames,

this sandolo even has a scimier

(that decoration that rests at the top of the backrest of the seat).

I love the gondola.
She is an amazing boat.
And I love being in Venice where I am seemingly surrounded by them.

But now and then you see one of these unique little gems and you realize
that there are many other amazing boats in Venice.

Passenger Sandolo in Action

Tamás Fehér sent me a link to this little snippet of Venetian boating.
Here we see a sandolista offloading his passnegers boat-to-boat 
as interesting boats pass by in the background. 

Based on the activity on the water, 
I'm guessing this was shot around Regata Storica time.

Snappy Sandolo Sighting

 

Before I photographed the red gondola last night,

I stopped off at the Naples canals, where the guys from

Gondola Getaway row most of their cruises.

 

Turning on Ravenna Drive, I crossed over the canal and spotted a beautiful sandolo heading towards the bridge.

 

 

I parked, grabbed my camera, and was there in time to catch the prow emerging from beneath the bridge.

 

They have a few of these classic passenger sandoli in Alamitos Bay.

John Kerschbaum and I got a chance to row one tandem last October and it was a fun time - especially with Andrew McHardy and Peter Dever aboard.

The sandolista rowed the craft deftly, moving her steadily
towards where the sun would soon touch down.

There are about three dozen Venice-built gondolas in North America,
but only a handful of sandoli. Each and every one seems to be in good hands, with appreciative passengers enjoying their experiences aboard.

Rows with the Gods

Here's a nice snapshot from inside what I believe may just be the most
beautiful sandolo in the world.  And while there are many impressive
sandoli in Venezia, this one is actually in Canada.

My friend Lorne of Honeymoon Gondola who has the enviable job of rowing her sent me this photo with the words:

Poseidon the Greek god of the sea and god of horses.

Poseidon is carved into the bow of my sandolo with a gold guilded trident and sash.
(Cupid) Eros the Greek god of love.

A bronze statue on the bow and on both sides of the boat bronze cupid riding a (hippocampus) seahorse with the tail of a fish.
From this comes the term.

"Rows with the Gods"

For almost two years Lorne and his sandolo have glided across the waters of "Lagoon City" in Ontario, Canada.
I just got news that they will move to a new home soon
at the Driftwood Cove Resort in Port Severn, Ontario, Canada.

Congratulations to Lorne on the move.
A beautiful boat in a beautiful location - sounds like a winning combination.

To learn more about this remarkable boat,
see my post "Carved Boat in Canada".

Just the Photo - Bows by the Beach

The pupparin and a sandolo are side-tied to a big caorlina

at the Gondola Getaway in Alamitos Bay.

The Happy Sandolista

photos by Andrew McHardy

 

Intrepid Kiwi Andrew McHardy texted me the other day that he was

"back state-side for a while" and that he was very happy to be rowing again.

 

He sent me a few nice photos from the sandolo he was rowing in Alamitos Bay.

 

It must be fun to have Andrew as your rower.

 

The view from the back of the boat. 
I understand that this is a new boat in California, and she looks great - some very nice detail-work.  I'll bet someone in Venice misses her.

Looks like she came with an excellent example of Saverio Pastor's handywork.

 

Thanks for the shots, Andrew.  It's great to have you back in town.

Number Four, Rowed by Four

photos by Nereo Zane

 

In the midst of all the excitement and ceremony of the "Festa del Capiteo",

the GSVVM also found time to launch another new boat - a beautiful four-oared sandolo.

 

There are so many great people at the GSVVM, and it seems almost unfair to only point out one of them.  But then again...he did build the boat.

In fact Luigi Marcuzzi is responsible for a lot of beautiful traditional rowing boats in the lagoon - most of them are orange and blue (the club colors).

 

Here are a few shots of the boat, taken by Nereo Zane while she was under construction.

 

This sandolo is the fourth built by maestro Marcuzzi, and her first official participation will be in the "Festa della Sensa" on May 12th.

 

On her launch day, the boat was rowed by four of the youngest members of the club, who seemed to like rowing her quite a lot. 

Just the Photo - Canadian Brass

Here's a close-up look at the brass trim plates on the trasto da prua of a passenger sandolo in Ontario, Canada.

Anybody want to guess the meaning of the engravings?

------------

Read more about this boat at:
"Carved Boat in Canada"

"Attention to the Details of the Tramontin Sandolo"

"Serious Sandolo Scimier"

Serious Sandolo Scimier

When I first saw photos of the new sandolo in Canada, I was impressed.
Here was a boat that had all the details - a fully carved passenger sandolo.

The boat was built in the Squero Tramontin, and was in fact the first sandolo to come out of that yard in over fifty years.

Roberto Tramontin gave extra attention to the details on this boat.

As I looked at the photos that Lorne sent me of his beautiful new sandolo, I noticed somethinig familiar about the scimier (that decorative piece that rests atop the seat back).

Lorne told me that the piece that rides on the seat back of his boat is
"the first known copy of the Royal scimier" - an impressive piece of "gondola art" in the private collection of the Tramontin family.

I'd seen that scimier before: in Gilberto Penzo's "La Gondola" (on page 173, to be exact), it is said to be about a hundred years old.

The "Royal Scimier".

 

I must admit that I'm not clear on the exact history of this piece,

but Lorne tells me that at the varo, many Venetians were nodding their heads in approval, and seemed proud of the scimier.

 

Here are a few photos showing some of the stages in the creation of this beautiful piece.

The design was drawn out on a single piece of wood,

the silhouette cut out,

and with age-old hand tools,

the craftsman gradually removed wood in small places.

Once the carving phase was completed,

a flat black base coat was applied.

Then a shiny coat of black was applied.

(my guess is that there were several shiny coats applied)

Finally, gold guilding and brilliant blue were added in the appropriate areas.

People look at gondolas and many other Venetian boats and just assume that the detail pieces are just fancy dress-up stuff, or as a shipbuilding friend of mine likes to say "decorative gingerbread", but in many cases there's history behind every detail.

Thank you Roberto - for bringing something beautiful into the world.