Gettin' the Exposure

Drew Sainte Marie in South Lake Tahoe is working hard

to get on the radar up there.

Here's a nice local feature that ought to help.

This just went up today online - it will air on TV tomorrow.

5 x 5 = 25 Part Two

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, 
the Gondola Blog has passed 2,500 posts.
To commemorate this number, I'm posting twenty-five things
I've learned during my time on gondolas and in hosting this site.
The first five were covered in my last post.
Here are the next five.

As always, feel free to interject with thoughts, opinions,
questions and insults in the comment box.

Venice is Graceland

People regularly ask me if I've been to Venice, to which I reply:

"If you're an Elvis impersonator - sooner or later you've gotta go to Graceland".

All of us have either gone, or long to go to La Serenissima.

It's a business trip, it's a pilgrimage, it's a shopping trip,
and it's an opportunity to see how the real guys do the real thing.

You'll come away humble.
You'll come away enlightened.
You'll come away with a new sense of what you do on the water,
and a deeper love for gondolas and the city they come from.

We're not the only ones doing this
When I first got involved with gondolas, I was thrilled to discover
that there were people in other American cities who had them.
 
I made it my goal to meet them all (and row with them if possible).
 
As of this writing there are approximately thirty gondola operations
in the United States.
There are a lot of great gondola operations in other parts of the world too.
 
I continue to discover gondolas in surprising places.
I found half a dozen of them in Australia!
The Germans and the Brits love gondolas,
and have some other Venetian craft as well.
I was lucky enough to meet and row with a guy in Denmark a few years back.
The list goes on and on.
Just last week I made contact with a guy in Ukraine who built his own gondola.
 
This whole loving-Venice-and-rowing-gondolas thing is not exclusive to the US.

You can go just about anywhere with a gondola

In Newport there are places on the water you're only allowed to use if you're
a resident, and we have canals that are closed to through-traffic, period.

But a smiling gondolier in a striped shirt and cheerful passengers seem to have an all-access pass.

Anyone looking like they might call you out can be quickly swayed
with a tip of the hat and a hearty "Buon giorno!"

It's like walking around Italy with a beautiful baby.
Everybody is your new best friend.

Drunken Duffy drivers are turned away,
but as I approach the area I hear:
"Hey, look at the gondola!"
They wave, they swoon or give me their best (or worst) "O' Sole Mio",
and I just cruise right through.

Quick-fixes can save the day

Nothing shines more beautifully than a fresh coat of black paint - except the sunlight, bouncing off the water and reflecting off that fresh black paint. 
All that said - if you run gondolas in a business situation,
and you do it in the real world, your boat is gonna get bumped.  
Stuff happens.
Scuffs happen!

You can cover a multitude of sins with:
a black Sharpie marker - great for deep gouges,
black duct tape - covers bigger scrapes,
black wax (color corrective car wax in black) - hides scuffs and oxidation, 
black electrical tape - covers seams that have decided to open above the waterline.
All these can keep things presentable until that next coat of paint.

And in a pinch...

A bucket of water can save the day
You got stuck in traffic, or just lost track of time.
Heck, maybe you were just called in last minute to cover a cruise.
You get to the gondola just minutes before the cruise is scheduled to begin.
You set everything up:
blankets, beverages, glassware, chocolates, whatever the cruise calls for...
And then you realize that you've got a dirty boat.

Oh, the inside is fine, but the decks are filthy!

There's no time to get down on your hands and knees and give the boat the loving detail-cleaning that she deserves.
You can't even make time for a quick deck mopping.
You've got a minute, maybe.

So you grab a bucket, fill it with fresh water, and throw it on the deck!

Your passengers show up thirty seconds later,
take one look at that beautiful, shiny gondola, with the sun reflecting off the deck of the glossy bow,
and they are truly impressed.
They get in the boat, the cruise goes perfectly, the sun set is glorious,
and they don't notice the dirty bow deck as they leave in the dark.

Crisis averted.

As the old dandruff shampoo commercials used to say:
"You never get a second chance, to make a first impression".

And that brings us to the end of Part Two.
Stay tuned for more in my next post.

5 x 5 = 25 Part One

I'm happy to report that the Gondola Blog has now published
just over 2,500 posts.

What that really means is that 500 posts ago, I completely missed the opportunity to say "hey, guess what: we've got 2,000 posts here!"

Anyway, to celebrate, I'm sharing twenty-five things I've learned during the time spent posting here, and on the back of a gondola. 

We'll start off with the first five in this post. 
Feel free to interject with thoughts, opinions,
and insults in the comment box.

There's extra gravity around the water
One of the first things I tell someone when I begin training them to work on
or around gondolas, is that there is "extra gravity" around the water,
and especially in that space between a boat and the dock.

Need proof?
Drop a tool, cell phone or something else of worth anywhere near that gap and it will end up falling, bouncing, sliding or in some other way navigating its way into that space and into the drink. 
Sometimes I could swear that the item that fell,
actually got sucked into that narrow gap!
It's like a "gravity vortex!"

And on that note...

Water is wet...and anything that comes in contact with it will therefore also become wet

We all have personal religious beliefs.  I have my own convictions,
and I love Christmas and Easter, but outside the church,
denominationally I often refer to myself as being an "Electronic Baptist" - because if it's electronic I've probably baptized it (and many others like it).

To date I'm responsible for the salt-water-cleansing of at least:
5 cell phones
3 boom boxes
6 pagers (remember those?)
4 Bluetooth earpieces
and I lost count of splashing flashlights years ago.
I doubt any of those numbers are records, but they do serve as examples of my "Electronic Baptist" tendencies.

Stainless is not always stainless

Most stainless steel still needs a little help remaining stainless. 
There's plenty of the stuff out there that really is steel,
but for it to be "stainless", it needs to have other elements in it.
Stainless steel is an alloy, and when they put another metal in the mix
it keeps the whole thing from rusting...or so they say.

The more non-steel they put in it, the less corrosion,
but the less corrosion - the weaker the stainless steel. 
If you find yourself having to buff or polish that metal from time to time -
cheer up, it might be that you've got a stronger metal piece there.

If you're still feeling indignant about it,
think about all those gondoliers who have,
and still continue to polish brass (and quit yer whinin').

Everything is temporary

Even that beautifully perfect coat of varnish you just finished.  It just is. 
If you want perfection that lasts forever, hmmm,
well I don't really have any wisdom for you there.
Brush another coat on.  It'll last a little longer.

More to the point, take a moment to appreciate perfection,
because it won't stay that way. 
Enjoy the moment.
And don't lose your mind when that perfect moment/paint job/sunset/set of waves takes a turn or comes to a close.
It's just the way it is.
Again, brush another coat on.  It'll be worth it.

Everybody expects you to sing, NOW!

"Why aren't you singing?!"
They shout demandingly from bridges and passing boats.

Never mind that just one minute ago I finished the most beautiful aria,
making the perfect memory for my passengers.

Never mind that I already have two people in my boat who are my only real concern - people who actually paid to be there.

Never mind that as a mammal, I need to breathe and haven't yet figured out a way to make my every waking breath a musical note for the benefit of someone's fanciful stereotype of a gondolier.

"You should be singing!" They shout.

The guy with the fishing pole on the shore line makes that hand-to-the-ear gesture, as if to say "I can't hear you".

The Newport Beach soccer mom shouts from the family cruise:
"I don't hear any singing!"
in a chiding tone, as if she's caught me breaking some kind of law.

One of the most on-point things I've ever heard about being a gondolier came out of Venice.  I can't remember who said it, but the quote was:
"Being a gondolier is like being a monkey at the zoo".
So true.
Everyone has definite ideas about how they think you should be acting,
and they have no problem insisting that you do so, now!
So SING, you trained monkey!

Ok, I'll calm down now.
I hope you've enjoyed the first five items.
Stay tuned for more.

The "Dutch Neuschwanstein"

Our German friend Uwe Kunze from Kiel posted theses on Facebook
and I just had to snag them and post them here.

The castle is the famous Kasteel de Haar in the Netherlands - just south of Amsterdam in the outskirts of Utrecht.
It was built in 1880 and is known as the "Dutch Neuschwanstein".

My first response, of course, was jealousy.
Uwe was quick to point out, however, that there were:
"Gusty winds, narrow bridges, and stones under the surface of the water".

Regardless, I wish I were there to take my chances with those winds, bridges, and stones.

Even so, what a great photo opportunity.

Thanks for making us all jealous, Uwe!

The "E-Word"

The phone rings with all sorts of strange requests.
We've had a wide variety of creative approaches relating to marriage proposals and other surprises.  Very little seems to raise my eyebrows anymore.  When the phone rang last year for a TV commercial, however,
I was genuinely surprised.

It went something like this:
"We want to rent a gondola from you for an in-studio shoot."
    "OK, we've done that a number of times. 
     What can you tell me about the shoot?"

"I can't tell you many details, but we want your widest one."
    "My widest one? How wide do you need it to be?"
(brief pause)

"Um, well, I can't really tell you exactly what we need it for because the subject matter is under wraps at this point."
   "I understand. We're used to non-disclosure situations,
    and I promise we won't divulge anything until the finished product is on TV.
    Now if you'll just tell me what you're looking to do,
    maybe I can do a better job of helping you achieve your goal."

Only then did the person on the other end of the phone use the "e-word"...
     ELEPHANT!

That is where my eyebrows went up.
I probably snapped my fingers to get my wife's attention,
giving that "you're not gonna believe this" kind of expression.

After a quick conversation regarding the weight of the elephant they were planning on using, I said that I'd be happy to assist in any way I could,
but that there was no way I could provide a gondola that would fit their needs.

In the end they rented several removable gondola parts from me, I provided some advice, and they built their own "pachyderm-capable" gondola.
It was about nine feet wide, built using plans they'd bought from Venice.
They actually only built the aft two-thirds of the vessel - which gave them the ability to get an in-the-boat angle more effectively.
Cleverly, they also built it with the rails flared out, making for a better shot.

Now that the commercial is in circulation, I can finally share this information.
Remarkably, even though the ad is running regularly on TV,
I have yet to find it anywhere online, so you'll just have to
keep an eye out for it - trust me, you'll know it when you see it.

I can imagine that advertising these types of medical products isn't easy because they're not nearly as exciting as juicy burgers or sporty cars.
And yet the folks with the elephant have done a great job with this campaign.

My only regret...is that I never got to meet the elephant.

Looking Great in Tahoe!

photo by Niki Ross

Drew Sainte Marie, the gondolier who has been busy with his new operation in South Lake Tahoe, hosted a couple...and photographer on his gondola recently.
Tahoe-based pro photographer Niki Ross stepped aboard and took some dynamic images - showing us all just how beautiful Drew's location is.

You can see the whole set of photos at: 
Venetian Gondola Lifestyle Portrait Session
Niki also gave a nice write-up.
If her clients are smart, they'll book portrait sessions on the boat.
Couples always look great when they're sitting in a gondola.

For more information on Niki Ross, see:
http://www.nikirossphotography.com/

Tahoe Amore's website is:
http://www.tahoeamore.com/

A New Boat on the Water

photo by Mark Schooling

Mark at Gondola Paradiso sent me this great shot of his new boat,
freshly launched in Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard, California. 
This is an exceptional piece of boatbuilding. 
She's the first "batela a coa de gambaro" in the U.S., custom-made
by some talented folks at the Northwestern School of Wooden Boat Building in Port Hadlock, Washington.
In keeping with Italian tradition, she's named "Maria" - after his mother.

Big congrats to Mark on his new boat.
She looks fantastic!

The Calm AFTER the Storm

We had some glorious rain today in Southern California.

Showers that refreshed our soil and washed everything down.

It's not very good for business when you're in gondolas,

but we sure do need it around here.  After most of it had cleared up,

Jakob and I rowed out on the Contessa - a majestic pupparin.

It was his first time rowing tandem, and the first time he'd rowed a fast and lightweight boat like this.  As I'd expected, Jakob had a blast on that light, nimble little boat, and I expect he'll be signing up for cruises on her soon.

 

Everyone talks about "the calm before the storm",

but sometimes the calm that comes afterwards is even more noteworthy.

 

Jakob snapped this one while rowing.

The View from My Office Tonight

It's naturally air-conditioned,
but it's the view from my office that I love so much.
Here's what I enjoyed this evening after dropping my passengers.