Five Hundred in the Big Easy

I wish I'd kept a tally. I wish I'd kept a score.
A simple sheet of paper, or scratches under a floorboard.
Ahh, but there are folks out there who are smarter than I am;
guys like Roberto in New Orleans.

Of course, he has had some run-ins with hurricanes,
but still, he has been smart enough to keep track of how many 
"big questions" were asked and answered on-board his gondola.
and yesterday, Nola Gondola hosted number five hundred!

Congrats to the happy couple,
and an even bigger congrats to Roberto - on such a great milestone.

Here's to 500 more!

No Sole Mio

After 17 years of operating on the Charles River in Boston,
Gondola di Venezia is now for sale,
and the boats are not scheduled to be launched this spring.

Here's an article in the Boston Globe about it:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/03/30/sole-mio-venetian-gondolas-esplanade-quiet/XiiJ4VvcZUHEqMR1FV8JZI/story.html

 

Late Night Serenity

So much of what I post here is either from daytime or around sunset.
Of course we tend to have more cruises at those times.
But when people ask me about my favorite time, I tell them that I loe to be out late in the evening - when the winds have calmed, and there's nobody else out on the water.
Here's a photo I took tonight from the back of my boat.

Seriously Ready for St. Paddy's

photo by Mike Olsen

Green striped shirt:
Check!

Green striped oar:
Check!

Gondola with green floors and interior:
Check!

Green Converse shoes:
Check!

Legit Irish flag:
Check!

Ready for St. Patrick's Day:
CHECK, CHECK, CHECK!!!

Eddie's got it totally dialed-in.
(now where's the Guinness?) 

Stefano in Alaska Airlines Publicatioin

A while back I had the good fortune of having a writer aboard my gondola.
She was writing a piece for Alaska Beyond Magazine - the in-flight magazine for Alaska Airlines.
We had a wonderful time, and she wrote a nice piece about her experience here in Newport.

We sent in a decent collection of photos for them to choose from,
and they chose a photo with one of my favorite gondoliers: Stefano.
(Yes, that Stefano - the guy I wrote about in my post "Marathon Man" )

photo by S.E. Atkins

 
To read the article (and see a much better quality photo),
go to the online version of the magazine:
http://www.paradigmcg.com/digitaleditions/abm-0318/html5/
and go to page 144,
Or better yet, hop on an Alaska Airlines flight, 
take a much needed vacation,
and enjoy the magazine in the seat pouch in front of you.

Batela from Above

photo by Mark Schooling

On Saturday the 17th of February, Mark of Gondola Paradiso in Oxnard 
was able to snap this photo of gondolier Josh Sopp - rowing the only batela west of the Atlantic.

Josh rowed for many years at the Gondola Company of Newport.
He was actually one of the guys who trained Mark Schooling so many years ago.  Josh moved into another career category, but always missed rowing.
We all got a surprise visit from Josh when he showed up at the most recent US Gondola Nationals in Huntington Harbour.
During that re-connection, he and Mark got to talking about rowing.
Next thing you know, Josh is back on a boat.
He got to pilot several cruises on both Valentine's Day and the Saturday that followed.
Here are a few more shots:

Look at those crisp white pants on V-Day.
Looking good, Josh!

 One more time under the bridge.

Valentine's Day 2.0

 With the exception of Leap Year, Valentine's Day falls 

on a different day each year. 

If it falls on a Saturday, we know it's gonna be huge.  

But weekday V-Days are unpredictable. 

Often we experience a large flow of cruises on the weekend prior to the holiday, but that wasn't really the case this year.  

I believe there were too many people watching the Olympics. 

To our surprise, this year we had a very big Saturday...after the holiday. 

Our calendar on the 17th was booked up and it turned out to almost be a second V-Day for us in Newport.

 Simon began the day with a cruise on Stella,

 heading off into smooth water under sunny conditions.

 Jonah with a happy couple on the Contessa pupparin.

 John from Minnesota enjoying another day in California.

 I had the opportunity to row the Contessa as well.

Mike waves as he departs.

 It's not all about the rowing either.

Kalev shows how important it is to be able to 

take pictures with whatever the passengers hand you.

 Kyle waves under brilliant colored skies.

 Kalev at night.

 Popping that champagne cork.

 Eddie keeping things squared away between departures.

The New Boat in Oakland

photos by Angelino Sandri

Last moth I posted photos of an exceptionally beautiful gondola in Oakland.
When Angelino and I were rolling her back into the building, 
she hadn't been in the water yet since she was sea-trialed in Venezia.  
He mentioned that he might launch her in time for cruises on Valentine's Day.
Looks like he did.
Here are the photos to prove it.

Ready and waiting at the dock in front of the Lake Chalet.

The Gondola Servizio dock in the background.

You can just see the stern of the sandolo 

peeking out from behind another gondola.

Lucky couple enjoying a cruise.

Returning to dock.

This is a remarkable boat.

If you haven't viewed photos of her in my earlier post, 

"It's All About the Wood" do so - it's worth your time.

The boat in these photos is actually moving to another location in Napa, but I think it was a fitting first-floating for her to host passengers on Lake Merritt.

Gondola Servizio has been actively cruising with passengers on this lake in Oakland since 1999.

V-Day 2018 in Newport

Here's a collection of images from Valentine's Day of 2018 here in Newport Harbor. I spent a lot of time running around, making sure things were in order, and rowing cruises as well.

If I'd just camped out with my Nikon, I'm sure I could have published a coffee table book of great photos - as there are so many things to point and shoot at.

 The morning started with a familiar sound of hammering.

Gary, Eddie, and Mike set their forcole with mallets and wedges.

The first boats departing with happy passengers.

Gary and I passed each other in the canals with Italian greetings.

 Mike arriving on the pupparin known as Contessa.

The Wedding Gondola awaits another couple.

A small one-of-a-kind gondola being rowed by Simon.

Simon returning with a tip of the hat.

As the day turned to evening, the sky was a brilliant display of color.

Another V-Day in the books.
We enjoyed beautiful weather, great brotherhood among gondoliers, 
and everyone who sat in a gondola had a wonderful time.