Med & Adriatic cruising and racing

A triumph for Nuovo Trionfo

I’m glad to see a famous old Adriatic trading boat, a trabaccolo, is securely afloat again on its mooring by the Dogana, the old customs house at the entrance to the Grand Canal in Venice.

In 2016 Classic Boat commissioned me to write a piece about the rescue of the Nuovo Trionfo, built in 1926 and one of very few trabaccoli that have survived. I spent several enjoyable days talking to people involved in fund-raising and repairs, inspected the boat, which had had a major restoration in 2012, and even sat in on a discussion with the deputy mayor of Venice about fund raising.

*Sunset at Punta della Dogana, with Nuovo Trionfo tucked up under protective tarpaulins*. *Photo Will Rodgers*.

I had pre-sold the idea to the magazine as an up-beat piece about a successful project. But a nasty shock came for the enthusiastic restoration team and its backers: part of the keelson – a huge timber down the centre of the ship above the keel – was discovered to be rotten and cracked and needed major repairs ashore. There were years to go – nine as it now turns out – before this could be called a successful restoration, so the magazine lost interest.

The trabacolo was repaired but that wasn’t the end of the saga. In 2020 it was only saved from sinking on its Dogana mooring by the prompt arrival of a fireboat which pumped it out so it could be taken to a yard for more urgent repairs. See this post I wrote at the time.

The good news is that from February 2024 till a few days ago the Nuovo Trionfo was ashore at the Casaril yard, on the northern tip of Venice, this time for a really thorough rebuild, which is described and photographed in detail on the website of the Amici del Nuovo Trionfo. (In a Chrome browser the translate function gives a readable account in English).

This second link is to the website of Compagnia della marineria tradizionale Il NuovoTrionfo . The spars were taken for checking to Diporto Velico Veneziano, the yacht club in Sant’Elena which organises the annual Transadriatica race.

The Nuovo Trionfo was put back on its Dogana mooring on the 20 November. As well as the structural repairs, much attractive detailing has been restored, including the pair of bright red traditional eyes at the bow.

She has been used in recent years to give tourists a short ride on the lagoon, to raise money to keep the project going. With substantial extra funding secured for the latest restoration and the boat in seaworthy condition at last, there are plans to go to sea properly, and retrace her old trading routes in the northern Adriatic.

The impressive team of Venetian traditional shipwrights and craftspeople was helped for a time by two French trainees and later by two graduates of the master shipwrights school at Douarnenez, Brittany, famous as the home of an annual traditional boat festival.

There is international solidarity between traditional boat builders, and some have many enthusiastic on-line followers. One of the best known is the complete rebuild in the US of the British yacht Tally Ho by The Sampson Boat Company. The 7 year project was led by a British shipwright who bought the damaged hull for $1.

The rebuild went viral with a huge following on U-tube that did much to help fundraising and attracted shipwrights and apprentices from far and wide to help. There’s a teaser here for amateur philosophers: every bit of Tally Ho had to be replaced in the end. Is she still the same boat? I say yes.

Tally Ho is actually on the way back to Britain where she was built in 1910. The plan is to compete in the 2027 Fastnet, the 600 mile offshore race starting in Cowes, which she won in 1927.

Spring Fever will be back home from Scotland by then. We must save the date so we can go out to watch the start. Sadly our own Fastnet race days are long over – I last did one in 1997.

Rowing the Venetian way

A visit to Venice brought the chance to learn the basics of rowing all over again. We found there’s almost no relationship between how a Venetian rows and the way we learnt at home.

Transadriatica 2023

It was one of the best Transadriatica’s from Venice to Novigrad and back that anyone could remember. Winds in the northern Adriatic are notoriously fickle and changeable, and sometimes disappear for hours to leave a glassy calm. This time, apart from a brief lull or two on the way out, we had steady winds all the way.

Martin and I were sailing two-handed in his Spiuma, starting on Thursday evening in Venice and arriving in Novigrad early on Friday afternoon.

*Receiving our prize in Novigrad for the smallest boat to finish*

Venice’s Vogalonga

The first boat to appear at the Dogana on the Grand Canal after the 30 km Vogalonga rally round the lagoon and canals of Venice was a coxed eight. It was another 40 minutes before the arrival of the first of the traditional Venetian boats, the ones everyone really wants to see.

All the boats finished further up, beyond the Rialto, and they then paraded down to the official pontoon at the Dogana, which is at the entrance to the Canal.

June – the Transadriatica

It was great to be back as crew in the Transadriatica this year, after two years suspension because of Covid.

Transadriatica 2019

One of the best sails I’ve had in the Mediterranean or Adriatic: nice breeze that kept the boat flat out much of the way, apart from a couple of hours after the start of the return leg. Only once or twice were we hard pressed, and what’s more the wind magically veered and backed almost on demand, just as we needed it, especially near the course turning point in the Gulf of Trieste. Even as the wind dropped approaching Venice, it was enough to keep us moving at 5 knots.

Spiuma, seen from another competitor as we neared the finish at the entrance to the Venice lagoon

Continue reading “Transadriatica 2019”

…a 2018 Adriatic success

Here’s the certificate for third in class in the 2018 Transadriatica race – the second time in the race for me – from Venice to Novigrad and back, overnight each way in Martin Walker’s Spiuma. The certificate was presented to Martin recently, though the race was the weekend at the end of May and beginning of June.

This time we were third in both directions. Continue reading “…a 2018 Adriatic success”

Venice to Novigrad and back – 2017 Transadriatica race

Delighted to be sent this picture of the cup for third in class in the 2017 Transadriatica race, especially since we were the smallest boat and the oldest crew.

Martin Walker received the cup for the race, which was actually last June, at the annual dinner last month of his club, Diporto Velico Veneziano. Continue reading “Venice to Novigrad and back – 2017 Transadriatica race”

Taking your dinghy through the Venice canals

After last year’s exploration of the Venice lagoon (see this post), we learnt recently about pilotage inside Venice’s own canal system, with a tour in a private motor boat. With care, you could do the same in a visiting yacht’s tender.

Shout as you approach a junction.... — Shout as you approach a junction….

A new set of municipal rules took effect on 1 April, though apparently some of its key provisions, such as limits on the speed of water taxis, were dropped after protests from their vociferous spokesmen.

In a nutshell, drive on the right except for one canal near Piazzale Roma in the North West which for obscure reasons has a keep to the left rule. Continue reading “Taking your dinghy through the Venice canals”

Pilotage in the Venice lagoon

Quite by accident while wandering around Venice with friends who live there, we crossed paths with a neighbour of theirs, who turned out to be one of only two women drivers of vaporetti on the lagoon.

When told we were on a hire boat she pretended to collapse in hysterical laughter, Continue reading “Pilotage in the Venice lagoon”

Round the Venice lagoon by barge

The beauty of Venice is so great that even the high-season overcrowding is still bearable. Now we’ve found a way of seeing the city in spring, summer and autumn without feeling oppressed by the sheer numbers around us. A week afloat on a barge is is the answer, because you see Venice in the context of its whole lagoon, and can slip easily away from the crowds.

Arriving, for example, at the island of Torcello in the evening, after the day-trip boats have left, is a blissfully peaceful experience. We found a mooring up a tree-lined creek on the far side of the island from the excursion landing stage, right behind the basilica. It was just an hour and a half slow cruising from Venice. In the city itself, we spent two nights in the peaceful surroundings of a yacht club marina at St Elena, in easy reach of the sights but away from the crowds.

Read the rest of the post by following this link: Round the Venice lagoon by barge.

The mooring on Torcello — The mooring at Torcello

Venice Biennale – all at sea

We had hardly started on the Venetian lagoon when we came across this site-specific installation by Gavin Turk, the much-praised Young British Artist (now of course no longer so young). Here is some of the publicity material we found flying about in the wind from the Biennale*. Continue reading “Venice Biennale – all at sea”

Round Venice

A year ago we went round London by barge, and next week we’ll go round Venice, with the same seven-strong crew. We will start from a barge base at Chioggia, and plan to visit Venice itself and several other islands, including Torcello, and maybe up the River Brenta towards Padua or the Sile towards Treviso. Not sure whether the mobile internet reception is good enough to allow a daily blog, but we’ll load a picture log during the week.

Greek pilotage puzzle: where’s Ithaca?

On an Ionian holiday a few years ago, I walked straight off a modern cruising yacht into an argument about an ancient voyage that has been unresolved for well over 2,000 years. We had moored at Vathi, the main town on Ithaca, where in a first floor room down a side street I came across an exhibition of photographs of Homeric sites on the island. There I fell into conversation with a white-haired, distinguished looking man who described himself as director of the archaeological excavations on Ithaca.

Looking down to the sea from one of the archaeological excavations on Ithaca — Looking down to the sea from the site of excavations on Ithaca.

Naturally, we got onto the Odysseus connection, for the exhibition was designed to connect present day sites on the island with the wanderings of Homer’s hero. I had just read in Rod Heikell’s Ionian pilot book that the island of Levkas, a few miles to the north, had been put forward by some as the true Ithaca. What did the director think of that?

It was as if I had insulted his family, his religion and his country all at once. He exploded.

For the full article – a long read – follow this link. Or look under ‘old stories’ above.