Trip Report # 8-2003: Venezia!

Filed from Pula, Croatia

44  53.3  N      13  47.7  E

September 9, 2003

Photo:  A typical scene on a canal in Venice

    We left Split and anchored the night in Vinisce, a large bay with good protection all around and a small village at its' head.  During the evening a small skiff came by and a young man told us that we would have to pay 50 kuna harbor fee.  Tom told him he did not want to pay that, as we were anchored, required and received no services and had already paid $150 for our cruising permit.  He said okay and left without another word.  We're not sure what happened.  But we spent a pleasant night and continued on our way north the next day.

    We were now focused on getting to Venice.  The weather was good and we continued putting a lot of miles under the keel every day.  Our plan was to leave from Novigrad, a 65 mile sail to Venice.  Novigrad is a pleasant small town that caters to tourists and vacationers, and the harbor is set up for visiting yachtsmen.  There are mooring buoys available and there is plenty of room to anchor.  We anchored and that evening a boat came out, identified as a harbor boat, with an official in uniform, who informed us that we would have to pay 48 kuna to anchor.  Tom tried the same spiel that he used in Vinisce.  This time it did not work.  We paid the money, as we would have if the lad in Vinisce had persisted.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

    We spent a very restless night in Novigrad, rolling side to side with the incoming waves, and were awake and ready to go at 5 am.  We checked the weather and, although it looked cloudy and threatening, nothing of significance was in the forecast.  Tom said, "It's probably an isolated shower or thunderstorm and we'll sail out of it."

    We could see the lightning and black clouds in front of us and turned the radar on to see if there was anything behind it.  Nothing showed up - only the one cell.  We watched it pass off to the northeast and then we set off.  As we proceeded, other weather cells formed and we sailed around 3 of them, taking advantage of the higher winds on the edge of them, but avoiding the bulk of the rain and lightning.  We were unable to avoid 2 others and sailed our way through them.  Winds that day were 20-35 knots, higher in the thunderstorms, with 2.5 meter seas.  Once past the line of thunderstorms, within about 25 miles from Venice, the weather improved and we had a nice sail, a fast ride on a comfortable reach.

Photo:  Peg arrives in Venice, a little worse for wear, but still smiling

    Venice is low-lying, built in a lagoon on a series of islands, and there are 3 entrances into the lagoon.  We used the northern entrance, the Lido entrance, which is the closest to the city of Venice.  An outer marker identifies the channel leading into the breakwaters and a very unique lighthouse guards the northern breakwater.  There is a tide in the northern Adriatic Sea and here in Venice it can reach 2 meters with tidal currents up to 3 knots.  We had no problem getting into the fairway and staying in the channel, which is well marked.

Photo:  Lighthouse at the Lido entrance into the lagoon in Venice

    We decided to go directly to Sant' Elena Sailing Club for our stay in Venice.  They do not take reservations and a berth becomes available only if one of the members is away.  Although they do have a custodian, he does not answer the phone or the VHF.  We hovered at the entrance to the club, which looked barely wide enough for us to pass through.  Beyond the entrance, there did not look like there was enough room to maneuver and the wind was still blowing pretty hard.  Very soon a small boat came out and told us to proceed.  Once inside, a man in a skiff directed us to a slip.  We intended to stay for 5 days and ended up staying for ten. It was conveniently located and the members were very helpful and friendly. The total cost to us, including electricity, water and tax, was 29 euros per day.

Photo:  Tom at the Sant' Elena Sailing Club

    One of the things that makes Venice so pleasant to explore is that there are no cars.  Walking through the streets is very pleasant.  The streets along the Grande Canale are often very crowded, but there are so many other parts of Venice that are uncrowded with so much to see. 

Photo:  Street scene in a Venice neighborhood

    The way to get around in Venice is to ride the vaporettos, large but narrow motor vessels that form the "bus" system in Venice, with stations conveniently located and "buses" running every few minutes during the day.  So the first thing we did was to buy a 3-day ticket that could be used for as many trips as we wanted to take.  It cost 22 euros ($23.76) each.  We used it constantly and felt it was a good value, since a 1-day ticket cost 10 euros and a single trip cost 3.50 euros.  After purchasing our tickets, we got on a No. 1 vaporetto and rode the entire length of the Grande Canale, orienting ourselves and viewing the beautiful and stately mansions  along the Canale.

Photo:  Vaporetto at the "bus" stop

    The most famous landmark in Venice is St. Mark's Square, site of the Palazzo Ducale (The Doges' Palace) and St. Mark's Basilica.  We spent several days touring this area, as there is so much to see here.  We bought a ticket for 11 euros that would enable us to gain entry into the 4 museums in the square:  The Doges' Palace, the Museum of Archeology, the Museo Correr (housing works by famous Venetian artists, such as Bellini) and the Library Sansovino (including the national library of St. Mark's).  There was another small fee to tour St. Mark's Basilica and, once inside, 2 euro fees to see the treasury, the crypt, and the Golden Altarpiece.  The square and the buildings are so large and magnificent that it was impossible (for us) to take photos that would do justice to the beauty of the site.

Photo:  Front of the Basilica of St. Mark, Venice

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Photo:  Tom in the Piazza San Marco

    St. Mark's Basilica was the church of the Doges until 1807, when it became the Cathedral of the city of Venice, and it is connected to the palace by two squares and some interior passages.  The first church was built in 832, the second in 978.  The 3rd and present church was begun in 1063 and consecrated in 1094.  The beautiful frescoes, mosaics and artwork adorning the cathedral were continually added over the next several centuries.  It is built on the plan of a cross and has 5 domes.  The interior of each dome is covered with golden mosaics depicting the history of Christianity and the theme of salvation, as in fact, is the entire ceiling.  The architecture contains influences from the East in the onion-shaped domes, the Byzantine-style mosaics on the facade, the moorish style of the gothic windows, and the minaret-like towers. The remains of St. Mark, which for centuries were kept in the crypt, have, since 1835, rested under the refectory table of the high altar.

Photo:  One small corner of the Cathedral of St. Mark

    One of the things Tom really enjoyed here, and actually everywhere in Italy, is the absolutely delicious gelati.

Photo:  One of Tom's favorite things - delicious Italian gelati in the Piazza San Marco

    One of the first sites one sees on entering the lagoon and traveling toward the city is the church of Santa Maria della Salute at the mouth of the Grande Canale, a beautiful baroque church built to mark the end of the plague in 1630 and celebrate the return of the people of Venice to good health.

Photo:  Santa Maria della Salute at the entrance to the Grande Canale

    Venice is a busy city with the commerce of daily life being carried on via boats that serve as ambulances, fire and police vehicles, and delivery trucks of all kinds.

Photo:  Delivery boats in the Grande Canale

    Venice is filled with elegant shops, wonderful restaurants and lots of street shopping for the tourist.  The Rialto bridge crosses the canal and is lined with tourist shops.  It connects both sides of the Rialto area, a great place to window shop and mill about.  We were able to walk through winding streets from the Rialto back to St. Mark's square, a long but interesting trek, with great shops along the way.

Photo:  The Rialto Bridge.  Smaller motorboats are water taxis.

    There is always something going on in Venice.  It is an extremely vibrant city.  While we were there, the Venice Film Festival was happening; there was a historical regatta with the racing of the gondolas taking place the following weekend;  there were art showings and exhibitions; and one could always find a concert or an opera to attend.  We went to a performance of Vivaldi's work, including "The Four Season", which was presented in the church of San Vidal and which we enjoyed very much. 

Photo:  Tom & Peg on the Rialto Bridge, Venice

    We also went to the Peggy Guggenheim museum of modern art.  Peggy Guggenheim lived on the Grande Canale for 30 years and supported the works of young and innovative artists.  Her home is now the site of the museum and it was very satisfying to view the works of Max Ernst, Picasso, Klee, Pollack and so many others.

Photo:  Marini's "Angel of the City" at the Guggenheim Museum, Venice

    Venice is a city that is slowly sinking and evidence of this can be seen in some of it's "leaning towers" and the undermining of some of the older buildings.  Plans are underway to build devices that will handle the periodic floods and the occasional high tides and excessive tidal currents.

Photo:  Gondolas parked in Venice

Photo:  And later, at a normal high tide

    We took the vaporetto to the island of Murano, an area famous for glass works where the renowned Venetian glass is made.  The waterfront around Murano is lined with furnace factories.  The glass is quite beautiful, but extremely expensive.  We priced a set of 6 wine glasses, lovely, simple, and 600 euros!

Photo:  Glass making in Murano

    While in Venice, we were also able to do some chores.  A vaporetto ride to the Lido, a nearby island across from the city, took us to the business and services center of the lagoon.  We were able to book airline tickets home through a helpful travel agent right near the vaporetto stop.  We were able to get to an internet center, which had very good and fast connections, but was expensive at 6 euros per hour.  There were 2 large supermarkets with great deli counters.  And in Sant' Elena, we were able to have laundry done.  We had quite a pile of sheets and towels, among other things, which are difficult, though not impossible, to do by hand on the boat.  We took our laundry to a shop run by an elderly couple and asked them to just wash and fold it.  They indicated that they would not do that - they had their way of doing laundry and that's the only way it would be done.  So, two days later, we picked up the laundry, beautifully done and wrapped like a present, paid our 50 euros (there were 3 bags full) and were happy that we used our time in Venice to do things other than laundry.

Photo:  Laundry ala Sant' Elena - a work of art! 

    We loved Venice - we love Italy - and we love the Italian people!

                        Arrivederci,

                        Peg & Tom

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