The Vogalonga rowing race goes around islands of Venice, Murano, Burano, and many others. This year is the 44th anniversary of the very first Vogalonga, which was born both as a beautiful way to spend a Sunday and as a protest against the “moto ondoso”, or waves created by motorboats that are wearing away at the homes and wall of Venice.  Coach Enzo rowed in 17 of them (including a memorable occasion where he was without an oarlock...) and has coxed in another 5 editions.

Roughly 30 kilometers long, it is non-competitive (in theory!...  Enzo never does anything slowly!) and involves 2000 boats, 8000 rowers, paddlers, standing Venetian-style oarsmen and women, in boats ranging from kayaks to 40-strong patriarch’s vessels. The only way to truly enjoy this race is in fact from the boats themselves, as there is no one body of land from which you can witness more than about 500 meters of the race. (Of course, there is much to be said about taking cocktails at one of the glamorous hotels that have waterfront near the finish line…) 

Our trip will begin about 6 days before the race. We'll do four days of a Terralba Tuscany week while we practice in the boats we'll be using. On the Thursday before the race we'll drive up to Venice with boats in tow, get oriented and then spend the next couple of days rowing around Lido and Venice, getting acclimated.  After the race is over you can either come back to Tuscany with us or remain in Venice for some exploration time. 

This is truly an experience not to be missed… for any rower this is Henley, the Charles, and the New York Marathon all mixed into a pastry treat with the beauty and romance of Italy drizzled onto the top.