Posted 8th August 2012.
Buon giorno everyone,
I know, I know – it’s only been five minutes since we sent the last newsletter and haven’t we got anything better to do than annoy you with missives from our computer. But hey – Midi has been to Venice!
After leaving Rovinj in Croatia, we had to motor (and sail) most of the way across to Venice, with a lovely meal cooked by Robyn after complaints from the Captain about liquid dinners (cup of tea and ginger nuts at 12.30am does not constitute a dinner) and not getting his meat and three veg. We had been in contact with a marina in Venice, (Marina Fiorita) and we were booked in there for the duration of our stay. Unfortunately with their lack of good English and our non-Italian, something got a bit lost in translation, as on the way over, we received an email saying that it was better that we checked into Italy further north at Trieste, not Venice as it was very complicated to do so in Venice. We were committed to going to Venice at that stage as Bruce’s brother Ross and his wife Karen were arriving Sunday afternoon, so we just had to carry on.
We arrived off Venice lagoon in darkness and didn’t fancy negotiating our way in at that stage, so we anchored outside for the night, which proved to be very rocky and rolly. There was a swell that rolled in all night, wind from the west and a current that ran southwards down the coast, all to the accompaniment of a beach party or some such ashore. Also the water was very shallow as it is right across this part of the Adriatic. The depth never exceeded 35mtrs coming across. Still we all managed to sleep okay.
Up early the next morning, we set off into Venice lagoon. The sights were amazing on the way in but in the back of our minds was – where do we go to check in. The pilot book was not all that clear but we had been told about some piles that we could tie to, just off St Mark’s Square, in the heart of Venice, so off we went. Now folks, this is a very busy place. Think of the Southern Motorway in Auckland, in peak traffic and we are trying to go across it! We had water taxis, ferries (large and small)and cruise ships all trying to use the same small bit of waterway as Midi and they all knew where they were going. At one stage I just went below so I could avoid all the mayhem around us.
Our first impression of Venice was the smell. A musty smell – a bit like Great Aunt Myrtle’s infrequently used front room – damp and old. The sea was like being in a washing machine with wakes coming from all directions and various boats travelling at various speeds. We really needed rear vision mirrors to see what was coming from behind as they would roar past within metres (sometimes less) of us. Of course it was also Sunday so every man and his dog were out on the water and in places it was wall to wall boats, mostly small runabouts and people picnicking on beaches in the lagoon where they can.
Read Complete story here. (PDF 356 kb)