IMAGES OF THE EXPEDITION – morning routine

Each morning we would arrive at the gondola, usually in a bit of a hurry to keep up with the tide schedule. The gondola would be uncovered, forcole would be checked or installed if they’d been stowed for the night. The chase boat also needed to be prepared and the engine checked. On the gondola, guys would make sure their remo was wrapped well, set the foot wedge known as a “pontapied” the way they wanted it, and stow a banana or apple and a few bottles of water where they could reach them during a “fruit break”. This was also a time to make sure you’d gone to the bathroom, put on some sunscreen, and make sure your shoes were tied tight. Once the group starts rowing, it can be embarrassing to have to stop and tie your shoes.
Nereo Zane took this shot on Day 4 at the Marlboro Yacht Club.

In the above photo, Bepi and Vittorio adjust the mounting of one of the “clamp-on forcolas” while Enzo looks on. Chris stands in the chase boat, doing something with one of the back-up remi.