Ahh, yes - there's nothing quite like showing up at the dock to examine your gondolas after a rainy night, only to find that one has, shall we say,"surpassed it's rain-holding capacity".
That's right, one of my boats was swamped.
My daughter Cassandra, who is eleven, got a rare opportunity to see my facial expression as we came upon the scene.
Actually, I took it quite well, as this was not my first time dealing with such a situation.
In my opinion, there are gondola operators who will openly tell you about their boat sinking experiences, and then there are those who will lie, saying it's never happened.
And then there's the jackass who actually blogs about it.
While I assessed everything, Cassandra took some photos to blackmail me with later.
Here are a few for your laughing enjoyment.
The swamped gondola is a 30' boat built by Jack Fesenmeyer in Florida.
Here's Isabella taking photos of her own.
Getting the straps into place.
Making some adjustments.I shopped for a sump pump and picked up my eight-year-old daughter Isabella, who decided to play news reporter.
Cassandra shot this video while her sister did the on-camera intro.
This is my first attempt at video here on the Gondola Blog, so if you weren't able to view it, here's a synopsis:
After Isabella opened the clip, I introduced some of the exciting items we'd be using, then I laid out my revolutionary plan, and lastly talked about eating a sandwich.
Here's a shot taken after the pump had been operating for about 20 minutes.The amazing "sump pump and tie strap" plan was a success.
And as an added bonus, I managed to do it all without falling in the water.
3 comments:
Well, at least you seem to take it standing up :-) No weeping Greg huddled in a fetal position on the pier.
I hope it won't cost you too much, both in terms of time and money.
Do you expect any permanent damage to the boat?
René Seindal
Venice Kayak
Hey, thanks for the compliment René.
As for the boat, she will be fine.
I'll need to consider replacing some light electrical work but I won't know until I can crawl in there.
You'll notice in the photos that none of the other gondolas were swamped. They have canopies or canvas covers. Without them, your gondola is just a "big catch basin". This gondola does have a bilge pump but it obviously wasn't working last night.
I have noticed that in Venice all gondolas are covered when not in use. It is rare to see a parked gondola or sandolo uncovered.
I haver never seen a swamped gondola in Venice.
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