Women in Regatas

Most folks associate Venetian rowing with gondoliers, and with certain recent exceptions, gondoliers are usually men.
But anyone who knows Italian women (I happen to be married to one), knows that they are not generally meek.

With rowing as popular as it is in Venice, it should come as no surprise that there are a number of women's regatas to follow these days.

The first official women's regata was held in 1493, in honor of the wife of the Duke of Milan. So only a year after "Columbus sailed the ocean blue", women were racing down the Grand Canal.

Last week I posted about a women's regata at the GSVVM, with a link to Nereo Zane's blog on this alla valesana contest.

Here are some images I captured in 2005 during the Regata Storica.

As rowers on the 14-man quattordesona "Mestrina", we were visited by many other boats, including a yellow mascareta with two women who were associated with our club.

The yellow mascareta races by.

The women tie-up and visit with the crew of the "Mestrina".
The man in the foreground is my old rowing coach Arturo Moruccio.

The women easily capture the attention of the crew, telling stories about the race.

If you've got photos of regatas in Venice, and you'd like to see them up on the Gondola Blog, send them to greg@gondola.com.