Recently the Gruppo Sportivo Voga Veneta in Mestre held a regata for women who row in Valesana style. Not surprisingly, Nereo Zane was there and caught some great photos.If you're just joining us here, the Valesana style involves two oars, one in each hand, and they're crossed.
Talk about a left-brain, right-brain confusion.
The left-brain controls the right hand-which controls the left-oar, and vice versa.
Once you get it, there's a remarkable amount of control.
It's an old method used by Venetians in the lagoon while coming and going - mostly for hunting and fishing, but it's become popular for sport as well.
There aren't many gondoliers in the US who know how to row this style.
Tim at Sunset Gondola is a big fan of the crossed oars.
I've done it a few times in Venice, and it's fun, but I always find myself needing to itch my nose in the middle of it, and that can really mess things up.
I'm getting way off track here.
On the 26th of October, the GSVVM launched all nine of their mascarete, each with the proper forcola configuration for Valesana, and the race was on!
I could yank a bunch of Nereo's photos from his blog and paste them here, but it makes more sense for you to click over and enjoy his post firsthand.
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