The gondola had been uncovered for a few hours, and somehow this fish managed to leap out of the water and end up in a place he couldn't wiggle out of.
Fish are always jumping in Newport this time of year.
There's been speculation as to whether they were jumping to escape something bigger (and hungry), jumping to catch something they'd like to eat, or just "jumping for joy".
Perhaps the boy-fish are jumping in order to impress the girl-fish.
Someone who seemed to know what they were talking about, once told me they were breaching, like whales.
They said that some fish in Newport had problems with algae growing on their gills, and were breaching to knock the growth from their gills so they could breath.
Something tells me it didn't work for this guy.
The reason, I was told, that it happened more during the warmer months,
was because the water gets warmer then and the algae grows more.
Whatever the reason, they jump.
Jump like crazy sometimes.
On some days in the summer you can cross the turning basin at the north end of the channel and watch them. A minute doesn't go by without one or two mini-breaches taking place. When the big ones jump, it's like there are quarterbacks throwing short-lob football passes from just under the surface.
This isn't the first time a fish has flung itself out of the water and into one of our gondolas. Gondoliers in Newport still talk about the one that managed to land "right in the lady's lap" during a cruise over ten years ago.
Feel free to insert your favorite wisecrack about "fresh fish", "fish getting fresh", or sushi delivery in the comment box.
To carry on the theme, I would not be doing my job if I didn't post a link to this Australian beer commercial which involves a gondola, a beautiful woman, and a fish.
Hahn - Venice Gone Fishin'
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