Flotilla!

Last night a bunch of gondoliers and I had the good fortune 
of rowing a seven boat flotilla here in Newport Beach.

We had six passengers on each boat,
rowed as a group,
took turns singing songs,
and came away from it, looking forward to the next time 
we get to row such an event.

Three gondolas waiting for all boats to convene 

before pushing forward into the canals

The westward movement begins

Happy passengers

Jonah rowing Phoenix

The procession continues

Braydon and a full boat

Running lights on as natural light fades.

Kerschbaum on Contessa

photo by Isabella Mohr

 
Valentine's Day, 2018.
John Kerschbaum from Minnesota rows a happy couple 
on the pupparin known as "Contessa", 
as the lady reads the message-in-a-bottle 
that she just retrieved from the water.

Comings and Goings on a Sunday Evening in July

Standing on a friend's boat this evening in Newport, I watched some of our gondolas come and go, and was able to snap a few photos.

Serenity

photo by Cassandra Mohr

Just the Photo - Ferro with Fiery Colors

photo by Cassandra Mohr

 

Venus in the Sky

Tonight was a perfect example of what I dream of - when I dream of rowing my gondola in Newport.
Really, it was darn near perfect.

The sun set, the winds were easy, and coming off the ocean, 
and we were blessed with both stars and planets to view overhead.  
The most prominent was Venus.
She was so bright, so early, that I had to make sure I wasn't looking at a slow-moving aircraft.
To make the evening even better, once it was dark, 
we saw large numbers of glow-worms on the surface of the water.

If I ever wish for "just one more night on the water" in Newport,
I will wish for a night like tonight.

Jonah and the Lean

photo by Kalev Pallares

Some photos from a cruise crossed my desk recently, 
and this one caught my attention.

I would appear that Jonah has some extra control over gravitational forces.
Either that or he likes to lean out - pretending to be on a sailing catamaran.
Either way, I'm gonna have him teach me that trick soon.

Three Shots from This Evening

 Beautiful sky from the back of the boat.

 Eddie cruises by, all dressed in red.

Just another perfect moment.

Wrecks at Forte Marghera

video by Nereo Zane

One of the cool things about rowing out of the GSVVM rowing club is that Forte Marghera is just around the corner.
To truly appreciate it, you must look at it from above.
Otherwise it's just a sort of labrinth of water and land.
Forte Marghera has been many things over the centuries, 
with some structures dating back to Napoleonic occupation.
Now, it's a great place to go if you're looking for derelict boats - as evidenced by Nereo Zane's recent video.
He published the Italian language version a while back, 
then asked me to re-voice it in English, which is what you see linked above.

Burger Selfie!

My friend Ruben J was gracious to invite my daughter and me to take part in his burger tasting.
We had a lot of fun, a lot of food, and now here's the video.

Enjoy!

In case the video here doesn't work (or if you'd like to watch it full screen),
Here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySmykf0yWZI

Big thanks to Ruben J at MultiMediaMouth.com

Oh, and here's the actual "Burger Selfie"