Venice, Italy 2001
The Perfect Boat
by Gino Thomas-Solimando
Non-kayakers are always amazed to hear that I own six kayaks. To the uninitiated, one kayak seems like plenty. Yet, if you think of kayaks the way a golfer thinks of clubs, it’s easy to see that different circumstances require different tools. So nothing less than the perfect boat ever really satisfies us. My long-awaited, and much considered first trip to Italy called for just such a boat.
Venice was the first stop on my 26-day itinerary, and I knew it wold be complicated. I definitely wanted to paddle in Venice – what paddler would want just a walking tour of the world’s greatest water city? And yet, Venice was only the first stop on a long solo journey. I needed the perfect travel boat, and I didn’t know if it even existed.
The boat had to be tough enough to handle the chop and traffic of Venice. As an experienced kayaker with a determination to meet Venetian water people, I didn’t want to paddle a toy-like boat, or one that would limit my self-sufficiency and capacity to truly explore Venice. But I couldn’t bear the thought of lugging around an expedition-style folder like a Feathercraft or a Klepper. In addition, I was shooting video of my whole trip, including the on-water portions. I wanted a traveling rig that I knew I could handle by myself.
I found that little is written about Venice by water for the individual paddler. After talking to lots of local Bay Area experts, with no leads forthcoming, I emailed Ralph Diaz of Folding Kayaker newsletter, and he directed me to a treasure trove of information – Bill Longyard. Bill has produced a truly valuable videotape – “Kayaking in Europe” – based on his own experience kayaking the rivers and lakes of Europe. Bill gave me the key advice: get a Pakboat.
The Pakboats Puffin Kayak turned out to be just right for my Venice trip. Weighing 20 lbs and fitting into a medium-sized duffel, it wasn’t going to present any insurmountable carrying problems. In fact, there was plenty of room in the duffel for additional equipment – four-part take-apart paddle, bungie cords, night lights, inflatable life vest, duct tape, chart case, dry bags, neoprene shorts, etc. I brought along a luggage carrier which made transit easy. A wheeled duffel bag might work very well, too.
When I pulled all the pieces out of the bag and started assembling the boat at a Venetian rowing club I had joined, even the most skeptical and stand-offish Venetian club members became both fascinated and very helpful. They recognized a fellow water person, and a truly remarkable vessel.
On the advice of an ex-Venetian, I started my paddling from the lagoon side of the island of Guidecca, a little-known portion of Venice across the main shipping channel from the area we all think of as “Venice” proper, which includes the dense area of the Grand Canal, San Marco, and the sights we are most familiar with. Guidecca is more like a little town, where the water is calm. But the Guidecca canal is almost a kilometer wide, and busy with gigantic cruise ships and tug boats, car ferries, vaporetti (Venetian water buses), motoscarfi (water taxis), and innumerable work vessels and rowing boats, all on individual and often unpredictable crisscrossing routes. The chop is big and constant, reflecting off the stone walls in all directions.
I paddled around Guidecca for about an hour before I felt secure enough to venture across the wide canal. I was immediately pleased and delighted with my Pakboat. It was bouyant, maneuverable and quicker than I had realized from my on-water tests at home. I felt completely secure and effective. And because the boat is bright (yellow deck and red hull), I knew that other boatmen would see me.
In fact, since there is really no private boating in Venice – other than the classic Venetian rowing boats, which are rowed from a standing position like gondolas – the sight of my bright yellow Pakboat was a constant occasion of interest: quizzical and cool from the gondoliers, amazed and delighted from the hordes of tourists who waved and photographed me as if I was a surfacing dolphin. I can confidently say that I now appear in more Venitian family snapshots and videos than any other single individual (except maybe Johnny Depp who was in town at the same time for the Venice film festival).
The truth is, I enjoyed the attention. But even more, I enjoyed the tremendous privilege of going anywhere I wanted on the canals of La Serinissima. The view from the water is certainly the best way to see Venice. And the Pakboat was strong, light, and safe. By adding some good night lighting, I even felt confident paddling the canals after dark.
The Puffin is easy to assemble and disassemble, so I feel encouraged to use it anywhere. I look forward to visiting other water cities, especially Amsterdam and Hamburg. I often travel for work, and I wouldn’t hesitate to take the Puffin along on a trip. Even an afternoon off is enough time to take it down to the water for a paddle. Otherwise, I just leave it in the hotel room. I dream of returning to Venice, a city that I feel I learned from the inside out thanks to my seventh boat.