What's the Vela Raid?
It's a joint boat tour of 5 days, wandering around Venice Lagoon, wandering between water and land. Discovering the big tranquil world of the inner Lagoon, uncontaminated by roaring engines. Discovering glimpses and aspects of Venice and it’s natural surroundings that are unknown and hidden to most people.
Small boats, triangles of sails before an azure blue horizon move through meandering grooves in long sunken lands. Hot sun from above and cool water under the hull. Only seabirds circling the sky and wading birds standing in the shallows watch the progress of our fleet, driven quietly by warm winds or strong arms handling the oars like generations of venetian seafarers before our time.
Aboard the many different boats of different size, age and rigs is joined a company of likeminded people from many different countries. What connects all is the love of the sea, and of shallow draught boats that can safely go virtually anywhere on that sea, with the right guidance and help of it’s crew.
Only secondary, the VeLa Raid is also a race, a series of races. Wherever boats sail and row together, an element of competition comes in automatically. Every boat crew is trying it’s best to show it’s wit and worth in the many conditions the sea and the sky throw at the fleet. The Lagoon is famous for it’s changeability.
Tricky currents, hidden sandbanks, ruins on lonely islands, winds from hush to roar, and bright sunshine interchanging with squally downpours, every day is a seafaring adventure of it’s own. But the sailing is also very safe because the shallow Lagoon with it’s richness of Islands and sandbanks is basically a very sheltered water, so that even in a strong breeze there are no major waves developing.
At midday the fleet rafts up around a mother ship and lunch is taken. In the evenings the fleet meets up in a sheltered mooring and once the boats are made fast for the night, the crews go ashore and take a joint evening meal of the local specialities. There is always much to share and discuss. People come as raiders and leave as friends. In the end, there are several prizes awarded by the Committee, and not just for the most successful boats and crews. But the biggest reward is free and sure for all: The unforgettable memories of the epic journey that each boat in the fleet does during the Raid, whether at the top or at the rear of the fleet.
And the wish to return to the VeLa Raid in another year.
Do come to Venice and join us in the Venice lagoon Raid 2010.
What to know about Vela Raid?
- Each day will be two races whose average path will wander around the 10 miles each.
- Spend the lunch hour boat moored alongside the English support (Paradise, a wonderful bragozzo equipped with kitchen) that will be able, for those who want it and by reservation, to prepare a hot meal and complete.
- The evening anchor in a safe harbor, we will freshen up and get together for dinner in the typical places that we encounter along the way
- After dinner, charts and weather forecasts in hand, will be planned in detail the location of the next day
- With advance booking, you can stay from time to time in inns, hostels, hotels or campsites in the immediate vicinity
- five days without commitments;
- a boat with centerboard draft with a maximum of 40-50 cm drift up, and sails reducible to a propulsion system alternative to the sail (motor outboard or oars)
- the normal safety equipment (again, life jackets, VHF, compass, lights, whistles, first aid kit)
- a minimum reserve of drinking water and waste bags (do not want to leave any trace of our passage) clothing and accessories to meet all weather conditions
- a little 'spirit of adaptation and competiveness
We are also working in a boats rental service, for part or the entire period of Vela raid: if interested please contact Giorgio Pavan or Vincenzo Ciminale (among the organizers contacts).
The organization
The Venice Lagoon Raid is usually held around the date of the National Day in Italy, June 2.
Organised by a small committee of members and functionaries of the "Circolo Velico Casanova" (CVC) in San Giuliano, Mestre.
Mestre is the industrial mainland part of Venice, San Giuliano is the most easterly suburb of Mestre, towards Venice.
Mestre and Venice are closely connected through public transport. For instance, one can stay in a hotel in Mestre and be in Venice in ten minutes, by bus or train. Or vice versa, stay in Venice and travel to Mestre.
Once you know your way around a bit, Venice and region is a public transport Eldorado.
If you wished to spend more time in Venice either before or after the Raid then you can find a hotel easily through one of many websites, or you can even rent an apartment at www.veniceapartments.org, as per the recommendation of the team from England.
They wrote: "We used them 2009 as we had also entered the Vogalonga and were able to spend some days beforehand on Venice island. We rented two apartments, one for 8 people (for 6 nights we paid 1590 euros for the eight of us plus 50 euros final cleaning ), and one for 4. The one for 8 was right by the Cannaregio canal and was effectively 3 apartments in one. The other was right by the bus station overlooking the Grand Canal and slept 4. We travelled to the mainland by bus (1.10 euro each way) and then had a 15 minute walk to the CVC. They have some very reasonably priced apartments to rent and for us it was cheaper than staying in Mestre.
The deposit payment technique and collection of keys seems haphazard but works. They also require payment in cash. If you are staying in Venice island then it can pay to buy the local travel card which covers all the water buses (except the one to the airport) and also covers the bus journey to and from Mestre."
The Venice airport "Marco Polo" lies north of Mestre. There are local buses connecting the airport with Mestre and Venice, and there are water buses connecting the airport directly with Venice.
You should bring a map. There is no proper navigation chart for the Lagoon as most of it is shallow tidal mud and un-navigable for boats drawing more than one foot of water. So demand for proper charts must be very small anyway, plus the sands and mud of the Lagoon probably shift around a good bit, so data are unreliable anyway. The fishermen and -few- sailors roaming the Lagoon know their way around anyway, and watching them is probably your best guidance. After a while you learn to understand the currents and get an own feel for the terrain. That's when the fun starts.
However, to get an overview, a "good enough" map is "Carte Nautico Turistiche No. 6 – Laguna Veneta" by Beletti Editore and/or "Carte delle zone turistiche 1:50'000 – Laguna Veneta" by Euro Cart, Studio F.M.B. Bologna.
Weatherwise, be prepared for everything except frost. Mostly, the weather is perfectly summerly, but thunderstorms and Bora winds may suddenly spring up too. Heavy rain is possible in the thunderstorm squalls. Moneywise, bring some cash and that in smaller notes. Normally, the cost of each nights’ accommodation and evening food (and mooring fee if applicable) is collected each day. Many of the places that we visit do not accept credit cards. You will thus need overall approx. 50-70 euro per day per person (plus beer money). There are cash machines at some of the evening stops so one can normally get some from there.
If you do not have a boat or your boat doesn’t match the characteristics here above described, we can find for you a boat to rent or a crew to join. Just contact the organizers with adequate notice.
Arrival and welcome
Lookup Google Earth to find your way to the CVC, the facility is at the easternmost end of the Via San Giuliano. The CVC is part of a boating cluster there, which also includes a rowing boat club.
The CVC has no big marina or slipway, but three cranes. The boats are parked on their trailers on land, there is ample space and parking, and the boats are quickly craned in and out as required by expert operators, no problem at all. The craning in and out at CVC is free of charge.
Arriving with a boat in tow, you will always find someone to give you friendly guidance and help. Calm down. Rig up the boat on its trailer ready for craning next morning, push it back into the boat trailer park, and that's it. Drinks next.
First night reception party.
Typically, the organizers throw a reception party and barbecue on the evening before the Raid starts. You meet a lot of friendly people then, most will be your fellow raiders for the next days and nights, so try to mix and learn as many names and faces as possible.
Above all, learn what 'Spritz' is.: The local aperitif. Chilled white wine or prosecco with some Campari or Aperol and decorated with a slice of Lemon. Delicious.
After the party, all help to clear up the dishes and leftovers, and go back to their accommodation, wherever.
Raid Day 1 and following days
Typically, the first Raid starts around 10. So ample time in the morning to have the boat craned and ready on the water. You'll see a great variety of boats then. Never fear, all friendly, relaxed and helpful. Everything and everyone about the Raid is relaxed.
The waters immediately around Venice are overcrowded with traffic, seemingly chaotic at first, but in fact it's just artistic.
The Raid soon leaves for the backwaters of the Lagoon and leaves all stress and traffic behind. Then the real adventure starts.
Typically, there is a break around midday somewhere. The boats gather, raft up and have lunch and some siesta. if we're lucky there will again be a barge following the fleet around as lunch catering base. (Grazie!!)
Then there is a second race leg in the afternoon, finishing in the evening where there is enough accommodation available for the participants. The organizers take great pain and care to find such accommodation and pre-book it for all. We have been to many different places. Never fear, it'll all work out, somehow.
In previous years the Raid in the first two days went down to the south of the lagoon, as far as beautiful and historically interesting Chioggia, great place for seafood, then back far north where it really gets tricky with the shallows, and finally returns to Venice / Mestre from there. A full circle over all.
Farewell
After returning to the base, there is a farewell dinner and party in the evening. In 2009 and 2010 the last day of the Raid coincides with a day they call "Prova la Vela" which is an open mixing and free sailing day with mixing crews before the Big One, the "Velalonga".
The "Velalonga" is a one day sailing race for hundreds of boats of all classes between Venice and Murano. All Raiders are welcome to join in that fun too, but it is not compulsory.
After the Velalonga race is a big party and prizegiving in the grounds of the Circolo Velico Casanova, with hundreds of attendants and crew, and many local dignitaries. A real highlight of the Venice sailing season. Not to miss it.
We usually get the boat ready for towing before the party starts, and leave next morning. But many sailors leave right after the party.
It's usually a sad farewell after all the sun, wind and fun one had in the Lagoon for the past days, but there is already hope to be back the next year. Many participants of the Vela Raid are "returners".
