The idea of paddling your sea kayak through the streets of Venice is so blindingly obvious that you wonder why you didn't think of it earlier. Here, everybody travels by water - even the undertakers. And having had the idea, you'll find it hard to dislodge.
A number of us talked about this last year. We found the energy for a few tentative forum postings, but not enough to motivate a club trip. According to ViaMichelin, it's easy enough. You turn Right out of Glamis Road into the Highway, Left into Butcher Row, Right into Commercial Road then head for the A2 and the Channel Tunnel. Et Voila ! 1459 km (14.5 hours) later you arrive at Camping Fusina, looking out across the lagoon at the palaces and the gin-palace cruise ships of Venice.
Needless to say we abandonned the idea, but not before LizS had mentioned it to her chums at CKLOM in Lyon. They are just 10 hours drive from Venice, and seemingly have more energy than us. Their entire Loisirs section promptly signed up for it, totalling 17 paddlers initially. At the last minute, 2 of these dropped out, and we were invited to take their places - and more importantly, use their boats. Miracles don't come much better than that.
CKLOM don't do things by halves. The intrepid 15 set off in 2 minivans and with 2 trailers to drive through the night, seduced by the idea of arriving to catch sunrise over the lagoon. They were late, and it was raining on arrival - but it's the thought that counts. We joined them an hour or so later via an unromantic Easyjet flight from a place called Gatwick.
We paddled for 4 days. The first 2 of these days were trips guided by Alessandro, and incredibly friendly member of the Mestre kayaking club that CKLOM had approached for information. The final day was the celebrated 30km Vogalonga race. This starts and finishes in front of St Marks Square. In between, it zooms around the lagoon through various island villages (Murano, Burano, and a 13th century monastery) before the final sprint down the emblemmatic Grand Canal, from which all motorboat traffic is banished for the day. Spectators line the banks to celebrate the oldest of Venetian traditions, the act of propelling yourself along under your own steam. All manner of craft undertake this journey, many of them genetically closer to a grand piano than anything you might find in the sea - but they all seem to manage it.
This is rowing-friendly water - free from swell, warm enough to bath a baby in (allegedly), and around 1 meter deep for as far as the eye can see. In spite of this, one of CKLOM's paddlers took a swim. She was by herself, having decided to skip the race under the excuse of advanced age, and was paddling just off St Marks Square. The waters of the lagoon rose up and took her - but held her only for a moment. Some angelic presence reached out and lifted her back into her boat, leaving her unsure quite what had happened.
Well, I'm hooked. If already have the Vogalonga in next year's diary, even at the expense of 2 days drive, and I'm currently measuring up the garage for that racing Gondolino, and wondering if my long-suffering partner will notice...
TonyR