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A great sailing trip around venice
Eric
Aug 2016
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Sailing around Venice, in the sea and in the lagoon, was a real pleasure. There are some great spots, wonderful weather, and a nice breeze for sailing, swimming, visiting, and strolling. It's not easy to find information about anchoring possibilities in the islands of the lagoon with the wind shifting 180° at night. The locals are not very generous with good information; a little tip: the San Elena marina at the entrance of Venice provides access to Venice on foot. Friendly welcome. A great little anchorage at Alberoni on the island of Lido, a small open port. To navigate in the lagoon, you need to consider the wind shifts during the day to avoid using too much engine power since the canals are not very wide. I still recommend a dinghy or a lifting keel to explore the islands more comfortably, especially for docking.
Regarding the boat, it was a SUN 2500 sailing school boat with minimal equipment. An unreadable compass (brownish liquid) that sometimes gets stuck, no dinghy, and a non-functional depth sounder (a real handicap for exploring the lagoon and its anchorages with a draft of 1.90 meters). A nautical chart from Chioggia to Trieste; it's better to have your own. A worn-out headsail furler line (not a problem in light winds, but in case of a strong wind...)
In short, a sailing school boat that has seen better days but is still in decent condition (as we have known and used) more than a rental boat, in fact. In good weather, for a camping-style cruise, it works.
Regarding the welcome. After the little hiccup on the first day when you have neither a meeting place nor the marina's address nor a phone that answers, and with GlobeSailor's help to get someone on the line, the welcome is quite cool and friendly. The boat is located in a private marina in Chioggia where the guardians quickly make it clear that there are the owners and the others... It took a lot of effort to get the access badge to the marina and the marina's facilities! But eventually, the negotiations in Italian by the renter paid off, although it required persistence.