8 Views of Sunday's Regata Storica

The yellow caorlina of the Remiera Francescana was the surprise winner of the six-man race, challenged by the red second place boat for much of the long course before running away with it at the end. For our friend Mauro Ceciliati, the lead rower of the yellow boat, this first place finish came 35 years (and a boat's load worth of other regata pennants) after his very first Regata Storica victory in the Giovani race of 1983. 

There were no surprises, however, in the other two adult races, as Romina Ardit and Anna Mao dominated from start to finish in the two oar women's mascareta. Sometimes referred to as "le gemelle," because they share the same birth date (though they're unrelated), this was the pair's 11th Regata Storica victory (they won 8 straight before taking time off to have children, and have won three straight since their return to action).  

While the only difference in the result of the two-oar men's gondolini race was that instead of the cousins Rudi and Igor Vignotto once again claiming the first place pennant for the 16th straight year, it was Rudi Vignotto and Giampaolo D'Este who won easily (Igor Vignotto was sidelined by health issues).

One of my favorite things about the parade of boats that preceded, as always, the races, was that this year it was led by a Zattieri del Piave: a replica of one of the river rafts which carried timber from the mainland into the lagoon, thus providing quite literally the foundations of this city built upon millions of pilings (as well as the name of the Zattere, at which such rafts were docked).