Sailing Venice

[szubcevic]

Does somebody know sailing regulations in Venice lagoon, Italy?
Do you need Navigation earmark and if yes where can it be issued?
Any marina recommendation and how to make reservation for couple of days, I tried couple of marinas by e-mail but Italians do not reply?

[nohal]

szubcevic...
all you need is common sense and to be careful not to crash something being part of the mess there. Italians really don't like any (paper)work. I've been there three times in the past 4 years - the first time (way before season) we successfully managed to stay in the small marina at San Giorgio Maggiore in the very center - since then the phone number we got from the harbourmaster never worked again and nobody ever answered any e-mail. Of course the marina still works - I'm picking up a boat there for delivery in two weeks...
The other marina where we've been is in Can. delle Navi further out. Their will to communicate is exactly the same and the reservation was impossible to achieve.
The best I can suggest if they keep ignoring you is to just come and see - there probably will be a free berth money can buy somewhere.

Pavel

[szubcevic]

Thanks Pavel, very useful tips, probably I shall do as you suggest, just appear, its a 40 feet boat, with bow and stern thrusters, it will fit somewhere

[savoir]

What do the cops in Venice do if you wander the canals in your dinghy ? Are they open to public use ?

[swagman]

Originally Posted by savoir

What do the cops in Venice do if you wander the canals in your dinghy ? Are they open to public use ?

The cops do nothing, the waters are open to all. Albeit a bit sloppy due to the amount of traffic.

JOHN

[Unicorn Dreams]

Welcome Aboard Cruisers Forum and enjoy the site...

[lfabio]

Hold on - legislation is currently materially more complex than what was outlined here: unless you are a resident, you are only allowed in the main canals that go along the Lido and then come towards the bacino S. Marco (where S. Giorgio is). You are not allowed into the city, not even with a dinghy or tender of any kind. The three 'marinas' that exist - Compagnia della Vela at San Giorgio, Diporto Velico in S. Elena and Vento di Venezia at Certosa - all have good contact information on their websites and are pretty receptive. During the summer there generally is decent availability of berthing due to berthowners being away on vacation.

Links:
VdV - Polo Nautico Vento di Venezia | VdV s.r.l. Isola della Certosa, 30141 Venezia | Tel +39 041 5208588 | Fax +39 041 5222497 | VHF 72
Diporto Velico Veneziano | Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica
Home Page | Compagnia della Vela di Venezia

[Eric50]

Hi everybody,

Just few info from Venise we visited in August this year:

There are several marinas and venise island is a small one, so even if you cannot use your own tender you will not be very far away from everywhere in the city.

You can rent open boat with outboard engines at "Brussa is boat" (Google it), otherwise you have plenty of different ways to travel on the water:

Vaporetto: public transport / water coaches, you can buy passes for 1 day or more and go absolutely everywhere, including all the surrounding island of the lagoon (Lido, Burano, Murano...), they are very frequent but also overcrowded in the middle of the day.

Motoscaffi: individual water taxis, more expensive, 70 Euros to go from Venise (San Marco) to Murano for example, we booked one with our hotel to come from the airport 170 Euros including the transfer from the terminal to the port with private van.

The gondola: although this is not a transport to go from A to Z, this has to be done once at least...quiet expensive as 1 hour can go from 150 Euros to 250 Euros...but who can miss it?

The tragheto: this is a gondola that crose the canal (the main one), carrying several passenger at some location in venise, few Euros for the crossing.

The idea to use our own tender was a good one until we arrived in Venise amd realized how busy is the traffic, how narrow can be some canals and how easy it is to visit the place with the other means of transport.

The crowded water coaches are empty early in the morning (let's say up to 08h00 am) as well as the end of the afternoon (around 17h00 - 18h00 pm).

Once you are onshore, the feet are the only way to move, but again Venise is a small place that can be crossed effortless by foot.

Apart from the marinas, they are various places where (super to mega)yachts are moored, quayside.

I noted that although the lagoon is large, they are canals established and I do not know if you must stay in these canals or if you can go outside them for sailing purpose.

In the mean time the depth in the lagoon must not be very deep and ensured at location outside the well identified canals...some place are very narrows not to say that the sand reach the surface.

On a touristic point of view:

We visited 2 of each Venise district everyday (or 1 district and 1 island).
1 week is a minimum if you want to seel all of them and have the time to see some museum.

We took 5 days overall but only wandered the places.

We took around 200 pictures a day as each corner is appealing.

The maritime museum is only open in the morning and we recommand it.

Burano and Murano have to be on your list...Lido is less interesting, you can skip it if you have no time.

Each venise district has its own charm and character, we used the "Lonely planet" guide, out of 3 others, this was the best one to visit the place (guided tours are clear and really spot on to not miss anything).

San Marco place is nearly empty if you go before 08h00 am, after it is madness...

What can I say....Venise is magic, simply magic and surely one place to see in once a lifetime.