"Red Regatta"

  We were so very lucky to have been in Venice on Sept 15 to see the 'Red Regatta', a major public art project by New York artist Melissa McGill. This was one of several 'performances' that happened throughout the Biennale, May-September.

  We spied a poster which told us where and when, and we put it on our calendar as a 'not to be missed' event.
  I am so glad we did!

  This regatta took place in the lagoons between Torcello and Burano, about a 40 minute boat ride from Venice. It was a gorgeous day for to be on the water, and the bonus was being able to get a pretty good look at the latest installation "Building Bridges" by artist Lorenzo Quinn.

  This work is kind of tucked away near the back side of the Arsenale, so it was a treat to see it from the waterway...

It is massive.

 
Once we hopped off the boat bus (vaporetto), we took a stroll along the canal and soon saw the first sign of what we were here for...

 

We were later informed that all the boats involved in this piece are traditional vessels
from this area of the Veneto. On this day, there were 40 in all, we were told.

  As it got closer to 2pm, the 'launch' time of the event, we watched as more and more boats gathered. The crew of each boat were wearing red t-shirts. There were men and women, some kids... all ages, really.

The gathering tide....

 Soon the sails began unfurling. It was quite something to see. 

In the distance you will notice the church bell tower on the island of Torcello. This just added to the 

magical feeling of the moment.

  We were sitting along the canal with a bottle of local white wine, mesmerized by the whole scene. There was a small but engaged crowd, and we got to know each other over the hour we spent together waiting and watching...

  Finally, the boats all lined up and headed into the canal, where they sailed around together for quite some time. It was so beautiful. The reflections in the water from the sails were lovely. The weather and wind was perfect for them.

The colors of the sails and the water...perfection.
I think Mr. J was inspired!

  We found out that each sail was hand painted and each was a slightly different color. Once we were told, we could make out the differences...

Some were pinker, some more magenta...some very close in color, but no.
All different!

  I shot two short videos, though the quality isn't great. You can see more of the color differences here.

  Hopefully, you'll still get the idea...

  

  We knew they would be out there for some time, and that they were ending the day in Torcello, so we hopped yet another boat to get to that island, about a ten minute ride.

  We wanted to hike up to the top of the bell tower for a bird's eye view!

Torcello is actually one of the first islands to be inhabited here. Before Venice...
This is a very historical spot. Perfect for this Regatta.

Yes, we did...

Looking up the inner tower.
Yikes.

  I'm so happy we made this choice! Though the boats never made it to Torcello. I don't know why...

  I still loved seeing the end of the event from this vantage point.

Some of the boats came near, but most pulled in their sales nearer Burano, in the distance

The red and green and silver, too...
Yum.

You can see the skyline of Venice way back there...

This single boat made it over to Torcello.
I was quite taken by the poignant image this created.

Thank you all for a very remarkable afternoon.

  Afterwards, we stopped in at a very local lunch spot for a bite to eat. We love these places! You order at the counter, find a table...they call your name, and there you go! Lunch, Italian style!

Waitin' for lunch.

The boat ride back was packed, as was most of Venice, to be honest.
This is the reality of a Sunday trip to the outer islands.
 We're too tight to call a private boat taxi...

But, you know what?
We STILL had a blast!

Here are some cool links, if you want more information on this day:

Melissa Mc Gill's 'Red Regatta'

Lorenzo Quinn & 'Building Bridges'

Torcello

Burano