La Voga Veneta
(This is very much related to canoeing, I promise!)
I first went to Venice in 2022. Of course, for a boat-minded person the city is quite a destination, despite the rampant over-tourism and accompanying problems (never mind that it’s washing away into the sea thanks to motorboat wakes and climate change). Of course I was interested in gondolas, but also uncomfortable with the idea of paying a lot of Euros to sit in a boat and not get to paddle it myself. Then I got wind of some organizations that give lessons in rowing gondolas* as opposed to just sitting there like an impotent baby. Well, where do I sign up? And rowing?
Well, as some of you probably know, but many non-boat people don’t take time to distinguish, gondolas are in fact rowed, not paddled, and not poled (or punted as the Brits might say). Because the canals of Venice are crowded, hectic, deep, and in some places very narrow, with everyone and everything moving by the water, the Venetians developed a style of rowing that allows one maximum visibility: standing up and facing forward. It’s referred to as La Voga Veneta in the local dialect. While rowers in most places face backwards, making good use of the strong back and leg muscles, looking constantly over one’s shoulder to see what’s ahead was not an option according to the Venetians. Standing extends viewing distances and visibility, but also allows you to use your body weight against the oarlock, which turns out to be a fairly efficient means of propulsion. One study claims that a gondolier can propel their 750lb gondola and two passengers at the same pace as a pedestrian, for the same amount of calories.
Conjure in your mind, or web-search, some pics of gondolas and it’s immediately apparent that gondolas have but a single oar on the right side, and as we paddlers all know, that single oar of a gondola will impart a turn to the left if not for other contrivances. *Perhaps here is where I admit that I did not in fact row any gondolas; Venetians actually have many boats for many purposes: fishing; moving cargo; and moving people. I rowed a sandolo, a cargo boat often rowed by two rowers that’s wider, more stable, and cheaper than a gondola. Gondolas have but the one rower, and were originally used like a taxi or limousine for getting people from A to B. Many Venetian boats have multiple rowers, and they alternate which side their oarlock is positioned on from bow to stern. The sandolo I rowed has a front-left rower and a back-right rower. I also saw boats with four rowers, the first and third on the left and the second and last (stern-most) on the right. The stern rower is always on the right in all boats - more on that later.
So how do stern rowers correct for that leftward turn inherent in a forward stroke? Surprise! They use a pitched in-water recovery! While in multi-rower boats, all forward rowers feather and return the oars using an out-of-water recovery like a normal rower, gondoliers and other stern rowers almost always have the oar in the water, much like a solo canoeist doing in-water recoveries. I’ve now had 3 rowing lessons over two trips to Venice. Each time the instructor was very impressed with how quickly I picked up the in-water recovery and pitching the oar blade properly to correct steerage. Of course this is due not to my innate talent but rather many years of practicing such strokes solo in a canoe. It really was amazing how well the skills transferred. That’s not to say I was anywhere near the instructors’ skills or didn’t have a lot to learn. The instructors were masters at effecting forward motion with minimal correction and effort, despite the various challenges that arise in the canals (parked boats, moving boats, low bridges, tight turns, tides, and waves).
An intriguing aspect of gondolas (plural: gondole in Venetian/Italian) is that they are asymmetrical. While wider and flatter boats are often rowed with a bow rower, gondole have quite a bit of rocker and a single rower, so they want to turn. The stems are swept to the right of the longitudinal centerline, which I suppose is like heeling a boat onside when paddling on the right? I wonder if anyone has ever contemplated an asymmetrical solo canoe?
A gondola with asymmetry and forcola visible.
Another unique aspect to Venetian rowing is the oarlock, called a forcola (plural forcole) in the Venetian dialect. These solid pieces of wood are carved by a very few masters, most of them carved individually for each rower’s height and other preferences (rowing clubs and schools have generic ones and use wedges to adjust the height for students). The distinctive shape of the forcola, with a main mouth opening to the upper rear, facilitates the particular oar stroke, with tends to be sort of upward on the forward stroke and then passes through the lower quadrants of a loop on the return. In addition to this main opening, the forcola also has a particularly shaped elbow. As mentioned above, the sometimes-narrow canals require passing boats to decrease the width needed for a fully extended oar. Instead of shipping the oar and losing steerage, the stern rower slips the oar into this elbow in a variety of different ways depending on circumstances, causing the oar shaft to be either more vertical, or extend more to the rear, thus allowing narrow passage between a canal wall on your right and a passing boat on your left. The sculling pitch of the oar is adjusted to different positions and angles depending on circumstances, but the blade is always in the water (and often the right foot is pushing off walls too, but that requires the stern and not the bow to be closest to the wall, so planning and anticipation is key). One instructor said to me that moving an oar to the left side of the boat, as I did to attempt a sculling draw on the left in a moment of panicked near-collision, is the surest way to know someone is a rube from the country instead of a true rower. The instructor also explained to me that putting less force into the forward stroke requires less correction, and thus results in less wasted energy overall – something I’d realized with solo paddling as well. However, the added complications of the oarlock, 12ft oar, and a lot of boat traffic had me forgetting some of the finer points of a pitch stroke. The instructor showed me how he can row at a decent clip with just two fingers – all technique, not power, he said. Too true in canoeing as well, but I didn’t have enough time in the boat to get anywhere near that good.
In terms of modifications and adaptions to canoeing, the forcola occurred to me States-side as I was standing up and paddling my canoe with a pole in a stretch of a swamp too deep to touch bottom. The mechanical advantage of an oarlock is clear, being able to put one’s full standing force against the paddle/oar without having to provide your own pivot point. Could such a thing work? I took my Greenland kayak paddle and a 9ft sculling oar out on the lake in my Morningstar one day to futz around. The kayak paddle fluttered too much when paddled standing up. The oar showed some promise when paddled, so if I ever find some time I might try to rig something akin to a forcola sticking out one side, so I could pole shallow sections and row the deep sections Venetian style. There are particular mechanics to the distances between hands and oarlock, and oarlock and water, and these would be specific to the canoe’s width, the length of the oar, my height, and if I offset the oarlock to the outside of the gunnel. I have no idea if this would work or be worth the trouble, but it’s got me thinking.
If you’re in Venice, check out Venice On Board (dedicated to preserving rowing culture) and Row Venice (also dedicated to preserving rowing culture, and it’s lady-owned and operated). I’ve taken lessons with both groups and both are fantastic. Our instructor from Row Venice had just turned 70 – she was spry, lithe, and an amazingly fast rower standing high on the back of the stern, often on one foot. I can only hope to be that lively when I'm that age.
A couple additional sources below. The YouTube in the second one gives some sense of the various rowing moves achievable with a forcola.
https://veneziaautentica.com/venetian-rowing/
https://craftsmanship.net/sidebar/the-hidden-powers-of-the-forcola/
(This is very much related to canoeing, I promise!)
I first went to Venice in 2022. Of course, for a boat-minded person the city is quite a destination, despite the rampant over-tourism and accompanying problems (never mind that it’s washing away into the sea thanks to motorboat wakes and climate change). Of course I was interested in gondolas, but also uncomfortable with the idea of paying a lot of Euros to sit in a boat and not get to paddle it myself. Then I got wind of some organizations that give lessons in rowing gondolas* as opposed to just sitting there like an impotent baby. Well, where do I sign up? And rowing?
Well, as some of you probably know, but many non-boat people don’t take time to distinguish, gondolas are in fact rowed, not paddled, and not poled (or punted as the Brits might say). Because the canals of Venice are crowded, hectic, deep, and in some places very narrow, with everyone and everything moving by the water, the Venetians developed a style of rowing that allows one maximum visibility: standing up and facing forward. It’s referred to as La Voga Veneta in the local dialect. While rowers in most places face backwards, making good use of the strong back and leg muscles, looking constantly over one’s shoulder to see what’s ahead was not an option according to the Venetians. Standing extends viewing distances and visibility, but also allows you to use your body weight against the oarlock, which turns out to be a fairly efficient means of propulsion. One study claims that a gondolier can propel their 750lb gondola and two passengers at the same pace as a pedestrian, for the same amount of calories.
Conjure in your mind, or web-search, some pics of gondolas and it’s immediately apparent that gondolas have but a single oar on the right side, and as we paddlers all know, that single oar of a gondola will impart a turn to the left if not for other contrivances. *Perhaps here is where I admit that I did not in fact row any gondolas; Venetians actually have many boats for many purposes: fishing; moving cargo; and moving people. I rowed a sandolo, a cargo boat often rowed by two rowers that’s wider, more stable, and cheaper than a gondola. Gondolas have but the one rower, and were originally used like a taxi or limousine for getting people from A to B. Many Venetian boats have multiple rowers, and they alternate which side their oarlock is positioned on from bow to stern. The sandolo I rowed has a front-left rower and a back-right rower. I also saw boats with four rowers, the first and third on the left and the second and last (stern-most) on the right. The stern rower is always on the right in all boats - more on that later.
So how do stern rowers correct for that leftward turn inherent in a forward stroke? Surprise! They use a pitched in-water recovery! While in multi-rower boats, all forward rowers feather and return the oars using an out-of-water recovery like a normal rower, gondoliers and other stern rowers almost always have the oar in the water, much like a solo canoeist doing in-water recoveries. I’ve now had 3 rowing lessons over two trips to Venice. Each time the instructor was very impressed with how quickly I picked up the in-water recovery and pitching the oar blade properly to correct steerage. Of course this is due not to my innate talent but rather many years of practicing such strokes solo in a canoe. It really was amazing how well the skills transferred. That’s not to say I was anywhere near the instructors’ skills or didn’t have a lot to learn. The instructors were masters at effecting forward motion with minimal correction and effort, despite the various challenges that arise in the canals (parked boats, moving boats, low bridges, tight turns, tides, and waves).
An intriguing aspect of gondolas (plural: gondole in Venetian/Italian) is that they are asymmetrical. While wider and flatter boats are often rowed with a bow rower, gondole have quite a bit of rocker and a single rower, so they want to turn. The stems are swept to the right of the longitudinal centerline, which I suppose is like heeling a boat onside when paddling on the right? I wonder if anyone has ever contemplated an asymmetrical solo canoe?
A gondola with asymmetry and forcola visible.
Another unique aspect to Venetian rowing is the oarlock, called a forcola (plural forcole) in the Venetian dialect. These solid pieces of wood are carved by a very few masters, most of them carved individually for each rower’s height and other preferences (rowing clubs and schools have generic ones and use wedges to adjust the height for students). The distinctive shape of the forcola, with a main mouth opening to the upper rear, facilitates the particular oar stroke, with tends to be sort of upward on the forward stroke and then passes through the lower quadrants of a loop on the return. In addition to this main opening, the forcola also has a particularly shaped elbow. As mentioned above, the sometimes-narrow canals require passing boats to decrease the width needed for a fully extended oar. Instead of shipping the oar and losing steerage, the stern rower slips the oar into this elbow in a variety of different ways depending on circumstances, causing the oar shaft to be either more vertical, or extend more to the rear, thus allowing narrow passage between a canal wall on your right and a passing boat on your left. The sculling pitch of the oar is adjusted to different positions and angles depending on circumstances, but the blade is always in the water (and often the right foot is pushing off walls too, but that requires the stern and not the bow to be closest to the wall, so planning and anticipation is key). One instructor said to me that moving an oar to the left side of the boat, as I did to attempt a sculling draw on the left in a moment of panicked near-collision, is the surest way to know someone is a rube from the country instead of a true rower. The instructor also explained to me that putting less force into the forward stroke requires less correction, and thus results in less wasted energy overall – something I’d realized with solo paddling as well. However, the added complications of the oarlock, 12ft oar, and a lot of boat traffic had me forgetting some of the finer points of a pitch stroke. The instructor showed me how he can row at a decent clip with just two fingers – all technique, not power, he said. Too true in canoeing as well, but I didn’t have enough time in the boat to get anywhere near that good.
In terms of modifications and adaptions to canoeing, the forcola occurred to me States-side as I was standing up and paddling my canoe with a pole in a stretch of a swamp too deep to touch bottom. The mechanical advantage of an oarlock is clear, being able to put one’s full standing force against the paddle/oar without having to provide your own pivot point. Could such a thing work? I took my Greenland kayak paddle and a 9ft sculling oar out on the lake in my Morningstar one day to futz around. The kayak paddle fluttered too much when paddled standing up. The oar showed some promise when paddled, so if I ever find some time I might try to rig something akin to a forcola sticking out one side, so I could pole shallow sections and row the deep sections Venetian style. There are particular mechanics to the distances between hands and oarlock, and oarlock and water, and these would be specific to the canoe’s width, the length of the oar, my height, and if I offset the oarlock to the outside of the gunnel. I have no idea if this would work or be worth the trouble, but it’s got me thinking.
If you’re in Venice, check out Venice On Board (dedicated to preserving rowing culture) and Row Venice (also dedicated to preserving rowing culture, and it’s lady-owned and operated). I’ve taken lessons with both groups and both are fantastic. Our instructor from Row Venice had just turned 70 – she was spry, lithe, and an amazingly fast rower standing high on the back of the stern, often on one foot. I can only hope to be that lively when I'm that age.
A couple additional sources below. The YouTube in the second one gives some sense of the various rowing moves achievable with a forcola.
https://veneziaautentica.com/venetian-rowing/
https://craftsmanship.net/sidebar/the-hidden-powers-of-the-forcola/
Last edited:
