Review W3 Vogalonga, May 24th, 2026, Venice

The Vogalonga (meaning “long journey”) is a 30-kilometer rowing event that has been held every year on Pentecost Sunday in Venice since 1974. The route passes through the lagoon and the historic city center across the Grand Canal and began as a protest against the many polluting motorboats that plague the lagoon city on a daily basis. In 2026, the 50th edition, seven teams from Willem 3 participated.

*-*

Slag klaarmaken, slag klaar, Spritz!

Team C4* Henley (Barbara, Giulio, Isabelle, Simone, Jun)
We are team Bella, and we took part in the Vogalonga on May 24th with the Henley C4x+. 🚣
🚣 🚣 🚣 🚣

Our boat travelled all the way to Venice and carried us through wavy seas. We are a multi-national team, from Italy, China, Poland, France and the UK, and we had a fantastic time singing songs from each country and telling stories on our boat.

The trip was almost 4 days, and we all arrived on Friday. A lot of us had the same flights, so we were even chatting at the airport before the big day. ✈

On Saturday, we unloaded the boats and brought them to Giardini, the place where we kept the boats overnight before the big event. There were lots of boats there from many different countries, with a lot of French teams. Our team was a little late, because we forgot our oars! However, in the end, we had luck on our side, and a kind man from the Diadora rowing club let us borrow their oars for the day! He even put them on his speedboat and gave us, along with the oars, a ride back to our boat! It was a fun story to tell at the dinner that evening.

The day at the Vogalonga event was fantastic, what an incredible event to be a part of! We started bright and early at 7am, then we heard a big starting canon, and we were off! We saw some of our fellow W3 boats along the way, as well as some fun costumes; I even saw a man in a penguin costume on a SUP! 🐧Some Willem 3’ers may also remember a boat with a dragon head! 🐲

*-*

Team C4* Amstel (Bastien, Els, MaryAnn, Stanislav, Vadim)
It was about 30 degrees so it was a very hot day! Team Amstel even created a “Goofy Time” command (like Goofy from Mickey Mouse), where they scooped water into their hats and dropped it on their head! It’s such a good idea to keep cool, and it’s maybe their secret to success, because they finished the day very quickly and arrived back at the boat loading area before 3pm! A fish even jumped out of the water as they headed back to celebrate with them!

*-*

Team W2x Ronde Hoep (Futo, Hester, Petra, Vesna)
Team W2x Ronde Hoep was lucky enough to have a very Italian experience in Venice, sharing a cafe corretto with a gondola before the starting cannon went off!
They were worried about getting too close in case of capsizing, but in the end the temptation of beautiful Italian coffee won.

*-*

Team C3* Doorzettter (Ilse, Philo, Renate, Titia)
Team De Vogalonga Vier was not worried about capsizing on the other hand, as they shared a unique experience hanging on the side of the Doorzetter to pee while having a casual chat, which is a team bonding experience I’m sure they will never forget! 😂

*-*

Team C4* Gein (Ellis, Ilayda, Suzanne (A), Suzanne (W), Vace)
Entering the Canale di Cannaregio was “beautiful chaos”, with everyone stressed and boats pushing together. Team Gein had an epic entrance; at the very moment they were thinking “what am I doing here?”, they heard Edith Piaf’s Non, je ne regrette rien blasting on speakers – it seems the french teams at the Vogalonga had a sense of humour! 😄

*-*

Team C4* Jan Pasman (Ellen, Fere, Gerdie, Marjolein, Rob)
We all collected our medals, and everyone received a t-shirt and a certificate of participation, along with a lovely poster! Team Marjolein struck up a conversation with a canoe participant who asked where they were staying, and when they told him about the hotel, his response was “oh yes, rowers”! Sounds like the locals already knew we were coming! 🛶🛶

*-*

Team C3* Doorduwer (Eva, Jim, Jonah, Marjon)
Some teams even brought the spirit of family to sea: Jim and Marjon convinced their adult kids to join them on a family adventure in the Doorduwer! If anyone reading this article has kids, this is your sign to encourage them to start rowing!

*-*

Approaching the Rialto Bridge towards the finishing line, everyone was full of energy. Onlookers were smiling and clapping, and everyone was relieved after getting through the bottleneck at the Canale di Cannaregio. At the end of the long journey, some of us even had a swim in the sea to cool down, and then we had a spritz and a dinner together, the perfect way to end such an incredible day! 😎

See you on the next rowing adventure!

Isabelle Whitaker