Hanging Out with Bob and Joe.

The 2025 Gig Harbor Film Festival is over. The winners have been announced. I only peeked in on the festival from social media, but the event seemed successful. I saw a lot of smiling faces. One of these years I’m going to attend. I can’t keep missing out on some of the fun stuff that happens around here.

This year I learned the opening film to kick off the event was Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion. I didn’t learn this until Pamela Holt, the director of the film festival, booked a ride with me sometime back in July. Later on she sent an email explaining that Bob was going on the gondola ride and she wanted to check in. I was like, “Whoa, THE Bob Mackie?!”

I’m just kidding. Unfortunately, I was not familiar with Bob’s work at the time, but I quickly became familiar when I started researching his name. Then I was like, “Whoa! The legend Bob Mackie is coming out for a gondola ride?”

I’m always a little nervous to meet a celebrity because you never know how the interaction will go. I’ve always been someone that tries to treat a celebrity like I would a regular person with good ol’ fashion decency and respect. I’m not going to ask for an autograph and I’m only going to ask for a photo if I believe the time is right. Like, if I had a cellphone with a good camera back in 1998 when I refused to let Portia de Rossi into a certain Santa Monica coffee shop after we had closed - I wouldn’t have taken a selfie with her locked outside glaring at me through the window. That’s just bad timing.

Sometimes treating a celebrity like a regular person can backfire when they say things like, “Oh you don’t know who I am do you?” And then you realize you don’t know who they are and you find yourself in an odd situation standing in the parking lot of a boat marina with the lovely Carol Lawrence. THE Carol Lawrence. The first Maria in West Side Story on Broadway. I’ll never forget standing there with her after a great gondola ride when she said, “I wish I had a photo or something I could sign for you.” Then, thinking she said this in jest, I said, “Oh I wish I had something I could sign for you.”

She stared at me. That’s when I learned about Carol Lawrence. She was sweet to me after I apologized. She said, “It’s OK. I’m all old now.” I felt like that was a good time for a photo.

Here we are just after I wished I had something to sign for Carol Lawrence.

I told that story to Bob, Joe and Pam. They seemed to enjoy it. Bob had worked with Carol many times in the past. I was surprised to learn about all the stars he’s worked with over the years. Did you know Bob Mackie drew the original sketch for the “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress Marilyn Monroe wore when she sung to President John F. Kennedy in 1962? He’s also worked with Diana Ross, Cher, Whitney Houston, Carol Burnett… Barbie, just to name a few. What a life he’s lived.

Overall I felt like the experience of hanging out with the Sultan of Sequins went well. Bob and Joe were great to be around. Joe, Bob’s highly talented design director, was cracking me up most of the ride. Bob seemed like he was relaxed and truly enjoying his time on the water. I hope they have a great experience showing the documentary all over the world. I believe they were off to the Queen Mary II and Ireland after the film festival here.

A big thanks to Pam and the Gig Harbor Film Festival for setting up this ride and allowing me the opportunity to meet these sweet people. Hopefully they come back to little old Gig Harbor and visit again.

Ciao!

- Cinque

Welcome to the blog.

There was a tinge of guilt when I abandoned all my schooling to make Gig Harbor Gondola a reality.

I majored in Communications at Cal State Fullerton and I was in the infancy of a journalism career when my family and I dropped everything and moved to Washington. I had to make a choice to either find my way back into a newsroom or try this crazy plan in order to make my own work schedule.

While researching and planning out the business, I realized I was actually putting my degree to work.

Communications, man. There’s a lot to it. I was researching. I was on the phone. I was asking questions. I was traveling and exploring. I was taking notes and writing in a journal. I was taking photos. I was contemplating moves. I was skeptical. I was determined to not give up until I found the answer.

I just wasn’t blogging about any of it. That is one regret I have when it comes to this journey.

I should have documented this story from the beginning.

Gig Harbor Gondola is celebrating ten years and there are so many stories to tell. I should have told you about the guy balancing an empty beer keg on a SUP board on a hot day after it happened. I should have blogged about the first time I picked up guests from a seaplane in the harbor. I definitely should have written about the time a gray whale breached next to the gondola while rowing by Tides Tavern. It was exhilarating. It was frightening.

It’s time to get this word party started.  

The past ten years have been full of wonderful experiences. I have come home to my family and said, “I met the coolest person today” so many times.

A part of me misses the journalism life. I love sitting in a quiet space and filling pages with words. I’m out of practice though. I’m hoping this blog will fulfill a part of me that’s been missing for too long.

The plan for this blog is to occasionally let you all in to my life as an American gondolier and owner of a small business. My goal is to get at least one blog out a month, but I’m hoping for more than that.

I want to thank all of you. Thank you so much for booking rides with me. Thank you so much for simply being interested in my service. Thank you for making this dream come true.

Grazie,

- Cinque 

The Future of Gig Harbor Gondola

Ciao a tutti.

I’ve always wanted to start a blog for the business. I guess now is a good time. Beginning Oct. 1, 2025 Gig Harbor Gondola will return to a one-man, one-boat operation. This means Double Gondola rides are no longer available and reservable times and days will be limited. Currently, bookings are closed for October through December 2025. Reservations will resume Oct. 1.

I initially started the company in 2015 to have the freedom to create my own schedule in order to work around the needs of my family. By 2019 I was so busy that when an old friend contacted me and asked if he should move up and join me, I jumped at the opportunity and said yes. I was curious and decided I should explore the process of growing the business beyond one man and his boat.

With Greg joining I was able to have a second gondola shipped out from Venice. For 6 years we rowed as many people as we physically could. Adding the second boat was still not enough to handle the amount of people that wanted to experience a ride. We did our best.

After over 23 years of rowing, 10 years of rowing Gig Harbor and 6 years of a partnership, I’ve come to believe that the passion for the job must remain strong in order for Gig Harbor Gondola to exist. My plan from the start has been to grow old on the back of a gondola. I’ll row until I can’t balance anymore. In order to do that I need to love what I do.

It will be tough reverting back to the days of apologizing to people because I don’t have the availability, but I will continue to row as much as I can for as long into the future as possible. Unfortunately for some of you it will become an experience not so easily reserved, because the available days and times might be booked up (I can only row so many in a day), or I might be enjoying time with my family, or maybe it’s time for boat maintenance and the gondola is out of the water. Please plan to book as early as possible. If you don’t see the days and times that you want please understand that I wish I could accommodate you, but I’m probably already busy rowing or not available those days.

Thank you all so much for your support over the years. I look forward to seeing you on the water.

 Sincerely,

 John “Cinque” Synco