Vesper Rowing Club reigns at Independence Day Regatta

On a sweltering summer day on the Schuylkill, the Vesper Rowing Club captured the Mariner Points Trophy Sunday at the Independence Day Regatta.

Vesper won the women's eight final en route to a dominant showing in the points race. The champions finished with 522.75 points; runner-up Penn A.C. had 291.

"This is where we want to be: We want to be a power in rowing again," said Joanne Iverson, president of the Vesper Rowing Club, which is based on Kelly Drive along the Schuylkill.

"This is the way it used to be in the early 1900s, when the Kellys were here and they were winning gold medals," she said. "Last time we won a gold medal in the Olympics was 1964, and we are looking forward to doing that again in future Olympics."

The regatta on Fourth of July weekend brings a bevy of competitors from all over the country and the world and has been conducted since 1880. This year, the event drew more than 1,000 boats and 1,800 rowers.

Vesper has its eye on more success.

"The next step is the Canadian Henley," Iverson said of the regatta Aug. 4-11 in St. Catherines, Ontario. "We have several crews going to the under-23 world championships in Austria. We have other representatives going to the world championships in Korea, so we have our members spread out over many regattas."