Vesper Boat Club returns to big stage

When rowers from Vesper Boat Club lower their shells into the Schuylkill for morning workouts, the routine is the same. Whether recreational or racers, they pull north and glide under the Girard Bridge, the Railroad Bridge, and the Columbia Bridge before bending slightly east to pass the grandstand just beyond their left shoulders.

From there, they can pick out the silent, bronze rower who watches them go by, and that is John B. Kelly Sr., whose three Olympic gold medals make him the most accomplished Vesper racer in the 150-year history of the club.

As they stroke further up the river, skirting Peters Island and disappearing into the shade beneath Strawberry Mansion Bridge just before reaching the starting line, the road that bends and curves along with them is, of course, Kelly Drive. The former East River Drive was renamed for John B. "Jack" Kelly Jr., a four-time Olympian and a rival to his father as the most famous rower to emerge from Vesper, partly in deference to his sister, Grace Kelly.

There is history in every pull of the oar as the rowers turn their bows downstream and prepare to sprint the 2,000 meters to the grandstand and the finish line. On some mornings, as some of the best racers in the world prepare for their run, they encounter a man out for his exercise in a single scull and, amazingly enough, that is John B. Kelly III, or "J.B." to the Vesper rowers.

Tradition is an overused word, but not at 10 Boathouse Row, where the generations and the history of rowing success stand close enough to share an oar. Some traditions have to be reclaimed, however, and Vesper, after a fallow racing period by its standards, is once again producing elite racers, 95 years after John Kelly Sr. won his first Olympic gold medal.

"It's been immensely satisfying," J.B. Kelly said. "It's nice to have a place to go and do your exercise, but what makes Vesper special is having great athletes there as well and returning to that tradition. I'm happy I was able to be part of the leadership of the club that is making that happen."

The proof of the recent success can be found at the Pan Am Games, which begins its rowing competition this weekend in Toronto. Vesper has six athletes at the event, including Yohann Rigogne, representing the United States in the men's single scull, the event that made John Kelly Sr. and John Kelly Jr. famous. Rigogne, a naturalized citizen originally from Besancon, France, rowed the event for the United States at the 2014 world championship, and he is pointing toward taking the Vesper name back to the Olympics in Brazil next year.

Also at the Pan Am Games from Vesper are Katherine McFetridge in the women's single scull; Mary Jones in the lightweight single scull; Lindsay Meyer and Nicole Ritchie in the women's double scull; and Taylor Brown, who earned the two seat in the U.S. boat for the men's eight. Meyer and Ritchie will also team with two other rowers in the women's quad scull.

Two other local rowers, Colin Ethridge of Malta, in the lightweight men's double scull and the men's quad scull, and Erick Winstead of Penn A.C., in the bow of the men's eight, are also representing Philadelphia clubs in Toronto.

"Our club has really put the resources together to make this success a reality," said head coach John Parker, himself a former Vesper rower and Olympian. "To attract the athletes and to have the ability to go to international races and get equipment and fund salaries, it's a big effort, and without the support of the community, it wouldn't happen."

Rigogne's story eerily echoes some other stories that inhabit the walls of the ancient boathouse. He got into the sport because of his father, joining the club where his father rowed, a club that was founded in 1865, the year Vesper began operating.

"In some small part, I can relate to J.B. Kelly a little bit," Rigogne said, adding a small laugh. "We started the same way and have the same story."

Rigogne had fair success as a young rower in France, but gave up the sport when he moved with his American wife to Ohio at the age of 24. Six years later, after getting divorced, he wanted to return to the water, and that is how he and Vesper found each other in 2010.

"I didn't even know about Boathouse Row, but when I read about it and Vesper, I knew that's the club I'd want to go to," Rigogne said.

Getting back to an elite level at the age of 30 didn't happen quickly, but Rigogne eventually reached national standards and then international standards, and then, in a little bit of a surprise, emerged as the winner at the U.S. world championship trials last year.

"It's exciting. I never thought I would get to that level, and the U.S. is a big team," Rigogne said. "I didn't want to go out and finish last every time, and with my age it could have been that way. I still love the feeling on the water. I love the pain, I guess."

Rigogne joined Vesper at just the right time, just as the racing program was hitting its stride again. The club had to put the competitive side on hold for about 10 years to concentrate on rebuilding the crumbling clubhouse.

"We had to do it. All the clubs have a problem with sliding into the river," said Vesper president Joanne Iverson. "Buying boats had to wait."

Kelly, who has twice served as president, began his second term when the focus went back to racing after the club's rebuilding phase. For a family that was literally built on a brick business, the Kellys know the importance of a solid foundation, but rowing has provided the mortar in their lives.

"Dad, bless his heart, put all the money into racing shells, not into roofs," Kelly said. "What we did was necessary, but it was a challenge. A lot of alumni thought we had lost our mission."

But that would be like losing one's way from the boat dock to the starting line. There have been too many oars pulled through the water on too many shimmering mornings for that to happen. Now, not only is Vesper back in the game, but one or more of their boats might make it back to the Olympics, too. If the single scull is among them, there would be at least one bronze rower on the bank of the river who would have found that fitting.

"Yohann is definitely one of the top guys. It's a realistic chance," Parker said of the 35-year-old son of a rower who has come to Vesper to chase his own destiny. "It would really be a story, but it's got a chance."

That's no surprise. After all, storybooks have happened here before.

bford@phillynews.com

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