on the Navesink
Club hopes to promote pleasures of rowing
on the Navesink
BY KATHY HALL
Correspondent
PHOTOSBY CHRISKELLY staff Above, Ronald Tindall of Red Bank trains with Kay Vilardi, a member of the Navesink River Rowing Club. At left, Sarah Kneisler, 17, of Rumson and Ceri Magee, 18, of Fair Haven, cheer on Eatontown’s Joe Burkard during a workout relay.
Kay Vilardi has a passion for river access. "When I was a kid growing up in Red Bank, the only way I could get on the river was ice skating," she recalls.
As president of Navesink River Rowing, she is energetically pursuing partnerships that help open the river to all segments of the Red Bank community.
Her goal will be easier now that the club has found a stable home after several years of operating out of temporary spaces.
"We looked everywhere up and down the river," Vilardi said. "Our current neighbors have all been wonderful to us."
Those neighbors include Ara Hovnanian, a former rower, who offered the club the use of his property at the foot of Maple Avenue in 2001.
When Hovnanian began developing that location, the club approached the Salvation Army, which owned an overgrown spot next to the Hovnanian parcel. Volunteers cleared the property, installed French drains, and obtained all the necessary permits. The club now has a permanent home in Red Bank and is committed to providing river access and educating the public about this environmentally friendly sport. Rowing season on the Navesink runs from May to mid-November.
Rowing is divided into two distinct disciplines: sweep rowing, where each oarsman handles one oar, and sculling, where one person uses two smaller oars. Sweep oared races are contested in two-, four- and eight-person boats. Sculling races are contested in single, double and four-person shells. Most rowers prefer to go out first thing in the morning and watch the sun come up as they row.
Vilardi, who is still a Red Bank resident, began rowing after she took a buyout from her position as a district manager with AT&T. She currently rows competitively with three other women.
"In our first race in 2001, we got hooked on a buoy, but in 2002 we won," she remembered joyously.
Rowing represents more than a pleasant morning on the river for club member Jane Sandlar, a breast cancer survivor who underwent a 20-hour double mastectomy in April 2003.
"Being involved in rowing has been a major force in being able to heal," she said. As part of that healing, she solicited sponsors and rowed 125 miles in September/October 2003.
Her effort raised $15,000 to help Long Island Jewish Hospital, where her surgery was performed, purchase a $100,000 microscope. Even though she underwent major surgery again in the spring , she is planning another fund-raising row this fall.
"They only need $15,000 more to buy the microscope," she explained. Individuals wishing to contribute may contact her at [email protected].
Navesink River Rowing was founded in 1983 by a handful of rowing enthusiasts who carted their boats down to public launch sites on the river. The club currently has 130 members, ranging in age from 14 to 82, and maintains a fleet of 21 boats including wider, more stable beginners’ shells and sleeker racing boats.
After moving to Red Bank, the club went to the Borough Council, obtained a six-year permit for a teaching school, and initiated an extensive program of lessons for children, ages 14 to 18.
First-time rowers test their interest in a two-week Novice Program that teaches basic sculling skills. Students may continue on to the longer Intermediate Program that includes sculling in single and multiple-seat boats and some sweep rowing. Experienced rowers with a serious commitment to the sport participate in a six-week, fully supervised, early-morning advanced program.
Forty children completed the club’s 2004 youth program, which runs from late June to early August. Additional information on the classes and the 2004 fee schedule are available on the club’s Web site, www.monmouth.com/~nrrc/ or e-mail [email protected].
Participating in rowing can enhance a student’s chances of getting into college, according to Kathryn Lowry of Wall and Genevieve Dunikoski of Fair Haven, who are finishing up the beginners’ class. Rowing was the first organized collegiate sport in the United States, beginning with the Yale-Harvard race on the Charles River in 1852.
"Rowing is a great sport for young women, thanks to Title 9 money available for college scholarships," Vilardi said.
NRR students have received rowing scholarships to LaSalle and Dartmouth, she said.
Since 2002, NRR has worked with the Salvation Army, Red Bank Recreation Department and West Side Christian Academy. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Monmouth County has also indicated an interest. Students from these programs gain exposure to the river as part of the club’s annual "Learn to Row" day.
"We set up the rowing machine to teach technique. Then each child sits in the quad with a coach and takes a stroke so they get the feel of the boats. Some of the kids from the west side have never gotten close to the river," Vilardi said. "They thought they were in heaven.
"My vision is to offer at least one scholarship seat at each class level for kids who can’t afford to participate, but we are not quite there yet," Vilardi mused, in keeping with her commitment to river access for all.
In fall 2003 NRR partnered with Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft to introduce the first high school rowing program in the area. This spring, a team from the school won the Hun Cup at the New Jersey High School Championships in Cherry Hill. The cup is currently on view in CBA’s trophy case.
NRR also provides training for adults with no rowing experience. A series of four, two-hour beginner lessons in the basics of sculling in single, sliding-seat shells is offered throughout the summer. A Beginner Continuation Program of two additional two-hour sessions allows the fledgling rowers to increase their familiarity with the river and hone their sculling skills. Graduates of the program, who are certified by a coach, may continue to use NRR boats and facilities for the remainder of the season.
The club offers members open instructional rows in both sculling and sweep rowing several times each week, conducts morning practices on weekdays for scullers and open rowing on weekday evenings and weekends. Competitive sweep crews are formed on demand.
Membership options include full season and half-season (three consecutive months). Both entitle members to row club-owned shells for which they are certified by the club coach. For a lesser fee, private boat owners can store their shells on NRR racks and use the facilities.
Vilardi is committed to getting as many people as possible on the water. "People are going through all sorts of physical and mental hardships," she said, "but they get in a boat, and it all goes away. The river is a blessing."


