Private yacht club in New York City
New York Yacht Club
|
Short name
| NYYC
|
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Founded
| July 30, 1844
; 179 years ago
(
1844-07-30
)
|
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Location
| |
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Website
| www
.nyyc
.org
|
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The
New York Yacht Club
(
NYYC
) is a
private social club
and
yacht club
based in
New York City
and
Newport, Rhode Island
. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of
yachting
and yacht design. As of 2001, the organization was reported to have about 3,000 members.
[1]
Membership in the club is by invitation only. Its officers include a
commodore
, vice-commodore, rear-commodore, secretary and treasurer.
The club is headquartered at the
New York Yacht Club Building
in New York City. The
America's Cup
trophy was won by members in 1851 and held by the NYYC until
1983
. The NYYC successfully defended the trophy twenty-four times in a row before being defeated by the
Royal Perth Yacht Club
, represented by the yacht
Australia II
. The NYYC's reign was the longest winning streak as measured by years in the history of all sports.
[2]
The NYYC entered
2021
and
2024 America's Cup
competition under the syndicate name
American Magic
.
[3]
Clubhouses
[
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]
In 1845, the club's first clubhouse was established?a modest,
Gothic-revival
building in
Hoboken, New Jersey
, designed by architect
Alexander Jackson Davis
, on land donated by Commodore
John Cox Stevens
.
[4]
[5]
After outgrowing its cramped quarters, the club moved to the
McFarlane?Bredt House
in
Staten Island
,
[6]
then to
Madison Avenue
in
Manhattan
.
[4]
[5]
The Hoboken clubhouse itself was physically relocated to
Glen Cove, New York
, then to
Mystic, Connecticut
.
[7]
Main Clubhouse New York City
[
edit
]
The present primary
clubhouse
is the
New York Yacht Club Building
, a six-storied
Beaux-Arts
landmark with a nautical-themed limestone facade, at 37 West 44th Street in
Midtown Manhattan
. Opened in 1901, the clubhouse was designed by
Warren and Wetmore
(1898), who later helped design
Grand Central Terminal
.
[8]
The centerpiece of the clubhouse is the "Model Room", which contains a notable collection of full and half hull models including a scale model history of all New York Yacht Club America's Cup challenges. It was designated a
National Historic Landmark
in 1987.
[4]
[5]
[9]
As
Penn Club of New York
(est. 1901) became the first alumni clubhouse to join Clubhouse Row for inter-club events at
30 West 44th Street
[10]
after
Harvard Club of New York City
(est. 1888) at 27 West 44th, New York Yacht Club (est. 1899) became the first non-alumni clubhouse to join at 37 West 44th, then
Yale Club of New York City
(est. 1915) on East 44th (and Vanderbilt) and
Cornell Club of New York
(est. 1989) at 6 East 44th on the same block, with
Princeton Club of New York
joining in 1963 at 15 West 43rd (the only alumni clubhouse who wasn't on 44th Street, whose members, part of the staff, and in-residence club,
Williams College
Club of New York were absorbed into Penn Club following a previous visiting reciprocity agreement between the Princeton-Penn Clubs, before Princeton's went out of business during COVID).
[11]
[12]
Despite being in New York City,
Columbia University Club of New York
(est. 1901) left Princeton after residence agreement issues
[13]
[14]
to become in-residence at The Penn Club, while Dartmouth shares the Yale Club, and Brown shares the Cornell Club.
Harbour Court, Newport Rhode Island
[
edit
]
To better host regattas, in 1988, the club purchased an impressive water front property in
Newport, Rhode Island
.
[15]
History
[
edit
]
The New York Yacht Club was founded on July 30, 1844, by nine gentlemen.
John Cox Stevens
, the leader of this group, and a prominent citizen of New York with a passion for sports, was elected commodore.
[16]
John Clarkson Jay
of
Rye
, one of the nine founders, was a grandson of Founding Father
John Jay
and served as the first Secretary of the board.
[17]
George L. Schuyler and Hamilton Wilkes were also NYYC founders who, together with Stevens and two others, created the syndicate that built and raced the great schooner-yacht,
America
. Wilkes served as the club's first vice-commodore. Schuyler played a key role in the founding of the
America's Cup
regatta
, and served as its unofficial consultant until his death in 1890.
[18]
In 1845, the club's
burgee
was designed.
[19]
The waters off Newport have been a key sailing venue for the NYYC since the beginning of its history. Indeed, the day the club was founded in 1844, its members resolved to sail from the
Battery
to Newport. Two days later, they did, with several stops on the way, and trials of speed.
During the first decades of the club's history, racing for prize money was the objective among most members. In
1851
, a syndicate of NYYC enthusiasts built and raced
America
, capturing the "One Hundred Sovereign Cup" at the annual regatta of the
Royal Yacht Squadron
. On July 8, 1857, the coveted
trophy
was donated to the NYYC, to serve as a challenge cup for sportsmanlike competition between nations. The "
America's Cup Race
", named for its first winner, played a central role in the history of the club until this day.
In 1865, the club was incorporated, adopting the Latin motto: "Nos agimur tumidis velis" – "We go with swelling sails" (adapted from the verse of the famous Roman poet
Horace
, "Non agimur tumidis uelis", "We do not go with swelling sails", in
Epistles
, 2, 2, 201). During this time, membership transitioned from the "old guard" to a new generation of yachtsmen, who built large
schooner
yachts captained by professionals. Marking this evolution was the 1866 resignation of Commodore
Edwin Augustus Stevens
, brother of founder John Cox Stevens and member of the
America
syndicate.
The year 1866 is remembered in club annals for the legendary "Transatlantic Race". In December, the NYYC schooners
Henrietta
,
Fleetwing
, and
Vesta
raced from
Sandy Hook
to
The Needles
,
Isle of Wight
for a $90,000 winner-take-all prize. The
Henrietta
, owned by 21-year-old
James Gordon Bennett Jr.
, and skippered by Captain
Samuel S. Samuels
, won the race in 13 days, 21 hours and 55 minutes. Bennett would be elected commodore in 1871.
On August 8, 1870, the schooner
Magic
represented the New York Yacht Club in the international
1870 America's Cup
competition in the
New York Harbor
and was won by
Franklin Osgood
's American yacht
Magic
. She beat 17 competitors, including the English yacht
Cambria
and the yachts
Dauntless,
Idler,
Fleetwing,
Phantom,
America
and others.
[20]
In 1876, the
Mohawk
, a large centerboard schooner, capsized due to its
sheets
being "made fast" (fastened securely) when a freak
squall
struck. Vice-Commodore William T. Garner, his wife and crew died in the accident. It is believed that this tragedy led to the extinction of the great centerboard schooner yachts. The
Mohawk
was later sold to the U.S. Navy and recommissioned as the
USS
Eagre
.
In 1895, Richard H. Barker composed 'The yacht club march: march and two-step: for piano' in honor of the New York Yacht Club.
[21]
In 1994, as part of the club's 150th anniversary celebrations, Melissa H. Harrington wrote the book
The New York Yacht Club, 1844?1994
.
[22]
New York Yacht Club Stations c. 1894
[
edit
]
By 1894, the New York Yacht Club had a number of Clubhouses: Station 1 in
Bay Ridge
; 2 in New York NY; 3 in
Whitestone NY
; 4 in
New London, Connecticut
; 5 in
Shelter Island, New York
; 6 in Newport RI; 7 in
Vineyard Haven
and at Rendezvous Glen Cove. In 1868, the club bought a big mansion used as Station 2 at
Rosebank, Staten Island
. This building still stands and is known as the
McFarlane?Bredt House
.
-
Clubhouse "Station No. 1" of the New York Yacht Club
c.
1894
at Bay Ridge
-
Clubhouse "Station No. 3" of the New York Yacht Club
c.
1894
at Whitestone, NY
-
Clubhouse "Station No. 4" of the New York Yacht Club
c.
1894
at New London, Conn
-
Clubhouse "Station No. 5" of the New York Yacht Club
c.
1894
at Shelter Island, NY
-
Clubhouse "Station No. 6" of the New York Yacht Club
c.
1890s
at Newport, RI
-
Clubhouse "Station No. 7" of the New York Yacht Club
c.
1894
at Vineyard Haven, Mass
-
Clubhouse of the New York Yacht Club
c.
1894
at Rendezvous Glen Cove
Former
Commodore
J. P. Morgan
was present at a board meeting on 27 October 1898 to discuss the construction of a new clubhouse. Morgan offered to acquire a 75-by-100-foot (23 by 30 m) plot on 44th Street in midtown Manhattan
[23]
[24]
if the NYYC raised its annual membership dues from $25 to $50 and if the new clubhouse occupied the entire site.
[24]
The board accepted his offer, and Morgan bought the lots the next day for $148,000 and donated to the club.
[25]
[26]
Members hosted an informal housewarming party on 29 January 1901 and gave Morgan a trophy in gratitude of his purchase of the site.
[27]
[28]
Racing and the America's Cup
[
edit
]
Following the disastrous
[
clarification needed
]
Bay of Quinte America's Cup challenge in 1881, the club's committee voted a new rule to govern its races:
[29]
The
America's Cup
challenges of 1885, 1886 and 1887 used this rule with an 85 ft (25.91 m) waterline length limit. In 1887, the NYYC adopted the
Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club
's rating rule, which handicapped length comparatively less. Then, in 1903, the NYYC changed its rating system to the "Herreshoff Rule", devised by the yacht designer,
Nathanael Herreshoff
. Later renamed the "Universal Rule", it would be adopted by the majority of leading American yacht clubs. The rule governed yacht design for almost forty years.
The America's Cup was held for 132 years, from
1851
until
Australia II
defeated
Dennis Conner
's
Liberty
off
Newport, Rhode Island
in
1983
. This record remains the longest winning streak in sports history.
Since the loss of the Cup the NYYC has been forced to reinvent itself and the club has become involved in
team racing
,
dinghy racing
, youth sailing, and international regattas. In 2002 the Club hosted the
Intercollegiate Sailing Association
Sloop North American Championships. In 2006 the Club hosted the
Blind Sailing World Championships
.
[30]
The NYYC entered
2021 America's Cup
represented by the
American Magic
team, led by
Terry Hutchinson
and Bella Mente Quantum Racing Association. In May 2018, it was announced that
Dean Barker
will helm the boat.
[31]
"American Magic" references the first Cup winner, the yacht
America
, and the first defender, the yacht
Magic
.
[32]
Regattas
[
edit
]
The club has held a number of
World Championships
including
J/70 World Championship
,
Melges 20 World Championship
,
Melges 32 World Championship
,
Etchells World Championship
,
Farr 40 World Championship
,
TP52 World Championship
and 12-metre Worlds.
Notable members
[
edit
]
- Winthrop W. Aldrich
- Brooke Astor
- John Jacob Astor
, real estate mogul
- Vincent Astor
- George Fisher Baker
- August Belmont
- James Gordon Bennett Jr.
, newspaper publisher
- Michael Bloomberg
,
Mayor of New York City
- John Nicholas Brown II
, philanthropist
- Frederick Gilbert Bourne
- William F. Buckley
, author and commentator
- William A. Chanler
, explorer, soldier and US Congressman
- Robert H. Conn
, Assistant Secretary of the Navy
- Dennis Conner
, racing yacht captain
- William P. Cronan
, 19th
Naval Governor of Guam
- Walter Cronkite
, newscaster
- Chris Dodd
, United States senator
- Pete DuPont
, governor of Delaware
- Elbridge Thomas Gerry
- Jay Gould
, railroad tycoon
- James Alexander Hamilton, 3rd son of Alexander Hamilton, won first America's Cup in 1851
- Alfred Walton Hinds
, 17th
Naval Governor of Guam
- Charles Oliver Iselin
- Charles O'Neal
, politician
- Arthur Curtiss James
- Gary Jobson
- Edward Kennedy Jr.
, son of United States Senator
- Dennis Kozlowski
(resigned)
- Herbert F. Leary
, Vice admiral in the Navy
- Lewis Cass Ledyard
- John Lehman
,
Secretary of the Navy
- Bernard Madoff
(resigned)
- Clarence Moore
, businessman
- J. P. Morgan
, financier
- J. P. Morgan Jr.
- Junius Spencer Morgan III
- Emil Mosbacher
- Robert Mosbacher
- Franklin Osgood
(1826?1888), served three terms as Rear-Commodore; member of first
America's Cup
Committee (1869)
[33]
- Frank F. Olney
(1851?1903), 18th Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island
[34]
- Trenor Luther Park elected 1883, owned the Sultana
- Jonas M. Platt
, major general in the Marine Corps
- David Rockefeller
, banker
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
, 32nd
President of the United States
- Gary Roughead
, 29th Chief of Naval Operations, US Navy
- Arthur J. Santry, Jr.
Chief Executive Officer, Combustion Engineering and Commodore NYYC
[35]
- Elliott Fitch Shepard
, lawyer and newspaper owner
[36]
- Alfred P. Sloan
- George J. Smith
, U.S. Congressman and cigar manufacturer
[37]
- John Cox Stevens
- Olin Stephens
, yacht designer
- Ted Turner
, media mogul
- Cornelius Vanderbilt III
, Army general
- Harold Stirling Vanderbilt
, railroad executive
- Thomas Watson Jr.
See also
[
edit
]
Sailboat design for club fleets
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Landlocked Berth for Boat Lovers; New York Yacht Club Spruces Up Its Grand Home And Finds It Can Thrive Without America's Cup
, James Barron,
The New York Times
, 03 Feb 2001,
"The effort to add fresh blood to the blue blood has increased the roster to about 3,000 members."
- ^
John Rousmaniere
(1983).
The America's Cup 1851?1983
. Pelham Books.
ISBN
978-0-7207-1503-3
.
- ^
"CAMPAIGN FOR 36TH AMERIca's CUP PAIRS TWO SUCCESSFUL AMERICAN RACING PROGRAMS WITH NEW YORK YACHT CLUB - News - New York Yacht Club"
.
- ^
a
b
c
"New York Yacht Club"
.
National Historic Landmark summary listing
. National Park Service. 2007-09-17. Archived from
the original
on 2008-01-06.
- ^
a
b
c
"
"New York Yacht Club", October 1985, by James H. Charleston"
.
National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination
. National Park Service. October 1985.
- ^
Gray, Christopher (1991-09-08).
"Streetscapes: The McFarlane-Bredt House; The Old Yacht Club On Staten Island"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
2022-10-26
.
- ^
Verde, Tom (1999-12-26).
"The View From/Mystic; New York Yacht Club Reclaims Its Clubhouse"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
2022-10-26
.
- ^
http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/architects/view/310
Whitney Warren Dictionary of Architects in Canada
- ^
"New York Yacht Club--Accompanying photo, exterior, undated"
.
National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination
. National Park Service. October 1985.
- ^
Slatin, Peter (May 9, 1993).
"Penn's Racing to Join Clubhouse Row"
.
New York Times
.
Archived
from the original on November 30, 2020
. Retrieved
November 2,
2020
.
- ^
Chao, Eveline (January 7, 2022).
"It Wasn't Just the Pandemic That Closed the Princeton Club"
.
Curbed
.
Archived
from the original on November 3, 2022
. Retrieved
November 3,
2022
.
- ^
"Williams Club in New York moves to Penn Club building"
.
- ^
"The Columbia Club's New Home"
.
Columbia College Today
. July 5, 2017
. Retrieved
October 30,
2021
.
- ^
Skelding, Conor (August 4, 2016).
"Columbia, Princeton clubs at impasse over residence agreement"
.
Politico
. Retrieved
October 29,
2021
.
- ^
"NYYC - Harbour Court"
. 2023-06-29.
- ^
"Who founded the New York Yacht Club today in 1844?"
.
Grateful American Foundation
. 2015-07-12
. Retrieved
2021-10-23
.
- ^
Clary, Suzanne. "A Legacy of Sailing: Owners of the Jay Estate & Yachting in New York 1843 - 1966". Rye Magazine: Weston Magazine, Inc. (38): 244. Retrieved January 2, 2016 ? via issuu.
- ^
"New York Yacht Club"
.
National Sailing Hall of Fame
. Retrieved
2021-10-23
.
- ^
"Yacht Clubs of NY"
.
bklyn-genealogy-info.stevemorse.org
. Retrieved
2021-10-23
.
- ^
"The Yachts and the Coming Race; Visiting the Cambria, Dauntless and America--Arrangements for the Great Race on Monday Next--The Entries--The Course, &c"
(PDF)
.
The New York Times
. New York, New York. 4 August 1870
. Retrieved
2021-06-13
.
- ^
Richard H. Barker 'The yacht club march: march and two-step: for piano' (Toronto : Whaley, Royce & Co., c1895)
- ^
Melissa H. Harrington
The New York Yacht Club, 1844-1994
(Lyme, Conn.: Greenwich Pub. Group, 1994)
- ^
"Yachting: Commodore Morgan Gives the New-york Club a Site for a House to Race for the Canadian Cup Yacht Associations Meet".
New-York Tribune
. October 28, 1898. p. 4.
ProQuest
574511646
.
- ^
a
b
"Commodore Morgan's Gift; Presents Three Lots to the N.Y. Yacht Club for a New Home"
.
The New York Times
. October 28, 1898.
ISSN
0362-4331
.
Archived
from the original on October 26, 2022
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
.
- ^
"New Yacht Club House; Commodore Morgan Buys a 75-Foot Frontage in Forty-fourth Street for a Site"
.
The New York Times
. October 29, 1898.
ISSN
0362-4331
.
Archived
from the original on October 26, 2022
. Retrieved
October 26,
2022
.
- ^
"Com Morgan Pays $148,000.: Loses No Time in Making Good His Offer to Provide Site for New Clubhouse for New York Yacht Club".
Boston Daily Globe
. October 29, 1898. p. 5.
ProQuest
498954045
.
- ^
"N.Y.Y.C. Honors J.P. Morgan: Silver Loving Cup Presented to the Club's Ex-commodore".
The New York Times
. January 30, 1901. p. 7.
ISSN
0362-4331
.
ProQuest
1013633831
.
- ^
"Harriman Gets Chicago Lines.: Terminal Transfer Company's Stock Reported in Control of Eastern Man. Details of the Deal. Charity Ball for Benefit of Nursery and Childs' Hospital a Success. General New York News".
Chicago Tribune
. January 30, 1901. p. 5.
ProQuest
173095798
.
- ^
Thomas W. Lawson
(1902).
The Lawson history of the America's Cup
.
ISBN
978-0-907069-40-9
.
- ^
Hargraves, Carly (January 30, 2006).
"2006 IFDS Blind Sailing World Championships - Yachting Australia"
.
www.yachting.org.au
. Yachting Australia. Archived from
the original
on October 6, 2015
. Retrieved
2015-10-01
.
- ^
"Dean Barker leads Kiwi quartet as helmsman for New York's 2021 America's Cup bid"
. May 2018.
- ^
Alan Baldwin (27 March 2018). Ed Osmond (ed.).
"Sailing: 'American Magic' to challenge for 2021 America's Cup"
.
Reuters
.
- ^
"Yachting. Meeting of the New York Yacht Club"
.
New York Daily Herald
. New York, New York. 6 Feb 1869. p. 7
. Retrieved
2021-06-09
.
- ^
"Frank F. Olney"
.
The American Journal of Philately
. New York, NY: The Scott Stamp and Coin Co. 1 Oct 1903. p. 353
. Retrieved
20 May
2015
.
- ^
Lambert, Bruce (26 February 1993).
"Arthur J. Santry Jr., 74, Is Dead; Headed Combustion Engineering"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
23 August
2023
.
- ^
Homans, James E., ed. (1918).
The Cyclopedia of American Biography
. The Press Association Compilers. pp. 299?300.
- ^
Hamersly, L.R.; Leonard, J.W.; Mohr, W.F.; Knox, H.W.; Holmes, F.R. (1914).
Who's who in New York City and State
. Cornell Library New York State Historical Literature. L.R. Hamersly Company. p. 666
. Retrieved
9 March
2022
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- New York Yacht Club
by New York Yacht Club and Rarebooksclub.com (Mar 4 2012).
ISBN
1130831000
- The History of Yachting, 1600?1815
by Arthur H. Clark; pub. under authority and direction of the New York Yacht Club (New York ; London : G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1904)
External links
[
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]
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Buildings
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West of
5th Av
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East of
5th Av
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Former
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Other points of interest
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Restaurants/
nightlife
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Museums/
cultural centers
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Stores
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Clubhouses
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Clubhouses (former)
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Green spaces
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Educational
institutions
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Art galleries
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Transportation
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Subway
stations
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Railroad stations
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Streets and
intersections
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Topics
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Lists
by county
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by city
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