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| Short name | NYYC |
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| Founded | July 30, 1844; 181 years ago (1844-07-30) |
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| Website | www |
TheNew York Yacht Club (NYYC) is aprivate social club andyacht club based inNew York City andNewport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport ofyachting 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 acommodore, vice-commodore, rear-commodore, secretary and treasurer.
The club is headquartered at theNew York Yacht Club Building in New York City. TheAmerica's Cup trophy was won by members in 1851 and held by the NYYC until1983. The NYYC successfully defended the trophy twenty-four times in a row before being defeated by theRoyal Perth Yacht Club, represented by the yachtAustralia II. The NYYC's reign was the longest winning streak as measured by years in the history of all sports.[2]
The NYYC entered2021 and2024 America's Cup competition under the syndicate nameAmerican Magic.[3]
In 1845, the club's first clubhouse was established—a modest,Gothic-revival building inHoboken, New Jersey, designed by architectAlexander Jackson Davis, on land donated by CommodoreJohn Cox Stevens.[4][5] After outgrowing its cramped quarters, the club moved to theMcFarlane–Bredt House inStaten Island,[6] then toMadison Avenue inManhattan.[4][5] The Hoboken clubhouse itself was physically relocated toGlen Cove, New York, then toMystic, Connecticut.[7]
The present primaryclubhouse is theNew York Yacht Club Building, a six-storiedBeaux-Arts landmark with a nautical-themed limestone facade, at 37 West 44th Street inMidtown Manhattan. Opened in 1901, the clubhouse was designed byWarren and Wetmore (1898), who later helped designGrand 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 aNational Historic Landmark in 1987.[4][5][9]
AsPenn Club of New York (est. 1901) became the first alumni clubhouse to join Clubhouse Row for inter-club events at30 West 44th Street[10] afterHarvard 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, thenYale Club of New York City (est. 1915) on East 44th (and Vanderbilt) andCornell Club of New York (est. 1989) at 6 East 44th on the same block, withPrinceton 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.
To better host regattas, in 1988, the club purchased an impressive water front property inNewport, Rhode Island.[15]
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 ofRye, one of the nine founders, was a grandson of Founding FatherJohn 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 theAmerica's Cupregatta, and served as its unofficial consultant until his death in 1890.[18]
In 1845, the club'sburgee 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 theBattery 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. In1851, a syndicate of NYYC enthusiasts built and racedAmerica, capturing the "One Hundred Sovereign Cup" at the annual regatta of theRoyal Yacht Squadron. On July 8, 1857, the covetedtrophy 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 poetHorace, "Non agimur tumidis uelis", "We do not go with swelling sails", inEpistles, 2, 2, 201). During this time, membership transitioned from the "old guard" to a new generation of yachtsmen, who built largeschooner yachts captained by professionals. Marking this evolution was the 1866 resignation of CommodoreEdwin Augustus Stevens, brother of founder John Cox Stevens and member of theAmerica syndicate.
The year 1866 is remembered in club annals for the legendary "Transatlantic Race". In December, the NYYC schoonersHenrietta,Fleetwing, andVesta raced fromSandy Hook toThe Needles,Isle of Wight for a $90,000 winner-take-all prize. TheHenrietta, owned by 21-year-oldJames Gordon Bennett Jr., and skippered by CaptainSamuel 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 schoonerMagic represented the New York Yacht Club in the international1870 America's Cup competition in theNew York Harbor and was won byFranklin Osgood's American yachtMagic. She beat 17 competitors, including the English yachtCambria and the yachtsDauntless,Idler,Fleetwing,Phantom,America and others.[20]
In 1876, theMohawk, a large centerboard schooner, capsized due to itssheets being "made fast" (fastened securely) when a freaksquall 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. TheMohawk was later sold to the U.S. Navy and recommissioned as theUSSEagre.
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 bookThe New York Yacht Club, 1844–1994.[22]
By 1894, the New York Yacht Club had a number of Clubhouses: Station 1 inBay Ridge; 2 in New York NY; 3 inWhitestone NY; 4 inNew London, Connecticut; 5 inShelter Island, New York; 6 in Newport RI; 7 inVineyard Haven and at Rendezvous Glen Cove. In 1868, the club bought a big mansion used as Station 2 atRosebank, Staten Island. This building still stands and is known as theMcFarlane–Bredt House.
FormerCommodoreJ. 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]
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]
TheAmerica'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 theSeawanhaka 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, from1851 untilAustralia II defeatedDennis Conner'sLiberty offNewport, Rhode Island in1983. 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 inteam racing,dinghy racing, youth sailing, and international regattas. In 2002 the Club hosted theIntercollegiate Sailing Association Sloop North American Championships. In 2006 the Club hosted theBlind Sailing World Championships.[30]
The NYYC entered2021 America's Cup represented by theAmerican Magic team, led byTerry Hutchinson and Bella Mente Quantum Racing Association. In May 2018, it was announced thatDean Barker will helm the boat.[31] "American Magic" references the first Cup winner, the yachtAmerica, and the first defender, the yachtMagic.[32]
The club has held a number ofWorld Championships includingJ/70 World Championship,Melges 20 World Championship,Melges 32 World Championship,Etchells World Championship,Farr 40 World Championship,TP52 World Championship, 12-metre Worlds and the ORC World Championship,
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