The Raritan Yacht Club (RYC), located in

Perth Amboy, New Jersey Perth Amboy is a city (New Jersey), city in northeastern Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area, New York Metro Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city' ...

, is the second oldest

yacht club A yacht club is a boat club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mar ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and is thought to be one of the oldest yacht clubs in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

History

Founded in 1882, The Raritan Yacht Club came into existence via a merger of two smaller local boat clubs: the Carteret Boat Club (founded in 1865 and included mostly

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

s and rowing) and the Perth Amboy Yacht Club (founded in 1874 and included mostly

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

s). Both clubs utilized waterfront buildings within close proximity to each other. The original Carteret Boat Club was housed in a one-room building containing a pot-belly stove, some canoes hanging from slings, and a

porch A porch (; , ) is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance to a building. A porch is placed in front of the façade of a building it commands, and forms a low front. Alternatively, it may be a vestibule (architecture), vestibule (a s ...

where members would sit in

rocking chair A rocking chair or rocker is a type of chair with two curved bands (also known as rockers) attached to the bottom of the legs, connecting the legs on each side to each other. The rockers contact the floor at only two points, giving the occupant ...

s watching the boats on the water. The original Perth Amboy Yacht Club consisted mostly of prominent citizens with sailboats—though their numbers were relatively few—with a clubhouse located not far from the Carteret Boat Club. As they both eventually faced near-

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

, the two clubs merged in May 1882 and assumed the name "Raritan Yacht Club," along with adopting the earlier founding date (1865) of the Carteret Boat Club for their official "founding" date as it also shares this date with the construction of the current RYC building. In December 1915, the Raritan Yacht Club was completely destroyed by fire and was rebuilt in 1916 at its current location.

Through its history, the club held regattas in the

Raritan Bay Raritan Bay is a bay located at the southern portion of Lower New York Bay between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey and is part of the New York Bight. The bay is bounded on the northwest by New York's Staten Island, on the west b ...

, and members participated in larger races like the Newport to Bermuda race. As of 2022, Raritan Yacht Club is a members-only facility with

dock The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engl ...

slips,

mooring A mooring is any permanent structure to which a seaborne vessel (such as a boat, ship, or amphibious aircraft) may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to ...

s, a

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

restaurant. The club hosts

regattas Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water body, water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and ...

for members and offers sailing lesson programs for children, teens, and adults during the sailing season, which is generally from mid-Spring to mid-Fall. RYC adopted the

St. George's Cross In heraldry, Saint George's Cross (or the Cross of Saint George) is a red cross on a white background, which from the Late Middle Ages became associated with Saint George, the military saint, often depicted as a crusader. Associated with th ...

, which is a red cross on a white background dating back to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

for its official

burgee A burgee is a distinguishing flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to ...

(

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

Location

The original club building — and all its contents — was destroyed by a fire on December 22, 1915. In 1916, the club purchased the property of its current address (160 Water Street) which was originally the home of Perth Amboy resident Thomas E. Cooper. The Cooper home is waterfront

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

styled

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

built in 1865. The current building has endured additions over the years. The lot measure 6,957 square feet sitting upon .98 of an acre respectively with a combined assessed value (as of 2020) of US$1,279,000.

Hurricane damage

The club endured significant damage from hurricanes over the years, including

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy) was an extremely large and devastating tropical cyclone which ravaged the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late ...

Images

File:Raritan yacht club clubhouse before 1915.jpg, Raritan Yacht Club clubhouse before 1915 File:Raritan yacht club new clubhouse 1907.jpg, New clubhouse, Raritan Yacht club, 1907 File:1915 Raritan Yacht Club fire.jpg, 1915 fire burning the Raritan Yacht club

Sources

* Raritan Yacht Club, Perth Amboy, NJ. Published by the club, 1882 * Constitution and By-laws of the Raritan Yacht Club of Perth Amboy, NJ. Published by the club, 1903 * MotorBoating, December 1929, Vol. 44, No. 6. ISSN 1531-2623.

References

External links

*{{Official website, https://www.ryc.org/ 1882 establishments in New Jersey Perth Amboy, New Jersey Yacht clubs in New Jersey