The New York Yacht Club was founded on July 30, 1844, when John Cox Stevens invited eight friends to his yacht Gimcrack, anchored in New York Harbor. The theme of the club was to race sailing yachts. Stevens was named as the first commodore. Three days hence, the new commodore announced, members would be departing on a yacht-club cruise to Newport. Thus, began the historical connection between the New York Yacht Club and Newport, R.I., and the Club’s tradition of holding an Annual Cruise.
The NYYC’s first clubhouse was built in 1845 on land donated by Commodore Stevens, at the family estate at Elysian Fields in Hoboken, N.J, overlooking the Hudson River. The clubhouse, a Gothic revival building, officially opened on July 15, 1845. This was followed the next day by the first club regatta, billed as a “trial of speed.” This became the “Annual Regatta.”
On July 12, 1857, surviving members of the America syndicate donated to the Club the silver trophy they had won racing around the Isle of Wight in England in 1851. They called it the America’s Cup, in honor of the yacht that won it. They invited yacht clubs around the world to compete and promised, “friendly competition between foreign countries.” Boats flying the New York Yacht Club flag held onto that trophy for 132 years, until 1983. During that stewardship, New York Yacht Club boats won 81 of 93 races. After the loss of the Cup, the Club has continued to be involved in the competition, challenging for the trophy in 1987, 2000, 2003, 2021 and 2024.
In 1898, Commodore J. Pierpont Morgan stunned fellow members by announcing he would donate three lots on West 44th Street to build a new clubhouse. The building, designed in the beaux-arts style by Whitney Warren and Charles D. Wetmore, opened in 1901. It is known for its Model Room and Library.
In 1987, the New York Yacht Club acquired Harbour Court in Newport,, R.I., the former summer home of NYYC Commodore John Nicholas Brown. Harbour Court created a new energy and focus. The Club annually hosts up to two dozen sailing regattas each summer at Harbour Court, including national and world championships and major offshore races.
