New Jersey’s Oldest Yacht Club is RYC – But is it Riverton or Raritan?

Although both the Raritan Yacht Club in Perth Amboy and the Riverton Yacht Club are on the opposite sides of New Jersey, they both state to have been founded in 1865. Published sources currently give the Riverton Yacht Club the bragging rights as the state’s oldest, leaving the Raritan Yacht Club holding the very dignified title of historic number 2.
The New Jersey History Project is still digging for the original paperwork to settle the matter once and for all, but until then, we are happily leaning into the mystery and treating New Jersey’s great yacht club birth race as an ongoing historical photo finish.

As with all Mr. Local History retrospectives, we often update the post as we learn new stories and receive photos from our community. We will continue to expand this piece as information becomes available. If you have any stories to share, please post in the comments section at the end of the piece. Mr. Local History Project

The year 1865 marked a turning point in American history. The Civil War had just ended, Abraham Lincoln had been assassinated, and a weary nation was searching for peace and a sense of normalcy. As soldiers returned home and industry and railroads expanded, Americans looked toward the future with renewed optimism. Communities embraced recreation, fellowship, and organized pursuits that brought people together.

Along the nation’s rivers and bays, boating offered both relaxation and adventure, inspiring the formation of clubs such as Riverton Yacht Club and Raritan Yacht Club. Founded supposedly in the same year, they reflected a hopeful spirit and a belief that, after years of division and sacrifice, life could once again be enjoyed and shared with friends and family. But one has to be older than the other, right? Let’s dig in.

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The Raritan Yacht Club

When people think of American yachting History, their minds usually go first to the grandeur of the New York Yacht Club and to the global prestige of the America’s Cup. Those names represent international fame, wealth, and world-class competition. But in Perth Amboy stands a quieter and, for New Jersey, even more important story.

Founded in 1865, Raritan Yacht Club is the oldest yacht club in New Jersey and one of the state’s longest-continuously active waterfront institutions. Long before major regattas and international trophies captured headlines across New York Harbor, local boatmen, sailors, and artisans were already gathering on this shoreline to row, race, and work the bay. This is the local side of American sailing History, not built on global spectacle, but on community, continuity, and a deep connection to New Jersey’s working and recreational waterfront.

The modern Raritan Yacht Club did not begin with a wealthy patron or a formal civic campaign. It grew out of a small, practical waterfront group known as the Carteret Boat Club, formed in 1865 by residents who already lived and worked along the Perth Amboy shoreline. They were rowers and small boat sailors who wanted a permanent place to keep boats, race one another, and gather on the bay. Their first clubhouse was a modest structure on pilings at the water’s edge, built for access and function, not for display.

The members themselves chose the location, and it was entirely practical. Men joined, paid dues, shared costs, and voted on what to build and when. This stretch of waterfront offered sheltered water, working docks, and direct access to Raritan Bay. In 1874, a second local sailing-focused group, the Perth Amboy Yacht Club, formed nearby. In 1882, the two homegrown clubs merged to form the Raritan Yacht Club. The founders were not famous names. They were local water people who knew this shoreline, trusted this harbor, and built their club exactly where they already lived their boating lives.

When people think of American yachting History, their minds usually go first to the grandeur of the New York Yacht Club and to the global prestige of the America’s Cup. Those names represent international fame, wealth, and world-class competition. But here in Perth Amboy stands a quieter and, for New Jersey, even more important story. Founded in 1865, the Raritan Yacht Club is the oldest yacht club in New Jersey and one of the state’s longest continuously active waterfront institutions. Long before major regattas and international trophies filled headlines across New York Harbor, local boatmen, sailors, and artisans were already gathering on this shoreline to row, race, and work the bay. This is the local side of American sailing History, built on community, continuity, and a deep connection to New Jersey’s working and recreational waterfront.

The story begins with roots that reach back to 1865, when local boatmen formed the Carteret Boat Club along the Perth Amboy waterfront. It was founded before organized yacht racing became the focus. In 1874, a second organization, the Perth Amboy Yacht Club, was established by local sailing enthusiasts seeking organized yacht racing on Raritan Bay.

The Carteret Boat Club was formed in 1865 by residents who already lived and worked along the shoreline. They were rowers and small-boat sailors who wanted a permanent place to keep boats, race one another, and gather on the bay. Their first clubhouse was a modest structure on pilings at the water’s edge, built for access and function, not for display.

The members themselves made the decisions. Men joined, paid dues, shared costs, and voted on what to build and when. The site offered sheltered water, working docks, and direct access to Raritan Bay. In 1874, a second localsailing-focused group, the Perth Amboy Yacht Club, formed nearby. In 1882, the 2 homegrown clubs merged to form what would become the Raritan Yacht Club. The founders were not famous names. They were local water people who knew this shoreline, trusted this harbor, and built their club exactly where they already lived their boating lives.

When the two clubs merged on May 10, 1882, they created the Raritan Yacht Club, combining the rowing, canoeing, and sailing traditions that had already taken hold along the bay. After a devastating fire destroyed the clubhouse in December 1915, the club secured its future by purchasing the Thomas E. Cooper Estate at 160 Water Street in 1916. More than 160 years after the first members gathered on the waterfront, the Raritan Yacht Club remains an active steward of New Jersey’s maritime heritage, connecting today’s sailors with a legacy that began with the Carteret Boat Club in 1865 and the Perth Amboy Yacht Club in 1874.

In 1905, a new two-story clubhouse was erected on the site of the old building. The old building was moved to the street line and became a locker and refreshment room.

Tragic Fire of 1915

The club’s turning point came in December 1915, when fire destroyed the original clubhouse. In response, the membership made a decisive and forward-looking move. In 1916, they purchased the Cooper Estate at 160 Water Street and adapted the former waterfront residence into a new clubhouse. The location placed the club directly on deep, protected water with immediate access to both open sailing water and the busy harbor corridor. Just as important, the building itself was already one of the city’s more substantial and recognizable waterfront properties. The decision was not simply to replace what had been lost, but to establish a permanent home and a visible civic presence on Perth Amboy’s working shoreline. That choice anchored the club at its present site and helped secure its future as New Jersey’s oldest yacht club.

On the night of December 22, 1915, a fire completely destroyed the Raritan Yacht Club’s clubhouse along with its records, paintings, photographs, models, and memorabilia. Faced with rebuilding from scratch, the club’s Board of Governors decided instead to purchase an existing waterfront estate.

In early 1916, following the loss of its clubhouse to fire, the Raritan Yacht Club purchased the former Thomas E. Cooper Estate at 160 Water Street and transformed the stately waterfront mansion into its new headquarters. Built in 1865 for Thomas E. Cooper (1834–1901), a prominent Perth Amboy industrialist, banker, and civic leader, the property offered expansive grounds, waterfront access, docking facilities, and ample room for growth. Following Cooper’s death in 1901, the estate passed through his heirs before being acquired by the club, which continues to call the historic mansion home today.

Today, the Raritan Yacht Club is still operating from that same historic waterfront home at 160 Water Street. More than 160 years after local boatmen first organized themselves here, boats still sail from the same harbor, races and regattas still fill the calendar, and new sailors are still trained on the bay. In a state where so much of the working waterfront has vanished, the club remains a rare, living link to New Jersey’s maritime past, not preserved behind glass but still doing exactly what its founders set out to do.

Two events define the club’s modern racing identity. The Red Grant Regatta and the Macan Regatta remain the signature regattas on the Raritan Bay calendar. The Red Grant Regatta honors longtime member and racer Adolph Red Grant and celebrates the competitive spirit and social traditions that shaped the club’s racing culture. The Macan Regatta, named for Nelson J. Macan, recognizes the importance of fair and well-run handicap racing and the volunteers and organizers who make that competition possible. Together, these 2 regattas reflect how a locally built New Jersey club continues to carry forward more than a century of organized sailing on its home waters.

What remains truly iconic about the Raritan Yacht Club today is that it is still a large, active, working sailing club with 300-plus members across multiple generations. It runs a full seasonal racing calendar, cruising and social programs, and a strong junior and youth sailing pipeline that continues to feed local high school and college sailing. Above all, it remains a club built around getting people on the water, the same purpose that brought a small group of Perth Amboy boatmen together on this shoreline in 1865.

The Riverton Yacht Club – Riverton, New Jersey

On July 1, 1865, just weeks after the end of the Civil War, a small group of Delaware River boating enthusiasts gathered at 503 Bank Avenue in the riverfront community of Riverton, New Jersey, and founded what would become the Riverton Yacht Club.

The meeting was held at the home of Edward H. Ogden, one of Riverton’s early residents and civic leaders. The club’s first Commodore was Caspar W. Morris, a prominent Philadelphia physician and yachtsman whose summer residence overlooked the Delaware. Most of the founders were affluent Philadelphians who had established summer homes in Riverton, a planned riverside community created in 1851 as a retreat from city life.

They organized the club for a simple reason: they loved the river. Sailing, rowing, and pleasure boating had become popular pastimes among Riverton’s residents, and they wanted a formal organization where members could race, socialize, improve seamanship, and celebrate life on the water. What began as a gathering of neighbors along the Delaware River grew into the oldest yacht club on the river and one of the oldest continuously active yacht clubs in America.

Riverton Yacht Club Champions

The Riverton Yacht Club champions list is quite a list of accomplished sailors. The club has an impressive list that we’ve compiled at the end of this story. Feel free to review at the bottom of this page. But take a look at the clubs over the champions list:
World Champion (3), International Champion (26), Western Hemisphere Champions (4), North American Champions (22), South American Champion (1), National Champions (47), Canadian National Champions (1), Midwinter Champions (16), and Laser Masters Champion (1). The single most productive year in the entire record is 1956, with 4 championships in total, and those titles were Western Hemisphere Champion in the Star Class by Robert Lippincott, North American Champion in the Star Class by Howard Lippincott, Midwinter Champion in the Comet Class by Blair Fletcher, and National Champion in the Duster Class by Bob Seidelmann.

Tale of the Tape

Category	Riverton Yacht Club	Raritan Yacht Club
Founding date	1865	1865
Primary water	Delaware River	Raritan Bay
Street address	Main Street and Bank Avenue, Riverton, NJ 08077	160 Water Street, Perth Amboy, NJ 08861
Club Burgee
Burgee description	White triangular pennant bordered in red and centered with a blue field containing white stars arranged in rows, giving it a distinctly patriotic appearance.	White triangular pennant with a bold red St. George’s cross near the hoist.
Membership structure	Private membership club.	Private membership club.
Approximate number of members	Approximately 175 members.	300-plus regular members.
Primary club identity	River-based sailing, local racing, and the Duster Class tradition.	Bay and harbor-based sailing, regional racing, cruising, and social membership.
Website	rivertonyachtclub.org	ryc.org
Notable perpetual trophies or signature events	Duster Class racing and Riverton-hosted Delaware River regattas.	Red Grant Regatta and Macan Regatta.
Historically significant boat or class	Duster Class sailboat, developed at Riverton for Delaware River racing.	Early racing yachts such as Indian and Natirar, plus handicap and fleet racing.
Historic distinction in New Jersey	Commonly cited as the oldest yacht club in New Jersey.	Commonly cited as one of New Jersey’s oldest yacht clubs, often tied to 1865 through Carteret Boat Club and Perth Amboy YC roots.
Core historical role in the state	Represents river sailing and locally developed one-design racing in New Jersey.	Represents Raritan Bay, harbor sailing, and regional yacht racing in New Jersey history.

About the Author

Brooks Betz, the author, grew up in Westfield, New Jersey, sailing first in the Pocono Mountains but later chasing competition out of the Shore Acres Yacht Club on Kettle Creek and Barnegat Bay. His parents were in the business,s and we were members of the Lake Naomi Sailing Club, Hunterdon Sailing Club, Shore Acres Yacht Club, and the New York Yacht Club. A New Jersey Sunfish Class champion, Brooks was also heavily involved in competitive windsurfing across the United States and, as a researcher, has written about some of his experiences for the Mr. Local History Project. However, he’s still a big fan of New Jersey sailing.

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Riverton Yacht Club Champions List

Champion Type	Class	Sailor	Years
World Champion	Finn	Paul Van Cleve	1983
World Champion	Star	Robert Lippincott	1950
World Champion	Star	John A. MacCausland	2013
International Champion	Comet	Edward Merrill	1938
International Champion	Comet	Bob Seidelmann	1964, 1965
International Champion	Comet	Phillip Sommerville	1940, 1941, 1946, 1952
International Champion	Comet	Dave Oberg	1971, 1976
International Champion	Comet	Jim Merrill	1947, 1948
International Champion	Comet	Jim Lippincott	1977, 1979
International Champion	Comet	Howard Lippincott	1949, 1950, 1954, 1955
International Champion	Comet	John A. MacCausland	1984, 2019
International Champion	Penguin	Gardner Cox	1958, 1960, 1964
International Champion	Penguin	John A. MacCausland	2000, 2001, 2003
International Champion	Penguin	Mike Hecky	2008
Western Hemisphere Champion	Star	Robert Lippincott	1953, 1956, 1967
Western Hemisphere Champion	Star	John A. MacCausland	1998
North American Champion	GP-14	John A. MacCausland	1980, 1981, 1982
North American Champion	Comet	Dan Curran	2018
North American Champion	Comet	Dave Oberg	1986
North American Champion	Comet	John A. MacCausland	1982, 1983, 1985, 2019
North American Champion	Moth	Jim Greenfield	1960, 1962
North American Champion	Lightning	Bob Seidelmann	1964, 1966
North American Champion	RC Laser	Rob Seidelmann	2018
North American Champion	Star	Robert Lippincott	1953
North American Champion	Star	John A. MacCausland	1983, 1984, 1987, 2004, 2008, 2012
North American Champion	Star	Howard Lippincott	1956
South American Champion	Star	Jim Lippincott	1976
National Champion	American Canoe Sailing	David Breinig	2014
National Champion	College Sloop	Bob Oberg	1993
National Champion	Comet Junior Nationals	Tom Slook	1984
National Champion	Duster	John Knight	1946
National Champion	Duster	Bob Lunstedt	1947
National Champion	Duster	Frederick Steiner	1948
National Champion	Duster	Marter Carhart	1949, 1950, 1951
National Champion	Duster	Bob Seidelmann	1955, 1956
National Champion	Duster	Elwood McCord	1957
National Champion	Duster	Bob Lippincott, Jr.	1963
National Champion	Duster	John Morton, Jr.	1964
National Champion	Duster	James Walter	1965, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972
National Champion	Duster	Peter Mullen	1966
National Champion	Duster	David Styer III	1969
National Champion	Duster	Robert Martin	1979, 1993, 1994
National Champion	Duster	Barbara Martin Smyth	1980
National Champion	Duster	Greg, Cole, & Brett Maute	2007
National Champion	Duster	Greg & Brett Maute	2008
National Champion	Duster	Greg & Dean Maute	2012, 2016
National Champion	Duster	Greg Maute	2013, 2016
National Champion	Laser	Patrick Curran	2004
National Champion	Mariner	Nick Mortgu	1981
National Champion	Mariner	Allan Crew	1998
National Champion	Mariner	Richard Martin	2005
National Champion	Mariner	Rob Seidelmann	2015, 2017
National Champion	Mariner	Dan Walsh	2009, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021
National Champion	Optimist	Patrick Curran	1998, 1999
National Champion	PHRF	Bob Obert	2007
National Champion	Shields	Peter Denton	2007
Canadian National Champion	Star	John A. MacCausland	1999
Midwinter Champion	Comet	Edward Merrill	1939
Midwinter Champion	Comet	Howard Lippincott	1952, 1962
Midwinter Champion	Comet	Blair Fletcher	1956, 1957, 1958
Midwinter Champion	Comet	Jim Lippincott	1977
Midwinter Champion	Comet	John A. MacCausland	1980
Midwinter Champion	Lightning	Bob Seidelmann	1962, 1963, 1965, 1966
Midwinter Champion	Lightning	Jim Lippincott	1977
Midwinter Champion	MC Scow	Rob Seidelmann	2010, 2015, 2017
Laser Masters Champion	Laser	John A. MacCausland	2013