The Raritan Yacht Club, An Overview

The Raritan Yacht Club was founded in 1865 and is one of the oldest Yacht Clubs in the United States. The club is primarily a sailing club with an active racing program; a junior sail-training program and many social activities designed to allow members to enjoy the company of fellow sailors. There are three hundred members and approximately 100 senior and distant members. There is only one class of regular voting membership; no social membership class. All regular members have the same status. Seniority (time in membership) is used only for location of boat in fleet, locker, dinghy rack and yard storage location assignments as openings become available.

The club house facilities include the main building which contains the Grill Room (dining and bar), the Surf Room (separate bar and sitting room), meeting rooms for the Ladies Auxiliary and the Junior Yacht Club as well as the Club offices and the galley. Galley service is provided by a concessionaire who employs the kitchen and wait staff. RYC has a private club liquor license, therefore guests cannot use the facilities unless the member/hosts are present. Guests using the bar must be signed in prior to purchasing any alcoholic beverages.

The yard has restrooms and showers as well as lockers and dinghy storage racks. There is boat storage in both summer and winter, available on a seniority basis. Members may use the yard crane to launch trailed boats weighing up to 7,500 lbs. A gin pole for mast work is also available.

The club facilities are available to members 24 hours a day all year. Each member has a key for both the clubhouse and the yard.

The club is an organization run by members for members. Most of the functions required to operate the club are performed by members on a volunteer basis. All officers, board members and committee people are volunteers. Members working together have built most of the facilities at the club, they do most of the maintenance, manage the bar, run the race programs, write and publish the club news letter, and perform all of the many other functions required to run an organization of this size. The cost of membership is directly related to the amount of work done by the members.

We hope this overview provides a glimpse of what RYC is about. Undoubtedly there are questions this overview did not answer. You may contact the membership chairman, the club steward at 732-826-2277 or by email at rycoffice@aol.com or visit our web site at www.ryc.org.

We look forward to having you as members.

Membership Committee

Raritan Yacht Club