Please select your home edition
Edition
Crewsaver 2021 Safetyline LEADERBOARD

Riverton Yacht Club celebrates its 150th Anniversary season

by Renee Janowicz 26 Apr 2015 10:16 BST 26 April 2015

Events and honours mark the club's broad contributions to sailing

Riverton Yacht Club celebrates its 150th anniversary all season long with special events and honours befitting the oldest club of its kind on the Delaware River, oldest in New Jersey, and one of the oldest in the United States with continuous service. It will be a celebration of this club's long history as a fixture in its community, an institution along the Eastern seaboard, and a contributor to the global sailing community.

Riverton Yacht Club engages more than members, with an open invitation for the public to enjoy the sights and sounds from the club's pier during races. All season long the club's unique swallowtail burgee flies from the mast. That symbol includes a stars-and-stripes design that reportedly was outlawed soon after RYC was formed, making it one of a kind among United States organizations. Before it pulls up docks and packs up equipment in late fall, RYC will be honoured by the Historical Society of Riverton and the Riverton Fourth of July Committee.

"This yacht club is more than a collection of sailing enthusiasts who maintain a quaint looking building and very serviceable pier for their own purposes," said Nick Mortgu, chairman of 150th Anniversary events. "We want to show members and non-members why Riverton Yacht Club holds a place in sailing history."

In the late 1800s, the club's pier was a transportation lynchpin and recreation hotspot that played a pivotal role in the establishment and development of the Borough of Riverton. Its remains a beloved landmark in the area where prom photos, marriage proposals and family portraits are staged year after year. Riverton Yacht Club started the town's immensely popular Fourth of July Children's Parade that will roll for its 118th time this summer, attracting an estimated 10,000 revelers to a town that is home to only 3,000 people. This year, all living past commodores are invited to lead the parade as the club is honoured as Grand Marshal.

Riverton Yacht Club is a regional favourite, with youth and adult lessons as well as weekly races that draw sailors from up and down the Atlantic Coast. Most active fleets are J/22, Lightning, Mariner, Flying Scott, PHRF A and PHRF B. Wednesday night races have been known to involve 75 boats, plus numerous viewers who pack a picnic and stake a spot on shore. Of special note during the 150th Anniversary is the multi-fleet Governors Cup Regatta on June 6-7, destined to include about 100 boats. It has been held every year since 1948 when then-Gov. Alfred Driscoll donated the perpetual trophy to encourage continued racing in every class.

The club's history includes more than 100 national and international champions who called Riverton Yacht Club their home base, including well-recognized names like Merrill, Lippincott and MacCausland. (See the full list at www.rivertonyachtclub.org/champions.shtml.) The impressive list with small-town ties includes three World champions, an Olympic medalist, a TransAtlantic Race winner and two America's Cup holders.

Riverton Yacht Club is the 1933 starting point of the innovative and inexpensive Duster sailboat, established as a class in 1946. The flat-bottom, 14-foot boat was engineered as a build-it-yourself vessel perfect for sheltered indoor waters, and it caught on like wildfire among sailors young, old and in-between. The club's first female winner of a significant race did it in a Duster in 1971, before women regularly played a lead role in the sport.

Only private boats are moored at Riverton Yacht Club, and its facilities are maintained by a separate nonprofit foundation. The club has about 250 members, many of whom play a hands-on role in club activities and building maintenance. Events throughout the season are open to the public, a friendliness that is not the rule at other sailing clubs.

www.rivertonyachtclub.org

Related Articles

49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 Europeans Day 5
Veterans and Rookies each demolish their fleets to win with two races to spare Both the 49er and Nacra 17 European Championships were secured with one fleet race and one medal race remaining to be sailed. Posted today at 8:12 pm
Loro Piana Giraglia day 1
Spectacular conditions welcomed the competitors, with a beautiful sunny day. The 72nd edition of the Loro Piana Giraglia kicked off this morning in Saint-Tropez. A total of 139 boats hit the water: 29 Maxis competed on the Pampelonne course, while the rest sailed a coastal course in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez. Posted today at 7:09 pm
Galicia 52 Super Series Royal Cup overall
American Magic Quantum Racing are Galician royalty, winning 2nd event of 2025 with a race to spare. Delivering an impressively consistent series across 10 races sailed in broad range of weather conditions Doug DeVos's US flagged crew of American Magic Quantum Racing won the second regatta of the 2025 season to lift the prestigious Royal Cup. Posted today at 6:40 pm
Freestyle Pro Tour Sardinia day 1 and 2
Foilstyle, flowstye and tow-in at Porto Pollo Day 1 at the Freestyle Pro Tour (FPT) in Porto Pollo started slow, with the forecast showing light winds - riders completed registration and attended the initial skipper's meeting in the morning. Posted today at 6:22 pm
HISC Launches New Moorings Tender 'Selene'
To Improve Deep Water Mooring Access Hayling Island Sailing Club (HISC) has enhanced its support for cruiser sailors with the launch of a new club moorings tender, Selene. Posted today at 2:13 pm
Kitesurfer inspired to join RNLI after rescue
Urging others to volunteer with the charity A lifesaver with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) who was inspired to join the crew after being rescued while kitesurfing, is encouraging others to explore volunteering opportunities with the lifesaving charity. Posted today at 12:28 pm
RYA named Official Community Impact Partner
Connecting the local community, children and groups in Portsmouth with the water. As excitement builds ahead of the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Portsmouth this July, the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is proud to be named the event's Official Community Impact Partner. Posted today at 11:00 am
A more sustainable Transat Café L'OR edition
The race aims to be innovative and a driving force for the transitions taking place in ocean racing For the upcoming 17th edition, the TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR Le Havre Normandie is stepping up its commitments to take better care of the earth's climate and the natural, living planet. Posted today at 10:28 am
Engedinwing 2025 WingFoil Racing World Cup preview
The world's most daring wingfoilers are heading for the heights... literally The world's most daring wingfoilers are heading for the heights - literally - as the Ensis ENGEDINWING 2025 WingFoil Racing World Cup Switzerland descends on lake Silvaplana. Posted today at 9:19 am
Diverse maxi fleet ready for Loro Piana Giraglia
Inshore/coastal racing prior to the event's famous offshore race to Genoa The International Maxi Association's 2025 Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge (MMIC) continues tomorrow, Saturday 7 June with the first of four days of inshore/coastal race of Loro Piana Giraglia, organised by the Yacht Club Italiano Posted today at 9:04 am