The New York Yacht Club

The New York Yacht Club has been around for over a hundred and fifty years and has a very interesting history. During the middle of the nineteenth century, yacht racing was very popular. Towards the end of the July in 1844, John Cox Stevens and several other New York yachtsmen got together aboard Stevens newest yacht. They decided to create a club where like minded individuals could get together and race their boats. Since 1844, they have held an annual regatta, which has been held every year except during war time and after the assassination of JFK.

By the early 1900’s, steam ships had largely displaced the traditional sail boats. Many of these boats were British made, which created a little bit of a stir in 1903. One of the reasons that this created a stir was because purchasing British built boats was actually prohibited at the time by the passage of the Payne Bill. Most people disregarded this bill though and many of the yachts owned by members of the New York Yacht Club were built by the British.

One such yacht was the Delaware, which was formerly known as the Maria. The Deleware was bought by Commodore Bourne, who sailed to British waters to make the purchase. After buying it, he took it to a ship yard to have it overhauled and modernized. He added electrical lighting and a refrigeration system. He also outfitted it with new electrical dumbwaiters.

The dumbwaiter is a very popular addition that is found in almost all large boats built today. They have been used for hundreds of years in all types of boats and are a great way to improve functionality, while using only a small amount of space.