This October, the oldest continually-run international competition in sports history, a sailing race named “the America’s Cup,” will be held in Barcelona, but — as with many sporting firsts — its origins begin in Hoboken. Hoboken has such a prodigious nautical past, it has been heralded as “The Cradle of American Yachting.” Read on to learn all about today’s oldest international sporting trophy and its ties to Hoboken, New Jersey.
Photo Credit: Hoboken Historical Museum
Land Ho(boken)!
The story of the America’s Cup begins on the shores of Hoboken, where 10th Street once met the Hudson River. There, John Cox Stevens, grandson of Hoboken’s founding father, Colonel John Stevens), founded the New York Yacht Club — America’s first, oldest, and most prestigious yachting association.
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The Cut of Stevens’ Jib
Moored just off the Hoboken shore, eight original members boarded a 51-foot schooner, the Gimcrack, where they organized the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) on July 30th, 1844. John Cox was elected the club’s first commodore and donated land to accommodate the newly formed club. For five years, the NYYC was the only yacht club in America. For these reasons, John Cox Stevens has been proclaimed the “Father of American Yachting.”
Photo Credit: Hoboken Historical Museum
Soon the club realized they needed quarters in which to meet. On July 15th, 1845, a petite, gothic boathouse was erected at the foot of 10th Street, replete with a chalet-style roof and gingerbread ornamentations, designed by famed architect Alexander Jackson Davis, who also planned Federal Hall on Wall Street. The boathouse was abandoned in 1868 and later became the headquarters for the New Jersey Yacht Club in 1875.
Faced with demolition to make room for the Pennsylvania Railroad Repair Shops and Docks, in 1904 the little boathouse was lifted and placed atop a boat itself, then sailed to the NYYC Station in Glen Cove, Long Island. The boathouse was relocated one final time, to its current site in Mystic, Connecticut. Today, a replica of the famed boathouse is located in Hoboken near its original location and has been repurposed as the Hoboken Cove Community Boathouse, a volunteer-based water sports organization boasting “New Jersey’s Largest Free Paddling Program.”
Photo Credit: Hoboken Cove Community Boathouse
Hoboken became the center of America’s yachting culture hosting a myriad of sailing “firsts.” On July 17th, 1845, the NYYC conducted the first regatta race ever held in America, beginning in Hoboken, circling around to Staten Island, then Owl’s Head, Long Island, before returning to Hoboken. Two years later, Hoboken became home to the first amateur race in America, the Corinthian. Then, in 1858, the first race around Long Island began in Hoboken.
Thus, the stage is set for what would become the America’s Cup.
The 1st America’s Cup: Stevens Makes Waves
In 1851, the Great Exhibition, the forebearer to the World’s Fair was held in London at the specially erected Crystal Palace, debuting inventions like the telegraph and vulcanized rubber. While the Great Exhibit commanded the attention of the world, the Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS), Thomas Egerton (aka the 2nd Earl of Wilton), invited the American upstarts to enjoy the RYS’ prestigious clubhouse. As Commodore of the NYYC, John Cox accepted, while also suspicious of an impending challenge. As he’d guessed, the 2nd Earl of Wilton proposed a race around the Isle of Wight in a route called The Queen’s Course, a counterclockwise, 53-nautical-mile loop. To avoid breaking rules that restricted race participants to RYS members, a R. Y. S. £100 Cup was agreed to be awarded to the victor.
In America’s Wake
At 10AM on August 22nd, 1851, 15 yachts neared Cowes Castle to begin the race, with John Cox captaining his own, personal vessel, a schooner named America. Ten hours and 34 minutes later, John Cox stunned onlookers and embarrassed Queen Victoria by besting the competition by nearly a half hour. When America passed the Royal Yacht to capture the lead, she saluted Her Majesty’s ship by dipping America’s flag three times. Queen Victoria famously asked who placed second, to which the now legendary retort was uttered: “Ah, Your Majesty, there is no second.”
Queen Victoria Keels Over
Queen Victoria was so thunderstruck and distrustful of her distant cousin (for the Stevens family are distantly related to the British Royal Crown) that she insisted on boarding the America to ensure there were no mechanical motors aiding the vessel — the Stevens family, after all, were renowned pioneers of America’s earliest steam engines.
Plain Sailing for the New York Yacht Club
Following the dramatic win, that which had been called the “100 Guineas Cup,” or the “Cup of One Hundred Sovereigns” henceforth became known as the “America’s Cup,” named after John Cox’s winning schooner of 1851. It’s unclear if the Cup remained aboard America, was displayed within the NYYC boathouse, or was held within John Cox’s Manhattan mansion known as “Stevens’ Palace” — designed by the very same architect who drew plans for the gothic boathouse. The Historian of the NYYC has noted that while it’s unknown where the America’s Cup was first displayed, by the late 19th Century, the Cup was kept in a vault at Tiffany’s and exhibited at the flagship 5th Avenue Tiffany’s Store during the Cup matches.
In 1857, the crew of the America officially deeded the America’s Cup to the NYYC under the provision that “it shall be preserved as a perpetual challenge Cup for friendly competition between foreign countries.”
With 25 titles, the NYYC boasts the most titles in the history of the competition and remained undefeated for 132 years, making it the longest winning streak (in terms of time) of any sport in the history of athletic competition.
In the 173 years since the first race, the America’s Cup is no longer awarded to the victor of a single “fleet race.” Today, the race is styled as a first-to-seven-wins competition. It is not held annually, and doesn’t even have a fixed schedule, but occurs every three to four years according to agreements and arrangements between the world’s most prestigious yacht clubs. In 1970, a “Challenger Selection Series” became necessary in deciding which clubs could vie for the Cup.
Shipshape in Barcelona
This year’s Louis Vuitton Challenger Selections Series is already underway to determine which clubs will compete in the 37th America’s Cup race, which will begin on October 12th, 2024, in Barcelona. The defending club, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, will sail the Taihoro — a word honoring the Māori people and their extensive sailing tradition by embracing a verb from the Māori language meaning “to move swiftly as the sea between both sky and earth.” Once again the NYYC is in the running, with eleven-time world champion sailor Terry Hutchinson occupying John Cox’s old position as skipper.
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Stevens’ Landlubbers
To commemorate the school’s connection with the prestigious race, the coffee shop at Stevens Institute of Technology is aptly named America’s Cup. Upon the shop’s wall, a small caption recognizes Hoboken’s large contribution to one of the world’s most famous competitions.
Information for this article was also gathered from the work of preeminent Hoboken historian, Jim Hans’ “100 Hoboken Firsts.” Special thanks to Leah Loscutoff, the Head of Archives and Special Collections at Stevens Institute of Technology, whose consultation helped the accuracy of this article and whose boundless knowledge of all things Stevens helps bring history to life.
Barry’s Bootcamp Signage Spotted in Hoboken
While Equinox rumors are still swirling about a Hoboken location (plus a confirmed Jersey City location in the works), it's time to direct our attention to another new fitness spot that is coming to town: Barry's Bootcamp announced in fall 2024 that the international gym franchise is opening a Hoboken, New Jersey location. It announced the news on its Instagram back in early August, the location of the was revealed in late September, and now signage is up at the upcoming fitness spot as of January 2025. Read on for what we know about Barry's Bootcamp coming to Hoboken, New Jersey.
The Announcement
On Thursday, August 8th, 2024, Barry's Bootcamp announced on Instagram that it's opening a Hoboken location. "Cue the (Red Room) lights — we’re opening our first-ever New Jersey studio in Hoboken! Doors open soon, so tag your NJ friends below and hit the link in bio to get on the list to stay updated. #Barrys," it shared on the social media platform. It also has a "coming soon" section of its website dedicated to the Hoboken location, found here.
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Following the original announcement, a source close to the developer on the project shared with The Hoboken Girl this September that Barry's new Hoboken outpost will be located in the former Jos A. Bank storefront at 119 River Street, Suite A.
Photo Credit: @hannah.sulcov
An eagle-eyed Hoboken Girl reader noticed that signage was up in the forthcoming Barry's Bootcamp location on Wednesday, January 8th. As far as timing, those details are yet to be shared, but we'll definitely update you as we find out more.
About Barry's
Photo Credit: Barry's Bootcamp Website
The company was founded in 1998 by Barry Jay and John and Rachel Mumford. According to the Barry's website, it's self-coined as bringing "game changing fitness classes [which] quickly became known as The Best Workout In The World," also calling it the 'first' boutique fitness class. It has since grown in the last three decades to dozens of studios throughout the world.
The workouts combine high-intensity interval training on the treadmill with weights and other floor exercises.
Globally, Barry's has 84 studios as of 2024. The Hoboken location would be Barry's first New Jersey location.
See More: A Guide to Workout Studios in Montclair
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