Metedeconk River Yacht Club was founded by a group of devoted yachtsmen in 1936. The primary purpose for which the club organized was to advance the sport of yachting and to promote the social enjoyment and good fellowship among its members. Metedeconk River Yacht Club started out in a small boathouse on the north shore of the Metedeconk River. As the membership expanded, the founders purchased its present site on the south shore of the River in 1963. Shortly thereafter, a clubhouse was built on the property, along with the installation of a bulkhead, docks and slip area; an inground pool was installed in 1972. As the membership grew, a pool house was built and the main clubhouse has since been expanded three times, the latest being 2001. In 2010, after several years of fundraising and hard work by the membership and executive board, the Andrew Brennan Memorial Junior Center was completed to foster and house the club’s extensive junior sailing program. Metedeconk today consists of 235 family memberships and is an active member of the Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association.

The annual sailing calendar is very extensive for both the one-design fleets: Lightnings, Sanderlings, Sandpipers, Sunfish, and the J-24s, Melges 24, spinnaker and cruising auxiliaries. The calendar opens in May with a Sunday spring series for one-design and Tuesday night series for the auxiliaries. Racing continues through the summer as many of our one- design fleets take part in the BBYRA summer series, while the cat-boats and auxiliaries continue their nightly series. A special women’s fleet of Sunfish race causally on Wednesday nights through July and August. Metedeconk’s racing season concludes with a fall series for both the one-design and auxiliaries running through the end of October.

Metedeconk is a player on the national stage as well, especially in the Lightning class. The club is home to Lightning Fleet 34 in the Central Atlantic District, which consists of 45 sailors and is one of the largest fleets on the Atlantic Coast. Jim Carson, Jody Lutz, and Keith Taboada have been prominent member of the fleet, each having won the District Championship six or more times. Jim and Jody are also multiple time New Jersey State Champions. On the International front, sailors who grew up on the Metedeconk River include top Paralympics hopeful Scott Whitman, one World Champion, Jay Lutz, three North American Champions, Jay, Jody Lutz and Brian Taboada, a three-time Women’s Champion Betsy Alison and five Junior North American Champions, Jay, Jody, Andrew Brennan, Wade Schon, and Timmy Crann. Metedeconk has hosted several prestigious events in the Lightning class as well, including the 1984 & 1996 Youth World Championship, the 2002 Pan- American Games Qualifier, and the 1978 & 2010 North American Championships.

Metedeconk River Yacht Club is proud to be the home yacht club of a former Rolex Yacht Woman of the Year in Betsy Alison and three Barnegat Bay Sailing Hall of Fame inductees in Jim Carson, Jody Lutz, and Betsy Allison.

Metedeconk is home of one of the most successful junior programs on the Barnegat Bay. From late June to the middle of August, MRYC juniors are involved in both swimming and sailing. The swim team competes against other teams from around Monmouth and Ocean Counties in an array of events, including several events that are hosted at Metedeconk. The MRYC sailing program has blossomed into one of the best around. Metedeconk offers several different classes, including Optimist (Beginner to Racing Team), Laser Radial, Club 420, and Sunfish, to its 100+ junior sailors. Metedeconk is also home to the famed Junior Powder Puff Regatta. This ‘girl-only’ event is held annually in July, attracting over 250 sailors from along the Atlantic Coast. This regatta was recently featured in Sailing Magazine to celebrate its 25th anniversary. MRYC also holds a weekly Advanced Sailing Class for junior sailors between the ages of 14 and 17. These sailors are coached in Lightnings at a more rigorous level in hopes of promoting the Lightning class to junior sailors.