The Royal Ulster Yacht Club is located in
Bangor,
County Down
County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, on the south shore of
Belfast Lough
Belfast Lough is a large, intertidal sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to th ...
.
History
The club was established in 1866 as the
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
Yacht Club, on the impetus of
.
Bangor History
In 1869 it received a royal warrant.[nio.gov.uk](_blank)
The land for the clubhouse was purchased in 1897 and built by architect Vincent Craig (brother of the 1st Lord Craigavon).
The boating grocer, Sir Thomas Lipton
Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, 1st Baronet (10 May 18482 October 1931) was a Scotsman of Ulster-Scots parentage who was a self-made man, as company founder of Lipton Tea, merchant, philanthropist and yachtsman who lost 5 straight America's Cup ...
, being blackballed from the Royal Yacht Squadron
The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) is a British yacht club. Its clubhouse is Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Member yachts are given the suffix RYS to their names, and are permitted (with the appropriate warrant) to we ...
, launched his America's Cup
The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...
bid from the RUYC in 1898. Lipton continued to sail from the Royal Ulster until 1929; his legacy being the Lipton Room.
Today the club's patron is Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
(a position she has held since 1953) and the commodore is Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, (Richard Alexander Walter George; born 26 August 1944) is a member of the British royal family. He is the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, as well ...
.
RUYC was visited by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh
Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produc ...
in 1961, with the Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
competing in the Regatta. The duke returned to the club in 2006.
The club is one of the clubs on the lough that form part of the Belfast Lough Yachting Conference.
External links
Royal Ulster Yacht Club
References
Royal yacht clubs
Yacht clubs in Northern Ireland
America's Cup yacht clubs
Sports clubs in County Down
Bangor, County Down
1866 establishments in Ireland
Sports clubs established in 1866
Organisations based in Northern Ireland with royal patronage
Organisations based in the United Kingdom with royal patronage
Grade B1 listed buildings
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