Midtown Race Club is helping to reestablish racing-sailboat traditions on the waterfront of Newport, the longtime home of the prestigious America’s Cup.
Midtown Race Club (MRC), located in the heart of Newport, Rhode Island, has actively worked to create a premier destination for racing sailboats and high-performance sailing boats. Still completing renovations, the marina is available for dockage and next year will offer more full-service amenities. They are open to any and all guests to make dockage reservations.
Marina owner Larry Phillips said, “The marina is focused on sail racing and everything that goes with that—the regattas, the events before and after, and we are creating a very flexible space in town that can accommodate many different activities.”
Midtown Race Club is at the corner of Thames Street and America's Cup Avenue, attracting many sailors and coaches.
"Back in the days of America's Cup, this property used to be home base for a 12-meter America's Cup team," said Sam Hallowell, MRC marina manager. "We've had a few sailors on that team come down, and they would show us around and show us how they used to use the property. It's cool—now we can bring this marina back to that. Which hasn't happened in a very long time," Sam said.
When Larry Phillips purchased the property a few years ago, the location had fallen into neglect and was unsafe for recreational use. Since 2019, he and his team have worked tirelessly to renovate the marina with new docks and safe and secure dockage.
Phillips owns and operates adjacent properties in Newport such as the Midtown Oyster Bar and the Surf Club, and he wanted to create a welcoming landing for competitive and recreational sailors within town. The new docks wrap around the perimeter of the marina providing about 1,000 feet of dock space, or about 20 slips, depending on the length of visiting boats.
Over the next year or two, the team intends to have water hookups and power alongside a new marina restaurant. The marina's prime location in Newport offers central access to the whole town and the waterfront.
But why create a marina specific to racing sailboats and high-performance sailing boats? Larry owns a 32-foot sailing catamaran and it wasn't easy to locate spaces big enough to dock in the Newport area. So when he turned his attention to this marina, he set out to create a destination designed specifically for high-performance boats—and the marina provided the ideal location right along Newport’s waterfront commercial district.
As renovations are ongoing and business continues to grow, Midtown Race Club utilizes Dockwa to manage their bookings. In this fast-paced environment, saving time is essential to the marina and they accomplish that through Dockwa’s marina-management tools. "The right things have been automated. It saves me a lot of time and makes my job a lot easier," Sam continued.
Click here for more information on booking a reservation at Midtown Race Club.
