Atlas Yacht Club
The Atlas Yacht Club is a marina twenty minutes outside New York City that was settled by squatter fishermen in the 1930′s. It’s made up of about seventy-five shacks that sit side by side on an old pier that was once used to load ships with coal that were docked on the Kill Van Kull, a strip of water that separates New Jersey and Staten Island. The club lays between a field of huge petroleum tanks and a chemical refinery. My dad and his dad have both kept their boats there well before I was born. When I was young, I used to build things in my dad’s workshop with random things I found around the yard. Even though I never really was into fishing, I loved eating the things my father caught and going out for rides on our boat. I decided to document this place before the land gets taken back by the city to be torn down and developed into waterfront condos.
Flics | therealmurphy | December 1, 2008
I also grew up at the Atlas (1950′s to 1968). My grandfather, Mike, owned the 38′ sportfisher “Barbra Ann” docked at the last shack on the dock. Leading up to memorial day was always a hectic time with a big wooden boat. I now own a 42 Carver kept on the Chesapeak.
I’m sure I have some photos of the Atlas I can download (circa 1960′s) if you like, just send me an Email address. My family owned Mikes ESSO Servicecenter on 40th st & Ave E.
Thanks for sharing the website. It was a real kick!
My cousin and I spent many a weekend at the Atlas throughout our formative years. Uncle and his dad both had boats and shacks back in the fifties and sixties. We were the original environmentlists waiting for low tide and grapling tires and washing machines out of the muck under the piers. We cleaned up the place, it was a dumping ground for Bayonnittes. I’m push’in 60 and still love the smell of low tied at any seashore.
I wish the Atlas could be saved and just cleaned up. It was a quaint atmosphere. Pretty soon there will be only condos and no ambiance left of days gone by. I also spent many childhood weekends there (about 50yrs ago). Viewing the photos above, I can still remember exactly where I had to skip over the missing planks on the dock. I remember weather-beaten fishermen, tugboats, crabs swimming by, and people sanding and painting their boats. Being a girl, I didn’t have to do any work. I would sit on the aft deck and hear the familiar sound of a beer can being crushed, or laughter after the last hand of cards. Sometimes, the fog horn would sound and we’d wonder why a certain boat hadn’t “made it back in yet”. We went back to the Atlas a few years ago. The shack was gone, as if it had crumbled into the water, along with the years, at the end of that long dock. No one knows the feeling except for my cousin Frank and my brother Johnny. Long Live the Atlas!
Just wondering if the Atlas still stands (1/14/10). Time for one last look?
In 4 years in the NY Coast Guard and another 27 years running tugboats in the harbor I was never in Atlas Boat Club. Can somebody give me the correct address of the club. Thank You….
PS: Hi Scott,
I just read an article from the Hudson Reporter (March 3, 2010). It said that it looks like the Atlas will be saved. There will be surrounding land that will most likely be sold and developed. Check it out, it looks promising! Sorry Fred, I don’t remember the address. MG
A neat place of history. I bought a boat there last week. They use a system of pipe rollers and rail tracks with a pulley system to launch and haul boats. It takes 3-4 hours per boat. Low tide means you can’t get out with a big boat. It is still going strong. There is a waiting list to get in and I believe it costs $8,000 to buy a slip, then $750 per year. They have the place fenced off with a security gate which requires a pass card. The guys that helped me launch it and get it on the trailer were nice. Mark.
[...] Based on our charts and online research, we were not expecting to find a marina on this stretch of the kill, so we went in to investigate. It turned out to be the Atlas Yacht Club. An older gentleman was heading out in a small boat, and he intercepted us and firmly (but kindly) escorted us back to the main channel. All very suspicious, until we read this article from the New York Times. The Atlas Yacht Club was originally founded by squatters, and although today it is legit, its members shy away from publicity. Thomas Murphy has some great b&w photos of the club. [...]
As of last weekend, the Atlas Yacht Club was still there. I made a quick detour there while circumnavigating Staten Island.
These are great pictures. They really capture the spirit of the place.