The Free State Yacht Club (FSYC) was started in the 1970's by sailors like the late Tom Holland and the late Ian Papenfus. [...]Other charter members were Henry Horn, Dave and Kiewiet Marais, Dave Moffat, Neil and Sally Brink, Steve Marais, Ronnie and Roberts Nobby, Pamela Clark and Rudi and Elfie Hediger. These people saw an unique opportunity to create a sailing yacht club on the brand new (then) Hendrik Verwoerd Dam, now the Gariep Dam. With dedication and innovation, they laid out the little harbour and club facilities in front of the resort at the dam wall. The club provided racing sailing opportunities for inland sailors in the Free State and Northern Cape. Indeed, some of these sailors went on and raced and cruised across oceans, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and even the Great Lakes of North America. Ex members are scattered all over the world, fondly remembering their sailing roots at the Gariep Dam. This is the portal for all members, old, current and prospective, to connect to this wonderful inland sailing lake.

Free State Yacht Club, Gariep Dam. The harbour at the Gariep Dam wall. The first Commodore of the club was Mr Nobby Clark, later Prof Daan de Waal, Mr Bertus de Jager, Mr David Yuill, and Mr Hennie Olivier. Other great sailors at the dam were Dr Reg Tahan, who sailed on the dam for years and [...]

was the first yacht club member to sail in the Cape to Rio Race. Also worth mentioning were Prof. Piet Lategan, Dr Hannes Meyer and Mr Hennie Olivier, who for years were building their own boats in their front yards in Bloemfontein, and later sailed these on the dam. Another old-time patron of the club, the late Mr Marchand de Kok, sailed extensively on the dam, then raced to Rio de Janeiro in the 1984 South Atlantic Ocean Race (Cape to Rio race) with Dr Hannes Meyer and Mr Ettiene Coetzee and crew, and later cruised extensively in the Med.