The Story of a Yacht Club

On Friday 23 February 1923, an informal meeting was held at the Grand Hotel in Pretoria. This was attended by the following persons: F.W Flitton, A.W.Fltton, G. Botha, Alderson, Pritthard, P. Jones, A.D. Holmwood, and V. Redpath. Subscriptions were determined at £1.1.0 per annum (One Guinea)

The first Annual General Meeting was held on 23 May 1924 at Polly's Hotel in Pretoria. At this meeting the club was officially named - Transvaal Yacht Club. Mr. A Aslaken served as Chairman and was duly elected the first Commodore. V Redpath was Vice Commodore.

The first boat launched under the auspices of the club was a 20ft gaff rigged scow. A short time later, A.W. Flitton launched a craft sporting a new innovation - a Bermudan rig, now more or less a standard for racing and cruising crafts.

These must have been true enthusiasts. We, who are accustomed to excellent roads and a journey of 30 to 45 minutes will find it hard to imagine the prospect of a 23 mile journey from Pretoria on what was no more than a farm track which wound down the Magaliesburg valley. The final part of the journey was literally across the veldt. On arrival, the sailors were faced with a piece of land and a waters edge. There were no facilities whatsoever.

The autumn rains were good that year and the waters soon reached flood level.

In August 1924 it is recorded that a site, near the Hotel, had been offered to the Yacht Club by the Department of Irrigation. Construction of the first building commenced in 1925. The first. structure was erected by a contractor but later additions were carried out by club members. A concrete slipway was also built by members and extends to the bottom of the dam.

Like prices, everything is "Subject to Change". Transvaal Yacht Club has experienced 75 years of change in South Africa. From the original humble club house has risen the modem structures which we see today. Looking at "Older" clubs we see that TYC, when compared to Point Yacht Club in Durban is a youngster of 76 years compared to PYC, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1992.

Improvements to the TYC facilities have been an ongoing and regular feature of Club activities over the years. From the construction of the first Club House in 1924, at a cost of £92, we can trace each major extension. Only in 1949 were change rooms added. Further improvements in 1958 included a car park and caretaker's flat.

It was 1927 before TYC was to make a mark in sailing circles. We find that Messrs. Flitton, (Skipper) Richardson, Youatt and Redpath crewed on Unit at Victoria Lake Club in Germiston to contest the Tvl Interclub Trophy. They were victorious on this their very first outing and returned with the trophy. This achievement was recognize by the Club which treated the champions to a complementary dinner. We only imagine what a riotous assembly this must. have been!

Many members whose sailing careers began at TYC went on to greater things. For example. In 1947, A W Flitton sailed his 92ft yacht "Cariad" around the world. He repeated this feat in the 1950's. Our members continued to sail the oceans of the world, whether in the first major International Yacht race, the 1971 Cape to Rio, or our local events such as the Vasco Da Gama. (250Nm from Durban to East London). In this context, mention must be made of well known member Reinhold Antweiler who has made his 54ft Sovereign Class yacht "Golden Sovereign" available to many members to participate in ocean racing. His crew is generally composed largely of TYC members plus some Durban locals.

The history of our Club also reflects sociological trends through the twentiethcentury. An abiding image from early films reflects the activities of the suffragette movement. Women taking to the streets in protest against their restricted role in society in general and politics in particular. It is already 1925 at TYC and we read of discussions considering the possibility of admitting ladies to the Club. At the time this idea was rejected as 'Premature"!

It was to be almost another quarter century before the rigid elements within the "Old Guard" were prevailed upon to countenance the admission to TYC membership of "ladies". It was 1947 and the sterling services of women in the recently ended World War II must have played a role in this major change of policy. One of the very first women to join was Carmen Stauch who went on to achieve considerable distinction as a sailor and also to hold high office at TYC. You will see her picture in the Clubhouse among the ex Presidents of TYC.

In 1948 A W Flitton became President of the S A Yacht Racing Association, the first TYC member to hold this post.

Can you image flying boats landing on our dam? Well, in 1947, not only did these enormous Empire Class flying boats land at Hartbeespoort on a scheduled stop, but TYC were the custodians of the mooring for these impressive aircraft. It seems that all overseas flights departed from Hartbeespoort Dam. What a sight these wonderful machines must have been as they ploughed their way across the water, slowly gathering way and then, with four great engines roaring, lifted onto the "Step", increased speed, and trailing streams of water, hauled themselves ponderously into the air.

The Bilharzia scare has haunted Hartbeespoort from the beginning and it was also in 1947 that a "Bilharzia Committee" was formed. Records of their investigations reflect the fact that no trace of the snail causing this unpleasant illness could be found.

Even in those days TYC sailors participated regularly in coastal events and it seems that it was more convenient to send boats to the coast by rail than to brave the relatively primitive roads of that time. The cost of railing a 20 footer from Hartbeespoort to Knysna was £10.00. This was a considerable sum in those days and there is no record of how long it took.

1950 and TYC is host to the first National Championships to be held at Hartbeespoort. Harties came in for it's usual criticism from the coastal sailors for poor Beaufort numbers but Hellmut Stauch chalked up another triumph for himself and TYC by winning not only the Sharpie Class but also the 20 footer class and the Goodrieke Dinghy Class. Not content with this he also took the top spot in 16 foot unrestricted and secured the South African Interclub Sharpie trophy.

If you think that the weather has changed consider this. One of the races was abandoned after 2-1/2 hours. Not one boat in the entire fleet, having started just below the Clubhouse, had yet made it to Number One mark in the Poort!

The last 25 years has seen dramatic improvements in the facilities at Transvaal Yacht Club. The years have also produced a proud record of sailing achievement. Certainly among the foremost of these must be the successful bid for the Lipton Cup in 1984. The team was managed by Bert Winkler and the yacht "Galactica", an L26, was skippered by Ewald Sternagel. The crew consisted of Peter Hishin, Daryl York, Charlie Wallendorf and Ronnie Gurnel.

It is difficult to imagine now, but due to perpetual low waters in the early fifties, it was seriously contemplated that the club be moved to Rietvlei in Pretoria. (Pretoria Sailing Club, now a most active and well respected club, was established at Rietvlei in the early sixties) Fortunately this drastic step was not taken and in 1970 the dam wall was raised by eight feet. This relatively modest increase actually doubled the dam's full capacity. At about this time the authorities also decided that the water would be used only for the Brits Town’s industrial requirements and not for agriculture. More recently, the plant at Pelindaba used water from the Crocodile River for cooling purposes and this caused the dam level to drop quite seriously for several years. This usage has now ceased.

And so TYC has grown from strength to strength. Dinghies are, regretfully, now a rarity but keel boat activity continues apace. TYC sailors continue to feature in events all over the country and do so with considerable honor.

Improvements in Club facilities are ongoing and will continue into the future.

Transvaal Yacht Club has a proud and eventful history of sailing, comraderie, and achievement and, in contemplating the years to come we are sure that, as the years unfold, this worthy record will be maintained.