Since 1969
Our Story
Founded the year Lake Ray Hubbard was born, Rush Creek Yacht Club has grown with the lake for over half a century.
1969
Year Founded
Lake impounded: 1968
Dam completed: 1969
RCYC founded: 1969
Lake at capacity: 1970
The Beginning
Before the Water Reached the Shore
In the mid-1960s, the City of Dallas began construction on the Rockwall-Forney Dam, impounding the East Fork of the Trinity River to create a new reservoir fifteen miles east of downtown. The lake, eventually named for Ray Hubbard, a Dallas Parks board member who championed the project, began filling in 1968.
A group of North Texas sailors saw what was coming. Before Lake Ray Hubbard had even reached its design capacity, they planted a flag on Rush Creek, the small tributary that would give the club its name, and founded Rush Creek Yacht Club in 1969. The Rockwall-Forney Dam was completed that same year. The club and the lake grew up together.
That founding impulse, to build something great before anyone else realized what was possible, has defined Rush Creek ever since.
The Club Grows
A Legacy of Champions
From the beginning, Rush Creek attracted serious sailors. Over the decades the club has produced Olympic medalists, national champions, and world-class race management professionals. The racing program grew from informal weekday series into one of the most respected inland racing programs in the country, hosting 15+ open regattas a year and drawing competitors from across the Southwest.
The clubhouse expanded as the membership grew. Eleven acres on the lake's eastern shore became home to a full-service restaurant and bar, a swimming pool, two hoists, 82 wet slips, and the 4,500-foot deck overlooking the racing venue. The "best sunset in Texas" became the club's unofficial motto.
The Next Generation
Teaching Sailors Since Day One
Developing the next generation of sailors has been part of Rush Creek's DNA from the start. Today the youth sailing program is one of the only year-round programs in the Dallas area, serving sailors from age 4 through 17, with a US Sailing certified coach on staff and a nationally competitive race team that competes on the Texas Sailing Association circuit and beyond.
The same children who learned to tack in a Sunfish have gone on to helm boats at national championships, coach at Olympic trials, and bring their own children back to the same docks. That cycle, of mentorship and discovery on the water, is the truest expression of what RCYC was founded to do.
Timeline
1968
Lake Ray Hubbard begins filling
1969
Rush Creek Yacht Club founded; dam completed
1970
Lake reaches design capacity of 22,745 acres
2025
Melges 15 fleet officially recognized, newest class
2026
Rush Creek launches member marketing initiative to grow the club