Race Report - Saturday 12 April 2025

All photos by Andrew Cox

Autumn Point Score Races 13 and 14

What a glorious day! You can't beat that balmy mid-Autumn sunshine. And there is no better place to enjoy it than DBSC. 50 sailors evidently agreed with this, lining up for some patient slo-mo racing in a fickle ~10kt breeze. 

With a morning southerly predicted to migrate to an afternoon easterly, the race set-up decision was left until as late as possible. The wind clocked decidedly left at about 1.30, so the course was set up in the Rose Bay channel and the first start sequence got underway at 2pm. But during the start sequence, the wind shifted decidedly back to the south, producing enormous boat bias and an entire fleet stranded over the line, requiring rescue by the AP. 

The shift seemed somewhat persistent, so the top mark and start line were rotated right as quickly as possible for the restart. Of course, the breeze shifted back to the left during the next sequence, but racing proceeded and, despite initial soldier's-work fears, ending up producing an acceptable first beat. The breeze then dropped somewhat as the first race progressed, leading to a shortened course with the finish at the final top mark. 

Meanwhile, the breeze finished its rotation to the east, albeit still flicking back and forth through the obligatory 30-degree angle. So, the course was reset much further round to the left and shortened, and the second race proceeded uneventfully. 

Congratulations to handicap-winners, Brendan Pollard in both ILCA 6 races, and Tim Heath and Jason Wilkins in the ILCA 7 races. These races marked the end of the Autumn Point Score, with the series winners being Jim Dounis (beating David Airey by a few points to take the Spring / Autumn double) and Stephen Reid (with a successful first season at the club, beating Tim Heath for the crown). Well done to all sailors for another well-sailed and competitive season. 

A big thanks to the COTD team of Rob Blum and Charlie Cameron for their excellent teamwork, good-cheer, and best-in-class efficiency throughout a hard afternoon of more-than-usual mark-laying work. And to Pat Levy for his excellent advice and camaraderie on the start boat. Special thanks to Ian Tudball, who yet again very generously lent his boat as the start boat while the Jazzman was out having some mechanical ailments sorted out.

And thanks to Paul Adam, Shirley Roach, Clare Alexander, and Kirk Marcolina for yet another round of great catering.

-Andrew Cox, PRO

Easter Saturday: Race Around the Harbour 2025

This weekend is the DBSC Easter Saturday Race Around the Harbour. It’s a great event and there may be some chocolates floating around on the day.

The intention is to run a handicap start (pursuit race) in a single combined fleet. Individual’s start times are based on your club handicap. These will be provided by the Race Team, so please ensure you make note of your individual start time PRIOR to leaving the beach.

The proposed course is as shown here, but this could change on the day, depending on wind direction and strength. Further details will be provided at the briefing on Saturday.

ANNUAL GENERAL PARTY Friday 23 May 2024

Who needs an AGM when you can have an AGP?

That’s right, our Annual General Party and Prizegiving has been scheduled for Friday 23 May. Sure, there will be some necessary formalities (AGM) at the start of the evening, but they’ll be over in no time, and the bulk of the night will be all about having fun. So bring along your partners (or parents) for dinner followed by singing and dancing. All Members will receive an official invite next week, so look out for it in your email, and please RSVP!

VOLUNTEERS: If you can help, with Setup (Friday 23 May 5pm-7pm) or Cleanup (Saturday 24 May 8am-9am) please email marketing@dbsc.com.au

Report from the Victoria Youth Championships

One of our members, Harper Spacey, travelled down to the Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club in Victoria last weekend for the Vic Youth Champs.  She did extremely well: third overall and first female. She sends the following report:

The 2025 Zhik Victorian Youth Championships was a great regatta. The varying winds and strong tide in Sorrento created a challenging environment to sail in, making the racing very tight and competitive. Over four days, we participated in a coaching camp, competed in a two day regatta and heard from Olympian Jim Colley who told us his story of learning to sail as a child to competing in the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

In the ILCA 4, there was a strong fleet of 27 boats who were all very welcoming and friendly. It was great to compete against a fleet I’d never raced with before. The first day of racing was frustrating as the dying wind made racing hard. On the second day however, the wind was stronger, and we managed to get four races in. It was a new experience for me to sail in waves and strong tide, but I had a great regatta overall, ending strong by winning the last race. I came third overall and first girl.

Full results are here.

Your 2025 Victoria Youth Championships podium

WHAT'S GOING ON

Annual Membership Subscription Invoices have been sent out for 2025-26

Each year in April invoices are sent out to all members, which are due for the next DBSC Sailing Year which begins on 1 May 2025. Please pay your subs on time, many of the clubs expenses like insurance, club repairs, and servicing of support RIBs are incurred over the winter period. If you have not received your invoice, please look in your Junk Mail folder for an email from Double Bay Sailing Club <no-reply@revolutionise.com.au>
If you have any questions about your invoice, need help, or still can’t find it please contact secretary@dbsc.com.au

(Note: the online “Pin payment” via credit card in RevSport attracts a significant service charge. It is cheaper to do a Direct Bank Transfer to the DBSC account shown on the invoice)

Club Look-ahead Schedule

• Saturday 19 April (Easter long weekend): DBSC’s annual Race-Around-the-Harbour (2pm warning)

• Saturday 26 April (ANZAC Day weekend): Sprints (2pm warning)

Other Dates to Keep in Mind

• Saturday 3 May: No racing

• Sunday 4 May: Work-on-your-boat day

  • Materials and tools will be available to help you spruce-up your boat

  • Please let Maxim know if you’re intending to join

• Sunday 4 May: DBSC Reach Youth Training Term 2 (for those who have signed up) 7:35am Rigged and ready

• Sunday 11 May: Racing switches to SUNDAY MORNINGS for the Winter Championship and Point Score series:

  • 7:30am Race Briefing, 8:15am First Warning

• Friday evening 23 May: DBSC Annual General Party and AGM — save the date -- this is not-to-be-missed. More details to come.

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Thank you to the members who are sending through information for the newsletter. If you have content for the newsletter, please email it to newsletter@dbsc.com.au by Monday evening.

View all racing results here.
The club’s calendar can be viewed and subscribed to here.
Make a tax deductible donation to DBSC here.

Race Report - Saturday 5 April 2025

All photos by Pia Hattersley and Karen Merchant

Club Championships Races 13 and 14 / Autumn Point Score Races 11 and 12

What a stunner, gotta love where we get to play every week...  

To steal from that classic "The Gods Must be Crazy", this week the wind gods were in a league of their own. We had all manner of wind directions before the race and course-setting was basically a lottery. The first course in Rose Bay was nuts, the wind was working its way from WSW to WNW... right soooo... back to Double Bay.  And then it all died... no wind, no idea. 

Being on the Paul Adam is usually a relaxing way to spend an afternoon enjoying our beautiful harbour.  Not so much this week as that crew worked their butts off. All the marks had to be moved over and over until we finally got something from the SSE. Huge call out to Peter, Pia, Karen and Campbell's friend who won't have to gym until next month. Everyone's patience was finally rewarded with the arrival of a 10 to 14-kt breeze, and we were off.

First Race:

Both fleets started well, close racing with Healy Ryan leading the Radials at the end, being chased by Sarah Bruce. Some stellar performances from the senior sailors Peter Heywood and Martin White.  

In the Standards, Campbell Patton put on a show for the first half of the race, the pack trying hard to hunt him down and they looked like they had a chance, but not quite. The reaches looked like so much fun.  

Second Race:

In the Radials Healy put on a master class.  At the end he was so far ahead we didn't include him in the finishing video.  Very impressive.

Campbell continued to dominate in the Standards.  Both well-deserved race and series winners.  Nice going guys.

The two Mike's (Dunne and Morris) on the Jazzman enjoyed the madness, plus we had some really cool visitors, all Campbell supporters. Don't think anyone got bored and all have stories to tell.

Then there was beer…

-Michael Dunne, PRO

2025 DBSC Annual Adventure Picnic

On Sunday, the club held its annual adventure day picnic. A picture-perfect day (after our rain-check the previous week), Lasers departed DBSC shortly after noon, chaperoned by our new Paul Adam RIB to meet friends and family at Chowder Bay in Clifton Gardens, enjoying a magnificent picnic catered by Tory and Teddy under the DBSC cabana.

Swimming, lunching, eating ice-creams, playing on the beach, water-pistols and sandcastles all afternoon until sailors set off for the leisurely reach/return to Double Bay. Thankyou Tory for organising us and putting on a great spread.

Kellie Sloane Visits DBSC - New Rescue Boat "Paul Adam" Ribbon Cutting

On Saturday 5 April 2025 the NSW Member for Vaucluse Kellie Sloane visited DBSC to meet the members and officially christen the rescue boat the new “Paul Adam” which was purchased by the club and delivered in September 2024. The new RIB is a Gemini X Waverider 650 with Yamaha F115hp outboard supplied by Sam Newton at All Marine.

The new “Paul Adam” was funded in Partnership with the 18 Footers League, who contributed 50% of the funds, with both clubs using the RIB to support our racing programs. Our thanks and gratitude was well received by Warren Sare (CEO) and Simon Nearn (Commodore) on behalf the board of the 18 Footers League - The close relationship between the clubs ensures the ongoing success of both clubs.

We would also like to thank the long list of DBSC Members who contributed to the RIB Fundraiser Project, some of whom contributed significant amounts. (in alphabetical order): Andrew Cox, Anna & Tucker McKeon, Ben & Charlie Byford, Brendan Pollard, Christine & Campbell Patton, Conor Roche, David Huber, David Murphy, David Newman, Diana Chen, Geoff Boscoe, John Quain, John Sweeny, Kirk and Rob Marcolina, Luke Parker, Mark Crowhurst, Martin White, Maxim Djura, Michael Morris, Nick Pellow, Peter D'Arcy-King, Quinn Pierson, Rob Blum, Rob, Val & Sara Bruce, Rod Barnes, Scott Hunter, Simon Stone, Steven London, Tim Heath, Tory Epworth, Wade McDonough.

We would also like to thank the NSW Government whose Grant Funding was crucial in enabling the club to proceed with the purchase. We were joined by Kellie Sloane representing the NSW Government as Member of Parliament for Vaucluse. On behalf of the club the Commodore Steven London acknowledged the strong support from the NSW Government, and for their continued support of our club over many years.

The grants that are made available to us especially from Government are extremely important to a community-based volunteer club like ours. They enable us to provide a safe recreational environment for diverse members of the community, so they can get out and enjoy the harbour and enjoy sailing as a sport. And the surge in membership participation this year is a testament to that -- our 86 boat storage locations at the club are all full, and we often have 50 Lasers out racing each week during Spring, Summer and Autumn, and 30-40 in our Winter racing program - totaling 46 weekend race or activity days each year.

- The Commodore

Official Ramps Opening Ribbon Cutting

Last Saturday 5 April 2025 was the official opening of the two new boat ramps on the foreshore of Steyne Park, Double Bay. The event was hosted by Rodney Barnes, Vice Commodore at Double Bay Sailing Club, and welcomed guests:
Kelly Sloane (NSW Member for Vaucluse) 
Mary-Lou Jarvis (representing WMC)
Dimitri Mitsidis (representing TfNSW)
Warren Sare (CEO) and Simon Nearn (Commodore) of the 18 Footers League

Many will recall the dilapidated state of the old ramps before work commenced in June 2024, with the western ramp being so much of a hazard that it was not in use. The new ramps project was completed in October 2024, five years after its inception by a dedicated team of volunteers from DBSC which included fearless leaders, lawyers, architects, engineers, project managers, quantity surveyors, and construction managers; and involved grant applications, development applications and many contractual and deed negotiations.

Rod recalled some of the history of the project, where in 2019 the ambitious Commodore at the time Andrew Cox and Vice-Commodore Mark Crowhurst thought it was time to do something about the state of the old ramps. They saw an opportunity for funding and applied for a grant with the intention for DBSC to manage the project. It was Round 3 of the NSW Government’s Boating Now Program, who provided grant funding for maritime infrastructure and facilities needed across NSW for safe, accessible and enjoyable recreational and commercial boating.

By late July 2020 we received notification the grant application was successful. To make the project viable, additional funding was provided from Woollahra Council, the 18 Footers League and DBSC. The team of Emily Ball, John Chesterman and Andrew Simpson (all sailors from DBSC) got together and appointed various consultants and engineers to get the DA submitted and approved by late 2021. Then a project delivery model and legalities had to be sorted out. 

In 2022 Rodney Barnes became project manager, and between early 2022 to March 2024, Andrew Cox and Michael Osbourne negotiated with council and TfNSW to finalise various deeds and licenses. We would especially like to thank Michael who continued to provide many hours of detailed support and legal skills, even after he had stopped sailing.

During the same period, quotes were received but came back over budget, as inflation increased costs, and additional funding was sought and approved by TfNSW. The preferred builder was selected: Pat Collins from IPM Group. During negotiations with Council to sort out the deeds, I think we told Pat on at least 10 occasions that the start of construction was imminent. Construction finally commenced June 2024 and was completed in October 2024. Thank you to Pat for sticking with us through this drawn-out period. The ramps were difficult for Pat to build because of a tidal anomaly last year, where the low tides we not low enough very often, and so it was a constant battle against the incoming tide and waves during the concrete pours.

After the initial variations were approved, the project was bang on budget, and with countless hours of the volunteer spirit which embodies all that we do at Double Bay Sailing Club this community project was brought to completion.

From DBSC Thank you:
Andrew Cox (former Commodore and project lead),  
Mark Crowhurst (former Vice Commodore and grants expert),  
Emily Ball (project manager),  
Justin Davey (treasury coordination),  
John Chesterman (concept architect),  
Andrew Simpson (structural engineering review)  
Geoff Kirk (construction input),  
Michael Osborne (legal guru),  
Yves Stenning (grants input),  
Steven London (current Commodore and partner liaison). 

Thank you to our friends at NSW Government, Transport for NSW, Woollahra Municipal Council, The 18 Footers League & Members of DBSC who have contributed funds and resourcing for the project and without their generosity, the project would not be possible. 

From Woollahra Council Thank you:
Anthony Sheedy and Yasas De Silva 

From Transport for NSW Thank you:
Dimitri Mitsidis and Gareth Doran 

From the 18 Footers League Thank you:
Warren Sare (CEO) and Simon Nearn (Commodore)

WHAT'S GOING ON

Annual Membership Subscription Invoices have been sent out for 2025-26

Each year in April invoices are sent out to all members, which are due for the next DBSC Sailing Year which begins on 1 May 2025. Please pay your subs on time, many of the clubs expenses like insurance, club repairs, and servicing of support RIBs are incurred over the winter period. If you have not received your invoice, please look in your Junk Mail folder for an email from Double Bay Sailing Club <no-reply@revolutionise.com.au>
If you have any questions about your invoice, need help, or still can’t find it please contact secretary@dbsc.com.au

(Note: the online “Pin payment” via credit card in RevSport attracts a significant service charge. It is cheaper to do a Direct Bank Transfer to the DBSC account shown on the invoice)

Club Look-ahead Schedule

• Saturday 12 April:

  • Learn-to-Race (9am-12pm)

  • Autumn Point Score Races 13 & 14 (2pm warning)

• Saturday 19 April (Easter long weekend): DBSC’s annual Race-Around-the-Harbour (2pm warning)

• Saturday 26 April (ANZAC Day weekend): Sprints (2pm warning)

Other Dates to Keep in Mind

• Saturday 3 May: No racing

• Sunday 4 May: Work-on-your-boat day organised by Maxim Djura (see last week’s newsletter)

• Sunday 11 May: Racing switches to SUNDAY MORNINGS for the Winter Championship and Point Score series: 7:30am Race Briefing, 8:15am First Warning

• Friday evening 23-May: Annual General Party and AGM - save the date - more details to come

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Thank you to the members who are sending through information for the newsletter. If you have content for the newsletter, please email it to newsletter@dbsc.com.au by Monday evening.

View all racing results here.
The club’s calendar can be viewed and subscribed to here.
Make a tax deductible donation to DBSC here.