Important - Changes to DBSC Sailing and Activities

Last week new advice regarding community sport was published by the Chief Health Officer of NSW. The new recommendations aim to help NSW meet the goal of achieving no community transmission of COVID-19. 

One of these recommendations is that community sport organisations “cease activities that result in the mixing of participants and staff from different regions”.  Last Friday Australian Sailing, working under request from NSW Health, split Greater Sydney into 4 regions, and has stated that “clubs should be ceasing the participation of people who normally reside in different regions to where the club is based”. These new recommendations are anticipated to be in place until the end of September. 

DBSC has always aimed to follow all government recommendations and guidance to help stop the spread of COVID-19, and we will continue to do so. To that end there are several changes, cancellations and postponements that we are announcing today:

• The start of our official sailing season is postponed until these recommendations are eased such that all members can participate

• Sprint racing will continue every Saturday until we are able to begin our official sailing season

• Only those members who reside in the same region as DBSC will be permitted to sail in the sprints (see more information below)

• Sprints will have a 12:30pm Radial Splash and a 1pm Standard Splash and continue to follow our COVIDSafe plan which you can view HERE

• The Working Bee scheduled for Saturday is postponed to later in the year

• BBSP is cancelled; an alternative Brett Beyer program is being considered for sprint racing – details to come

• The canteen remains closed

Because of the requirement that people from different regions not mix while participating in community sport, only people who live in the in DBSC’s region will be permitted to sail in our organised Saturday sprints. DBSC’s region includes most of the Eastern Suburbs, the CBD, and some of the Inner West. The area is roughly bounded by South Head on the north east, South Coogee on the south east, Enmore on the south west and the ANZAC Bridge on the north west. (See ‘Zone B’ on the map below.)

If you live outside this area, you are not permitted to come to the club from noon to 4pm on Saturdays, while organised sailing is taking place. People from outside the DBSC area are free to sail at other times, but should at all times avoid mixing with members from different zones. 

Members’ rack allocation will not be impacted if they choose to take their boats from the clubhouse and store them elsewhere during this period. Equitable treatment of member subscriptions will be monitored in the event the restrictions continue beyond current expectations. 

We understand that these changes, postponements and cancellations are disappointing and difficult, but this is one way we as a club can do our part to help stop community transmission of COVID-19. Thanks for your understanding and support as we implement these new measures.