RACE REPORT - SUNDAY 28 JULY 2024

July 31, 2024Chris Tattersall

Winter Championship & Point Score series - Races 22, 23 & 24

The final three races of the Winter series were scheduled for Sunday July 28th, and the race committee launched at dawn to lay a course in surprisingly pleasant conditions: 12 to 15 knots from the West/South West left just enough room between Clark Island and the shipping channel to lay a suitably square course before heading back ashore to find about 25 to 30 laser sailors arriving to finish off the winter campaign. A quick briefing was held at the western launching ramp where club members could see first hand the progress on Rod's project - a massive improvement when all is done and dusted in the coming months. The briefing was just that; incredibly brief as the PRO was desperate to get back on course and get in three quick races before the forecast strong wind materialised later in the day.

When we arrived back on course at 07:45, we found that the forecasted strong winds had indeed arrived, and much earlier than expected. Pressure began to ramp up range gradually, and by 08:15 half of the fleet had yet to make it out of Double Bay, and half of those that had made it to the course were upside down. The AP flag was duly raised to give the Race Officers time to assess the situation, at which point the Jazzman started slipping downwind on its anchor, and competitors started getting blown into both Rosebay and off towards Nelson Point on the other side of Shark Island. So, the Abandonment flag quickly went up and competitors were waved ashore, which was a timely decision as at this point we threatened to lose all control - the response boats were getting overstretched and we struggled to keep count of the number of capsizes.

Fortunately, Double Bay Sailing Club has a long and proud history of managing extraordinary weather events with brave diligence. The committee and volunteers ensure we know to evacuate the course when needed and we had everything ready to go. No plan is complete without great execution of course, and it's at this point that several members simply went about doing the right things at the right time, and in the best traditions of DBSC. There're too many people to thank, but the PRO would like to single out the following members for gratitude:

John Vasey whose decades of experience on all things DBSC came in handier than ever in wild conditions
Andrew Cox for staying out on the water while everyone else scrambled for shore and providing a reassuring presence.
Rob Blum for picking up another sailor who had become separated from his boat
Yves Stenning, Geoff Boscoe and Rod Barnes for returning to the course to sail home a few stranded lasers
Josh, our youth coach, who was good enough to launch the spare RIB and get out to assist when our rescue response got stretched
Paul Adam - always the voice of calm on the other end of the radio when it is needed the most.
And last, but not least, Max and Michelle Power for their work on the response rib. Definitely one of the busier weeks to be rostered on for response, but your ability to stay calm and collected in tough conditions was reassuring to all.

Thanks again to the above and anyone who I missed - your work last Sunday is a great example of everything that is special about our club.

- Alistair Sutherland, PRO

Winter Championships Series FINAL Results

ILCA 6:

Andrew Cox (39.6)
Ian Alexander (42.6)
David Airey (47)

ILCA 7:

Nick Pellow (41.4)
Patrick Black (45.3)
Grant Lovelady (48.2)

ILCA 4:

Charlotte Jenkins (18)
Raphael McLachlan (21)
Elouise Morgan (51)

Winter Point Score Series Final Results