The Week Ahead

Wednesday 6 December, 5pm – Twilight Sailing. Remember a rack reshuffle is coming and Twilight participation matters. Sign up here if you’re coming.

Wednesday 6 December, 8pm – Brett Beyer Lecture Series. The topic is “The Start and First Beat”.  DBSC members, $21, others $31 (includes pizza). Book here.

Saturday 9 December, 2pm Start – Spring Point Score Heats 13 & 14. Only four more heats left for the Spring Competition! 

Volunteer Duties

This is the first year we have asked members to volunteer in the Canteen. Thanks to everyone who has helped thus far – the toasties have been scrumptious. The Canteen Crew appreciates all of the help and has asked if the member on canteen duty can also assist with clean up and wash up at the end of the day. This will ease the burden on our regular Canteen crew and will be a huge help.  

Also, it has been noted that in recent months the COTD/CoCOTD have not been sticking around after sailing to help pack up the club (think awnings, hoses, dollies, tables, chairs etc). This is part of the duties of the COTD/CoCOTD and has been overlooked recently. So, if you’re on duty, please make sure you schedule your afternoon so you can help with these end-of-day tasks.  

Lastly, it is important that you make Mark Crowhurst or Dene Bergman aware of any gear which is missing/broken/faulty. As we saw on the weekend, is it critical that safety equipment is fully operational because when it is needed, it is needed! This applies to all members, at all times of the year. You do not have to be rostered on to find faulty gear. Safety is always our top priority so do not be afraid to suggest upgrades, improvements or changes which you feel may make the club a safer place.

Thanks to everyone for your understanding and assistance.  

Get off the Water + Party

This week you should have received a Paperless Post Invite to our New Members Member’s Cocktail Party and Christmas Dinner. The festivities are set for Saturday 16 December. The Cocktail Party will be from 6 to 7:30, followed by our traditional festive dinner from 7:30. Come to one or come to both. All members, partners and families welcome. There is no charge for the event, but please RSVP via Paperless Post by 10 December. If you did not receive the invite please email us at social@dbsc.com.au with your RSVP and state which of the functions you will attended, how many people will come and any dietary requirements.

Big Boat Race Report

Written by Jonathan Stone

Summer has had a volatile start on the Harbour. Friday and Saturday were heavy wind days - gradient winds blowing hard. Stories abounded of collisions, damage, rescues, lucky escapes. No deaths, no injuries among the sailors, but swampings and sinkings and prangs among their boats. Yesterday a fierce, brief storm cell sought to wreak havoc on the Double Bay Laser fleet; but the sailors managed it well. The race was immediately cancelled, the sailors coped with winds reaching 35-40 knots; and all were able to right their boats and sail home. The Club’s response boats were then free to rescue sailors from other fleets.

Today, by contrast, a north-easterly sea breeze of 10 - 20 knots, under blue skies, gave us ideal conditions. John and Amelia were there in the Paul Adam, to give us a timed start

Six boats presented for the start, and we all needed to do what has to be done for a good start - timing, location along the line, acceleration and a clear plan for the first leg. Mind you, the wind dictated the plan; our start line is fixed and in a north-easterly we start on port tack as near the port end of the line as one can, without falling into the lee of Clarke Island.

 Corinna got the best of it, at the pin end of the line, then T&T, a few seconds late, then the bigger boats. Double Bay was clear as we all worked across before taking a starboard dig into the Harbour, to clear Point Piper. Everyone had a chance, if you could point high and sail fast, and on T&T we watched nervously for the larger boats to gather their speed. Chenonceau powered into third, then G-Force, Smitten and Lonny (our newcomer, a Spacesailer 24 - welcome!).

In the event, Corinna cleared the Point Piper mark in the lead, with T&T maybe 30 seconds back. The first three legs were all close works, and the second of the three, to Taylors Bay. was hard work, as the wind built towards 20 knots. T&T fought for the height and speed needed to get past Corinna. At times we made ground against her but small errors - any slowness to pick a lift, less than perfect mark rounding - and Corinna slipped away. Still, after three upwind legs, which together made a long, long work, and the two downwind legs, separated by the gybe at Shark Island, we were within 100m of Corinna. Chenonceau pressed her case throughout - to be a clear third, and within striking distance of second.

 So it was Corinna first, with T&T still waiting for an opportunity. The deck was sunny and cool as crews from the boats sat around for a cold drink. Being summer, the afternoon was long and the18s were racing, and came in - in gentle order - as we chatted.

 A lovely afternoon. Across the line:

 Corinna

Time & Tide

Chenonceau

G-Force

Smitten

Lonny

We race next on January 7 2018. Another year ……….

Thank you all for being part of big boat sailing in 2017.

Video of the Week

If you can't make Brett's downwind tactics work, there's always plan b:

Spring Point Score, Heats 11&12 Recap

A glorious Spring afternoon greeted the 37 sailors that turned up to compete in Heats 11 and 12 of the Spring Point Score. It was a moderate, shifty NE breeze that caused havoc if you got stuck on the wrong side of the course. The winners (after handicapping) were: Full Rigs: Matt Wenke (race 11), Richard Lees (race 12); Radials: Robert Young (race 11), Kirk Marcolina (race 12); 4.7s: Brooke Wilson (both races 11 and 12). Thanks to last week’s volunteers for putting on an awesome day of racing: PRO Andrew Simpson, assisted by Clare Alexander, COTD Mike Horton (assisted by his friend Paul), and Canteen Assistant Sara Brooks. Check out Brett Beyer’s video of the radial starts here, and the full rig starts here.  A special thanks to Ashley Deacon for capturing many great shots of the action on the harbour. You can check them all out on our members only Facebook page, The Top Mark, here.

A Big Fleet Hits the Harbour.

The Week Ahead

Wednesday, 29 November – Twilight Sailing, 5:15 Splash. Remember a rack reshuffle is coming, and Twilight Sailing is a big factor. So, join us tonight, and make sure you get credit for coming (and let others know you’ll be there) by signing up on the Doodle Poll here.

Saturday, 2 December – Club Championship, Heats 7 & 8. A big day of racing followed by a BBQ on the deck. Who could ask for anything better on the 2nd day of Summer!

Sunday, 3 December – Big Boat Race. A big fleet is predicted for a 2pm start. 

Don’t Forget – Two Great Upcoming Events

Wednesday, 6 December, 8pm. Brett Beyer is presenting the next instalment of his Lecture Series at 8pm on Wednesday, 6 December. The topic is “The Start and First Beat”.  DBSC members, $21, others $31 (includes pizza). Book here to avoid missing out. 

Saturday, 16 December, 7pm. Holiday party and New Members’ Welcome dinner. All club members and their families are welcome. Invite will be emailed to you soon.

DBSC Women & Girl Sailors Dominate at States

Last week, we gave you an overview of the State Championships. This week, we focus on our women sailors. 

At a time when women in sport is a major social and political focus, it was encouraging, but not sufficient, that 30% of the Radial and 4.7 sailors at the State Championships were women. 

Notably, it was women who featured at the top of both fleets, with the top 10% of the fleet comprising 50% women in the Radials and 75% women in the 4.7s. 59% of the 29 cubes in those fleets went to women (and 47% of those to women from Team DBSC)!

Of particular note was DBSC’s Marlena Berzins, member of the Australian Sailing Team, and 1st overall, 1st female and 1st U19 in the Radials.  

Just like the tussle we wrote about last week at the front of the Standard fleet, Marlena also had a close contest in her fleet, ending the first day equal with Jacinta Ainsworth. However, after dropping a 10 from the first day, and with an impressive 1, 1, 2, 2, 9 for the remainder, Marlena took the title by a comfortable 5 points in the end. 

Marlena was excited by the large fleet of women, stating, “It was amazing competing with so many strong female sailors.”

Also worthy of mention were DBSC’s Brooke Wilson and Mina Ferguson, who were 2nd and 3rd overall in the 4.7s, and 1st and 2nd U16 in that fleet. Well done to you all. 

Marlena is thrilled to see so many girls coming up in the 4.7s. She explains, “Now that there is such a strong support network, it’s much more comfortable for girls to move into a Laser. There is so much talent out there. Before sailing a Laser meant just sailing with the guys. Not anymore.”

But this is not where this topic ends. DBSC is committed to promoting women in sailing and women in our club. We are proposing next year to hold what will be billed as “the inaugural Women’s Laser Regatta hosted by Double Bay Sailing Club”. 

The plan is to promote the regatta throughout Australia, and we have strong support to do so from Australian Sailing and the Laser Association. 

Clare Alexander is leading the Regatta Committee, and we have some exciting plans. On the Saturday, participants will be offered a coaching session in the morning and will then be invited to sail in our normal racing program, before returning to the club for champagne and gourmet delights on the deck. On the Sunday, there will be a scrumptious breakfast before the regatta, which will comprise a series of sprint-style races, with sponsored prizes for the various race winners and the overall winners.

So, what about the men? Well, it’s our turn to give back. For the State Championships, most of the volunteers were women, but for the Women’s Laser Regatta, this will be reversed. And we will also be asking people not sailing that weekend to provide their boats to visiting women who need a vessel. 

This will be a first for Laser sailing, and we think that is a big deal. It’s very exciting, so watch this space. 

Simone Wood (QLD), Jacinta Ainsworth (WA), Clare Alexander, Marlena Berzins (NSW), Charlotte Stanfield, Ally Bryan.

Simone Wood, Jacinta Ainsworth, Marlena Berzins

Mina Ferguson and Brooke Wilson

Buddy System

One of the suggestions from the member survey was a buddy system to provide less experienced sailors with assistance upon request, for example in relation to boat rigging, rig setup, boat speed, and race course management. We are proposing to implement this initiative and are calling for volunteers to act as buddies, as well as interest from people who would like their help. Please email Richard George at rageorge.email@gmail.com if you are interested in participating in either side of this program — include the capacity in which you want to participate — “mentor” or “mentee”.