Fleet Branding

As we continue to develop our brand presence, we are asking all members to add a small DBSC burgee sticker to their boat transoms. The stickers have kindly been produced for us at no cost by Chris at Boat Names Australia. If you have not already received a sticker last weekend, can you please see Andrew Cox next time you are at the club, and he will give you one. For those whose boats are kept elsewhere, we will work out how to get you one. And if you want a boat name made, we highly recommend Chris’s service — several members have already used him for their names and he is excellent!  Use the code “PASSITON” for a 10% discount. 

Welcome Dave Rogers

The newest member to join the club is Dave Rogers. Originally from the UK, Dave moved to Sydney 15 years ago. He grew up sailing dinghies and then moved onto skiffs, and sailed 16s and 18s on the Harbour for many years, with the occasional yacht race thrown in. The highlight of his sailing career so far is taking a year off and sailing through Europe, the Caribbean and South Pacific. Please welcome Dave when you see him around the club.

National Masters

We are ramping up planning for the National Masters Championship at Mooloolobah from 9-12 February.  Pat Levy and Ian Alexander are coordinating logistics. Pat will be putting a “sign up” form on the notice board this weekend, so if you are planning to attend, please add your name, your requirements and details of any spare transport capacity to that form. This will be a very fun weekend, with hopefully a big contingent from our club!

Lost Property

There is a bunch of gear that seems to have been misplaced in the club. Can you all please check the gear on your boats and in your rack slots and let someone on the management committee know if there is anything that is not yours. Yves Stening has lost his vang, Dave Rogers (Fergus Pitt’s old boat) has lost two sails in bags and some battens (one sail is numbered 192579), and James Tudball (Rod Barnes’ old boat) has lost an aluminium mast top section. Thanks for your help reuniting the lost property with its owners. 

Members Win Accolades

Two of DBSC’s Lifetime Members have recently been recognised for their important contributions in the community.

On November 13th, Paul Adam was presented with the prestigious Australian Natural History Medallion. The Medallion is awarded each year to the person judged to have made the most meritorious contribution to the understanding of Australian Natural History. Paul was awarded for his contribution to conservation, natural history and education.

Also recently, Dene Bergman received a citation under the NSW Maritime Medal program in the category of marine safety. He was recognised for his capacity as a volunteer officer at DBSC and as a volunteer radio operator at Marine Radio NSW (Terrey Hills unit).

Well done Paul and Dene!

Paul with his Medallion 

Dene Congratulated by Commodore Cox

Video of the Week

As a reward for making to the end of the newsletter, we’re starting a new video series, curated by Simon Stone. The videos will be unique, funny and entertaining takes on how to sail a Laser.  Here’s the first one – why not combine surfing and Laser sailing?

State Championships – Big Fleet Races

DBSC hosted the NSW & ACT State Open and Masters Championships last weekend, with 130+ boats attending from all over Sydney, NSW, Australia and overseas, including members of the Australian women’s and men’s sailing teams.

The Competitors Gather for Pre-Race Briefing.

The event was a huge success, with over 40 volunteers contributing on the weekend, and many more in the lead up.  Thank you to you all for making this event possible!  The event contributed ~$1,000 to our canteen and $600 to Double Bay Primary School, which they are going to use to fund a new drinking fountain for the kids!

Our PRO, Col Chidgey, had to pull out at the last minute due to a sudden medical emergency that saw his wife, Kay, in surgery over the weekend.  Kay is now in a stable condition, and our thoughts are with them both.  Adam South was very generous in stepping in at short notice, and did an outstanding job, proving that it is possible, with deft placement of marks, to run trapezoid courses on Sydney Harbour.  Thank you, Adam.

The weather was kind to us, with a welcome break from the recent string of southerlies.  On Saturday, we had a NE gradient breeze of ~17-21kts and, on Sunday, we had a 9-14kt easterly.  With the breeze shifting to the right both days, it was the port tacks that made the difference.

Competition was intense throughout.  We raced in three fleets – standards, radials and 4.7s, with the opens and masters racing together.  And this is where it got exciting, with the old lion and the young lion facing off at the front of the standards.  Two of our world champions, Finn Alexander and Brett Beyer, went toe to toe on pretty much every leg, both having some outstanding beats, but it was ultimately a slight difference in boat speed that saw Finn take the championship.

And so the results.  DBSC featured strongly, taking 48% of the 40 winners’ “cubes” on offer, including 1st and 2nd in the standards, 1st and 3rd in the standard masters, 1st and 5th in the radials, 1st in the U19 radials, 1st in the U17 radials, 1st in the radial apprentice masters, 1st in the radial masters, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the 4.7s and 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the U16 4.7s.  Well done, team DBSC! You can check out all of the results here. 

Thank you to Kevin Phillips and the NSW & ACT Laser Association for choosing to hold the event at DBSC.  And thank you to all the volunteers from the Laser Association and other clubs who contributed to the event’s success.  You all did a great job as usual!

Below are some great shots of the weekend thanks to Ashley Deacon, Clare Alexander and others. Check out more of the photos and videos on DBSC’s Member’s only Facebook page, The Top Mark, here. 

The Week Ahead

With States done and dusted, DBSC makes a return to a more normal schedule this week:

Wednesday, 22 November – Twilight Sailing. Last week we had 15 boats sail on Wednesday in very windy conditions. Today’s wind forecast looks more forgiving, so sign up on the Doodle Poll here and join us for a 5:15pm splash!

Saturday, 25 November – Learn to Race. Learn to Race(LTR) is for prospective new members – a ‘try before you buy’ arrangement.  Additionally, it’s for mid fleet club members wanting to improve their Laser sailing. Meet at 9am at DBSC, on the water by 10.15am, return to club by 12.15pm approx. Come along if you want to learn more about Laser boat handling, balance, boat posture, trim, starts, tacks, gybes, boat set-up and any other race management fundamentals. Please let Martin White know if you plan on attending here.

Saturday, 25 November – Spring Point Score, Heats 11 & 12.  There are only three days of racing left for the Spring Pont Score. So, don’t miss the competition on the harbour this weekend.

Save the Date – December 16

The Festive Season is upon us… and planning is well underway for our Christmas party and new members’ welcome drinks to be held at 7.00pm on Saturday, 16 December.  All club members and their families are invited. There is no cost for this function, so put it in your diaries. An official invite will be coming your way shortly. 

Brett Beyer Lecture Series Continues

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”, something we all could use a bit of improvement on.

For DBSC members the cost is $21 for the lecture and pizza, with drinks available for cash at the usual prices.  Separate non-member tickets are available for $31.  Attendance is limited so book here to avoid missing out.