Watch Out - New Turf Going In

A quick reminder that the Council is currently resurfacing the lawn in our rigging area. During the next 7 weeks, we need to respect the works and give time for the new turf to establish itself. During the period, there will be a narrow access corridor available from the concrete semi-circle outside our roller door to the concrete semi-circle above the eastern boat ramp.  Boats must be rigged on either of the concrete semi-circles or on the beach, NOT on the lawn area.  When wheeling boats through the access corridor, please be mindful of minimising impact, particularly once the turf has been laid. Thanks for your help with this. 

Autumn Pointscore Wrap-up

We had a good turnout of 34 boats for our last Autumn Point Score races of the season.  It was a lovely autumn afternoon with a very shifty 9-14kt SE breeze, that moved further and further right as the afternoon progressed. 

Competition was close leading into the last two races, with Murray Stone 1.5 points ahead of Ian Alexander in the Standards and Daryl Lawrence 2.5 points ahead of Martin White in the Radials/4.7s.  This was made more exciting with a further impending drop.  And Daryl’s absence posed some risk for him.

In the Standards, Murray did everything he could to give Ian a chance, posting a 14th in the first race, but Ian obliged by posting a 16th.  And then Murray sailed a great second race, posting a 4th vs Ian’s 8th to secure a series win.

In the Radials / 4.7s, Daryl’s absence proved to be costly.  Martin had two great races, with significant separation on the rest of the fleet, resulting in a 3rd and a 5th vs Daryl’s 12th and 12th (DNC).  While Daryl got to drop one of those 12ths, it wasn’t enough.  In the end, both Martin and Julian van Aalst passed Daryl in the series, giving another series win to Martin.

Well done to Murray and Martin for their hard fought and successful results.

Thanks to Dennis Kuhlmann for running well-organised races, assisted by Clare Alexander.  And thanks to the COTD team of Josh Kirton, Yves Stening (and kids, Molly and Bill) and Gerard Cafe (who used to drive the RIBs regularly for the club some years ago) – welcome back Gerard.  Thanks also to Hadrien Bourely, who assisted Shirley Roach in the canteen, and thanks to Shirley for her hard work as the sole regular volunteer!

Upcoming Events

Saturday 28 April, 2pm – Final Heats of the Club Championship followed by an end of season BBQ.

Monday 30 April, 5pm – 2018/19 Fees Due. Only 53% of members have paid thus far. Could the other 47% of you please pay before Monday.  We are doing a rack allocation this week, and payment will be considered.  If you are having difficulties, please let the Commodore or the Treasurer know – we will make allowances.

Sunday 6 May, 8:30am start – Winter Series Commences (see more info below)

Sunday 13, May, 1pm start – Big boat racing (please note the new date)

Friday 25 May, 7pm – DBSC’s Annual General Meeting and end of season dinner at the clubhouse. Rumour has it that a couple of club members are putting together a band that will do a cover set at some point in the evening.  Bring your partners and get ready to sing along and dance.

Winter Championship

We have 28 people confirmed for racing (including two visitors from other clubs) and 12 confirmed for the Brett Beyer Winter Program.  We will be circulating a Try Booking link this week for the Brett Beyer Winter Program – could those participating please arrange payment of $300 via that link when received.  This should be a great series and we are hopeful of making it a permanent feature of our sailing calendar.  The sailing instructions are being revised to include the Winter Championship, as well as some other amendments – these will be posted shortly, so please watch out for them.  

Welcome New Members

We welcome five new members in March and April.  Kevin Gilroy, who is one of Pat Levy's mates, has been sailing with us now for a few weeks.  And we have four new joiners from Hunters Hill Sailing Club, comprising two father-son combinations of Richard and Morgan Au and Edwin and Finn Kirk.  Welcome to you all – thank you for joining our club.  Please introduce yourselves and make Kevin, Richard, Morgan, Edwin and Finn feel welcome.

Rack Reallocation

There will be a rack reallocation on Saturday.  This will reflect most significantly the amount of sailing and the amount of volunteering you have done this season, with a weighting towards the last six months.  We will make every effort to ensure all equipment moves with your boat, but we are unable to take responsibility for this.  We recommend all members attend the club to assist in the move and, if you are unable to be there, we recommend you label all your equipment clearly at some point during the week.

Lawn Resurfacing

The lawn in our rigging area (and the whole of the foreshore area of the park) will be completely resurfaced in the coming weeks, with irrigation also to be installed.  The works will commence on 29 April and will take 3 weeks to complete, with a further 4 weeks for the new turf to establish itself – 7 weeks in total.

This is an exciting development that will have a very positive impact on our amenity.  We need to curtail our access to the park during this period to allow the works to progress unimpeded and the new turf to take root. It is particularly important that we do not stress the new turf while it is establishing itself.

We have agreed with council and the contractor that, to the extent possible, there will be a narrow access corridor available from the concrete semi-circle outside our roller door to the concrete semi-circle above the eastern boat ramp.  Boats must be rigged on either of the concrete semi-circles or the beach, NOT on the lawn area.  When wheeling boats through the access corridor, please be mindful of minimising impact, particularly once the turf has been laid.

The corridor is likely to be moved from time to time to spread the impact.  For some periods, the corridor may be closed.  If that is the case, access to the water is possible via the eastern pathway that leads behind the boat racks to the Double Bay Wharf, and from there onto the beach to the east of the 18 Footers, where launch can occur.

We appreciate your assistance in respecting these requirements and ensuring we all get to enjoy a rejuvenated landscape going forward.

London Corinthian Sailing Club

Martine Clayson sails a laser at the London Corinthain Club and we had the pleasure to host her last weekend for both Learn to Race and the final Autumn Pointscore. Martine handled the tricky southerly conditions very well and met members during the post racing drinks. She elicited sympathy with tales of icey winter conditions on the Thames!

Martine has extended an invitation to Double Bay members to visit her club if in London. Dinghies have been raced on the River Thames at Hammersmith (West London) since 1894. The Corinthian Club sails every weekend all through the year, racing on the reach that extends for two-and-a-half miles between the bridges at Hammersmith and Barnes. The clubhouse, Linden House, is a beautiful 18th Century merchant's riverside house. The main classes sailed at the club are Lasers, Enterprises and RS Visions. More detail here. Martine can be contacted at martineclayson@me.com.

Martine also shared that as well as racing some of her fellow members sometimes sail up and down the river visiting the pubs along the way … she thought that might appeal to Double Bay members and I suspect that provides an indication of who she met at drinks last Saturday!

Wild Winds

A wild windy afternoon was more than a challenge for the 30 sailors who braved the tough conditions for Autumn Pointscore heats 13 and 14. The wind fluctuated wildly both in speed and direction going from 13 knots to over 30 knots in a matter of seconds. Several times more than half the fleet seemed to be capsized when a bullet shot out of the West. In a testament to the harsh conditions only 18 boats completed the second race.  Congratulations to the hardy competitors who came out on top after handicapping: Full Rigs: Ian Alexander (heat 13), and Nick Pellow (heat 14); Radials: Daniel Costandi (heat 13), and Richard George (heat 14). Thanks also to the race committee for braving the wind and putting on a well-run race day filled with several rescues: PRO Steve Wawn assisted by Clare Alexander, COTD David Shannon, CoCOTD Hans Beacker, and Canteen Assistant David Newman. Thanks also for the additional assistance from Julian Van Aalst and Jim Dounis. 

A Gust Plays Havoc with the Fleet at the Bottom Mark

The Windy Seabreeze

Upcoming Events

Saturday 21 April, 9am – Learn to Race. 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 email Martin White at mwhite@universalmagazines.com.au if you are planning on attending.

Saturday 21 April, 2pm – Final Heats of the Autumn Pointscore. It’s been a very competitive competition thus far. Going into the final two races of the season, the winner is up for grabs in both fleets. Daryl Lawrence leads the radials, but Martin White, Julian Van Aalst and Pat Levy are all in with a shot to take home the crown. On the Full Rig side, it’s even tighter. Murray Stone leads by just 1.5 points, followed closely by Ian Alexander, Mike Dunne, and Rod Barnes. It should be an interesting and competitive day on the harbour, so don’t miss it. 

Saturday 28 April, 2pm – Final Heats of the Club Championship followed by an end of season BBQ.

Sunday 6 May, 8:30am start – Winter Series Commences (see more info below)

Friday 25 May, 7pm – DBSC’s Annual General Meeting and end of season dinner at the clubhouse.