79 Bay St
Double Bay NSW 2028
Australia

The best ILCA / Laser sailing club in the world, located in Double Bay on Sydney Harbour.

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The thrill of the SailGP! By James Tudball

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Last week Double Bay Sailing Club members were invited to participate in a number of activities as part of the SailGP Adopt A Club program.  Our club was partnered with Team Canada, which saw nearly 30 members visit Team Canada's base in the lead up to the regatta.  On Wednesday we were lucky to see the (safe!) launch of Team Canada's brand new boat and we were taken on an in depth tour to see the boats and wings up close and learn about the physics of the F50s.  Phil Robertson, driver of Team Canada, also facilitated a Q&A with us and Alistair Sutherland asked the burning question of whether Phil would be as aggressive as always on the start line!  Phil didn't really answer the question, but judging by his laughter we assumed the answer to be 'yes'.

We were also treated to a VIP spectator flag for the regatta as part of the program and we extend a huge thank you to Luke Parker who hosted DBSC members on board his rib on Saturday with a prime position for the racing. 

Sadly, as we all know, the SailGP base (and Team Canada in particular) suffered catastrophic damage on Saturday afternoon post-racing, with guests of 45 knots hitting the fleet.  Team Canada's boat and wing were damaged terribly.  Click to view the carnage, but TRIGGER WARNING, it's quite painful to watch!!  The damage to the fleet resulted in racing being cancelled on the Sunday.  3 x races on the Saturday still constituted a series, so the French Team, driven by Quentin Delapierre, were the clear victors of SailGP Sydney, recording a hat trick of wins.

We would also like to congratulate Mina Ferguson and Evie Saunders, who competed as part of the SailGP Inspire Regatta, competing in the Waszps.  The Inspire program run by SailGP is designed to build pathways for youth sailors to transition through foiling classes, to hopefully sail on an F50 one day!

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ILCA Masters Worlds by Ian Tudball

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DBSC was represented by Martin White, Pat Levy and Ian Tudball in the ‘Great Grand Master’ (65-75yo) category.

The trio had all copped health issues just before departure, but Pat was king hit  the worst, with a bout of Aussie food poisoning, just hours before take off. Martin nursed him for the marathon journey, as Pat trimmed his 82kg down to a more competitive racing weight. It took Pat 3 days to purge his system and crack a few ‘plumber jokes’.

The Royal Varuna Yacht Club was a stunning venue, and all 120 charter boats were brand new.  Conditions were perfect for racing with consistent 12-15 knot breezes and rolling waves for downhill rides. 

Race 1 was a disaster for the DBSC trio as they were all black flagged in a strong tide, along with 9 other boats in the fleet of 32. Race 2 was a big improvement with Martin coming back with a strong win. Pat was still recovering from his food poisoning, and it was not a happy day for him as he reported to his wife he was last overall. Sailing conditions were perfect, but the 4 knot tide did cause many boats to regularly overlay the windward mark

In race 3, a grumpy Pat finally cracked a smile as he finished 5th, and Martin crafted a 3rd place, while in race 4 Martin jagged a 5th, and with the drop race calculated, Martin was shaping up as a potential regatta winner. Pat was dogged with Irish bad luck, which he blamed on the French, but in true grit, in race 8 he returned to form with a 3rd. 

On the lay day the boys went on a trip to the dinosaur park which was a 10/10 experience, and it was assumed the regular sea breezes would continue, but it wasn’t to be. Racing was cancelled on the 2nd last day due to lack of wind, with 3 races being scheduled for the last day in a very patchy wind.

In the final wrap, 10 races were sailed out of a possible 12, with a 1 race discard, and it was a fine overall win to Geoff Loosemore and a very consistent second by Lyndall Patterson. Martin White deserved his 4th overall place and a ‘cube’, as his regatta strategy was hampered by a black flag in race 1. 

The host Club, race management and all the volunteers did a brilliant job, and it was a truly memorable regatta in a beautiful, friendly location. 

Final results for the GGM fleet of 32 were :
1st.  Geoff Lismore 
2nd. Lyndall Patterson 
3rd   Steve Gunther
4th.  Martin White
17th. Pat Levy
24th Ian Tudball

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Clean Up Australia Day 4 March

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Calling all volunteers who enjoy a clean environment!

I’ve spent the past few weeks driving around the pristine Tasmanian Countryside enjoying the ‘freshest air’ on the planet, and so I’m inspired to clean up the environment surrounding our club.

On Saturday 4th March from 10am to 12pm, members (and guests) of Double Bay Sailing Club will be conducting a clean-up of the foreshore, park lands and local roadways near our club in Double Bay. 

Trevor Potts (member) will be at the club house at 10am with all the CUAD materials, sign-on sheet, and a short safety briefing. Please arrive by 10am. 

We are also asking volunteers to download the EyeSea app and use it to upload photos of rubbish on the day. It's simple to use. Take a photo and upload it to the app.

Download for android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mariapps.eyesea.eye_sea

Download for iOS: https://apps.apple.com/es/app/eyesea/id1667239428

We recommend you wear sun protective clothing, and bring protective gloves (if you don’t have any, we will have spares available).

Afterwards you can treat yourself to a well-earned toastie before sailing!

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Race report 11 February 2023

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From our PRO Andrew Cox:

Saturday showed us how life was meant to be -- a beautiful sunny Sydney summer afternoon with a honking "north-easter". Of course, with Pat Levy away at the Worlds, it was never going to be anything else.

It blew 19-26 knots, oscillating between the dominant left gradient and the right sea breeze. An outgoing tide cooperated to ensure plenty of exciting wave action. 

Despite the conditions, we had a reduced fleet (people were probably planning their Valentine's Day). There were 8 ILCA 7s, 21 ILCA 6s, and 2 ILCA 4s, for a respectable fleet of 30+ boats, before a swag of retirements in the second race. 

Brett Beyer made a guest appearance, putting in his one-and-only day of training before the Masters Worlds. One sailor quipped, "Imagine all the things that would go wrong if we only sailed once a year". However, Brett did not seem to have too much trouble with that. 

Having said that, Geoff Kirk put in a credible effort, finishing within reach of Brett in both races. 

The results for ILCA 7 were R7: Geoff Kirk, Yves Stening, Steven London (with scratch placings of Geoff Kirk, Craig Sheers, Yves Stening); R8: Geoff Kirk, Craig Sheers, Steven London (with scratch placings the same). 

The results for ILCA 6 were R7: Scott Finlayson, Jim Dounis = James Tudball (with scratch placings of James Tudball, Quentin Burns, Alistair Sutherland); R8: Quentin Burns, Alistair Sutherland, Ian Alexander (with scratch placings reversing Ian and Alistair - less than a metre apart). 

The results for ILCA 4 were R7: Sara Bruce (Diana and Julian also sailed ILCA 4 but are handicapped in ILCA 6); R8: no competitors. 

Thanks to our race management team for a well-managed day of racing, coordinated by Andrew Cox (PRO) and Ryan Aldrich (LTRaR), with assistance from the handicappers, Daryl Lawrence, and Geoff Boscoe, who generously continue to forego their own racing to train our race management teams in the use of the new scoring app. 

On-water safety was provided by John Chesterman (COTD), Ben Byford (Co-COTD), and Robert Bruce (RIB reserve). It was an active day for them, with multiple capsizes, fatigued sailors needing assistance, a couple of tows back to shore, and a concerning collision from a Farr 30 competing at SASC that failed to keep clear of a capsized ILCA 7, resulting in the ILCA 7 rig being sheered off at the deck - very dangerous and irresponsible!

One postscript from the race management team -- the new scoring app relies on sailors signing on with correct sail numbers and in the correct class. Please remember to sign on. It makes a huge difference to our volunteers. 

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Volly of the week!

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Double Bay Sailing Club is managed and run entirely by volunteers. As the saying goes, “many hands make light work. There is always work to be done in the upkeep of our shed and the ongoing administration and management of racing.

This week, we’re saying a big thank you to James Tudball who has joined the DBDC Committee as Youth Coordinator. James is implementing plans to build a culture and program of youth initiatives to encourage the next generation of ILCA sailors and expand youth and ILCA 4 representation in our fleet. James has also been busy coordinating our SailGP “Adopt a Club participation” including the Tech Base tour with Team Canada and VIP spectator boat for the race days.

The club is full of people making wonderful contributions around the place, and sometimes behind the scenes. Let us know who deserves a mention!

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Racing this weekend impacted by SailGP

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With SailGP on the harbour this weekend, our regular club racing is impacted.

The club will hold sprint races from 1pm. These are most likely to be conducted in Rushcutters Bay. Further information will be provided in the briefing, which will be held at 12pm.

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Learn to race this weekend

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The next Learn to Race (LTR) a Laser at Double Bay Sailing Club is on again this Saturday morning 18 February.  It must start early at 8.30AM on that day as we have limitations with harbour zones owing to SailGP.

We’ll meet at 8.30am ready to rig boats. The aim is to be on the water well before 10am and back to the shore by 11.30pm.

LTR is for prospective new members – a ‘try before you join’ arrangement.  It’s also for DBSC members wishing to improve their sailing skills.

Participants must have basic helming capability as we are squad based and it’s sometimes difficult to provide a lot of one-on-one assistance for those without experience. It’s also a safety measure.

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Vaucluse Regatta 25 February 2022

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Saturday 25th of February - DBSC members are invited to sail in the Vaucluse Regatta.

This year the event celebrates its 91st year. As is the case each year, there will be no club racing at DBSC and we will sail up the harbour to join the event which is free however you need to register as soon as possible here.

The Sailing Instructions can be found here.

DBCS members will need to be ready to splash at 12:10 to sail to the course for a 13:20 start.
Members should read the sailing instructions before the event. Here are some salient points to note:

  • Lasers will have the first warning signal class flag at 1320, with a combined radial and 4.7 fleet starting first

  • There will be up to 3 races, with all races counting

  • The course will be 2 laps of windward-leeward legs with an offset mark at the top and rounding to port.

  • Code flag “I” us likely to be used at the start – boats that are over in the last minute must round the ENDS of the line and come back through it

  • Boats must keep at least 50m clear of the start line when not in sequence. Please watch out for yachts using the same start line!

  • The one penalty turn rule (not two) applies.


BE AWARE OF FERRIES and COMMERCIAL SHIPPING in this end of the harbour. They are dangerous and have right of way.

After racing, we are invited to return to VYC for a BBQ. We will take 2 RIBs down to VYC as on-water transport for those members who do not wish to drive.

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