The best way to find out about the club is to visit us, and meet some members.
Apart from the week of Christmas, the clubhouse is open from at least noon every Saturday from 1 August to 30 April. Our telephone number is: +61 2 9363 5577.
We are run by volunteers, so if your query cannot answered by the frequently asked questions (FAQs) below or the rest of the website, we will get back to you by Wednesday, 10pm.
How do I subscribe to your Pulitzer Prize winning newsletter?
How to make a tax-deductible donation to the club (using the internet)?
How to make a tax-deductible donation to the club (using paper forms)?
Want to book a seat at the restaurant?
Want to become a social member?
Can I rent/hire your clubhouse?
How do I get to crew on a yacht?
Can you teach me to race a Laser?
What is the deal between your club and the 18 footers and Sydney High School?
Can I store my kayak (or similar) in the clubhouse?
Can you help me buy, or sell, a Laser?
How many times can a visitor race at DBSC?
79 Bay St
Double Bay NSW 2028
Australia
The best ILCA / Laser sailing club in the world, located in Double Bay on Sydney Harbour.
All members and their partners (or parents) have been invited to the DBSC Annual General Party which also includes our AGM.
Please RSVP using the link in the email so that we can organise the catering (including any dietary requirements).
There will be dinner, drinks, and live music after the formal part of the evening.
A number of our sailors headed north for the Queensland Laser States, held last weekend at Humpybong Yacht Club. There were strong fleets for all three rigs and some great racing was had in light to medium conditions.
In the 4.7s Ben Costandi finished 5th and Charlotte Gosling was 27th.
In the Radials, our newest member, Ali Braden, finished 7th (and second female overall). And James Gosling was 35th.
In the Standards, Daniel Costandi won the regatta. And Zander Bijkerk was third.
Congratulations to all sailors!
Full results are available here: https://www.sailwave.com/results/2022-23_QLA_State_Championships.htm
Peter Heywood informs us of an upcoming regatta at Port Stephens on the weekend of 20/21 May with 3 races a day on the bay. The regatta is open to lasers, plus Finns, Tasars, Aeros (training for the worlds in Sardinia), etc., in separate classes.
Social and food
Buy lunch at the local shop, coffee, and snacks at the club. Evening food & drinks at 6pm at the hotel 100 metres up the road.
On Friday, 19th May 2023, at 6 pm Cheeky Dog at Bannisters (100 metres up the road). Sailors arriving from the Off the Beach and Windsurfing classes are welcome to attend.
Saturday, 20th May 2023, at 6 pm - Welcome Drinks and Canapes Cheeky Dog, Bannisters. The daily winners will be announced, lucky door prizes and $500 gift vouchers for Bannisters.
On Sunday, 21st May 2023, the final prize giving at Cheeky Dog, Bannisters, as soon as practical after the racing. Various merchandise for all place getters.
Throughout the weekend, there will be a total of $5k worth of lucky door prizes. The bar at the Bay Sailing Centre will be open from 3-5 pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and food and beverages 100 metres up the road at Bannisters at 6pm.
An excellent opportunity for competitors to socialize and connect with others.
Thank you to the members who are sending through information for the newsletter. If you have content for the newsletter, please email it to newsletter@dbsc.com.au by Monday evening.
From our PRO Rob Vann:
25 sailors turned up for sprint racing on the harbour under cloudy skies with sporadic rain showers. Racing began in Double Bay in a light southerly before shifting to the SE forcing a course change to our Dardanelles racing area. 3 additional races were completed in nice 8(ish) knots.
[Photos courtesy of Maxim Djura].
Hendrick, a laser sailor originally from Lake Tahoe Nevada (and friend of Campbell Parton) and hydraulic engineer with SailGP, sailed sprints with the standard fleet. We always welcome laser sailors that are traveling through Sydney to join us for a couple of races while in town!
[Results are available in the Sailor app and online.]
As we come to the end of another fantastic summer sailing season, it is time to dust off the thermals and start preparing for winter. Winter sailing has been going well, and we have decided to compress the racing format to ensure we’re all home when the roast chook lands on the table for Sunday lunch!
The winter series commences on Sunday 14 May and sailing instructions will be updated shortly.
Until then, the format will be as follows::
Winter sailing will remain weekly.
We will run 3 races with a target time of no more than 30 minutes each.
The PRO must be willing to shorten the course if it goes longer than 30 minutes.
We will eliminate the wing mark and the finish mark (no offset mark either)
The marks will be a top mark, start pin and bottom mark.
The start line will also be the finish line.
We will now run rolling starts. If there is a general recall, that class will go to the end of the queue.
The start sequence of each race will be reduced by 2 minutes to a three minute sequence.
The start sequence will be:
At 3 minutes – class flag
At 2 minutes – blue peter
At 1 minute – blue peter down
At 0 minutes – start, class flags down and new class flag up.
ILCA 4 and 6 will start together first followed by ILCA 7.
There will be a quick briefing at 7.30am.
The proposed start time will now be 8.15am.
There will be no warning signal after 10.30am.
From the Commodore, Steven London…
We would greatly appreciate it if members could pay their subscriptions in the coming weeks. All members should now have received their notice for renewal of membership subscriptions which are managed through the Australian Sailing RevSport system, and will be addressed from Double Bay Sailing Club <no-reply@revolutionise.com.au> Please check your Junk or Spam folder if you have not received it.
It is important that memberships are paid on time, as many of our major payments are due during the winter period. The prompt payment of membership subscriptions allows our club to keep running smoothly.
If you have not received your invoice for the renewal of your membership, or wish to make changes, or there is an error, please contact our club secretary Tory Epworth secretary@dbsc.com.au .
Email invitations for the DBSC Annual General Party and AGM have been sent out to all members. Please reply to the RSVP in the email with any dietary requirements so that we can organise the catering.
Thank you to the members who are sending through information for the newsletter. If you have content for the newsletter, please email it to newsletter@dbsc.com.au by Monday evening.
From our PRO Luke Parker…
Champagne racing on the harbour for Saturday’s final two heats of the Autumn point score!
The 33 boat fleet enjoyed a 10 knot nor Easter that built to a tad over 15 by the end of the second race. Tide was incoming, traffic was sparse, and the sun was shining. It simply doesn’t get better. This season we’ve been enjoying much better late season conditions than we did in 2021 and 2022. Perhaps the benefit of being freed from La Niña’s impact?
Both fleets were impeccably behaved at the starts and all races started cleanly with the fleets spread across the line. Upwind, most sailors played the right hand side of the course to avoid the incoming tide and play the shifts that form around Point Piper. Downwind appeared to be about hunting waves and gusts.
In the Radials, John Verco won the 1st race. Andrew Cox came 2nd in the first race, and 1st in the 2nd.
In the full rigs, Quentin Burns won the first, Maxim Djura the 2nd and a shoutout to Connor for placing 2nd in both races.
I’ll leave for others to expand on the Autumn pointscore’s results, but here’s a spoiler…. expect to see a very happy Commodore at the AGP.
An observation of the Sailor App…
This was the first time your correspondent has used the new App for race management. It’s a fantastic product that makes the process on the start boat simple and results are immediate. However for the system to work, all sailors must Sign on via the Sailor App with the correct sail number. This is critical. The club has been lenient with laggards who don’t sign on correctly this season. This leniency has an impost on our volunteers. On Saturday it took the handicapper and commodore considerable time to manually enter results for sailors that didn’t sign on properly.
Don’t be surprised if the outpouring of goodwill ceases: PLEASE SIGN ON CORRECTLY!!!!!
Here’s a link to the app and the process. https://www.dbsc.com.au/sailor-sign-on-app
If you forget to sign on before launching, there is capacity to sign on at the start boat before racing, but not to change your sail number.
Finally….an open question to the sailing committee: Is the winter series the ideal time to enforce a zero tolerance policy to signing on? No sign on = no result!
[Results are available in the Sailor app and online.]
