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.
Race report to follow (hopefully), meanwhile here are the results:
ILCA 6: Ian Alexander/Paige Caldecoat/Paige Caldecoat
ILCA 7: Daniel Costandi(RSYS)/Zander Bijkerk/Daniel Costandi(RSYS)
ILCA 4: no starters
ILCA 6: Ian Alexander/Peter Collie/Peter Collie
ILCA 7: Andrew Foote/Julian Taylor/Julian Taylor
ILCA 4: no starters
The annual working bee will be conducted on Saturday 19 August from 8am. This annual event takes considerable planning and is necessary in order to ensure our club is ready to run smoothly for the summer season. All members are expected to attend – there is a significant amount of work to be done.
If you are unable to attend on the day, please contact the Commodore, Steven London, and arrange for a job to be undertaken at a time convenient to you.
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.
View all racing results here.
The club’s calendar can be viewed and subscribed to here.
Make a tax deductible donation to DBSC here.
The annual working bee will be conducted on Saturday 19 August from 8am. This annual event takes considerable planning and is necessary in order to ensure our club is ready to run smoothly for the summer season. All members are expected to attend – there is a significant amount of work to be done. If you are unable to attend on the day, please contact the Commodore, Steven London, and arrange for a job to be undertaken at a time convenient to you.
The calendar may look slightly different to previous years and it has been an interesting exercise working our scheduled events in with the regatta season. Once you take into consideration public and school holidays, and then the States, the Metro’s, the Australian Masters, the Masters Worlds, the Vaucluse Regatta and Sail GP, it becomes a very busy season indeed.
Some points of interest:
School Holidays do not align with Easter this year.
In March we head up to Vaucluse two weekends in a row for the Vaucluse Regatta and the Metro’s. This coincides with the JJ Giltinan’s (18-Footer Worlds) which is great timing.
The last Club Championship heat for the season will be on the 6th April to avoid school holidays and Anzac Day.
-Rod Barnes
Jules Hall and Jan (Clogs) Scholten are in the UK making their final preparations to compete in the Rolex Fastnet in the double-handed category. This the 50th anniversary of this iconic race and some 500 boats are entered. The start is Saturday 22 July.
The pair had a very successful Hobart Race in 2021, taking 1st in the 2-Handed IRC division, and 2nd in 2-Handed Line Honours. This time their J-99 Disko Trooper - Contender Sailcloth will competing in a much larger field of 108 double-handers.
The race is 690 nautical miles, starting from Cowes in the south of England, west to Ireland, then around the Fastnet Rock and back up the English Channel to finish in Cherbourg, Normandy. It should take 4 - 5 days depending on weather.
They are competing on an identical J99 to their own boat in Sydney. To minimise differences they have brought with them all of their sails and quite a lot of the ropes!
You can follow Jules and Clogs on Instagram @disko_trooper. And you can follow the race in realtime here via the boat trackers here: YB Tracking Race Viewer - Rolex Fastnet 2023
0815 Warning signal
Don’t forget to register for the Brett Beyer Saturday Program coming summer season. It will run for 8 sessions on 9 Sep, 16 Sep, 23 Sep, 7 Oct, 21 Oct, 28 Oct, 4 Nov, and 11 Nov. The cost of the program is $560 (plus merchant fees) per person, and this pricing is dependent on 20 participants. Please click HERE to register for the program.
Farther up the coast, the South Pacific Masters wrapped up at RQYS on Monday, 10 July. 18 Standards, 37 Radials and two 4.7’s took part. Results are here.
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.
View all racing results here.
The club’s calendar can be viewed and subscribed to here.
Make a tax deductible donation to DBSC here.
Brett Beyer has agreed to run his very popular Brett Beyer Saturday Program again this coming summer season. This is an excellent opportunity to improve your sailing – whether you are training for the Adelaide Worlds or just want to improve your position in the fleet!
The program comprises individualised on-water tips before and after racing and between races, as well as a video of the start, and a GPS animation and accompanying analysis that shows your tracks and stats vs the other participants in the fleet on a leg-by-leg basis, with commentary on fleet and/or selected individual performances on each leg. It also includes the opportunity to ask Brett questions during the week, between BBSP sessions.
The initial program for the 23/24 season will run for 8 sessions on 9 Sep, 16 Sep, 23 Sep, 7 Oct, 21 Oct, 28 Oct, 4 Nov, and 11 Nov. The cost of the program is $560 (plus merchant fees) per person, and this pricing is dependent on 20 participants. Please click HERE to register for the program. The terms and conditions can be found on the registration form. This Program is available to Members only.
On July 5 + 6 last week, our Reach Youth sailors were busy on the water enjoying some great winter racing and coaching... and having Sydney Harbour largely to themselves!
The two-day racing clinic, coached by Dan Costandi, had 15 youth sailors involved, including several participants from Hunters Hill Sailing Club, which added to the great on-water fun and competition.
The sailors focussed on race strategy, starts (including the importance of transits for long lines), light wind boat handling, sail trim and downwind power angles.
Our Reach Youth team facilitated 9 x races across the two days. Craig Sheers from PSA kindly donated PSA boat detailing prizes for the winning sailors. In the 4.7s that was Ben Costandi. In the Radials it was a picket fence win for Sara Bruce. And Quentin Burns was victorious in the Standards.
Many thanks to Dan Costandi and all sailors (and parents!) who were involved.
Sara, Quentin & Ben
0815 Warning signal
Youth Engagement is very strong with good attendance at the recent Reach Racing Clinic (see above). Reach Youth programs will continue through spring and summer.
Learn to Race will start up again on Saturday, 2nd September. Contact Martin White for more details (ltr@dbsc.com.au).
Artist’s Impression - Courtesy TfNSW
Works are continuing through to December 2023. See Double Bay Wharf Upgrade | Transport for NSW for more information.
This is now underway, also continuing until December 2023.
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.
View all racing results here.
The club’s calendar can be viewed and subscribed to here.
Make a tax deductible donation to DBSC here.
Trusting all are enjoying the 3-week hiatus and spending some time with friends and family. Hopefully this means everyone’ll be pumped to resume the winter program. Good news is the days are starting to get longer.
Might also be a good time to review the items on your boat’s “stuff-that’s-about-to-break” list. If, like me, you have an older Laser, there will something that qualifies, even if you haven’t yet identified it. Here’s a checklist (from personal experience):
Re-rivet loose boom eye straps (before the holes get enlarged).
Vang/kicker tang (these will eventually break due to fatigue of the stainless. If they don’t, you’re either not using enough vang, or are really good at keeping the boom out of the water!)
Outhaul and vang primary lines
- Editor
Works will be starting this week on the Double Bay Ferry Wharf Upgrade Project:
Photo courtesy TfNSW
See Double Bay Wharf Upgrade | Transport for NSW for more information.
Separate from the Ferry Wharf project, Woollahra Municipal Council will be starting on the Bay St Redevelopment this week. WMC will be TEMPORARILY moving the council boat storage racks from underneath the fig tree to the park area.
Excerpt from Frontage Plan, courtesy Woollahra Municipal Council
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.
View all racing results here.
The club’s calendar can be viewed and subscribed to here.
Make a tax deductible donation to DBSC here.
A clear and bright dawn awaited the race committee and captains-of-the-day, with a promise of steady winds. After negotiating random zephyrs in the bay, the fleet of 25 Lasers was greeted by a steady 12-14 kt breeze from the northwest and accompanying chop.
In Race 1 (R16), the Radials and 4.7’s got away cleanly and completed the two lap sausage, as did the following Standards. By the start of Race 2 (R17), the wind had dropped to about 8 kts. Anxious Radial sailors triggered a general recall, so the Standards got first crack at the course. For Race 3 (R18) the breeze held, though there were distinct breeze lines to be chased.
General consensus was that a fine morning on the water was had by all.
Results so far in the series (after 18 Races)
ILCA 7: Zander Bijkerk | Daniel Costandi | Quentin Burns
ILCA 6: Conor Kellet | Charles Byford | Andrew Cox
ILCA 4: Benjamin Costandi | Charlotte Jenkins | Olivia Aitken
ILCA 7: Quentin Burns | Maxim Djura | Geoff Boscoe
ILCA 6: David Airey | Charles Byford | Chris Tattersall
ILCA 4: Benjamin Costandi | Charlotte Jenkins | Olivia Aitken
Huge thanks to the on-the-water help on the day:
Geoff Kirk PRO, Jason Wilkins LTRaR, Yves Stening COTD, Michael Morris CoCOTD.
Report by the editor
