Brett Beyer Saturday Program 2024

We are delighted to announce that Brett Beyer will offer his popular Brett Beyer Saturday Program (BBSP) again this season at DBSC.  Brett is an Olympic coach and 15-time Laser Masters World Champion. We are very fortunate to have him working with us!
There will be 8 Saturday sessions from September to December:

7 September, 14 September, 21 September, 28 September, 19 October, 2 November, 9 November, 21 December.

The cost of the program is $600 (plus merchant fees) per subscriber. We need at least 20 subscribers to proceed. Please subscribe as soon as possible - as we need to confirm numbers. The terms of the program and sign-up form can be found here.

BBSP subscribers will carry a GPS during each race (and a program bib), and will later receive a report and animation showing their GPS tracks vs the fleet, together with fleet-level commentary on each leg, and also a video with commentary of the starts. Subscribers will have access to Brett to ask questions on the water before and after each race (not during the races), and can also later ask questions on the weekly report.

Reminder: Working Bee this Saturday

I know we are all excited because Seabreeze has forecast a 15 knot Nor’easter this Saturday, but before that, all members are reminded of the Working Bee starting at 8am.

One item that needs particular attention is the beach around the new ramps that needs a sparrow pick of rubble and debris. Luke Parker will be leading this effort and will be at the club at 6am to take advantage of the low tide.

If you’re an early bird like Luke and would like to get your effort over and done with early, please join him. So I can let him know, please email me on rodbarnes@dbsc.com.au if you would like to join him.

Otherwise, see you all there.

Rod Barnes, Vice Commodore

Spare Parts Chandlery - DBSC Members Only

We have recently implemented a new spare parts purchasing system. Items can now only be purchased via the website (www.dbsc.com.au/chandlery).

There is an A4 poster at the club with a QR code to get to the Web page and a password located near the new spare parts cupboard on the left side of the handicapper’s desk and on the fridge. Once you have purchased your item or if you have any questions contact Scott Hunter or Maxim Djura for pickup.

This is for Members only. The page is not linked to the main menu and is password protected.

WHAT'S GOING ON

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Saturday August 24th: Working Bee 8:00AM, followed by Winter Sprints at 1:00PM

• Friday August 30th: Sailor’s Season Opening Dinner

• Note: no racing on Saturday August 31st

• Saturday September 7th is Opening Day:

  • Club Championships Races 1 & 2

  • BBQ after racing

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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.

RACE REPORT - SATURDAY 10 August 2024

What a great day with the dolphins! Photos by Jeremy Vives

Winter Sprint Racing

By Geoffrey Boscoe (PRO) and Jeremy Vives (Co-PRO)

Thomas Beregi (COTD) and Quentin Burns (Co-COTD) were on the RIB, with Geoffrey Boscoe (PRO) and Jeremy Vives (Co-PRO) on the Jazzman. Our wonderful Paul Adam took care of the kitchen, assisted by Tim Heath.

When we arrived at the club at 10AM, the wind was lightly blowing from the WSW. The forecast indicated that it would shift to the South around noon, and that’s exactly what happened. From noon to 3.20PM, the wind oscillated between South and Southeast. The RIB team had to move the starting line four times to align the race in the wind. A big thank you to Thomas and Quentin for their quick adjustments on the water all along the day.

At 1.00PM, the first race began in 7-12 knot conditions, which was enjoyed by all 26 boats that participated (5 x 4.7’s, 10 x Radials, 8 x Standards). A 3-minute start (with Radials and 4.7’s starting one minute earlier) helped maintain a good rhythm. A total of 8 races were held (approximately 13 minutes per race).

This fantastic race day provided an opportunity for everyone to test various strategies on the water and enjoy successive starts. A special thank you goes out to the fleet for excellent runs in a great atmosphere. Thanks to everyone for this superb winter (nearly spring?) sprint.

Unexpected guests: During the 5th race, a group of about twenty dolphins joined the front of the fleet. As they headed toward the top mark, competitors were surprised by the dolphins swimming all around them. It was a unique spectacle in Sydney Harbour.

WHAT'S GOING ON

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Saturday August 10th: Winter Sprints, 1:00PM start

• Saturday August 17th: Winter Sprints, 1:00PM start

• Saturday August 24th: Working Bee 8:00AM, followed by Winter Sprints at 1:00PM

  • NB: Please let Steve London know if you are unable to attend the working bee.

• Friday August 30th: Sailor’s Season Opening Dinner

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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.

RACE REPORT - SATURDAY 3 August 2024

Winter Sprint Racing

Photos by James Tudball

By Miles Greenwood and James Tudball

On Saturday we had another instalment of our Youth Volunteer Days, where a team of our youth members are tasked with managing the onshore and on-water duties. We had Miles Greenwood (PRO), James Gosling and Jasper Kinsman (Co-PRO) and Felix Feng helping out in the kitchen.  The team was assisted by adult members James Tudball, Ian Tudball and Miles' father, Mark Greenwood.

The weather on the day aptly reflected our official transition from morning winter racing to warmer afternoon sailing!  When we arrived at the club at 10am we observed a typical "winter westerly" of about 10 knots.  But with the temperature increasing quickly on land, the westerly breeze began to fade. 

When we went out to lay the course at 11am, we monitored the conditions out on the water (matched with the forecast) and made the decision to plan for a light NNE course. Sure enough, the breeze completely fizzled by mid-day.  But after a brief postponement onshore, the wind started to funnel down the harbour from the NNE direction and by 1:45pm we had racing underway!

Five races were held in beautiful 4 - 6 knot sunny conditions, which was enjoyed by all 20 boats who competed (10 x radials and 10 x standards).

Race wins throughout the day went to Sylvie Stannage and Raph McLachlan in the Radials.  And Quentin Burns, John Sweeny, Geoff Kirk and Steve London in the Standards.

A special thankyou is extended to the fleet for some excellent starting behaviour.  Our sprint racing format is a good opportunity to push the boundaries at the start, providing we also respect the recall flags where applicable.  This balance was really well struck by all boats on Saturday. The Standard fleet were also courteous in giving the Radials (who start one minute prior) a clear go at the starting line.  So thank you to everyone for a great day of competitive racing.

WORKING BEE - SATURDAY 24 August

All Members: On Saturday 24 August 8am - 11am (before sailing) we will be holding our annual winter working bee. This annual event takes considerable planning to ensure our club is ready to run smoothly for the summer season.

There are many jobs (something for everyone!) and we need your help to make it a success. We ask all members for few hours of your time.

WHAT'S GOING ON

European Youth Championships in Ireland

Photo by Thomas Touw

Two of our youth members, Healy Ryan and Ed Alexander, have just finished competing at the ILCA 6 Youth European Championships & Open European Trophy in Bangor, Northern Ireland. A hot fleet of 250 boats competed in the regatta.

It is extremely exciting to announce that Healy Ryan won the Under 17 category and was second overall in the Championship, just 11 points behind Poland's Jacek Kalinowski who was the eventual winner. A number of our members were following the WhatsApp updates from Healy's father, Craig. The messages were very entertaining and as the regatta progressed it became evident that Craig was understandably more excited and nervous than Healy!

Photos by Craig Ryan

Ed Alexander also achieved a fantastic result at the regatta, finishing 50th in the Silver fleet.  As Healy and Ed would attest, there are no slouches at the Euro Championships, so in a fleet of 250 boats, these are amazing results.

We look forward to a first-hand account from Healy, Ed and Craig in our newsletter next week.
- James Tudball, Youth Engagement

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UPCOMING EVENTS

• Saturday August 10th: Winter Sprints, 1:00PM start

• Saturday August 17th: Winter Sprints, 1:00PM start

• Saturday August 24th: Working Bee 8:00AM, followed by Winter Sprints at 1:00PM

• Friday August 30th: Sailor’s Season Opening Dinner

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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.

RACE REPORT - SUNDAY 28 JULY 2024

Winter Championship & Point Score series - Races 22, 23 & 24

The final three races of the Winter series were scheduled for Sunday July 28th, and the race committee launched at dawn to lay a course in surprisingly pleasant conditions: 12 to 15 knots from the West/South West left just enough room between Clark Island and the shipping channel to lay a suitably square course before heading back ashore to find about 25 to 30 laser sailors arriving to finish off the winter campaign.  A quick briefing was held at the western launching ramp where club members could see first hand the progress on Rod's project - a massive improvement when all is done and dusted in the coming months.  The briefing was just that; incredibly brief as the PRO was desperate to get back on course and get in three quick races before the forecast strong wind materialised later in the day.  

When we arrived back on course at 07:45, we found that the forecasted strong winds had indeed arrived, and much earlier than expected.  Pressure began to ramp up range gradually, and by 08:15 half of the fleet had yet to make it out of Double Bay, and half of those that had made it to the course were upside down.  The AP flag was duly raised to give the Race Officers time to assess the situation, at which point the Jazzman started slipping downwind on its anchor, and competitors started getting blown into both Rosebay and off towards Nelson Point on the other side of Shark Island.  So, the Abandonment flag quickly went up and competitors were waved ashore, which was a timely decision as at this point we threatened to lose all control - the response boats were getting overstretched and we struggled to keep count of the number of capsizes.

Fortunately, Double Bay Sailing Club has a long and proud history of managing extraordinary weather events with brave diligence.  The committee and volunteers ensure we know to evacuate the course when needed and we had everything ready to go.  No plan is complete without great execution of course, and it's at this point that several members simply went about doing the right things at the right time, and in the best traditions of DBSC.  There're too many people to thank, but the PRO would like to single out the following members for gratitude:

• John Vasey whose decades of experience on all things DBSC came in handier than ever in wild conditions

• Andrew Cox for staying out on the water while everyone else scrambled for shore and providing a reassuring presence.

• Rob Blum for picking up another sailor who had become separated from his boat

• Yves Stenning, Geoff Boscoe and Rod Barnes for returning to the course to sail home a few stranded lasers

• Josh, our youth coach, who was good enough to launch the spare RIB and get out to assist when our rescue response got stretched

• Paul Adam - always the voice of calm on the other end of the radio when it is needed the most.

• And last, but not least, Max and Michelle Power for their work on the response rib.  Definitely one of the busier weeks to be rostered on for response, but your ability to stay calm and collected in tough conditions was reassuring to all.

Thanks again to the above and anyone who I missed - your work last Sunday is a great example of everything that is special about our club.

- Alistair Sutherland, PRO

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Winter Championships Series FINAL Results

ILCA 6:

1. Andrew Cox (39.6)

2. Ian Alexander (42.6)

3. David Airey (47)

ILCA 7:

1. Nick Pellow (41.4)

2. Patrick Black (45.3)

3. Grant Lovelady (48.2)

ILCA 4:

1. Charlotte Jenkins (18)

2. Raphael McLachlan (21)

3. Elouise Morgan (51)

Winter Point Score Series Final Results

ILCA 6:

1. David Airey (47.5)

2. Andrw Cox (54.4)

3. Jasper Kinsman (55)

ILCA 7:

1. Maxim Djura (41.5)

2. Patrick Black (43.5)

3. Grant Lovelady (45)

ILCA 4:

1. Charlotte Jenkins (13)

2. Raphael McLachlan (25)

3. Elouise Morgan (36)