Race Report - Saturday 2 August 2025

All photos by Ben Byford, Harper Spacey and James Tudball

Winter Sprint Racing

Harper Spacey reports

The first week of Saturday sprint racing got off to an exciting start with tricky conditions throughout the day.  A building sou’easterly of 15-25 knots made for shifty conditions and a gusty racecourse.

Double Bay's youth members constituted this week’s race management with Harper Spacey and Raphael McLachlan taking on the duty of PRO, Charles Byford and Tucker McKeon supporting sailors as COTD and Charlotte Jenkins on canteen duty (and assisting on the water).  Thanks to James Tudball and Ben Byford who assisted on both support RIBs. 

Although the conditions were challenging, a solid fleet of mostly ILCA 6’s and 7’s had some tight racing, with Martin White in a Radial and Healy Ryan in a Standard winning all five races! A shout out to new member, Ben Phillips, who persevered and got around the course in his 4.7.

Despite rain, wind and a couple of on-water rescues, the first week of sprint racing was competitive and exciting.

Report on ILCA 4 Youth Worlds - 19-26 July 2025

Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, Los Angeles

Charlotte Jenkins reports

During our winter holidays (plus the first week of school), four DBSC youth members were lucky enough to escape the cold, rainy weather and spend some time training and then racing at the ILCA 4 Youth World Championships, in Los Angeles, California. The regatta was hosted by Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, and we launched from the neighbouring Cabrillo Beach Youth Waterfront Sports Centre/Boy Scout Camp, which took about an hour to sail (or half an hour to tow) past the sea wall and out to the racecourse.

We spent four days training with SailCoach, where, as the ‘Down Under’ group, we would start the session with speed-testing lineups to correct our setup and posture, then later join the internationals in short practice races on a start line of 30-50 boats. Back on land, we had detailed video debriefs from Canadian ILCA 7 sailor and coach James Juhasz, who also shared examples from his training group to demonstrate the skills we needed to improve on. 

The regatta consisted of six intense days of racing, with two races completed to schedule each day (including one treacherous race which lasted almost 90 minutes with the first boat reaching the top mark within a minute of the time limit). The first two days were light-moderate while the others provided what I would describe as perfect hiking and surfing conditions (Zoe might disagree as she preferred the lighter air). The course also had painfully strong tide of up to 12 boat lengths a minute (= 1.6 kts), which created huge line sag at the starting line and chaos at the top mark with underlaid boats. Luckily we were only postponed out on the water a few times while waiting for the sea breeze to kick in a couple of hours after the morning smog cleared, or when the robot marks refused to cooperate and forced the race committee into a game of hide and seek. 

The Australian team consisted of 7 boys and 7 girls, of which 2 boys (Raphael McLachlan and Tucker McKeon) and 2 girls (Charlotte Jenkins and Zoe Allen) are from DBSC. The boys fleet had a total of 140 sailors, and the girls fleet had a total of 100 sailors. Both fleets were split into halves for qualifying and final races. 

After 12 races, the final results were:

Boys fleet (140):

91st Raphael McLachlan

118th Tucker McKeon

Girls fleet (100):

53rd Charlotte Jenkins

92nd Zoe Allen

Photos courtesy of SailCoach, or as marked

WHAT'S GOING ON

Club Look-ahead Schedule

• Saturday 9 August: Winter Sprints (12pm Briefing, 1:00pm First warning)

• Saturday 16 August: Winter Sprints (12pm Briefing, 1:00pm First warning)

• Saturday 23 August:

  • Working Bee (8:00am start)

  • Winter Sprints (12pm Briefing, 1:00pm First warning)

• Friday 29 August: DBSC Sailors’ Season Opening Dinner (details to follow)

• Saturday 30 August: Winter Sprints (12pm Briefing, 1:00pm First warning)

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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 27 July 2025

Winter Championships and Point Score

The last three heats of the Winter Championships and Point Score series were run on Sunday morning in beautiful conditions.

It was a cold morning with a nor’westerly blowing between 10-16 knots.  Thanks to the race crew of Rod Barnes, Ben Byford, Kate McHugh and Michelle Power who got the racing in on time, allowing all to soak up the sun on the front deck afterwards.

With many of the ILCA 4 fleet away competing in the ILCA 4 Worlds in Los Angeles, most of the fleet was made up by ILCA 6’s and 7’s.

Going into these last heats there were a few close battles to be decided, which made for exciting racing.

The winners for the winter season were:

FINAL OVERALL Results - Winter Championships:

ILCA 6:

1. Alistair Sutherland

2. Andrew Cox

3. Roberto Blum

ILCA 7:

1. Hadrian Bourley

2. James Tudball

3. Healy Ryan

ILCA 4:

1. Harper Spacey

2. Raphael McLachlan

3. Zoe Allen

FInal Overall Results - Winter Point Score:

ILCA 6:

1. Brendan Pollard

2. Pia Hattersley

3. Alistair Sutherland

ILCA 7:

1. David Da Costa Enes

2. Andrew Foote

3. Maxim Djura

ILCA 4:

1. Charlie Wait

2. Harper Spacey

3. Charlotte Jenkins

All photos by Rod Barnes

Working Bee

The annual working bee will be conducted on Saturday 23rd August from 8am. This is an annual event that takes considerable planning to ensure our club is ready to run smoothly for the summer season. All members are expected to attend – there is a large 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.

(Members who do not participate are under the usual threat of having their laser torched in the park!)

WHAT'S GOING ON

Club Look-ahead Schedule

• Saturday 2 August: Winter Sprints (12pm Briefing, 1:00pm First warning)

• Saturday 9 August: Winter Sprints (12pm Briefing, 1:00pm First warning)

• Saturday 16 August: Winter Sprints (12pm Briefing, 1:00pm First warning)

• Saturday 23 August:

  • Working Bee (8:00am start)

  • Winter Sprints (12pm Briefing, 1:00pm First warning)

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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.

WHAT'S GOING ON

Clubhouse Open Again

Repairs to the deck at the entrance have been completed, and we can now get our boats out again:

Big shout-out to Rod Barnes for superb handling of this tricky job.

Club Look-ahead Schedule

• Sunday 20 July: NO CLUB RACING (SCHOOL HOLIDAYS)

• Sunday 27 July:

  • SUNDAY MORNING Racing - Winter Championship and Point Score series (last races of the Winter Series)

  • 7:20am Race Briefing, Start time: 8:00am

• Saturday 2 August: Winter Sprints (1:00pm Warning)

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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 29 June 2025

All photos by Alban Delpey and Ian Alexander

Winter Championships and Point Score

The Lou Reed song “Perfect Day” must have been written to describe todays racing conditions & Ian Alexander’s (PRO) course laying skills, ably supported by COTD Alban Delpey. A faithful westerly ranging from 8 to 14 knots meant no course adjustments required, providing for punctual race sequences. A fleet of 22 managed to relinquish slumber hours & experience this magical morning.

With only one general recall (Standards, 2nd race) racing commenced 08:05 and had all returning at 10:00 to enjoy the sunny morning.

Results - Winter Championships, Races 19, 20 & 21:

ILCA 6 (1st, 2nd, 3rd):

R19: Roberto Blum, Alistair Sutherland, Katie McHugh
R20: Andrew Cox, Roberto Blum, Alistair Sutherland
R21: Andrew Cox, Roberto Blum, Scott Finlayson

Going into the final races on 27-July: Alistair Sutherland (25.0), Andrew Cox (29.0), Scott Finlayson (60.5)

ILCA 7 (1st, 2nd, 3rd):

R19: Healy Ryan, Rod Barnes, Conor Kellett
R20: Healy Ryan, Conor Kellett, Rod Barnes
R21: Healy Ryan, Conor Kellett, Rod Barnes

Going into the final race day: Hadrien Bourely (35.3), James Tudball (41.1), Maxim Djura (71.0)

ILCA 4 (1st, 2nd, 3rd):

R19: Harper Spacey, Zoe Allen, Charie Wait
R20: Harper Spacey, Tucker McKeon, Zoe Allen
R21: Zoe Allen, Tucker McKeon, Charie Wait

Going into the final race day: Harper Spacey (20.0), Raphael McLachlan (36.0), Zoe Allen (39.0)

Results - Point Score Races 19, 20 & 21:

ILCA 6 (1st, 2nd, 3rd):

R19: Dion Doumit, Katie McHugh, Kerryn Smith
R20: Kerryn Smith, Andrew Cox, Dion Doumit
R21: Dion Doumit, Andrew Cox=Kerryn Smith

ILCA 7 (1st, 2nd, 3rd):

R19: Peter D’Arcy-King, David Da Costa Enes, Andrew Foote
R20: David Da Costa Enes, Peter D’Arcy-King, Andrew Foote
R21: Healy Ryan, Connor Kellett, Hadrien Bourely

ILCA 4 (1st, 2nd, 3rd):

R19: Charie Wait, Zoe Allen, Tucker McKeon
R20: Tucker McKeon, Harper Spacey, Zoe Allen
R21: Tucker McKeon, Zoe Allen, Charie Wait

DBSC Reach Youth Program Lunch

The sun and harbour put on a glorious show last Sunday for our Youth Reach lunch. It was both a social gathering and Q&A session. 

We are very fortunate at Double Bay to have such depth of talent to tap into. Dan, Healy, Paige and Craig Ryan all generously passed on their wisdom to the ILCA 4 crop of sailors and parents heading to the 2025 ILCA Youth World Championships in LA next month.

What a glorious way to wrap up Term 2: sun, nem nuong (Vietnamese grilled pork sausage) and good company. Link to the carrot & lentil salad recipe is HERE (my tweaks to the recipe not included)

-Van Allen

Photos by James Tudball:

WHAT'S GOING ON

Club Look-ahead Schedule

• Sunday 6 July: NO CLUB RACING (SCHOOL HOLIDAYS)

• Monday 7 - 8 July: DBSC Reach Youth Training Camp - Yarra Bay

• !!! NOTE !!! Monday 7 -13 July: Clubhouse Entry Floor Repairs - NO CLUB ACCESS for 7 days.

• Sunday 13 July: NO CLUB RACING (SCHOOL HOLIDAYS)

• Sunday 20 July: NO CLUB RACING (SCHOOL HOLIDAYS)

• Sunday 27 July:

  • SUNDAY MORNING Racing - Winter Championship and Point Score series (last races of the Winter Series)

  • 7:20am Race Briefing, Start time: 8:00am

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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.