Race Report - Saturday 25 October 2025

All photos by Jason Wilkins

Spring Point Score Races 5 & 6

A very pleasant 8 knot nor’easter greeted a fleet of 45 or so boats on Saturday for spring Pointscores 5&6, albeit there was about 25% attrition rate between the races.

The seas were a little choppy, but this made the downwinds prime for surfing.  An eager fleet and runout tide made for some aggressive starts.  The Radials were lucky to get away in Race 1, and one boat was OCS’ed in Race 2.  The standards were recalled for Race 1 and thereafter were well behaved under the black flag. 

It was a day for the “mature” sailors.  Alistair crossed the line first in both ILCA 6 races, although he did Retire-At-Finish in Race 1 following a port / starboard “issue” just metres from the finish line, which promoted Sarah Bruce for the scratch win.  In the full rigs, Dave Newman took the horn twice. 

Pointscore results:

ILCA 6, Heat 5

1. Jim Dounis

2. Jasper Kinsman

3. David Airey

ILCA 6, Heat 6

1. David Murphy

2. David Airey

3. Alistair Sutherland

ILCA 7, Heat 5

1. Tim Heath *

2. Hadrien Bourely

3. Peter D'Arcy-King

ILCA 7, Heat 6

1. Tim Heath *

2. Quentin Burns

3. Rodney Barnes

*Stewards have been called in to investigate if Tim and the handicapper have been in cahoots

It’s great to see so many of our former ILCA 4 sailors have stepped into the 6’s, and they are doing great.  Finally, a number of sailors appear to require reminding that ILCAs perform better whilst the mast is facing upwards and the daggerboard downwards.    

Thanks to the on-water team of Scott Finlayson, Jason Wilkins, Chalie Cameron and Murray Stone, who were all a great help for your correspondent.

- Luke Parker, PRO

Regatta Report - Coast Championships

Gosford Sailing Club. Photo by Stephen Reid

Stephen Reid reports from Gosford, NSW:

On the weekend of 18-19 October The Coast Championships were held at Gosford Sailing Club, with 45 boats from 15 sailing clubs competing. Conditions were very good with 8-10 knots SE on Saturday and a nice building 10-15 knots NNE breeze on Sunday.

Gosford Sailing Club were excellent hosts for the weekend and the committee and volunteers did an excellent of providing great racing over 6 races.  Well done to everyone who participated from DBSC: 

ILCA 4

1st - Patrick McLachlan

1st female, 3rd overall - Harper Spacey

ILCA 6

1st - Sylvie Stannage

2nd, 1st U19 - Sara Bruce

6th - Charlotte Jenkins

ILCA 7

1st - Alexander Bijkerk (with 6 bullets!)

3rd, 1st U21 - Quentin Burns

6th - Stephen Reid

7th - Mike Dunne

DBSC Members Competency Training

An important reminder from the club’s Safety Officer:

Dear DBSC members,

9am this Saturday is our annual competency day. Andrew Cox, our ex-commodore, will review how to run a race. Pat Levy will demonstrate and update us on how to use RIBs, davits and other club equipment safely on rostered volunteer days. I will brief on how to respond to on-water incidents (plus refresh some basic resuscitation knowledge).

There are changes every year, and all members are expected to attend, as well as anyone who may be on-water in a support capacity during the year, even if not in a formally designated role. The briefings should be wrapped up by 11am allowing everyone time to either to do some boat work, enjoy a toastie or go for a coffee prior to our race briefing at 1pm. It's also a good opportunity for members to discuss issues they've experienced and ideas for the future.

All the best,

David Murphy

What's Going On

Club Look-ahead Schedule

• Thursday 30 October: Twilight Racing (5pm splash)

• Saturday 1 November:

  • Members’ Competency Training: 9am start (please see preceding article)

  • Club Championships Races 5 & 6: 1pm Briefing, 2:00pm First warning

  • BBQ after racing

• Thursday 6 November: Twilight Racing (5pm splash)

• Saturday 8 November:

  • Learn to Race: 9:00am

  • Spring Point Score Races 7 & 8: 1pm Briefing, 2pm First warning

• Thursday 13 November: Twilight Racing (5pm splash)

• Saturday 15 November: Sprint Racing (1pm briefing for 2pm start)

• Saturday & Sunday 15-16 November: 2025 NSW & ACT Open, Youth, Masters State Titles, Wangi ASC

  • NOR

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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 18 October 2025

All photos by Nick Pellow and Mark Gray

SPrint Racing

Saturday was a day of champagne sailing on Sydney Harbour. The moderate wind backed from SE in the morning to E in the afternoon. Thus it was decided to set our standard easterly course into the Dardanelles, but a bit closer to the channel to take advantage of the good pressure coming out of Rose Bay. The course length was long enough to accommodate five 25-minutes races allowing sailors to bring tactics into play. There was always a chance to lose, win or at least recover a position. Those who managed wind better than others ended with a significant lead. 

Below are winners for each race:

Race 1

ILCA7: Hadrian Bourly

ILCA6: Alistair Sutherland

Race 2:

ILCA7: Dave Newman

ILCA6: Alistair Sutherland 

Race 3:

ILCA7: Rod Barnes

ILCA6: [yawn] Alistair Sutherland 

Race 4:

IlCA7: Steve London 

ILCA6: David Airie

Race 5: 

ILCA7: Hadrian Bourly

ILCA6: Julian Doumit

The race team for the day was: Nick Pellow as PRO, truly yours as LTRaR and LTWaN (learn to write a newsletter), Mark Gray as COTD, and Andrea, Iris and Dion as CoCOTD. John Vasey prepared both RIBs and the Jazzman for the day. 

- Maxim Djura, LTRaR

What's Going On

Club Look-ahead Schedule

• Thursday 23 October: Twilight Racing (5pm splash)

• Saturday 25 October:

  • Learn to Race: 9:00am

  • Spring Point Score Races 5 & 6: 1pm Briefing, 2:00pm First warning

• Thursday 30 October: Twilight Racing (5pm splash)

• Saturday 1 November:

  • Club Championships Races 5 & 6: 1pm Briefing, 2:00pm First warning

  • BBQ after racing

• Thursday 6 November: Twilight Racing (5pm splash)

• Saturday 8 November:

  • Learn to Race: 9:00am

  • Spring Point Score Races 7 & 8 1pm Briefing, 2:00pm 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.

2025 Double Bay Regatta Race Report

Oh What a Day!
Saturday 11 October 2025

Blessed with truly magical Sydney Harbour Spring Weather, the Double Bay Regatta was run last Saturday by the volunteers of Double Bay Sailing Club. There was a great mix of competitors, with 77 entries across ILCA 4, 6 and 7 Laser Classes. All age groups were represented from 12yo to 78yo with over 30 Youth Sailors making up the largest group, and an even spread across the Open and Masters categories.

Starting the day with a free sausage sizzle and last minute registrations. We also welcomed Andrew Hawkins from BoatCrewGear.com who’s pop-up stall had a great range of gear available. BoatCrewGear also provided our sponsor prizes for the Youth category - Thankyou Andrew!

We welcomed competitors from nearby Woollahra Sailing Club, Vaucluse Yacht Club, Hunters Hill Sailing Club, Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Middle Harbour Amateur Sailing Club and the Royal Australian Navy Sailing Association. When we arrived to the starting area we found a North-East course laid by our race team led by guest PRO Rob Lowndes, (who had just returned from Italy where he had claimed the title of 2025 ILCA 6 World Masters Legends Champion!).

As the first race started, it really looked like we had been blessed with a perfect building Nor-Easter, and while we enjoyed that while it lasted - by the second race the wind had shifted all the way right toward the East, requiring complete course change into the “Dardanelles”, entering Rose Bay between Shark Island and Point Piper. But that was not the end of the course changes, the wind lightened as we finished race two, and the new breeze came in at 10-15 knots (occasionally gusting 20) from the opposite direction, right down from the Harbour Bridge where we saw the flags turn Westerly!

And so our on-water race team deserves a huge Thank-You as they had to rearrange the course three times over the day for each race: - Rob Lowndes, Rob Barnes, Robert Bruce on The Jazzman start boat, David Murphy with Peter Collie, Anna McKeon, Ben Byford, Maurice Doumit on the Finish Boat “Smitten”, and a host of others busily moving marks: Pat Levy, Diana Chen (Photographer), John Vasey, Craig Ryan, Marian Traynor, Wendel Wait across 3 RIB support boats, with an additional support boat provided by VYC, (and thankyou to Luke Parker and Craig Ryan for making their RIBs available) - they were all kept very busy!

The Mark Bethwaite Trophy:

In honor of our local club legend who joined the club over 25 years ago, drawn by a friendship with Don Roach and other like-minded Laser sailors. As a member of an iconic sailing family, Mark has had an outstanding sailing career.  He was Australian Yachtsman of the Year back in 1983 and was part of the Olympic Team in 1980.  He has achieved World Champion status in the J24, Soling class and Laser ILCA Masters, where he was 9 times World Masters Champion, and where he still has a World Masters ILCA medal tally that has him ranked 4th in the World. A life member of DBSC and past Commodore, he holds the record of 15 times Double Bay Champion and 16 times Double Bay Masters Champion!

There were standout performances by so many competitors out on the course - with three exceptional sailors rising to to the top - the first Champions of the Double Bay Regatta:

1st ILCA 7 - Julian Taylor (WSC/DBSC)
1st ILCA 6 - Sylvie Stannage (HHSC/DBSC)
1st ILCA 4 - Zac Howell (HHSC/DBSC)

Mark joined us on the day, and presented the Cup to the champions Zac, Sylvie and Julian who were also presented a medallion and cash prize, and will have their names on the new Mark Bethwaite Trophy.

Some very close racing saw only a few points between competitors at the top end of the fleet. We congratulate 2nd and 3rd in each class with a cash prize and Double Bay Regatta Medallion:

2nd ILCA 7 - Healy Ryan DBSC
2nd ILCA 6 - Richard Longbottom RANSA/CYC
2nd ILCA 4 - Patrick McLachlan DBSC

3rd ILCA 7 - Alexander Bijkerk RPAYC/DBSC
3rd ILCA 6 - Sara Bruce DBSC
3rd ILCA 4 - Charlotte Harris WSC

Runner-up age categories: Youth
ILCA 4 Youth - ALL - Marcus Retboell WSC
ILCA 4 Youth - Female - Harper Spacey DBSC
ILCA 4 Youth Encouragement - Harrison Rudham WSC
ILCA 6 Youth - ALL - Charles Byford RPAYC/DBSC
ILCA 6 Youth - Female - Olivia Aitken DBSC
ILCA 7 Youth - ALL - Conor Kellett DBSC

Runner up age categories Adult - ILCA 6:
ILCA 6 Apprentice - ALL - Roberto Blum DBSC
ILCA 6 Apprentice - Women - Vaimooia Ripley WSC/MHASC
ILCA 6 Master - ALL - Scott Hunter DBSC
ILCA 6 Master - Women - Kate McHugh DBSC
ILCA 6 Grand Master - ALL - Kirk Marcolina DBSC
ILCA 6 Great Grand Master - ALL - Jeff Loosemore MHASC
ILCA 6 Encouragement Award - Ian Tudball DBSC

Runner up age Categories Adult - ILCA 7:
ILCA 7 Apprentice - James Tudball DBSC
ILCA 7 Master - David Newman DBSC
ILCA 7 Grand Master - Luke Parker DBSC
ILCA 7 Great Grand Master - Oliver Shtein VYC
ILCA 7 Encouragement Award - Samuel Slattery DBSC

The scoresheet results are HERE.

We would like to thank all the volunteers that helped make it such a great day, and those that helped before and after: Steven London and Geoff Boscoe on Registrations, Peter Collie and Ian Tudball on the BBQ, Scott Hunter, Jim Dounis, Murray Stone, Roberto Blum, Stephen Reid, Andrew Foote and Samuel Slattery rigging area, gate and launching and clubhouse, also with Justine Scott and Anna McKeon, and our Life Members Paul Adam and Shirley Roach who run the canteen week in and week out.

-Your Commodore Steven London

All photos copyright Double Bay Sailing Club. Additional photos also by Diana Chen are on the club website HERE.

Away Regatta Season Kick-off next weekend

After a tremendously successful Double Bay Regatta (see previous article), the NSW circuit moves on to Gosford next weekend for the NSW/ACT Coast Championships, running from 16-18 October. 

The NSW/ACT Open, Youth & Masters States is on at Wangi 15-16 November. We're supporting regatta logistics with limited availability for trailer spots and also organising share accommodation. If you're looking to participate and need support with either, please email Dave Newman ASAP.

If you're competing at the 2026 Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships at RYCT in Hobart from 1-8 January,  there is a special offer from Sprint of Tasmania for transportation that is valid until 17 October.

And finally, we have the 2026 Australian Masters Championships at Bay SC, Port Stephens on 6-9 February 2026. It will be a not-to-miss event. We'll be coordinating logistics but highly recommend if you intend on competing, get together with some club mates and organise accommodation early as it's already limited.

Regatta Report - 2025 Masters Worlds

Formia, Italy

The ILCA Masters World Championship was a remarkable event with 455 ILCA 6 and 7 sailors from 35 countries racing over 7 days in the azure, calm seas off Formia, in southern Italy. There was an opening ceremony, involving contestants marching behind their country flags to We are the Champions and Chariots of Fire, speeches and the lighting of the flame - though the most memorable moment of the first day was when 455 boats returning from the practice race tried use 4 small ramps when each boat was only able to use their designed numbered dolly.

There were 6 DBSC representatives in the large Australian contingent (second largest after the Italians). L-R: Pat Levi, Kerryn Smith, Rod Barnes, Mike Dunn, Martin White and Scott Finlayson.

The weather throughout the week was rarely over 10 knots, with few opportunities to hike, and on a couple days we spent 5-6 hours mulling around the start line waiting in vain for wind to start racing. Fortunately, on the quiet days, there was lots to do in Formia and the nearby historic town of Gaeta - in particular involving pizza, pasta and Birra Moretti, meeting sailors from many different countries or just exploring the city and beaches. The regional government was very hospitable, and made the sailors feel welcome. 

Despite the light winds, most fleets completed 10 and 11 races over 7 days. There were great results from DBSC sailors, including Martin's 19th in the Great Grand Master ILCA 6 fleet, Pat's 26th in Great Grand Master ILCA 7 fleet and Rod's 37th in the Standard Gold Fleet ILCA 7 (which was won by Brett Beyer - his 18th win). Pat's result was particularly impressive as he normally sails ICLA 6 and had his 70th birthday a few days before the start of the regatta.  

The regatta was the final stage of more than two weeks in Italy – starting with three days training and hospitality on stunning Lake Garda with Italian, American and Canadian sailors and organised by Mark Bethwaite (which Rod covered in an earlier newsletter). Pat, Martin and I had a very entertaining driving tour to southern Italy, stopping at the Ferrari museum in Modena, a memorable night in Bolonga and three days in Perugia (Umbria) before the long drive to Formia. 

Overall, it was an amazing experience that I’ll always remember. Even though a torn meniscus in my knee meant I missed a third of the races and could only sail for one afternoon on Lake Garda, I’m so glad to have made the trip and are keen to do another Worlds. Special thanks to Rod for this organisation skills, Mark for the Lake Garda training, Martin for his counsel, Pat for many things (save for holding shopping bags for Martin and I), Mike for his stories and in particular my housemate Scott.      

 The 2026 World Masters will be held on the Greek Island of Skiathos in June next year – think about it.  

- Kerryn Smith

All photos by Kerryn Smith except where otherwise noted.

What's Going On

Club Look-ahead Schedule

• Thursday 16 October: Twilight Racing (5pm splash)

• Saturday & Sunday 18-19 October: 2025 NSW & ACT Coast Champs, Gosford SC

  • NOR

  • Entry

• Saturday 18 October: Sprint Races

  • 1pm Briefing, 2:00pm First warning

• Thursday 23 October: Twilight Racing (5pm splash)

• Saturday 25 October:

  • Learn to Race: 9:00am

  • Spring Point Score Races 5 & 6: 1pm Briefing, 2:00pm 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.