DBSC to Host 2017 Metropolitan Championships

VYC suffered massive damage when the wild storms hit Sydney in June.  So much so that they have asked us to host the Laser Metropolitan Championships on 18-19 March 2017.  

The last time we hosted in 2015 was a resounding success with 121 boats, so book in a big weekend

Metros 2015 with 121 boats. How many will come in 2017?

Clubhouse bookings

Due to Peter Collie's hard work, we are able to rent the club out a few times a year to pre screened, low impact events (no 21sts or pissups) and earn few bucks. Last year we earned about $5k, which is a fair chunk of our surplus. We strive to ensure that these rentals don't interfere with our sailing.  

We've got 2 coming up this month and we ask members don't obstruct the club floor and avoid the club during the following time:

• Sunday 17th July.  Set up in AM, function in afternoon
• Saturday 30th July  Set up in AM, function in afternoon and evening

Thanks for your consideration.  

Australian Youth Team

Congratulations Finn.  All the early morning training has paid off and he has been selected on the Australian Youth Team.  It's a very prestigious selection, only one boat from each class.  DBSC couldn't be prouder. 

Read the  Australian Youth Team announcement

Australian Youth Smiling Team

It should be all about the data but....

This writer is very disappointed that no one picked up the obvious analytical error in last week's election special: click here.

The data was correct but the analysis is wrong ("needs to improve" in politically correct teacher speak).  A special prize will be awarded to the first to identify the mistake and calculate the correct answer: email me.

For inspiration, see one of the shortest PhD dissertations: see this.

Grasshopper 2.0 got a seat on the bus.

Did they mis-spell, yoof

Stop Press- the results for the Queensland Yoof Regatta: Radials and 4.7. 

In conditions far inferior to Sydney Harbour, our younger members endured:

Day 1 - scheduled races -3 but they only completed 1/2 of the first race.  
Day 2 - same again
day 3- same again
Day 4 - they had to get a series in so they ran the races but it was very light and tricky.

The 4:30am training certainly paid off for Team DBSC Yoof. 

Grasshopper 2.0 earned a seat on the AUSTRALIAN SAILING YOUTH TEAM bus! He was amply supported by Co-CEO of Team Alexander, IED.

Given the poor weather conditions, Smiley focussed quite rightly on problem sets for the HSC and got some valuable experience.

Congrats to 4.7 crew, particularly Henry Davison ( who nominated DBSC as his club) who had a cracker and was just outside Top 10. 

Election Special: Australian productivity falling

Dougie, Honorary DBSCer and Master Communicator.

Honorary DBSCer, and InterWeb pioneer and superstar, Mr Dougie Peckover, Esq., has produced conclusive evidence that Australian productivity has declined by 0.959% p.a. over the last 45 years.  Here is a snippet from Dougie's blog:

As a 20-year-old wanting to see the world, I bought myself a one-way ticket from Montreal to Sydney and Double Bay was my first stop to try to crew on an 18.  I was teamed up with Art Mayer who had an older 18, but he talked me out of it saying that for every hour on the water, I'd have to spend three working on the boat.  I asked him what he would do in my position, he thought for a moment, and then said "I'd call a guy by the name of Frank Bethwaite."

So within 2 weeksof arriving, Frank was my mentor, I'd met all the Bethwaites, and I was race secretary of the NS14's.  What a great experience for a kid wanting to learn more about sailing! 

The ratio of rigging to sailing for an 18 has increased to 6.17:1, hence the decline in productivity.

This fall in Australian productivity is in direct contrast to what has been happening at the leading Laser club in the World, DBSC, where our volunteers have made our club the most efficient in the world.

The good news is that Dougie now sails a Laser and his blog containing a wealth of information (that even Dear Leader refers to).  See you in Sydney soon, Dougie.

Yoof Update....and call for help.

Read on to find out why Smiley isn't smiling.

First, the good news, the club's yoof are training hard to bringing glorious benefit for our working-class sailing club on both the national and international stages.

Grasshopper 2.0, Noah and Smiley are all off to Queensland Week 1-5 July and then to the 2016 Laser Radial Youth World Championships at Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, Ireland leaving 15 July for the regatta 23-30 July.  Experienced senior members of our club, Gerry and Sergey, have gone to Ireland at their own expense to carry out reconnaissance for the yoof, but, unfortunately, rating pubs isn't too accretive in trying to bring home the silverware.

The bad news is that Smiley is using all her weekly pocket money ($12 per week) to park her Laser trailer: no wonder she wasn't smiling.  If anyone can help with free off-street parking, please contact her mum, Charlotte.

PS: Dear Leader and The People's Prince are going to push on with an unsolicited proposal to the NSW Government to build a multi-storey underground car park at Steyne Park (with free parking for DBSCers), but it might take more than a few years as the proposal does not include a casino.

June 30: don't just nominate trust distributions....

Most of you are just doing the discretionary trust distributions before the 30 June deadline, but there is another (and dare I say it, a real) tax driven deadline....giving a tax-deductible donation to DBSC.

As the People's Prince declared at the recently held 60th Congress, Dene Bergman, the boat and not the legend, will be having tubal work.  The 18s are paying for half the work, and DBSC is paying for other half.

If you can afford to help, Troublemaker helpfully has given us a guide to tax effectively contributing (this is the distillation of the 100 page pitch book his work grunts produced on Sunday morning):

The ASF donation page is https://asf.org.au/organisation/double-bay-sailing-club-incorporated/

People can donate on that page to one of four funds:

1. General purpose DBSC fund -- this can be used by us for any purpose and is the preferred method for everything other than high performance development. Donate to this by clicking on the "make a tax deductible donation" button near the top of the web page

2. Facility upgrade fund -- separate section at the bottom of the web page

3. High performance development fund -- separate section at the bottom of the web page

4. Equipment upgrade fund -- separate section at the bottom of the web page.

Troublemaker has advised the EFT option is the best for DBSC as it has the lowest fees paid to the ASF, but needs to be received before 28 June.  The credit card option can be done up to the 30 June.

2017 World Master Games @ Auckland

The 2017 World Master Games are to be held in Auckland in April. Note that this is a different event to the 2017 World Laser Masters which will be later in the year in Croatia. As far as I can tell, the WMG are a sort of mini Olympics, with less performance enhancing but more anti inflammatory drugs, and better food and booze, for folk over 35.  And you race for real medals, not plastic cubes. 

The WMG event website is http://www.worldmastersgames2017.co.nz/the-sports/find-your-sport/sailing/

The document at http://www.worldmastersgames2017.co.nz/media/1605/wmg-sailing-laser-shipping-from-australia-march-2016.pdf gives costs of charter boats (NZ$2,400 + 15% GST) and offers an alternative for return freight of your own Laser from Australia for NS$850 + GST.  The latter option requires applying now.

If you have interest, please email me (commodore@dbsc.com.au) and Dear leader (mark.bethwaite@gmail.com). We need to consider:

1. whether we need to adjust our 2016-17 calendar, specifically club championships
2. If we arrange a container to be loaded from DBSC
3. If we arrange training ahead of the trip. 

85th VJ reunion

DBSC's original fleet sailed VJs.  They were a great boat, featuring hiking planks (aka Banana Boards), which predated trapezes. 

VJ's launching from DBSC.  Resplendent with wooden hulls, hiking planks, cane battens and metal centreboards.  

The VJ 85th Anniversary Reunion is being held at the Belmont 16s on sat 20th August.

Details are at https://vauclusejunior.wordpress.com

Contact Greg Fryer. 0401 307367

or Rob Lowndes on  lowndesr@bigpond.net.au