Volunteer rosters published

The PRO/COTD/CoCOTD Calendar has been finalised and published for season 2017/18. 

This coming year, in addition to our usual race-support volunteering, we are requesting one member per week to help in the canteen -- this roster has been randomly allocated. 

You can view the roster on our website here.

Please review the calendar and diarise the day(s) you are rostered on. If you cannot attend that day please contact treasurer@dbsc.com.au.

All race volunteers will be required to arrive at the club at 11am. All canteen helpers will be free to sail since canteen duties are from 11.30am through to the race briefing at 1pm. 

Survey closing this week

The 2017 DBSC Laser Sailors' Survey will close at 5pm this Friday. We have had 85% participation to date -- thanks to everyone who has contributed!

We have emailed direct reminders to everyone who is showing in Survey Monkey as incomplete. Please take the five minutes needed to complete it. 

Email commodore@dbsc.com.au if you cannot access the survey for any reason. 

Over the coming weeks, we will publish the results of the survey, and the actions we are taking in response. Thanks again for your participation. 

Good luck, Marlena

Good luck to Marlena Berzins who will be competing in the 2017 Laser Radial Women’s World Championships in Medemblik, Netherlands from 19-26 August.

Click here to follow along.

She has just finished competing in the U21 Women's Radial World Championships and finished 17th overall and 5th U19.

August Sprints - 1pm Start

DBSC's famous August Saturday Sprints Series continues this week.  Splash at 12.30pm for a 1pm starting signal.

The competition is fierce on a crisp and windy August arvo. 

Don't Forget... Member Survey Continues

We're now well over the 50% mark for members who have filled out their membership survey. But we're aiming for 100%. So if you haven't completed the survey, please let your voice be heard. If you can't find the original email with the survey link, please use this one: http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/855YX3J

If you still have problems, please email commodore@dbsc.com.au and let us know.

August Sailing Continues

We had very good sailing last weekend for our season kick-off -- 20 boats on Sat and 10 on Sun including several from VYC and MHASC. A big thanks to Peter Collie, who did a great job as starter and response boat on both days.  

Sailing is on again this weekend. Sprints on Saturday starting at 1pm (briefing at 12pm). And then more sprints on Sunday -- this time with splash at 2pm due to closure of New South Head Road for the City to Surf in the morning. 

Mark Bethwaite has kindly offered to man the response boat, run the races and give coaching to anyone who wants it on the Sunday.

A Beautiful Winter's Day for the First August Sprints
Photo by Peter Collie

Member Survey

We have now had 41% completed responses to the survey. We would really appreciate responses from everyone else, including those who only answered the first question (still 12 people).  Some of the people who are recorded as incomplete may have missed the fact that their answers to Q2 did not add up to 100 points. If you submit the survey and miss the error message, you will record an incomplete result.

We would love to get to 100% participation. We have some exciting new programs on offer that we can't confirm without your interest.

Early responses are interesting. For example, we have strong interest in the Brett Beyer Saturday race coaching and analysis program, with 14 people so far interested in paying $900 for a 10-week program of on-water training, post-race debrief, and individual GPS-based post-race report. We need definitive numbers on this (and the alternative program structures) ASAP because Brett has offered to purchase new equipment for us while he is in China for a couple more weeks. So, could you please respond to the survey today?  It would be great to be able to close it off this week.  

It seems some people did not get the survey email and others were unable to open it.  If that is the case for you, can you please first check your spam folder and/or try the survey on a different device.  If that still does not help, then please try the following link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/855YX3J

If you still have problems, can you please email commodore@dbsc.com.au and let us know.

Big Boat Race Report

Report by Chris Bowling

In the build-up to the race it looked like we might have up to 7 boats, but only 3 presented for the start. It was a sparkling and sunny afternoon, but the wind was fresh, building and chilly. A north-westerly somehow bringing cold air from the snow-fields, where snowfalls were approaching record levels. 

The start was provided by John and Amelia Vasey; it was Amelia (aged 4) who sounded the horn to send the boats on their way. The forecast of 18 knots was pretty much what we got, with lighter patches and some sharp, curly gusts embedded.  Corinna made the best of a tight start, but on the reach to Point Piper, first G-Force, then Umbakumba, sailed through, to round the mark in that order, with Corinna last.  The work to Taylors Bay had some tricky shifts and gusts which kept everyone on their toes, but G-Force retained her lead.  Corinna got almost within collision range but rounded a boat length behind. Umbakumba fell back by about 2 minutes, flying a genoa that looked a bit too big for the conditions.

After that we had a soldier’s course, with 2 broad reaches and a tight reach to the finish.  G-Force steadily increased her gap to win by about 4 minutes.  Umbakumba closed most of the gap to Corinna but in the end crossed about 20 seconds behind.  
Congratulations to G-Force for a very clear win.

At the finish:  G-Force
                      Corinna.
                      Umbakumba.

Winter Sprints Start This Saturday

In a sign that spring is just around the corner, our Winter Sprint Series starts this Saturday with a briefing at 12noon and a 1pm race start. These sprints will be held every Saturday in August, and are a great way to get ready for the main racing season that starts in September.  The race format and any special instructions will be communicated at the briefing.  Join us Saturday and get prepped for the season ahead by checking out the DBSC Calendar for 2017-18 here. 

Now this is Winter Sailing!

Help Us - Member Survey

Last week you should have received an email via Surveymonkey.com asking you to take part in a survey on how to improve DBSC. Out of 100 surveys that were sent, we have received only 18 complete responses. Another 21 people answered the first question, which is in the covering email, but didn’t click through to the survey.
 
Thank you to those who have completed the survey – your responses are very helpful and informative.  But we need to hear from many more to make sure we get an accurate picture of how the membership views the club and how to best improve it.  

There are 10 questions.  The first question is in the email you received and, when you click on that, it takes you through to the full survey. For those who have only done one question, could you please go back and finish the rest?  For those who have not done the survey at all, could you please take 5 minutes to complete it?
 
Among other things, there are some new and exciting training programs we’re considering implementing, but we need the survey results to move ahead with them – and, if we have the numbers, our coach has generously offered to upgrade his GPS equipment while he is in China for the next couple of weeks – but we need responses ASAP for this to happen

 We will share the results with everyone once the survey is completed.  Thanks for your participation!