Victory vs Vaucluse

DBSC hosted the latest edition of the Vaucluse Challenge on Saturday, and it was a challenge indeed with 54-boats competing in a gusty, shifty southerly in that tricky 10-15 knot range.  The 16 Vaucluse Yacht Club (VYC) members sailed against the much larger DBSC fleet in one 90-minute race.  A new scoring system was in place where the first five boats in each fleet counted towards the score, with the first four in each fleet being allocated a score of 1-8 in their relative order of finishing, irrespective of actual place in the fleet, and the fifth boat in each fleet being allocated a score equal to its actual finishing place in the fleet. The final result was a clear DBSC victory with 35 points to VYC’s 84 points. Rob Barns was first in the Standards and Jack Littlechild won the day for the Radial Fleet. Thanks to Peter Collie, Clare Alexander and Mark Gray for running the race. After the sailing action concluded, VYC hosted us for drinks, awards presentations and a delicious meal, all with a fabulous view from their newly reconstructed clubhouse.

But just because it was a special race didn’t mean Brett Beyer’s coaching stopped. Brett was out on the course and gave a great wrap-up of the day during the VYC post-race drinks. He also captured the start on video, and has graciously allowed us to post the vision online. You can check out the radial start here and the standard start here.

Peter Collie, our resident award-winning photographer, also snapped some great shots of the action. Here are a few of the highlights: 

This Week’s Sailing and More

Tonight, we have our weekly Wednesday Twilights. Last week we had 15 boats, and it would be great if you could join us tonight. Racing starts at 5.30 with a splash at 5.10 (or whenever you can get there). If you’re coming, sign up on our Doodle Poll here.

This Saturday brings us Club Championships Heats 5 & 6. Please plan on arriving at 11am to help at the working bee – we’re getting the club in tip top shape in preparation for next week’s States. 

Sates in Just 10 Days

Laser sailors from around NSW will be descending on DBSC in a little over a week. On 18 – 19 November we’re hosting the NSW Laser State Championship. We’re hoping for 150 boats out on the harbour and we want to make sure as many DBSC members participate as possible. You need to register to race, so please sign up here as soon as you can.

This is also our chance to show visiting sailors the unique community that is DBSC. But we need your help to make that happen by lending a hand:

• Club Clean-up – 11am on Saturday, November 11th.
• Race Day Organising – 9am on Saturday, November 18th.  There are heaps of jobs to be done on the Saturday morning of the Championships. Please help us organise and manage the day and the 100+ sailors who will be coming to DBSC as our guests. This is not voluntary; we need everyone to be there. But don’t worry you’ll still have time to race!

Boat Repair Clinic Part 2

Craig Sheers and Ian Alexander will be running the second part of their boat repair clinic this Saturday, 11 November, at 8am. If you’re signed up to attend, please show up with the necessary supplies.

Christmas and New Members' Drinks – a Perfect Combination

Our New Members’ Drinks Evening is being rescheduled as many of our Youth Sailors will be away at Sail Melbourne on 25 Nov. We are instead going to combine the drinks with our annual Christmas Party on Saturday 16 December at 7pm. More details to come, but get ready for an extra special night of fun. 

Sign On Procedures

There have been several sailors who are not signing on prior to our Saturday races. If you do not sign on your race result may not be recorded. If you are at DBSC, please use the handy paper sign on sheets located in the club. If you are sailing in from another club - please sail past the start boat and tell them your sail number and that you are signing on.

Brett Beyer Lecture Series

Last Wednesday we had over 40 people show up for Brett’s presentation on sail shape and trim. It was a well-received lecture, and more are in store in the months to come. The next topic will be starts and the first beat, and will be held on Wednesday, December 6th at 8pm. Sign up info coming soon.     

Finn Wins Youth Sailor of the Year

Congrats to our very own Finn Alexander who won Australian Youth Sailor of the Year last week. It’s a well-earned award which Finn is very excited about. He explains, “It feels great to have won the Youth Sailor of the Year. It was an honour to win it against such tough competition and I am so grateful to have a club like DBSC supporting me from the beginning.” 

Finn and Andrew with Finn's Youth Sailor of the Year Trophy

Nov 1 Snapshot

Here’s what’s in store for this week's newsletter:

• Point Score 9 – 10 Recap – winners revealed and pictures galore
• Vaucluse Challenge is on this Saturday at DBSC – find out how we’ll defend our honour
• Wednesday Twilights – on this evening, if you’re coming sign up here
• Brett Beyer Lecture Tonight – pizza, sail shape & trim – sign up here
• State Championships – how we’re getting ready for the big day, and how you can help  
• Big Boat Race – on this Sunday at 2pm
• Meet Our Newest Member – Hans Baecker
• Season Opening Dinner – a recap of the frivolities
• New Members’ Welcome Drinks – looking forward to even more frivolities on 25 Nov

Spring Pointscore 9 – 10 Recap

We had nearly 50 boats turn up last Saturday for heats 9 and 10 of the Spring Pointscore. It was a great steady 15-18 knot NE breeze that gave us some perfect Sydney Harbour sailing. The winners (after handicapping) were: Full Rigs: Hadrien Bourely (race 9), Jason Wilkins (race 10); Radials: Justin Davey (race 9), Otto Henry (race 10); 4.7s: Boston Cortis (both races 9 and 10). Thanks to last week’s volunteers for putting on a great day of racing: PRO Ian Alexander, assisted by Clare Alexander, COTD John Vasey, CoCOTD Steven London, and Canteen Assistant Pia Hattersley. A special thanks to Steven London for capturing many great shots of the action on the harbour. Steven has posted some great shots of us here, check them out to see if you can spot yourself in action.