DBSC Women & Girl Sailors Dominate at States

Last week, we gave you an overview of the State Championships. This week, we focus on our women sailors. 

At a time when women in sport is a major social and political focus, it was encouraging, but not sufficient, that 30% of the Radial and 4.7 sailors at the State Championships were women. 

Notably, it was women who featured at the top of both fleets, with the top 10% of the fleet comprising 50% women in the Radials and 75% women in the 4.7s. 59% of the 29 cubes in those fleets went to women (and 47% of those to women from Team DBSC)!

Of particular note was DBSC’s Marlena Berzins, member of the Australian Sailing Team, and 1st overall, 1st female and 1st U19 in the Radials.  

Just like the tussle we wrote about last week at the front of the Standard fleet, Marlena also had a close contest in her fleet, ending the first day equal with Jacinta Ainsworth. However, after dropping a 10 from the first day, and with an impressive 1, 1, 2, 2, 9 for the remainder, Marlena took the title by a comfortable 5 points in the end. 

Marlena was excited by the large fleet of women, stating, “It was amazing competing with so many strong female sailors.”

Also worthy of mention were DBSC’s Brooke Wilson and Mina Ferguson, who were 2nd and 3rd overall in the 4.7s, and 1st and 2nd U16 in that fleet. Well done to you all. 

Marlena is thrilled to see so many girls coming up in the 4.7s. She explains, “Now that there is such a strong support network, it’s much more comfortable for girls to move into a Laser. There is so much talent out there. Before sailing a Laser meant just sailing with the guys. Not anymore.”

But this is not where this topic ends. DBSC is committed to promoting women in sailing and women in our club. We are proposing next year to hold what will be billed as “the inaugural Women’s Laser Regatta hosted by Double Bay Sailing Club”. 

The plan is to promote the regatta throughout Australia, and we have strong support to do so from Australian Sailing and the Laser Association. 

Clare Alexander is leading the Regatta Committee, and we have some exciting plans. On the Saturday, participants will be offered a coaching session in the morning and will then be invited to sail in our normal racing program, before returning to the club for champagne and gourmet delights on the deck. On the Sunday, there will be a scrumptious breakfast before the regatta, which will comprise a series of sprint-style races, with sponsored prizes for the various race winners and the overall winners.

So, what about the men? Well, it’s our turn to give back. For the State Championships, most of the volunteers were women, but for the Women’s Laser Regatta, this will be reversed. And we will also be asking people not sailing that weekend to provide their boats to visiting women who need a vessel. 

This will be a first for Laser sailing, and we think that is a big deal. It’s very exciting, so watch this space. 

Simone Wood (QLD), Jacinta Ainsworth (WA), Clare Alexander, Marlena Berzins (NSW), Charlotte Stanfield, Ally Bryan.

Simone Wood, Jacinta Ainsworth, Marlena Berzins

Mina Ferguson and Brooke Wilson

Buddy System

One of the suggestions from the member survey was a buddy system to provide less experienced sailors with assistance upon request, for example in relation to boat rigging, rig setup, boat speed, and race course management. We are proposing to implement this initiative and are calling for volunteers to act as buddies, as well as interest from people who would like their help. Please email Richard George at rageorge.email@gmail.com if you are interested in participating in either side of this program — include the capacity in which you want to participate — “mentor” or “mentee”. 

Fleet Branding

As we continue to develop our brand presence, we are asking all members to add a small DBSC burgee sticker to their boat transoms. The stickers have kindly been produced for us at no cost by Chris at Boat Names Australia. If you have not already received a sticker last weekend, can you please see Andrew Cox next time you are at the club, and he will give you one. For those whose boats are kept elsewhere, we will work out how to get you one. And if you want a boat name made, we highly recommend Chris’s service — several members have already used him for their names and he is excellent!  Use the code “PASSITON” for a 10% discount. 

Welcome Dave Rogers

The newest member to join the club is Dave Rogers. Originally from the UK, Dave moved to Sydney 15 years ago. He grew up sailing dinghies and then moved onto skiffs, and sailed 16s and 18s on the Harbour for many years, with the occasional yacht race thrown in. The highlight of his sailing career so far is taking a year off and sailing through Europe, the Caribbean and South Pacific. Please welcome Dave when you see him around the club.

National Masters

We are ramping up planning for the National Masters Championship at Mooloolobah from 9-12 February.  Pat Levy and Ian Alexander are coordinating logistics. Pat will be putting a “sign up” form on the notice board this weekend, so if you are planning to attend, please add your name, your requirements and details of any spare transport capacity to that form. This will be a very fun weekend, with hopefully a big contingent from our club!

Lost Property

There is a bunch of gear that seems to have been misplaced in the club. Can you all please check the gear on your boats and in your rack slots and let someone on the management committee know if there is anything that is not yours. Yves Stening has lost his vang, Dave Rogers (Fergus Pitt’s old boat) has lost two sails in bags and some battens (one sail is numbered 192579), and James Tudball (Rod Barnes’ old boat) has lost an aluminium mast top section. Thanks for your help reuniting the lost property with its owners. 

Members Win Accolades

Two of DBSC’s Lifetime Members have recently been recognised for their important contributions in the community.

On November 13th, Paul Adam was presented with the prestigious Australian Natural History Medallion. The Medallion is awarded each year to the person judged to have made the most meritorious contribution to the understanding of Australian Natural History. Paul was awarded for his contribution to conservation, natural history and education.

Also recently, Dene Bergman received a citation under the NSW Maritime Medal program in the category of marine safety. He was recognised for his capacity as a volunteer officer at DBSC and as a volunteer radio operator at Marine Radio NSW (Terrey Hills unit).

Well done Paul and Dene!

Paul with his Medallion 

Dene Congratulated by Commodore Cox

Video of the Week

As a reward for making to the end of the newsletter, we’re starting a new video series, curated by Simon Stone. The videos will be unique, funny and entertaining takes on how to sail a Laser.  Here’s the first one – why not combine surfing and Laser sailing?

State Championships – Big Fleet Races

DBSC hosted the NSW & ACT State Open and Masters Championships last weekend, with 130+ boats attending from all over Sydney, NSW, Australia and overseas, including members of the Australian women’s and men’s sailing teams.

The Competitors Gather for Pre-Race Briefing.

The event was a huge success, with over 40 volunteers contributing on the weekend, and many more in the lead up.  Thank you to you all for making this event possible!  The event contributed ~$1,000 to our canteen and $600 to Double Bay Primary School, which they are going to use to fund a new drinking fountain for the kids!

Our PRO, Col Chidgey, had to pull out at the last minute due to a sudden medical emergency that saw his wife, Kay, in surgery over the weekend.  Kay is now in a stable condition, and our thoughts are with them both.  Adam South was very generous in stepping in at short notice, and did an outstanding job, proving that it is possible, with deft placement of marks, to run trapezoid courses on Sydney Harbour.  Thank you, Adam.

The weather was kind to us, with a welcome break from the recent string of southerlies.  On Saturday, we had a NE gradient breeze of ~17-21kts and, on Sunday, we had a 9-14kt easterly.  With the breeze shifting to the right both days, it was the port tacks that made the difference.

Competition was intense throughout.  We raced in three fleets – standards, radials and 4.7s, with the opens and masters racing together.  And this is where it got exciting, with the old lion and the young lion facing off at the front of the standards.  Two of our world champions, Finn Alexander and Brett Beyer, went toe to toe on pretty much every leg, both having some outstanding beats, but it was ultimately a slight difference in boat speed that saw Finn take the championship.

And so the results.  DBSC featured strongly, taking 48% of the 40 winners’ “cubes” on offer, including 1st and 2nd in the standards, 1st and 3rd in the standard masters, 1st and 5th in the radials, 1st in the U19 radials, 1st in the U17 radials, 1st in the radial apprentice masters, 1st in the radial masters, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the 4.7s and 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the U16 4.7s.  Well done, team DBSC! You can check out all of the results here. 

Thank you to Kevin Phillips and the NSW & ACT Laser Association for choosing to hold the event at DBSC.  And thank you to all the volunteers from the Laser Association and other clubs who contributed to the event’s success.  You all did a great job as usual!

Below are some great shots of the weekend thanks to Ashley Deacon, Clare Alexander and others. Check out more of the photos and videos on DBSC’s Member’s only Facebook page, The Top Mark, here. 

The Week Ahead

With States done and dusted, DBSC makes a return to a more normal schedule this week:

Wednesday, 22 November – Twilight Sailing. Last week we had 15 boats sail on Wednesday in very windy conditions. Today’s wind forecast looks more forgiving, so sign up on the Doodle Poll here and join us for a 5:15pm splash!

Saturday, 25 November – Learn to Race. Learn to Race(LTR) is for prospective new members – a ‘try before you buy’ arrangement.  Additionally, it’s for mid fleet club members wanting to improve their Laser sailing. Meet at 9am at DBSC, on the water by 10.15am, return to club by 12.15pm approx. Come along if you want to learn more about Laser boat handling, balance, boat posture, trim, starts, tacks, gybes, boat set-up and any other race management fundamentals. Please let Martin White know if you plan on attending here.

Saturday, 25 November – Spring Point Score, Heats 11 & 12.  There are only three days of racing left for the Spring Pont Score. So, don’t miss the competition on the harbour this weekend.