Video of the Week

If you thought last week's weather was tough, check out what the Norwegians have to deal with: 

Sailing in Saturday’s Wild Weather

Last Saturday’s Club Championship turned into quite a challenge. Race one was fairly typical, with a N/NE 15 knot breeze. But then Mother Nature made things interesting for race two. A squall line hit and the NE breeze faded quickly and was soon replaced with a 40 knot Westerly. Some relished the intense challenge. Pat Levy was grinning all the way as his boat hit 17.07 knots (as tracked by Brett Beyer’s GPS). Ian Alexander “loved it” and was proud to not have capsized during the squall – but he did admit to granny tacking around the bottom mark. The race was quickly officially abandoned, and many struggled to keep their boats upright, smartly choosing to ride out the squall sitting on top of their turtled Lasers.  There was some minor boat damage to DBSC Lasers (the worst being a snapped mast). Other fleets on the harbour didn’t fare so well. Several Ynglings were pushed against the Point Piper rocks and one sunk.  

By all accounts the race committee handled the situation well with the Jazzman, two club RIBs and Brett Beyer’s RIB all working as response / sweep vessels. In addition to helping our fleet they also managed to rescue the crew of the sinking Yngling. It was also great to see experienced competitors acting unprompted as monitor / sweep boats. Thank you to Jonathan Stone, Clare Alexander, Justin Laurens, Wade McDonough, Julian van Aalst, Pippa Batchelor, Brett Beyer and Paul Adam for their leadership contributions, and to everyone else involved.

Saturday was a good reminder that the closest boat is responsible for the safety of a capsized sailor, and that we all need to work together when weather like this breaks. The Management Committee has undertaken a full review of safety procedures, to incorporate what was learnt on the day. Specific measures will be announced in subsequent weeks.

To read more about the day, check out some videos and photos, and to contribute your thoughts, visit our member’s Facebook Page, The Top Mark.

Justin Davey's GoPro captures the squall hitting. 

The Week Ahead

Wednesday 6 December, 5pm – Twilight Sailing. Remember a rack reshuffle is coming and Twilight participation matters. Sign up here if you’re coming.

Wednesday 6 December, 8pm – Brett Beyer Lecture Series. The topic is “The Start and First Beat”.  DBSC members, $21, others $31 (includes pizza). Book here.

Saturday 9 December, 2pm Start – Spring Point Score Heats 13 & 14. Only four more heats left for the Spring Competition! 

Volunteer Duties

This is the first year we have asked members to volunteer in the Canteen. Thanks to everyone who has helped thus far – the toasties have been scrumptious. The Canteen Crew appreciates all of the help and has asked if the member on canteen duty can also assist with clean up and wash up at the end of the day. This will ease the burden on our regular Canteen crew and will be a huge help.  

Also, it has been noted that in recent months the COTD/CoCOTD have not been sticking around after sailing to help pack up the club (think awnings, hoses, dollies, tables, chairs etc). This is part of the duties of the COTD/CoCOTD and has been overlooked recently. So, if you’re on duty, please make sure you schedule your afternoon so you can help with these end-of-day tasks.  

Lastly, it is important that you make Mark Crowhurst or Dene Bergman aware of any gear which is missing/broken/faulty. As we saw on the weekend, is it critical that safety equipment is fully operational because when it is needed, it is needed! This applies to all members, at all times of the year. You do not have to be rostered on to find faulty gear. Safety is always our top priority so do not be afraid to suggest upgrades, improvements or changes which you feel may make the club a safer place.

Thanks to everyone for your understanding and assistance.  

Get off the Water + Party

This week you should have received a Paperless Post Invite to our New Members Member’s Cocktail Party and Christmas Dinner. The festivities are set for Saturday 16 December. The Cocktail Party will be from 6 to 7:30, followed by our traditional festive dinner from 7:30. Come to one or come to both. All members, partners and families welcome. There is no charge for the event, but please RSVP via Paperless Post by 10 December. If you did not receive the invite please email us at social@dbsc.com.au with your RSVP and state which of the functions you will attended, how many people will come and any dietary requirements.

Big Boat Race Report

Written by Jonathan Stone

Summer has had a volatile start on the Harbour. Friday and Saturday were heavy wind days - gradient winds blowing hard. Stories abounded of collisions, damage, rescues, lucky escapes. No deaths, no injuries among the sailors, but swampings and sinkings and prangs among their boats. Yesterday a fierce, brief storm cell sought to wreak havoc on the Double Bay Laser fleet; but the sailors managed it well. The race was immediately cancelled, the sailors coped with winds reaching 35-40 knots; and all were able to right their boats and sail home. The Club’s response boats were then free to rescue sailors from other fleets.

Today, by contrast, a north-easterly sea breeze of 10 - 20 knots, under blue skies, gave us ideal conditions. John and Amelia were there in the Paul Adam, to give us a timed start

Six boats presented for the start, and we all needed to do what has to be done for a good start - timing, location along the line, acceleration and a clear plan for the first leg. Mind you, the wind dictated the plan; our start line is fixed and in a north-easterly we start on port tack as near the port end of the line as one can, without falling into the lee of Clarke Island.

 Corinna got the best of it, at the pin end of the line, then T&T, a few seconds late, then the bigger boats. Double Bay was clear as we all worked across before taking a starboard dig into the Harbour, to clear Point Piper. Everyone had a chance, if you could point high and sail fast, and on T&T we watched nervously for the larger boats to gather their speed. Chenonceau powered into third, then G-Force, Smitten and Lonny (our newcomer, a Spacesailer 24 - welcome!).

In the event, Corinna cleared the Point Piper mark in the lead, with T&T maybe 30 seconds back. The first three legs were all close works, and the second of the three, to Taylors Bay. was hard work, as the wind built towards 20 knots. T&T fought for the height and speed needed to get past Corinna. At times we made ground against her but small errors - any slowness to pick a lift, less than perfect mark rounding - and Corinna slipped away. Still, after three upwind legs, which together made a long, long work, and the two downwind legs, separated by the gybe at Shark Island, we were within 100m of Corinna. Chenonceau pressed her case throughout - to be a clear third, and within striking distance of second.

 So it was Corinna first, with T&T still waiting for an opportunity. The deck was sunny and cool as crews from the boats sat around for a cold drink. Being summer, the afternoon was long and the18s were racing, and came in - in gentle order - as we chatted.

 A lovely afternoon. Across the line:

 Corinna

Time & Tide

Chenonceau

G-Force

Smitten

Lonny

We race next on January 7 2018. Another year ……….

Thank you all for being part of big boat sailing in 2017.

Video of the Week

If you can't make Brett's downwind tactics work, there's always plan b:

Spring Point Score, Heats 11&12 Recap

A glorious Spring afternoon greeted the 37 sailors that turned up to compete in Heats 11 and 12 of the Spring Point Score. It was a moderate, shifty NE breeze that caused havoc if you got stuck on the wrong side of the course. The winners (after handicapping) were: Full Rigs: Matt Wenke (race 11), Richard Lees (race 12); Radials: Robert Young (race 11), Kirk Marcolina (race 12); 4.7s: Brooke Wilson (both races 11 and 12). Thanks to last week’s volunteers for putting on an awesome day of racing: PRO Andrew Simpson, assisted by Clare Alexander, COTD Mike Horton (assisted by his friend Paul), and Canteen Assistant Sara Brooks. Check out Brett Beyer’s video of the radial starts here, and the full rig starts here.  A special thanks to Ashley Deacon for capturing many great shots of the action on the harbour. You can check them all out on our members only Facebook page, The Top Mark, here.

A Big Fleet Hits the Harbour.

The Week Ahead

Wednesday, 29 November – Twilight Sailing, 5:15 Splash. Remember a rack reshuffle is coming, and Twilight Sailing is a big factor. So, join us tonight, and make sure you get credit for coming (and let others know you’ll be there) by signing up on the Doodle Poll here.

Saturday, 2 December – Club Championship, Heats 7 & 8. A big day of racing followed by a BBQ on the deck. Who could ask for anything better on the 2nd day of Summer!

Sunday, 3 December – Big Boat Race. A big fleet is predicted for a 2pm start. 

Don’t Forget – Two Great Upcoming Events

Wednesday, 6 December, 8pm. Brett Beyer is presenting the next instalment of his Lecture Series at 8pm on Wednesday, 6 December. The topic is “The Start and First Beat”.  DBSC members, $21, others $31 (includes pizza). Book here to avoid missing out. 

Saturday, 16 December, 7pm. Holiday party and New Members’ Welcome dinner. All club members and their families are welcome. Invite will be emailed to you soon.