The best way to find out about the club is to visit us, and meet some members.
Apart from the week of Christmas, the clubhouse is open from at least noon every Saturday from 1 August to 30 April. Our telephone number is: +61 2 9363 5577.
We are run by volunteers, so if your query cannot answered by the frequently asked questions (FAQs) below or the rest of the website, we will get back to you by Wednesday, 10pm.
How do I subscribe to your Pulitzer Prize winning newsletter?
How to make a tax-deductible donation to the club (using the internet)?
How to make a tax-deductible donation to the club (using paper forms)?
Want to book a seat at the restaurant?
Want to become a social member?
Can I rent/hire your clubhouse?
How do I get to crew on a yacht?
Can you teach me to race a Laser?
What is the deal between your club and the 18 footers and Sydney High School?
Can I store my kayak (or similar) in the clubhouse?
Can you help me buy, or sell, a Laser?
How many times can a visitor race at DBSC?
79 Bay St
Double Bay NSW 2028
Australia
The best ILCA / Laser sailing club in the world, located in Double Bay on Sydney Harbour.
Which camp are you in? No, we’re not talking about the marriage equality postal survey. 30% of members have already paid their dues. A huge thank you to those who have acted quickly. Now for the rest of you… make sure you pay your 2018/19 invoice ASAP. The funds will go far in maintaining the club’s financial help and will allow us to proceed with winter maintenance projects. Thanks for your help with this.
The winter is looking better and better… In conjunction with our upcoming winter series, Brett Beyer will be running a coaching program. The winter series will comprise three ~30min races with an 8am splash for 8.30am start every second Sunday from May through July. Please sign up for this series ASAP by emailing Ian Alexander, confirming (a) your participation in the racing and (b) your interest in being part of the Brett Beyer program. If you’ve already emailed Ian to let him know you’d like to race, please email him again if you’d like to participate in Brett’s program. More specific info about the Brett Beyer Winter Program will be announced soon.
Two important dates to note in your calendar:
It is with great sadness that we say farewell to Carolyn Bethwaite. It is no exaggeration to describe her as an extraordinary person.
Carolyn lived all her all-too-few 68 years to the fullest. She is described variously as “Sweet Caroline” (sic) (in the words of Neil Diamond), “warm Carolyn” (in the words of her innumerable friends and family), and “Remarkable Woman” (represented in the letters “RW” on the back of a key chain her friends made for her). And collectively those epithets capture her essence.
She will be remembered for many things, but two that perhaps stand out most are her warmth and her zest.
First, her warmth – more than most, she had an open mind that saw the good in others. She had a magnetism, augmented by deep perception and profound empathy, which reached out and touched everyone she knew. She was gracious and generous in all things. She was a remarkable wife, mother and friend, who displayed great love and support to everyone in her life. Over the last two years, that warmth that Carolyn brought to so many relationships was radiated back at her with so many expressions of love and support, flowers that brightened her life, and fan mail that came in almost daily from around the world.
Second, her zest – while she was ever modest and understated, in reality she was a serial high achiever. She was an incredible source of energy and drive, displaying tremendous leadership and organisational skills. She was School Captain and Dux at Ravenswood, an Honours graduate in Social Studies, a talented social worker, a wonderful wife and mother, a Distinguished Toastmaster, a consummate linguist, a fabulous leader of the guides at the Art Gallery of NSW, and a credible sailor (no surprise). She had a global view, underpinned by insatiable curiosity and tremendous love of adventure. She was constantly listening and evaluating, learning and teaching.
She will be remembered for all those things and more. But perhaps her greatest achievement was the way she carried herself since her diagnosis in January 2016. The strength and courage she showed in the face of such a shock and unfathomable adversity was exceptional. She was incredibly brave and strong through the most arduous of journeys that would test the spirit and strength of a saint. Yet through it all, she maintained such grace and composure, that was an inspiration to all who knew her.
Carolyn will be greatly missed by Mark, Campbell, Luci, her broader family and her myriad of friends. She was an extraordinary person.
Mark and Carolyn Bethwaite
Wednesday 21 March, 5pm – Twilight Sailing. Sign up here if you’re coming. Only two weeks to go before we lose daylight saving! The weather forecast isn’t looking great, but sailing is still going forward unless advised otherwise.
Saturday 24 March, 12pm – Vaucluse Challenge. Briefing one hour early – 12 noon. See details below.
The second leg of the 2017-18 Vaucluse Challenge will take place this Saturday, and all DBSC members are encouraged to take part. It will be a 2pm start at Vaucluse. The forecast is for a light NE breeze, so it might be a long sail to get there. Briefing will be at 12noon (an hour earlier than usual), with a splash no later than 1pm.
We will be offering a tribute to Carolyn Bethwaite on the day. All DBSC boats will fly a black ribbon at the top of their masts – ribbons will be provided at the clubhouse on the day. The post-race BBQ will be held at DBSC. We encourage all members to attend in remembrance of Carolyn and in support of Mark.
The format of the racing will be as follows:
Scoring will be as follows:
Scoring example:
The score from the first leg of the Vaucluse Challenge was DBSC 35 to VYC 84. We’re looking forward to a fun and competitive day of racing at VYC!
DBSC’s first annual Family Day was a huge success. A beautifully warm day and gentle breeze greeted the families and friends who came to enjoy the afternoon of fun. There were perfect conditions to give the little ones a chance to helm a laser for the first time. The light breeze allowed a rounding of Clark Island, with some close-up viewing of the huge submarine that was anchored in the harbour. Back on shore the jumping castle got a good workout and the delicious BBQ complete with gummy worms and party pies went down a treat. To round out the evening four double passes to see the new sailing flick, The Mercy, were randomly drawn and won.
A rare sight in Sydney Harbour -- 3 lasers, 6 sailers, 1 sub.
A huge thank you to Kirk Marcolina for conceiving and organizing the day, to Simon Stone and Justin Davey for driving the RIBs and taking out the younger kids, as well to Paul Adam for the delicious catering, and Peter Collie for manning the BBQ.
Jumping fun at Family Day.
Whilst some of the fleet was away at the Metros, a nearly 30-strong contingent of sailors practiced their skills in a series of sprint races. The light breeze gave the advantage to those who have been watching their waistlines. Thanks to PRO David Murphy and COTD Jen Wells for running a great afternoon of sailing.
After the racing was over the fleet was in for a big surprise – brand new hoses, hose nozzles and self-winding hose rollers. It made cleaning our boats a joy! Well maybe not a joy, but it was a welcome change to the tattered leaking hose system they replaced. Thanks to Pat Levy for the awesome new setup. Let’s make sure we keep the new rig in good working order by taking care when pulling the hoses out and around the roller door and by making sure to guide the hose back in to the roller and making sure it doesn’t get snagged by the roller door.
We know you’ve been counting the moments ever since the articles about invoices appeared in the past two week’s newsletters… well the wait is finally over. Check your inboxes, you should have received your invoice for the 2018/19 season last night! But in all seriousness, we would appreciate you paying your dues as quickly as possible, as there are heaps of expenses over the winter months. Our goal is to have 100% of dues paid before 30 April, so we don’t have to have volunteers chase people to pay. Thanks for your help with this.
Reported in part by laser.asn.au
The NSW & ACT Metropolitan Championships were held over the weekend of 17-18th March at Drummoyne Sailing Club. There were 77 entries for the event over the three fleets – 4.7 – 20 entries, Radial – 33 entries, Standard – 24 entries.
The regatta was in two parts with a gentle 9-12 knot easterly on Saturday followed by a boisterous 18 gusting to 30 knot north westerly on Sunday.
RO Col Chidgey set the sailors some challenges. Considering the tight race track defined by the west harbour islands and the many moored craft Col opted for journey courses rather than our normal trapezoid (essentially windward and return courses). There were two days of starboard rounding courses. This combined with restrictions on sailing inside moorings (including very many with little more than a small red float to mark them) lead sailors to refresh their knowledge of RRS rules which we seldom need to consider in our events. Some sailors managed the new situations and environment better than others.
Five races, of the scheduled six, were completed – two on Saturday and three on Sunday.
DBSC’s 4.7 fleet dominated with Daniel Costandi, Jack Ferguson, Sylvie Stannage, Brooke Wilson, Mina Ferguson, and Ryan Littlechild taking home 1st to 6th place in that order. The other highest placed DBSC boats were Jack Littlechild who was 4th in the Radials and Hadrien Bouvely who was 8th in the Full Rigs. Congrats to all who participated.
DBSC member and Metro 4.7 winner, Daniel Costandi
