Winter Sprints Run out of Gas

The last day of Winter Sprints was a bit of a bit of a trying affair for the 24 boats that raced. An unusual northerly 13-17 knots breeze shifted left when the skies opened. Once the deluge passed the breeze died, which saw the fleet drifting back to the clubhouse in 3 knots. Thanks to Andrew Simpson for running the races as PRO and for towing some of our guests back to their home clubs. Thanks also to Shirley and Paul in the canteen for some very welcome hot soup after racing.

Coming Up at DBSC

Saturday 25 August, 12pm briefing, 1pm start – Pre-Season Sprints

Saturday 1 September, 2pm start – Season Opening and Club Championship Heats 1 & 2

Saturday 1 September, 5pm – Season Opening BBQ

Sunday 2 September, 1pm start – Big Boat Race

Saturday 8 & Sunday 9 September – Women's Laser Regatta hosted by Double Bay Sailing Club. (see update below) 

Last Chance to Order Discounted Sails

We have received a very generous offer from NB Sailsports to provide our members with a significant discount on sails purchased in bulk by Friday, 24 August. Provided we get orders for at least 20 sails, we will be offered an 18% discount on all sails – and the sail numbers will be installed for us at no extra cost. 

The price will be $685 (reduced from $840) for Hyde radials and 4.7s, and $872 (reduced from $1,060) for Mk2 standards (all prices include installed numbers and are inclusive of GST). 

To secure your order, please deposit the relevant amount into DBSC’s bank account BY FRIDAY 24 AUGUST.  In the transfer, please include your NAME and the SAIL NUMBER that you want put onto your sail.  You can order as many as you want. 

DBSC’s bank account details are BSB 062000, account 16143109.  (If the order does not proceed due to insufficient interest or otherwise, you will be refunded).

Note, retail prices are going up 5% on 1 September.  So, if you want any other gear before that, get into NB as soon as you can!

Working Bee Buzzes

Thanks to Geoff Kirk for organising and coordinating our annual working bee last Saturday. Over 35 members attended, arriving bright and early at 8am.  We got a tremendous amount of work done, including much needed patching and painting of the western facade, repairs and upgrades to club boats and their rigging, full sweep and wash down of the clubhouse floors, cleaning of the BBQ, removal of moss and weed build-up from the boat ramp and front steps, tidying the workshop and accessible bathroom, clean-up of the southern deck, preparation of the new club dollies for action, and maintenance of the Jazzman.  Thank you all again for your tremendous volunteer spirit! 

Raging Sprints

A raging August westerly greeted the 20 boats that sailed in our Pre-season Saturday Sprints. We had a delayed 1:30 start due to the working bee (apologies to our visitors from VYC and our members who sailed from RSYS). The winds averaged 20kts gusting 32kts W/WNW, except for a 13kt lull on one run, and a 30-44kt WSW squall late in the day. The strong wind proved a challenge with two de-mastings (good to get those out of the way pre-season!) and one rescue near the rocks off “Bethwaite Point”.  Well done to Finn Alexander (PRO) and Daryl Lawrence on the Bergman, Rob McMillan on his RIB, and DB Marina for providing assistance.  Thanks also to Martin White, Christine Linhart, Sara Brooks and Mike Dunne who were alert to the need for rescue and provided support in the very cold conditions.  Sprints are on again this Saturday, with a 1pm start.

Women’s Laser Regatta Needs Your Help

In just a few weeks the DBSC Women’s Laser Regatta will kick off – and it’s set to be a wonderful weekend of sailing, with 30 women signed up so far. One of the highlights will be the opening ceremony on Sunday September 9 with local State MP, Gabrielle Upton, presiding. The Mayor of Woollahra, Peter Cavanagh, will attend on Sunday afternoon to hand out prizes. 

The Committee thanks everyone who has very kindly donated the use of their boat, gear and/or time.  We still have a few volunteer slots we need to fill for our weekend and hope we can get some help for the following:  

Saturday September 8

8.30 am-9.30 am
Car Park attendant taking money for parking

2.00 pm- 5.00 pm
Derigging assistance -- this is needed so that we can derig boats quickly before we decorate the Club for a sit-down dinner

5.00 pm – 6.00 pm
Decorate and set up for dinner  -- Cocktails start at 6 pm so we have a very tight window to make this happen

Sunday September 9

9 am – 11 am
Assistance with rigging -- this is to maximise the sailing time for the group

3 pm – 4.30 pm
Assistance with derigging -- this is to help derig boats, wash them down and put them away.   We are targeting a 4 pm prize giving, so help from members would be appreciated.  Come and join us for a beer!! 

We are also still also looking to borrow 2 ribs for coaches and for Nic Douglas who is running our PR program. If you can assist with any of these jobs, or can lend a rib, please advise Christine Linhart at c.linhart@unsw.edu.au.

Reserve Your Spot for Brett Beyer’s Coaching

To assist us with planning, please sign up to Brett Beyer’s Saturday Coaching Program ASAP – payment will not be required until closer to the date.  We currently have 10 participants signed up, and we need another 10, ideally in the coming week. Please email coaching@dbsc.com.au if you are interested in participating. For costings and all the details of the program, please check out last week’s newsletter here.

Coming Up at DBSC

Saturday 18 August, 8am– Annual Club Working Bee. Make sure to wear old clothes for painting and please let Geoff Kirk know if you can make it by emailing him here. 

Saturday 18 August, 12pm briefing, 1pm start – Pre-Season Sprints

Saturday 8 & Sunday 9 September –  Women's Laser Regatta hosted by Double Bay Sailing Club. (see update below) 

Women’s Laser Regatta Update

The stage is set for a marvellous weekend on 8-9 September! We are excited to be able to report that the famous, two-time world champ, Nic Douglas (AKA, The Sailor Girl) will be covering our Regatta and the racing on Sunday 9 September and will be providing publicity in the lead up to the event. Ashley Stoddart, a recent Olympian, has also signed up to be one of our coaches.

We have MUSTO on board as a Regatta sponsor and MUSTO shirts will be provided to all our sailors.  We also have Boatcrewgear and other line and gear shops setting up pop-up shops at the club for the weekend -- so come on down and buy your new gear and equipment for the coming season. 

We are still hoping for 50 entries and are working very hard to spread the word to get as many women and girls to attend the Regatta as possible.  So please continue to let your female sailor family and friends know about the fabulous event. 

Thank you to all the members who have already volunteered to loan their boats and gear for the weekend. It means that the regatta is more accessible to a range of sailors that wouldn’t otherwise be able to sail. Thanks also to Shirley Roach for hosting Ashley Stoddart, for the weekend!  

If you haven’t already volunteered, don’t despair. We’re still looking for more help with the weekend, including the following:

• Drivers to and from the airport to transport our coaches on Friday night and Sunday night.
• Three helpers in and around the kitchen working with the caterer during the Regatta dinner on Saturday September 8 from 5pm – 9 pm.  
• Two volunteers to help us coordinate event parking on Saturday September 8 from 7:30am –  9:30am.

To volunteer for driving or kitchen help, please contact Christine Patton at christine@bermudamarine.bm; to volunteer to help with parking, please contact Christine Linhart at c.linhart@unsw.edu.au.

Thanks again for everyone’s help in making the Regatta a world-class event!

Nic Douglas will be covering the Regatta 

Speedy Sprints

A warm, sparking day greeted sailors last Saturday for our second instalment of Winter Sprints. The winds once again were challenging – a shifty Northerly shot some 25+ knot bullets at the fleet of 20 boats (including 3 welcome visitors from VYC). Thanks to Mike Dunne, our PRO for the day, for doing an admirable job of attempting to remove starting line bias!

We sprint again this Saturday, with a 1pm start. Hope to see you on the water.