Women’s Laser Regatta is on this Weekend

Months of hard work and diligent planning by the Women’s Laser Regatta Committee, spearheaded by Clare Alexander, Christine Linhart and Christine Patton, has paid off. Close to 50 women will be participating in this inaugural event, that is set to be weekend filled with education, racing and fun. 

On Saturday, the event kicks off with yoga on the deck followed by day of on and off water instruction from four world-class coaches: Krystal Weir - World champion sailor, Ashley Stoddart - Rio 2016 Olympian, Karyn Gojnich - 3 times Olympian, and Marlena Berzins - 2 times National Youth Champion. After a day of working up an appetite on the harbour, the day concludes with dinner at the club. Sunday brings the opening of the Regatta by NSW State Member The Hon. Gabrielle Upton and racing followed by prize giving by The Mayor of Woollahra, Peter Cavanagh. You can check out the full schedule of events here. 

Thanks to everyone for volunteering over the weekend, and for lending boats or parts to the event.  If you have any questions of when you are rostered on to help, please contact Christine Linhart at c.linhart@unsw.edu.au.

Club Championships off to a Quick Start

It was a perfect day for our season-opening Club Championship races. Sunshine and a challenging 15 to 20-knot Westerly.  We had an excellent fleet of 39 boats turn out to race.

Jonathan Stone officiated, ably assisted by Clare Alexander on the Jazzman and Geoff Kirk and Justin Davey on the RIBs.

Commodore Cox addresses the crowd on the first of the 2018/19 season 

It was a tricky day, with a forecast Southerly shift never truly eventuating. There were some lulls and a few big bullets that left a couple of us taking a quick dip in the frigid water. 

In the 4.7s, Race 1 was won by Brooke Wilson and Race 2 by Daniel Costandi.  In the Radials, Otto Henry was victorious in Race 1 and James Tudball in Race 2.  In the Standards, it was Craig Shears in Race 1 and in the second race Rod Barnes crossed the finish line first. Full results can be found here. 

Thank you for an excellent post-race BBQ to the kitchen crew – Paul Adam, Shirley Roach, Andrea Bergman, and Matthew Knight (our rostered canteen volunteer for the day) – and of course to all the helpers on the BBQ.

Some big gusts got the fleet moving. 

Welcome New Members

The DBSC family keeps growing. Please give a warm welcome to our newest members: Maxine Morrisey (4.7), Diana Chen (Radial), David Ferguson, Richard Catto, Thomas Beregi and Oskar Hansen (all Standard Sailors).

Let’s Make it a Big Year at States

What could be more fun than sailing with your mates on Sydney harbour? Traveling with them to beautiful Lake Macquarie to sail in the 2018/19 State Master’s Championship. The Championship is set to take place 2-3 March 2019, and we’d like to get a big contingent of DBSC members to attend. So, mark it in your calendar and start planning. More info will follow, but for now you can find out more about that event and other Regattas for the 2018/19 season on our updated Regatta Circuit Page here.

Last Chance to Register for Brett Beyer Saturday Program

Want to get coached by one of the world’s best Laser sailors? Now’s your chance! Reserve by Friday to secure your spot in Brett Beyer’s Saturday Program (BBSP). The Program will run for 7 weeks as follows: 22 Sep, 6 Oct, 3 Nov, 10 Nov, 1 Dec, 8 Dec, 15 Dec.*  There will be two categories of coaching:  B = $315, A = $630 (plus merchant fees).*  Everyone is invited to join the post-race briefing on the deck.

“B” participants receive (a) a video of the start with voice-over commentary, (b) a video of the “real time” GPS tracks of the fleet, (c) a leg by leg analysis of the performance of the fleet including individual speed and angle statistics vs the fleet, (d) access to Brett for comments and questions on water when not racing, (e) participation in the communal post-race debrief at the clubhouse after racing.*

“A” participants receive all the above plus (f) an individual report on their performance, referencing tactical and/or technical considerations and (g) the opportunity to email Brett with follow up questions.*

Send an email by Friday to coaching@dbsc.com.au to reserve your space in this seasons’ program, and indicate your name, rig type and A/B category preference.  A link for payments will be distributed in due course. 

* Click here to see the terms of the program.

Brett coaching a DBSC member.

Coming Up at DBSC

Saturday 1 September, 9am– Learn to Race. (see details below)

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) 

New Season, New Members

With the frigid past few days, it’s hard to believe that Spring starts this Saturday. But it’s true, and the turning of the calendar brings the start of a great new season of racing at DBSC. Saturday is packed with something for everyone – Learn to Race kicks off at 9am, then the competition begins in earnest with heats 1 and 2 of the Club Championship – there will be a briefing at 1pm and a 2pm race start, and to cap off the day there will be a post-race BBQ on the patio. It’s set to be a great day, and the wind and weather forecasts are looking positive. 

This season there will be more competition than ever with several new members joining our ranks. Please welcome the following who joined DBSC at the end of last season or over the winter months: Katherine Sleeth, Will McMillian, Kevin Gilroy, Edwin Kirk, Finn Kirk, Morgan Au, Richard Au, Timothy Patton, Christine Patton, Ian Louis, Conor Roche, and Kim Ketelbey. 

Here’s to a great season of racing and comradery. Looking forward to seeing everyone Saturday!

Learn to Race This Saturday

Here’s your chance. Learn to Race (LTR) begins again this Saturday Sept 1st at ‘the world’s best Laser club’.  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. 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.

We hold this training on the first & third Saturday of each month during the season (1st week of Sept - 3rd week of April).  As people organising LTR will be away on September 15, the following LTR will be Oct 6.  

Start time: meet at 9am at DBSC, on the water by 10.15am, return to club by 12.15pm approx. If the day is unpleasant (i.e. too much wind, storms etc) we’ll have a whiteboard talk about sailboat racing.

Please email Martin White at mwhite@umco.com.au if you would like to attend LTR this Saturday. Also, if you need to hire a club boat ($30 per hire), please let Martin know and fill out the hire form here. 

New Sails = Faster Fleet

Well done to everyone who ordered new sails from NB Sailsports for the upcoming season. With 50 brand-new, crisp sails on our fleet you can expect a whole new level of competition.  Thanks to Rob at NB Sailsports and Chris at PSA for providing the discounted price. Details on delivery will follow. 

Just Days till Women’s Laser Regatta

DBSC Women’s Laser Regatta will kick off in less than two weeks – on Saturday September 8 and Sunday September 9. To pull off a world-class event we are still looking for YOUR help with 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.