Vale Ian Kiernan

Ian Kiernan recently passed. Ian had a VJ called Morah which was stored at Vaucluse and during school holidays he and Jim Ley would spend their days sailing all over the harbour. Ian competed at Double Bay VJ Club and his father George Kiernan was one of a group of parents who worked tirelessly ensure the Club became a reality, his major contribution was ensuring that finance was available to build the Club.  

Ian was also the Founder and Chairman of Clean Up Australia, which we as a club support each year, championed by Jonathan Stone. In a remembrance email, Clean Up Australia explained that Ian believed that Clean Up belongs to you - the millions of volunteers who have taken to their streets, beaches, parks, bushland and waterways to remove the rubbish that is bothering them. 

Jonathan Stone reflected on Ian’s passing in an email to club members, saying, “For over a decade, our Club has been a ‘site’ for a clean up of the nearby parks and beaches, on Clean-Up Australia Day, usually in March. You are the volunteers that this encomium for Ian Kiernan refers to; you have come year-after-year to do the job. So, be proud and know that you have strengthened the Club’s role as a contributor to the local community.”

Ian Kiernan

DBSC in Fiji

The 2018 Oceania Laser Master Championships was held on the beautiful Denarau Island, Fiji, hosted by The Denarau Yacht Club from the 16th to 19th of October. Three of our DBSC comrades made the trip - Andrew Simpson, Jules Hall and Brett Beyer. And the results were impressive. Brett snagged first overall, Jules finished sixth overall and second Apprentice Master, and Andrew finished 14th overall and sixth Grand Master. Well done to all!

Jules and Andrew battle it out in Fiji.

What a beautiful place to rig!

Alexander at Awards Night

Congratulations once again to Clare Alexander for being a Finalist for Australian Sailing’s Sport Promotion Award. The ceremony was held last Friday, and even though Clare was pipped at the post, she was the crowd favourite and certainly winner in our eyes. Well done Clare — thanks for all you do for Laser Sailing in Australia.

Clare Shining on the Big Night.

Spring Postscore Continues to Challenge

49 boats competed in yet another tricky day of Spring Pointscore racing. Heats 7-8 of the series where held under threatening skies and very shifty winds. The NE gradient got pulled sharply to the right by a series of rain squalls (even as far as ESE), before returning to the NE mid-way through the second race, making for some big winners and losers. With gusts close to 25-knots, and lulls of 10-knots, competitors needed to be aware of the constantly changing conditions.

Congratulations to the hardy competitors who came out on top after handicapping: Full Rigs: Steve London (heat 7), and Craig Sheers (heat 8); Radials/4.7s: David Murphy (heats 7 and 8). Thanks also to the race committee for braving the challenging conditions and putting on a well-run race day: PRO Jim Dounis assisted by Christine Patton, COTD Tim Patton, CoCOTD Kim Ketelbey, and Canteen Assistant Conor Roche. Thanks also for the additional assistance on a RIB from Justin Davey. 

Saturday’s Ever Changing Winds

The Week Ahead

Wednesday 17 October, 5pm – Twilight Sailing. Come on down for our mid-week sail, with organised racing and tons of fun.  There is a 5pm splash (or whenever you can get there) for a 5.30pm start.

Saturday 20 October, 9am – Learn to Race. 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 email Martin White at mwhite@universalmagazines.com.au if you are planning on attending.

Saturday 20 October, 2pm Start – Spring Pointscore Heats 9 & 10. 

European Champ Bethwaite Heads Home

The 2018 Laser Master European championships concluded last week in Vigo, Spain. After 5 days of races with tricky winds, our very own Mark Bethwaite was first among the Great Grand Master’s and 4th overall. 

We can all give Mark some well-deserved congratulations when we welcome him back to DBSC (hopefully) this Saturday. But fear not anxious full rig sailors, Mark has left all his laser gear with his boat in Lake Garda, so he needs to re-equip here before being able to sail… so you get a short reprieve before having to face the champ!

Sign On and Off

After a bit of early season confusion, we want to reiterate that signing on before races and signing off after races has been officially reinstated at DBSC. This is an important element of the scoring / handicapping process, and should be adhered to by all.  For those sailing from other clubs, please do NOT sign on via the mobile number previously provided – instead, please use our new on-line sign on tool here.  

By the Numbers

With our swelling ranks, and to insure accurate race results, it’s important that all sails have six numbers, and that these numbers do not duplicate numbers on other sails in our fleet. Also, PROs, please note there are now sail numbers in our fleet that have the last three digits the same (e.g. there are two 005s) – please make sure you record at least the last FOUR digits from each sail when finishing boats.  Three digits are not enough.

Sailing Away

The fleet will be headed up the harbour on October 27-28 to compete in the NSW COAST CHAMPIONSHIP hosted by the Vaucluse Yacht Club.  It’s a great way to sail in a larger fleet and no matter what your standard it’s sure to be a fun and challenging event. There will be no sailing at DBSC on October 27th… so there’s no excuse not to have a huge contingent of DBSC members compete. Sign up here to join the weekend-long event. 

Also, save the date for the NSW Laser State Masters at South Lake Macquarie Amateur Sailing Club on March 2-3. If you are interested in attending, please email laserrep@dbsc.com.au.  We will organise accommodation and transport… it’s going to be fun weekend away so start planning now. 

Being the Best COTD

It comes around once per year… Your chance to give back to the club by being the COTD or Co-COTD. You want to do your best, but what the heck are you meant to do again?! It’s a common problem, so we’d like to encourage everyone who is rostered on as COTD / Co-COTD to please read the COTD instructions here before you attend the club. Please bring a copy with you to check off the tasks.  Some of the important things to keep in mind (and that have been missed lately): 

1. The safety bags that are required by law to be on each of the RIBs have not been taken out (they are stored on the floor next to the handicapper’s desk and must always be taken on the RIBs).

2. When the safety bags have been taken out, they have been left in the RIBs after racing, rather than being put away.

3. The drainage flaps on the back of the RIBs have not been put down and opened via insertion of a boat hook handle, resulting in the Bergman filling with 2 tonnes or more of water, which risks breaking the hull and failure of the davit – a very serious safety matter.

4. The davits have been left unlocked with their padlocks and keys adjacent to them, rather than being padlocked with the keys returned to the kitchen – another serious safety matter.

5. The start and finish buoys have been placed the wrong way around – the blue wrapped buoy is for the finish line.

6. The large DBSC flag has not been flown from the south flag pole – this is important for club branding and must be flown every Saturday.

7. The light switch for the outdoor sensors has been turned off – only the top switch near the south entry door should be off, and the bottom switch should always remain on.

8. COTD / Co-COTD are required to remain at the club and pack everything away after people finish socialising – plan to be there from 11am to 6pm.  

9. Please remember you must NOT ride the davit up and down in the RIBs – use the ladder to enter the boats after lowering and to exit the boats before raising.  

We appreciate all the volunteer time and commitment that goes into being COTD / Co-COTD.