2019 Racing Begins

Sunny skies and a light to moderate NE breeze greeted the fleet of 30+ for the first races of 2019. It was a lovely day for the start of the Autumn Pointsocre, though the racing was made a bit trickier by a crowded harbour, and some close calls with larger boats. Check out harrowing footage of a near miss captured by Ian Alexander here on The Top Mark.

First over the line after handicap were: Standards: Steve London (heat 1) and David Newman (heat 2); Radials / 4.7s: Pippa Batchelor (heat 1) and Justin Davey (heat 2). Thanks to all last week’s volunteers for putting on a great day of racing, including PRO Nick Pellow who was assisted by Clare Alexander on the Jazzman, COTD/PhotographerOTD: Ian Alexander, and CoCOTD: Jost Stollman. As always the toasties were delicious thanks to the canteen crew of Paul, Andrea, Shirley and assisted this week by Alvaro Bertran. 

Safety Warning - Bergman Winch Broken

One of the winches for the Bergman has broken. So please don’t attempt to move the Bergman until the winch is fixed. We are aiming to have it repaired and up and running before Saturday, but please confirm it is in working order before using. Thanks for your understanding.

Coming Up

Wednesday 16 January, 5pm – Twilight Sailing. Looks like it will be a wonderful 16-knot NE breeze under warm, sunny skies… so join us!

Saturday 19 January, 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 19 January, 2pm Start – Spring Pointscore Heats 3 & 4.

Sunday 20 January, 8am Start – Boat Licence Course (for those members who have pre-registered for the course).

Wednesday 23 January, 5pm – Twilight Sailing.

Saturday 26 January– Australia Day. No Racing.

Monday 28 January, 2pm Splash – Sprint Racing (see below).

Wednesday 30 January, 5pm – Twilight Sailing.

Saturday 2 February, 9am – Mandatory Competency Training for all members.

Saturday 2 February, 2pm Start – Club Championship Heats 9 & 10 followed by a BBQ on the deck after racing. 

Australia Day Weekend

There will be no sailing on Australia Day, Saturday 26th. Our harbour will be chookas with ferries and various other flotillas, so we’re staying away. We recommend you BBQ some juicy lamb chops and enjoy a cold one with loved ones. 

But… on Monday 28th there is a Public Holiday and we’re planning some informal sprints. There might be a course set, probably no RIBs, definitely no canteen service. 1.30ish briefing for a 2pm splash. Hope to see you there.

Vale Jeff Martin

Written by The International Laser Class Association

ILCA is shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Jeff Martin on 11 January 2019 while on a ski holiday with family and friends.

Jeff’s dedication to the sport of sailing was unparalleled, having served as the Executive Secretary of the International Laser Class Association for 40 years. Jeff was a cornerstone of Laser events, having worked at every Laser Open World Championship except the first one in 1974 where he was a competitor. 

The loss of Jeff Martin will be keenly felt throughout the sailing world and our deepest condolences go out to Jeff’s family and friends.

Big Boat Race Report

Five boats presented on summer afternoon, with a fresh sou-easterly blowing.

And Peter Collie gave us a start. (Remember flags rule in the starting sequence, and as PRO Peter used the answering pennant to delay until he felt the fleet were all there). The start was just 5 min delayed. The right place to start was at the green pole, but the first leg was a beam reach and the advantage was small. Umbakumba, Chenonceau  and Smitten were all there; one was OCS (Chenonceau) and she went back - and was last to start instead of first. 

Still, she worked her way through the fleet for a strong finish. G-Force started late but fully powered up and was soon amongst the leaders. Umbakumba was the first to the Point Piper mark and threatened to lead all the way, as she did in December. But boat size does count, and with all boats powered to their intrinsic boat speed, the 30 footers (G-Force, Chenonceau and eventually Smitten) all made their moves. 

By the bottom mark, at Sow’n Pigs, G-Force seemed to be making no mistakes in the very fresh winds; Chenonceau had powered into contention for second place, contending with Umbakumba. Smitten and behind her Time & Tide were keeping touch, but T&T’s shorter boat length (23ft) made a tilt for the front of the fleet a real challenge. 

Further, my crew on Sunday was daughter Emily. As a student she crewed for me on dinghies (Herons) in the Club for several seasons and to several nationals. That was thirty years ago, so she had some skills to hone and a different boat to learn her way around. We pushed our way into fourth place at the Shark Island mark, but Smitten powered up and sailed over us without delay. We chased and trimmed and chased, to make our last place respectable.

The conditions were challenging - a sou-easterly full of holes and knocks and lifts. Those who chose bigger headsail valued them in the knocks; those who chose smaller or reefed the main stayed more in control in the gusts. The work from Sow’n Pigs to Shark Island was particularly challenging (it usually is).

But, it was simple, clean, enjoyable racing

Across the line:

G-Force didn’t seem to make a mistake after the late start

Chenonceau didn’t seem to make a mistake after her early start

Umbakumba - led the first two legs; Gerry and Max have her humming

Smitten - found real speed in the last two legs

T&T - aimed to keep in touch with the fleet, and succeeded.

We race next on February

Smitten Attempts to Chase Down G-Force. Photo by Peter Collie

Boat Licence Course – Sunday January 20th (8am-4pm)

There is ONE spot left in the one-day boat licence course we will be running at DBSC on January 20th provided by ABC Boating and supported by the club.

Members will need to pay $125 to do the course and the club will subsidise the other 50%. All members should have this licence if you perform PRO or COTD duties. It is also good for anyone who just enjoys being on the Harbour in a boat. To make payment and secure the last spot please click on this link: http://www.dbsc.com.au/shop/boat-license-course-jan20

The weather policy on the day is go unless it's dangerous (e.g. lightning).  If you can't attend, it will be your obligation to find an alternate (we will help as long as not at the last minute). If you don't attend without covering your spot, you will be expected to cover the club's contribution on your behalf (e.g. make up the difference that the club is subsidising - another $125).

You will need to provide your licence details to us for our records once you have obtained it. If you do not, we may request additional funds from you to cover the club's contribution.

Please email Christine Linhart if you have any questions safety@dbsc.com.au

Official 2019 Sailing Kicks off Saturday

We hope you all had an excellent holiday, and that 2019 is off to a great start. We’re planning a great year of events, and are looking forward to seeing you all back at the club this Saturday, 12 January, for the first two heats of the 2019 Autumn Point Score. The big-boat are also planning their January race this weekend on Sunday, 13 January. 

In the meantime, there will be Twilight Sailing on tonight, and if you’re off from work and looking for a sailing partner, pop a note on our Top Mark Facebook page. It’s been great to see so many members using the Top Mark to plan informal sailing together over the holidays. 

Important - Competency Training Signups

Please read this — it is important. We will be scheduling our first ever competency training seminar at 9am on Saturday, 2 February. We are asking ALL members to attend, no matter how competent you think you are.

This is a new initiative to ensure continuous improvement in the skills of all members in relation to race management and safety. 

The training will ensure we offer the high standards of racing and safety that a club of our stature and fleet size demands. This has not been the case every week, which is unsurprising given that we have many new members and that each member, whether old or new, is only rostered once a year.

To put this in perspective, in preparing the PRO / COTD roster, we are constantly short of people who we know are competent in setting courses, running races, recording results, launching and driving the Jazzman and the RIBs, rescuing lasers, using the radios and dealing with a life-threatening emergency. This needs to be addressed and this is one of the ways we are hoping to do so.

It is billed as a voluntary event, but it really is not. Think of it like our PRO / COTD roster. We are asking all members to attend this seminar (unless you have another unavoidable commitment). It is a contribution we are asking you to give back to the club and to your regular volunteers and fellow-members, as a reflection of our volunteer culture and community spirit.

The topics covered will be: 

• course setting, mark laying and mark moving

• race management and weather monitoring

• RIB launch and operation

• Jazzman launch and operation

• radio usage

• incident management plan and emergency response

• defibrillator usage and CPR

• off-water COTD responsibilities

You might think you have been around for a while and you know how to do most of these things. You might think you can drive a RIB and run an acceptable race. And maybe you can. 

But you will still learn something important from this seminar. Do you know exactly how to move a mark mid-race or shorten a course the correct way?  Do you know how to read a wind doppler chart?  Do you know how to flush the Bergman engine correctly?  Do you know how to start, drive, anchor and re-moor the Jazzman?  Do you know which radio channel to use for what purpose?  Do you know what we do if there is a serious injury?  Do you know how to use the defibrillator and how many pumps to breaths  are required for CPR?  Do you know how to do that for a patient in the water?

We believe there is no one at the club that knows all this. And these are basic topics that everyone at the club needs to know. 

We have only had 19 people sign up for this seminar so far. It needs to be 80.  Please commit to this event and sign up today here or email commodore@dbsc.com.au if you genuinely cannot attend. 

Post-Christmas Sailing Report

Written by Luke Parker

Eight hearty souls went sailing on December 29th. It was champagne racing. We enjoyed a building nor’easter, not a cloud in the sky, and very very few boats on the harbour. As I write, a couple of blokes in the cheap seats are telling me it was the best sailing of the year. Multiple sprint races were held. Ashley Deacon won the ironman award. 

On arrival at the club, Dean Bergman was caught installing what go down in history as the greatest improvement to the club yet. Photo below: