79 Bay St
Double Bay NSW 2028
Australia

The best ILCA / Laser sailing club in the world, located in Double Bay on Sydney Harbour.

News

Wild Winds

Kirk Marcolina

A wild, windy afternoon was more than a challenge for the nearly 40 sailors who braved the tough conditions for Autumn Pointscore heats 9 and 10. The BOM issued a strong wind warning, but at 2pm there was a gentle 10 knot breeze blowing from the West, and the fleet sailed the first part of heat 9 in light to moderate conditions. But towards the end of the race the conditions changed abruptly; the BOM prediction proved correct with gusts of up to 40 knots blowing through the harbour. Several times more than half the fleet seemed to be capsized when a bullet shot out of the West. In a testament to the harsh conditions 15 sailors chose to retire from heat 9, and the race committee cancelled heat 10 due to the dangerous winds.  Congratulations to the hardy competitors who came out on top after handicapping: Full Rigs: Nick Pellow, Radials/4.7s: Simon Stone. Thanks also to the race committee for braving the wind, and putting on a well-run race day filled with several rescues: PRO Clare Alexander, assisted by John Chesterman, COTD John Vasey, CoCOTD David Ferguson, and Canteen Assistant Jules Hall.  Thanks also to Brett Beyer for doing his fair share of rescues. 

Saturday’s Growing Breeze.

Saturday’s Growing Breeze.

The Week Ahead

Kirk Marcolina

Wednesday 3 April, 5pm – Final Twilight Sailing this season. It’s the last chance until October to enjoy a warm sunset sail on the best harbour in the world. In addition to the beautiful scenery, Brett Beyer will there to run us though our paces. Thanks to Brett for an outstanding twilight series that has seen large and regular fleets, as well as an excellent mix of drills and racing. As usual, everyone is welcome to join the racing, whether part of the program or not. 

Saturday 6 April, 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 if you are planning on attending.

Saturday 6 April, 2pm Start – Autumn Pointscore Heats 10 & 11. 

Saturday 6 April, 4:30pm – Family Day BBQ. See details above.

Saturday 7 April, 10am to 2pm – Community Fete. See details above.

Sunday 7 April, 1pm Start – Big Boat Racing. Please note the 1pm start, as Daylight Savings ends on Sunday morning. 

Drastic solution to a simple, but intractable, problem

Guest User

 

A special essay, by special invitation from our former Commodore, from our special former club secretary, Mr Peter P. Dobrijevic BE MBA DipLaw. 

Release the hound....

PROBLEM:

It is impossible to maintain DBSC’s position as the leading Laser club in the world when our National Trust recognised premises have the appearance, presentation and odour of a third rate Portuguese bordello.  Unfortunately, a small but growing number of members treat the clubhouse like their girlfriend’s/boyfriend’s/non-binary partner’s flat in the week before they ditch them via a text message. 

Comrades, as of today, IT STOPS!

SOLUTIONS CONSIDERED AND DISCARDED

The number of solutions considered and evaluated by your club’s progressive politburo included:

  1. Scheduling regular 2 hour individual interviews with Dear Leader who will likely repeatedly stress over the time that you will not win even one world championship without committing to organisation norms of behaviour; and/or

  2. Launching a reality TV show where a weekly viewer vote would see one member ejected from DBSC, however this would required the club to invest in expensive big brother style CCTV to capture the “perps” red handed.  We were also concerned such a program could encourage the exact narcissistic behaviour we’re trying to outlaw; and/or

  3. Authorising the Canteen Crew to call wildcat strikes, denying toasties and beverages for all comrades whenever the club is in disorder.

     

SOLUTION SELECTED

After considerable angst, it was decided the simplest, and most effective solution was to enforce the club’s long-standing and popular “no dickheads” policy and summarily expel the member-perps from the club.

To out the dickheads, we’re going to adopt basic intelligence testing.  Now, this might appear unfair to some leftist leaning softies and New Zealanders, but bugger them; as your club repeatedly reminds us with massively pin biased start lines in Club Championship races, life isn’t fair.  So all potential perps who want to remain in the club will need to learn, and follow the rules. 

An exam will be conducted at the annual People’s Congress (a.k.a the season ending general party).  This closed book exam, with no take-in-notes, will be actively inviligated by the Wise Master and his canteen crew.  No supper or drinkies unless you score 100% in both answers and behaviour.  Further,  depending on results and unless behaviour improves, at all briefings next season we will be interrogating the most likely perps for the correct answers. Wrong answers will result in public humiliation and ridicule. And flogging. We love floggings. 

TEST QUESTIONS

 Hint......Unlike many examinations, there is only one right answer to each question

  1. Were the dolly hanging structures, designed and lovingly constructed by about a dozen members in years gone by, commissioned because:

    1. Dear Leader was grieving the loss of his dear friend Lee Kuan Yew and so formed a further working bee as a distraction; or

    2. Rod and Geoff needed to offload some surplus 4 by 2’s from their building businesses; or

    3. The club recognised the many WHS benefits of getting the dollies off the floor so that our growing membership would have improved and safe access to the club 24/7.

  2. True or False:  The dolly hanging system was properly designed, engineered and constructed to allow nesting of up to three (3) dollies in front of each column of racks. 

  3. At the end of a sailing day, is the process for dealing with the dollies:

    (A) random, i.e. leave them wherever you feel like it, man; or

    (B) dollies can be left unattended overnight in the horizontal position, either singularly or in stacks, or left OUTSIDE the clubhouse on the grass and not within the club at the northern end of the aisle, or on the vinyl floor; or

    (C) hang them up in front of racks that are full of boats, starting from the lowest rack first, so each of the three (3) racks hold precisely one dolly each

  4. The steel stackable dollies used to transport boats to regattas:

    1. Present a wonderful opportunity to exponentially complicate dolly management because they are heavy, of a strange design and don’t easily fit on the dolly holders, or;

      2. Are best used as foundations for cubist existential sculptures that can be littered throughout the club as a prelude to annually relocating them to Bondi for Sculpturebythesea? Or

      3. Belong stacked outside and are never to enter inside the club?

  5. Every boat has been racing, and due to circumstances that can’t be explained inside this space/time continuum, you are among the first boats back at the end of the day (and you don’t have ground floor accomodation).  While many members continue their weekly infighting about port tack rights inside the zone, you’re among the first to have unrigged and have just put your boat away.  In addition to contemplating how the hell that happened, do you:

    1. Hang your dolly in front of your boat, and ignore the next sailor that now needs to remove your dolly in order to put their boat away? (you twat); or,

      2. Deposit your dolly on the floor towards the front of the club so it presents a trip hazard to everyone attending to their après sailing rehydration and critique of the clothing choices of the guests of The Island? (you too are a twat); or

      3. Leave your dolly outside, but out of the way of other boats de-rigging? (you lovely, beautiful and handsome model of humanity) 

  6. Before you enjoy your post-sail beverage opportunity, do you:

    1. Update FaceSpace or your other preferred social media application; and then artistically replicate a scene from your favourite mud sodden music festival by leaving your rubbish and other gear on the floor?; or

    2. Understand it’s real world behaviour (not online bullshit) that really matters so you pick up any rubbish, yours or someone else’s, and find some dollies to hang up in front of full racks?

  7. When you see a column of racks full of boats with a couple of empty dolly holders at the end of the sailing day, do you:

    1. go and have a shower in the club’s mighty facilities with abundant hot water? (thanks to our overqualified but magnificently efficient plumbing members); or,

    2. hang some of the dollies from outside the club so there are three (3) hanging dollies in front of the full rack column? Or

      3. Ignore everything and act like an entitled knob?

    8.  The club is currently as full as a fat kid’s sock with more boats in the clubhouse than racks, so some boats are stored on dollies on the floor. While this brings immense pleasure to the Treasurer, and opens up the opportunity to implement the “no dickheads” policy with minimal financial impact on the club, it also imparts a requirement on the rest of us to appropriately manage the boats on the floor.  The appropriate storage method for boats on the floor is:

    1. Randomly all over the place, like a mad women’s breakfast.  Create the maximum inconvenience for the maximum number; or

    2. Along the eastern side of the club, cutting access to the bathrooms and causing distress for those with weak bladders; or

      3. On the northern end of the club, blocking access to the deck, the kitchen, the chips and the beer (the horror..... the horror); Or

      4. In a neat row along the western side of the club.

       

    Final question....Double marks:

    Who is responsible for making sure the dollies are in the correct space, the Centre of Engineering Excellence is tidy; boats are stored appropriately and there is no rubbish left on tables, floors and the change rooms?

    1. Everyone else because I am too busy / important / beautiful / wealthy / winning regattas / old / young/ often pleasuring myself (select up to three); or

    2. The very small number of members who do well above the usual level of volunteering every week; or

    3. Not my problem because I pay my fees (which are incredibly low because we are a volunteer organisation and not commercial operations): or

    4. Me.

.

 

Race Report

Kirk Marcolina

Last Saturday started out with beautiful conditions for the nearly 50 sailors who competed in Autumn Pointscore heats 7 and 8. The sunny, warm day brought with it a steady 10 – 14 knot NE breeze for heat 7. But the clouds rolled in for heat 8, which killed the sea breeze and created a meagre, patchy 4 – 8 knots for the second race of the day. Congratulations to the competitors who came out on top after handicapping: Full Rigs: Steve London (heat 7), and Hadrien Bourely (heat 8); Radials/4.7s: Diana Chen (heat 7), and Kate McHugh (heat 8). Thanks to the race committee for putting on a well-run race day: PRO David Rogers assisted by Christine Patton, COTD Steve Wawn, CoCOTD Richard Au, and Canteen Assistant Mark Crowhurst.

April 6-7: Family and Community Weekend

Kirk Marcolina

Family and Community Weekend is less than a week and half away. On Saturday, April 6th, after sailing, we encourage you to invite your loved ones to join us for a DBSC family BBQ and celebration – we’ll have a jumping castle for the kids, family laser races, RIB rides and a family friendly BBQ. It’s a great chance to get to know each other’s families and give them a glimpse into what we love about our club. The event is free, but to help with catering please RSVP here

On Sunday, April 7th, from 10am to 2pm we’re having a fete – where we’re inviting the wider community to see what we’re all about. Please help us spread the word about this event by sharing our Facebook Event Page

Thanks to everyone who has volunteered to help on these days. You should have already received an email detailing your assignment and shift. If you haven’t received an email or if you still need to confirm your assignment, please email Kirk Marcolina. We’re still looking for more members to help, so if you haven’t already volunteered and wish to do so, please let Kirk know. 

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Keeping the Clubhouse Clean and Clear

Andrew Cox

As previously announced, we are storing boats on the floor temporarily until the end of the season, at which time we will be asking a number of inactive members to vacate.

Please bear with us for the next few weeks, noting the inconvenience this no doubt causes.

If you need to move boats to get to yours, can you please put them back in a row along the left hand side of the main clubhouse walkway, leaving a clear path to the right, all the way to the canteen.

We found this to be the boat situation on Monday:

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This was certainly not how we left it on Saturday, so someone on Sunday decided to leave the boats and dollies like this!  Please be considerate of your fellow members and put things back where they are supposed to be. 

Also, please make sure that if you’re using a stackable dolly (signified by the blue, white and red tape on the dolly) please put it back on the stack NOT in the racks.  

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

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Private Function this Saturday Evening

Kirk Marcolina

Saturday after racing there is a private function being held in the clubhouse.  We need to pack up and leave the club ASAP.  Please assist this process by putting your boat and your gear away promptly and leaving the dressing rooms tidy. All dollies and boats that stay on the clubhouse floor should be left in the park, they will be brought in at the end of the function. Please note that the buoys and tackle will be stored in the workshop for this evening and that the BBSP debrief will be outside in front of the eastern boat ramp.

Thanks for your help and understanding with this.

Thanks to the JJs Canteen Crew and RIB Volunteers

Kirk Marcolina

A belated thank you to the canteen team of Paul, Andrea and Shirley (and their many helpers) for their tireless efforts in the canteen during the JJs! The canteen is an enormous contributor to the club’s funds, and much of the year’s surplus is made during the JJs.  We are very grateful to the team for everything they do. Thanks also to Peter Collie, James Tudball, Andrew Simpson, Daryl Lawrence, Kim Ketelby, Gerard Cafe, John Vasey who helped on the RIBs during the JJs. 

Coming Up

Kirk Marcolina

Wednesday 27 March, 5pm – Twilight Sailing. Only two weeks to go before we lose daylight saving! Come and join our large fleet of Wednesday sailors, and make the most of the last of summer!

Saturday 30 March, 2pm – Autumn Pointscore heats 9 - 10.

Traveling DBSC Sailors Succeed

Kirk Marcolina

Many DBSCers were busy traveling last weekend with 23 members sailing in regattas away from Double Bay. Nine of our sailors went interstate to attend the Victorian State Masters in Geelong. The group was testing the waters before the Laser Master Worlds which will be held there in 2020. Whilst at the same time, 14 of our members travelled to Pittwater to compete at the Metro Championships. Everyone appears to have had a grand time on the water and the results were outstanding.

Notable DBSC Victorian State Masters Results: 

Standard - Apprentice

  • Jules Hall #1

  • Hadrien Bourely #2 

Standard - Master

  • Brett Beyer #1 (and #1 overall)

  • Luke Parker #2 (and #2 overall)

  • Ian Alexander #4

Radial - Master

  • Andrew Cox #2 (and #3 overall)

Notable DBSC Metro Championship Results: 

Standard - Grand Master

  • Andrew Simpson #2

Radial - U17

  • Daniel Costandi #1

  • Evie Saunders #2

Radial - U19

  • Otto Henry #1 (and #1 overall)

  • Zac West #2

Well done to all. Here’s to more great traveling regattas next season!

The DBSC Crew in Geelong.

The DBSC Crew in Geelong.