Top Tip - Scary Shallows

Continuing with more tips on boots, Mark Crowhurst provides us with a cautionary tale: 

On Saturday as I came back to land I stepped off my boat onto a broken bottle. My foot is fine, but the bottom of my shoe was maimed quite a bit. So, remember you aren't just wearing shoes because of the increased hiking capacity they provide - you're wearing them to protect against monsters in the shallows.

Anyone who has done Clean Up Australia Day will know what hides in these shallows! 

So, make sure you’re wearing your shoes/boots when you venture out into the harbour. 

Coming Up...

Wednesday, 16 October, 5pm Splash – Twilight Sailing / BBTP

Saturday, 19 October, 9am – Learn to Race

Saturday, 19 October, 2pm Start – Club Championship, Heats 3 & 4 AND Spring Pointscore, Heats 5 & 6.  Followed by a BBQ

Wednesday, 23 October, 5pm Splash – Twilight Sailing / BBTP

Saturday, 26 October, 2pm Start – Spring Pointscore, Heats 7 & 8.  

Last Chance for Brett Beyer Twilight Program

During Twilights this spring we’d like to run another instalment of the Brett Beyer Twilight Program (BBTP).  However, to make this a reality we need 10 people to sign up and pay for the program before 5pm this Saturday. Right now we only have 5 members registered to participate. So, if you’re interested in receiving direct on-water coaching from Brett during the Twilights, and access to ask follow-up questions during the week, you need to sign up ASAP. This program is set to begin on Wednesday, 16 October. Please check out the details and sign up HERE.

Twilights Start Tonight

It’s the mid-week sailing fix you’ve been waiting for all winter long… Wednesday Twilight Sailing. It’s back this evening. Splash is at 5pm (or whenever you can make it). Hope to see you there for some beautiful golden hour sailing.

Coast Championships this Weekend

The East Coast Laser Championships are on this weekend at Gosford Sailing Club. This is the first of the Laser regattas for the 2019/20 season and a perfect opportunity to blow out the cobwebs after the winter and a chance to practise your fleet racing at an away club! The NoR for this event is HERE and entries are open HERE.

If you’re planning on attending the Coasts, please fill in this FORM if you require support for Laser transport AND if you can help with Laser/ Trailer transport as well. 

For those NOT attending the regatta and have a spare trailer please complete the form also. 

Ian Alexander will be in touch to confirm logistics.

Top Tip – How to Dry Wet Boots

Last week Wet Foot Freddie asked how to dry his boots after a day on the water. DBSC members have come to the rescue with these suggestions:

Fill with scrunched up newspaper (or other absorbent paper) works with wet work boots & actual trekking/hiking boots. Leave in dry shaded area not full sun as get over heated & sweat. — Mick Forbes

I just hand them to Dad and hey presto next time I need them, they are dry!  — Sylvie Stannage

Open them up, rinse them out, drying racks are useful, accept they are a consumable and let the sun and breeze do the work! — Chris Stannage

Stuff your booties with newspaper! — Katie McHugh

My solution is 12min spin cycle in the washing machine for everything except the life jacket. Then hang everything on the clothes rack inside. Boots upside down as shown in the photo. Everything is dry by the next day.  —Andrew Cox

If you have a query, a suggestion or a tip, please email the Top Tipster HERE. 

Rules, Rules, Rules

By Andrew Cox

We are going to run a series of articles by Brett Beyer over the coming months, covering starting, top mark, bottom mark and port / starboard.

This is part of an effort to increase understanding of the rules by our sailors. But not just the rules — we are focused on understanding how to apply the rules sensibly in practice.

Importantly, there are many situations where the RIGHT answer is NOT to be aggressive in enforcing your rights. This is counter-intuitive to most sailors.

As Brett says, “The smart way to approach any rule is to do what is right for you. Giving a boatlength away at times could be the smartest long term approach. You usually can’t win a race as a result of an individual incident, but you can certainly lose one!”

This season, we are very focused on improving the quality of our racing. Please know the rules, know how to be sensible in applying them, and DO YOUR TURN(S) if you infringe.

Rule of the Month — Starting

By Brett Beyer

The pre-start period is probably where the most protests occur, most often as a result of windward / leeward situations. Most of these protests end with leeward boats being disqualified.

The main things to note are:

* Rule 11 applies — on the same tack and overlapped, the windward boat must KEEP CLEAR.

* There is no “PROPER COURSE” before the start, so the windward boat must keep clear all the way up to head to wind.

* But Rule 15 is a limitation imposed on the leeward boat when she has acquired the right of way — “she shall initially give the other boat ROOM TO KEEP CLEAR”. This means a leeward boat cannot sail into the hole and immediately ask / expect the windward boat to be able to keep clear. 

* Rule 22.3 is an exception — “a boat moving astern, or sideways to windward, through the water by backing a sail shall keep clear of one that is not”. And note that backing the boom to remain stationary against a current is considered “moving astern”.

Examples: 

(a) If the leeward boat comes in and hits the windward boat’s mainsheet, she has not allowed “room”.

(b) If the leeward boat comes in and the windward boat’s transom corner hits the leeward boat when attempting to keep clear, the leeward boat has not allowed “room”.

(c) If a faster moving leeward boat asks an almost stationary windward boat to keep clear, the leeward boat needs to give the windward boat room to BEAR AWAY to gather speed in order to round up out of the way.

So there has to be sufficient SPACE and sufficient TIME from where and when the overlap was first established before the windward boat can be expected to keep clear. And this can be quite a bit of space and time. 

A good RULE OF THUMB is that the leeward boat should be half a boat length to leeward and should allow at least three long seconds before asking a windward boat to keep clear (and maybe even more space and time for an almost stationary windward boat). 

Smart leeward boats will allow for this time and simply remain overlapped for some time before doing anything. As the leeward boat, it is worth being GENEROUS!

The objective after the start is to hold your starboard tack lane. A leeward boat is often more of a threat than a windward boat, so ALLOW THE WINDWARD BOAT SOME BREATHING ROOM. She is then more likely to do a good job of managing her own windward boat, thus effectively guaranteeing the leeward boat not getting rolled by any windward boats.

Up Next at DBSC

Wednesday, 9 October, 5pm Splash – Twilight Sailing

Saturday, 12 October, 2pm Start – Sprints (due to Oceania and Coasts)

Sunday, 13 October, 2pm Start – Big Boat Race

Wednesday, 16 October, 5pm Splash – Twilight Sailing

Saturday, 19 October, 9am – Learn to Race

Saturday, 19 October, 2pm Start – Club Championship, Heats 3 & 4 AND Spring Pointscore, Heats 5 & 6.  Followed by a BBQ

Twilights and BBTP Need You

Twilight sailing starts next Wednesday, 9 October with a 5pm splash, and will continue every Wednesday until the end of daylight savings (except for a few weeks over the holidays). Twilights are a great way to hone your skills, have some mid-week fun and enjoy one of the best sailing sunsets in the world. So, we hope to see you there!

Along with Twilights we’re hoping to run another instalment of the fantastic Brett Beyer Twilight Program (BBTP).  This program is set to begin on Wednesday, 16 October and gives participants direct on-water coaching from Brett during the Twilights, and access to ask follow-up questions during the week. However, we need 10 participants to make the program a reality, and currently only three members have signed up. To ensure the program moves forward, please check out the details and sign up HERE before this Friday.