Competency Training

As part of our ongoing focus on safety and quality of racing, we are again conducting competency training this year for all our members.

No matter how competent you think you are, you will learn something important from this training – so please come along. 

We are asking all members please to block out the morning of Saturday, 23 November, and plan to be at the club then.

The topics that will be covered are:

·       Davits / RIBs / Jazzman

·       Onshore PRO/COTD tasks / radio use

·       On-water PRO/COTD instructions / course laying

·       Incident management plan

·       First aid / CPR / defibrillator

The course will be taught by fellow members – please confirm your attendance via the form HERE and come and support this critical initiative for the club.

Pippa and David explain the defibrillator at Last Season’s Competency Training.

Arrival of New Sails

The first batch of sails has arrived from NB and they are available for collection from the club. These include sails for several members of other clubs — if you are in that category, we have already emailed you to let you know. 

When you collect your sail, please sign and fill in your name and sail number on the sheet that is located on a clipboard kept with the boxes of sails. 

The next instalment of sails is in progress and we will let you know when it’s delivered. 

DBSC Victorious at Coasts and NSW Youth Champs

Fifteen DBSC members hit the road last weekend to compete in the Coast Championships at Gosford Sailing Club. There were of 71 Lasers are competing, and the DBSC contingent didn’t let us down. Representing over 20% of the fleet, the awards presentation saw DBSCers victorious in all classes. 

The winds tested both the sailors and the race officials however in the end five of the scheduled six races were completed with some great tight racing in all three fleets.

In the 4.7′s DBSC sailor Xavier McLachlan and Kane Sablatnig finished level on 8 points with Xavier winning on a count back. 

It was almost as close in the Radials with our very own Otto Henry beating Jordon Makin from Belmont 16′s by just one point. With DBSCers Daniel Costandi and Mark Louis taking third and fourth respectively. Marlena Berzins and Sylvie Stannage and Evie Saudnders finished in a tight race, earning sixth, seventh and eighth place. 

DBSC Coach, Brett Beyer convincingly won the Standards from Jan Scholten (RPAYC and Avalon SC) with former DBSC Commodore Luke Parker taking home third.

Tight Racing at the Coast Championships at Gosford Sailing Club. Photo by Jane Humphris.

The preceding weekend our youth sailors did an equally fine job at the 2109 NSW Youth Championships at Point Wolstoncroft. Winning the Laser Radial division was once again Otto Henry. Otto had an outstanding performance, finishing with nine net points after the nine races with two drops. 

He spoke about the final day of racing when he said “The forecast today didn’t look too promising, but luckily it came in pretty nicely and we were able to knock down two races in solid yet shifty conditions. I finished fourth in the first race so put in extra effort to take first in the final race. I was really happy with my improvement from the event last year and on a good track for Nationals in January.” 

Otto was followed closely by fellow DBSCer, Mina Ferguson who placed 4th overall and was the highest placed Radial girl. Club members Sylvie Stannage, Mark Louis, Daniel Costandi, Evie Saunders, and Ian Louis, Xavier McLachlan also performed quite well at the Championships. 

Well done to all our traveling DBSCers — both young and a bit older! 

A Beautiful Day at the 2109 NSW Youth Championships at Point Wolstoncroft. Photo by Beau Outteridge.

DBSC Sprints

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, 20+ boats saw some extremely tight sprint racing, in a shifty 8-12 knot South Easterly. The course was laid bang in the middle of 'The Dardanelles' (aka the passage between Point Piper and Shark Island) to make the most of the constant pressure coming out of Rose Bay. 

There was quite a lot of Big Boat traffic on the harbour, which kept the laser racers alert and on their toes. Check out the close call on 'The Top Mark'.

Speaking of top Marks... the Standard rig sailors had the pleasure of being schooled by Mark Bethwaite another week in these conditions, while the Radial sailors escaped at least another week before Mark dominates their fleet...

Thanks to this week’s race volunteers — Nick Pellow (PRO), Josh Kirton (COTD), and Daryl Lawrence and James Tudball in the canteen.

Top Mark argey bargey with the big boats. Photo by Nick Pellow

Club Champs Date Change

We had notified the RMS of our intention to host the Metros on 28 & 29 February 2020.

Subsequently, SailGP has decided to host their event on this day, meaning we must move the date of Metros as the SailGP exclusion zone is effectively the entire sailable harbour. Unfortunately, the only date we can now host the Metros is on the 1st and 2nd of February - as a result, we have to move the Club Champs originally on that day to the 15th February. 

We apologise to members for the inconvenience. The Club's Online Calendar has been updated accordingly.

The Sailing Schedule for February 2020 is now the following:

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.