DBSC Kit Arriving Soon

Next week we will unveil the final designs of our regatta kit, and move forward with taking orders.  This is very exciting!

If you are attending an ILCA regatta this season, you will be offered one T-shirt / cap / bib combo for FREE.  If you are not attending an ILCA regatta (or you want more than one combo set), you can also buy whatever you want.

There will be a form in next week’s newsletter to indicate what you want to order – quantities and sizes.  We will include price details then. 

In the meantime, in preparation for this, we will have size samples of the T-shirts and bibs at the club on Saturday so you can select your sizing. If you’re interested in one of the DBSC branded Musto sailing jackets, check out the sizing details HERE (and you can see the unbranded jacket in person at Sturrocks). So, don't miss out, come on down to the club this Saturday so you can check your size and be ready to order your gear!

Race Report

The wind forecasts were all over the place for last Saturday afternoon. From some models, it looked like there might not be enough wind to race… Boy was that prediction wrong! What eventuated was a strong, shifty 22 knot WSW breeze with some 30+ knot bullets that saw much of the fleet in the drink.  It was surely a day you needed to keep your wits about you and your downhaul cranked on. Those who managed to keep their boats upright and took advantage of high port tacks won the day.  

The day was so challenging that several boats did not finish within 15 minutes of the lead boat, giving them a DNF (S.I. 18.3). The Afternoon was a combined Club Champs and Spring Pontscore; congratulations to the hardy victors. The results were: Championship – Full Rigs: Campbell Patton (Championship Heat 3) and Luke Parker (Championship Heat 4); Radials: Otto Henry (Championship Heats 3 & 4).  Pointscore (after handicap): Full Rigs: Hadrien Bourely (Pointscore Heat 5) and Steve London (Pointscore Heat 6); Radial / 4.7s: James Tudball (Pointscore Heat 5) and Marlena Berzins (Pointscore Heat 6). 

Thanks to this week’s race volunteers — Andrew Simpson (PRO) assisted by Murray Stone on the Jazzman, Justin Davey and Jack Littlechild on the Bergman, and James Tudball and David Rogers in the canteen. After racing we enjoyed a beautiful BBQ on the deck thanks to the Canteen Crew and Peter Collie (and his helpers) on the grill!

Top Tip - Knots and splicing. Do you know a hitch from a bend?

Written by Tim Heath 

I’m not sure if this is a sailing tip or a confession. Probably both. While learning to sail I have developed an interest, ok a bit of an obsession, with learning how to tie knots and splice ropes. I find myself practising them when daydreaming or watching Netflix?! In the process of furnishing my habit, I have come a across a couple of cheap, excellent e-resources that I think would be useful to normal people who sail dinghies:

1. Animated Knots (by Grog) is a phone app which costs $8 and is a pretty comprehensive compendium of knot videos, including notes on usage, and pros and cons for each knot. There are also splicing videos. You can watch some of them online but this app stores them all offline on your smartphone.

2. Rope splicing (Premium Ropes). If you're unfortunate enough to get hooked on splicing, then this is an invaluable resource, showing techniques for splicing almost every type of modern rope you might come across. The online videos are free and can be viewed HERE. I don't think the app is worth it (doesn't include videos).

If there are any other closet knotters, or if anyone has a favourite knot and like me is shameless enough to admit it, then maybe you could share? Also, I would be interested on recommendations from our more experienced Laser sailors regarding their preferred control lines and sheets. Although cordage is another whole area for potential discovery / obsession...  Maybe I should get counselling, a life, and just call BoatRopes.com.au

Editor’s note - Keep those Top Tips and questions coming! You can email them HERE.

Up Next...

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

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

Wednesday, 30 October, 5pm Splash – Twilight Sailing / BBTP

Saturday, 2 November, 9am – Learn to Race

Saturday, 2 November, 2pm Start – Club Championship, Heats 5 & 6, followed by a BBQ

Sunday, 3 November, 2pm Start – Big Boat Race

Twilight Sailing Tonight

Twilight sailing kicked off last week with a big cold southerly. For those who participated it was a great opportunity to practice boat handling in a strong breeze and tactics in shifty conditions.  

Tonight will be the first instalment of this season’s Brett Beyer Twilight Program. Everyone is welcome, including visitors from other clubs. See you for a 5pm splash. 

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: