Metros are Coming to DBSC in February

DBSC is hosting the Metros on 1st and 2nd February 2020. More information on our website, which includes the links to enter, HERE.  

We will share more information as it becomes available. 

DBSC Victorious in Vaucluse Challenge

It was a good day on the water for DBSC in the first leg of the 2019/20 Vaucluse Challenge. We fielded a fleet of 31 boats to VYC’s 8.

After applying the complex scoring formulas, scores for Standards were DBSC 24 vs VYC 60 and for Radials / 4.7s were DBSC 47 vs VYC 103, for an overall score of DBSC 71 vs VYC 163.

Thanks to VYC for their good sportspersonship and for hosting a terrific BBQ on the deck of their club with to-die-for views of the harbour and the city skyline!

Thanks to Luke Parker, Andrew Craker, Clare Alexander on the Jazzman, and John Vasey, Marlena Berzins, Alvaro Manzanares-Bertran, Julian van Aalst on the water.  And thanks to Geoff Kirk, Craig Sheers, Christine Patton and Shirley Roach in the canteen.

The victorious DBSC Team.

Big Boat Race Report

Written by Chris Bowling

The day was warm but we saw little of the sun, though cloud and the bushfire haze that has troubled the city for what seems to be weeks. With a forecast of nor-easter building during the race to 22 knots both Corinna and Smitten opted for small sails, while other boats looked at the real conditions and went big.  In the event, the nor-easter came in but never gusted over 15 and the big sail people had it right. Perhaps the haze took the edge off the power behind it.

Six boats registered, 5 starters arrived.  Corinna made the best of the start but Sanity’s size and design and skilled crew moved her through the fleet to be ahead by a boat length at the first mark, with Katinka and Chenonceau in hot pursuit.  Smitten reached the start somewhat late and eventually retired for a family cruise.

Reaching to Taylors Bay, Sanity opened a good lead and Chenonceau nudged ahead of Katinka, with Corinna still second.  The work to Sow and Pigs with an outgoing tide and uneven wind was closely fought, with Chenonceau crossing ahead of Corinna and Katinka threatening; but when Corinna went to the right hand corner at Neilsen park she regained the second, to round about 3 minutes behind Sanity.

Running home just one boat hoisted a spinnaker; Corinna hoisted a storm kite and somehow it came out the bag sideways, with the tapering head on the lee side. She looked like a jury-rigged junk but we made it work and drew only a few wry comments from passing boats; we even gybed it successfully at Shark Island, and held it to the finish.

For the record; the sideways kite drew well (neither skipper nor crew had tried it previously!) and we maintained a clear second to the finish, about 3 minutes behind Sanity.  Chenonceau was about a minute behind, and still threatening, but Katinka went too close under Steel Point and lost ground.

Over the line:

• Sanity

• Corinna

• Chenonceau

• Katinka

• Smitten (DNF)

Thanks to all competitors for helping to keep this fleet alive. We race again on 12th January.

Up Next at DBSC

Wednesday, 4 December, 5pm Splash – Twilight Sailing / BBTP. We’re still looking for 20+ boats. Join us TONIGHT!

Saturday, 7 December, 2pm Start – Final Heats of Spring Pointscore & Club Champs. BBQ on deck after racing. 

Wednesday, 11 December, 5pm Splash – Twilight Sailing. 

Saturday, 14 December, 2pm – Tyrell and Rousso Christmas races (more info to come next week).

Saturday, 14 December, 5pm – Christmas Party.

Wednesday, 18 December, 5pm Splash – Twilight Sailing / BBTP.

We are Competent

Thanks to the 43 members who attended competency training on Saturday. The feedback was that it was a very informative day, and pretty much everyone said they learned something new. Thanks also to our five volunteer trainers: Dene Bergman, Gerry Donohoe, Andrew Cox, Matt Knight, and David Murphy for imparting their skills and knowledge.  

For the 50% of our masters members who did not attend or only attended for part of the training, we strongly encourage you to watch the videos of last Saturday’s sessions which are available HERE. This training is an important safety and competency requirement for all members, and it’s imperative that everyone is up to speed. 

We have also posted on the website the refreshed Sailing Instructions (which include clarification as to how various events are scored, including the award and calculation of average points), as well as the new Summer Race Management Guide, PRO Guidelines, COTD Guidelines, Course Management Guide and Race Record Sheets.  We suggest that you bookmark these documents, as well as the Safety Protocols, Incident Management Plan and Risk Warning which can be found HERE.

Early Twilights Tonight

Twilight sailing this week will be half an hour earlier, with splash at 4.30 for a 5pm start and 7pm finish.  Brett Beyer will be conducting the twilight sailing session again – let’s see if we can set a new record of >25 boats!  There is a function that night at the club, starting at 7pm for 7.30pm, so please pack up your boats and shower quickly upon returning to shore after twilight sailing. Boats will need to remain on the lawn until after the function.  

Vaucluse Challenge This Saturday

The first of  the two legs in this season’s Vaucluse Challenge races will be held this coming Saturday, 30 November.  This is a seminal event in our calendar, where we do battle with our friends from the French Enclave to defend the honour of the title of champions of the main harbour!  The racing will be held in “neutral waters”, somewhere up near Nielsen Park / Rose Bay – note, it will take much longer to sail to the course area, so we are encouraging all boats to launch immediately after the 1pm briefing – get rigged and dressed before 1pm.

Vaucluse Yacht Club will be hosting a BBQ after racing.  Could all sailors please plan to attend this?  We will be driving two RIBs to Vaucluse, and will also take several cars.

This leg of the Vaucluse Challenge will comprise two ~45min races, with separate fleet starts for Radials / 4.7s and Standards.  Details of the course location and format will be provided at the briefing.  The scoring system includes points for overall best boats, as well as for best boats in each age category (open, apprentice, masters, GM, GGM, etc) as set out below, so everyone has a chance to contribute to the outcome.  After conclusion of the second leg of the Vaucluse Challenge (which will be held in conjunction with the Vaucluse Regatta in the new year), the perpetual Vaucluse Challenge Shield will be awarded for the following season to the club with the lowest points in aggregate, and there are also perpetual trophies for best Radial sailor (the Dene Bergman trophy) and best Standard sailor (the Graham Reid trophy), based on lowest individual aggregate positions in the fleet.

The details of the scoring in each race are as follows:  (a) overall best boats – the first four boats in each fleet from each club will get a score of 1 to 8 in their order of finishing (regardless of their actual finish position in the fleet); (b) best boats in each age category – in each age category, the number of boats (“n”) from each fleet from each club that will be scored are the lesser of (i) one third of the boats in that fleet in that age category and (ii) the number of boats in that fleet in that age category from the club with the smallest number of boats in that age category, and the first “n” boats from each fleet from each club will get a score of 1 to 2n in their order of finishing (regardless of their actual finish position in the fleet).  Note, for the purposes of (b), if there are less than six boats in total and not at least one boat from each club in an age category in that fleet, the boats from that age category in that fleet will be combined with the boats in the age category above in that fleet for scoring purposes; and if there are insufficient boats in the oldest category in that fleet, the boats in that age category in that fleet will be combined with the age category below in that fleet for scoring purposes.  Clear?  Haha

Christmas Party - December 14

Please save the date for our annual Christmas Party on the evening of Saturday 14 December. It’s sure to be the holiday event of the season. The festivities cap off a day of unique sailing with our famous once-a-year Tyrell and Rousso races, which are super fun and competitive formats. More info on both the racing and party soon. 

Regatta Kit Invoices

If you ordered regatta kit you should have received an invoice for any items not covered by the ILCA regatta allotment.  We’d appreciate it if you could please pay your invoice promptly.

Boat Numbering

To assist in identifying your boat in our racks, could you please ensure that your transom contains your boat number. This is a mandatory requirement of storing your boat in DBSC’s clubhouse. Boat numbers can be purchased from Boat Names Australia HERE which provides an excellent service and offers a 10% discount with the code “passiton”. Boat Names Australia provides us with our DBSC stickers for free, so please support them with your orders for boat names and numbers.