Enter now - NSW Laser Association Metro's at DBSC

Did you know that the mighty DBSC will be hosting a 2 day regatta out of our club on Feb 1 and 2 ?

Did you know that entries are now open and you should sign up?

Check this out:

• 2 days of highly competitive sailing on the glamorous Sydney Harbour

• Prep yourself for States, Nationals and World's coming up

• Saturday 1st Feb and Sunday 2nd Feb 2020 at Double Bay Sailing Club

• $20 parking gets you both Saturday and Sunday (no EFTPOS, cash only)

• Enjoy 'world-famous' toasties while you rig on both days

• Enjoy some drinks after sailing with your peers

• Breakfast for sale before you sail Sunday morning

• Trailers and boats can be left overnight (no security will be provided)

• Prize giving after sailing Sunday

Why wait ? Sign up for all of the above and more today.

More information on the NSW & ACT Laser Association site.

State masters at gorgeous Jindabyne

Sail at the snowies

A white board session on Sat 25th will be held in order to work out transport etc. In the meantime, could people email Ian Alexander if they are intending to go.

From the NSW & ACT Laser association newsletter:

The State Masters, which is a cube event, will be held on the weekend 8-9th February 2020 at Lake Jindabyne Sailing Club. This will be a great lead up to the big Masters events following in Geelong.

The LJSC folks are as keen as mustard and offering a great experience and hospitality to all the sailors who make the trip.

There is lots to do in Jindabyne and in the surrounding Snowy Mountains so you can stay a while. They have had a rough time in the Kosciuszko National Park area with the fires. These did not affect Jindabyne and most of the alpine roads are now open again though the scenery may be altered a lot. Road info for alpine travellers is HERE.

Accommodation is plentiful and diverse from camping to fancy apartments. There is a list of links to some accommodation and things to do options HERE.

The club will be running a dinner on the Saturday night and has a twilight race starting at 6.00pm on Friday 7th followed by a BBQ. A Masters event at the highest sailing club in the land – not to be missed.

A flyer for the event is HERE. The Notice of Race is HERE and you can enter online HERE or up to 11.30am on 8th February at the Lake Jindabyne Club.

Race report - Jan 18

Over 20 die hard sailors braved some of the wettest weather in recent times for heats 3 and 4 of the Autumn Spring Point Score.

Conditions were extremely testing with a shifty SW breeze coming off the land, and spilling onto the course in all directions at all speeds.

In Standards, Geoff Kirk and Andrew Simpson got the gun, while in the Radials Peter Collie then David Airey both took home a win and a grin.

Thanks to Ash Deacon and Nick Alexander for running the races and Wade and Richard Au for Captain of the Day.

Coming up at Double Bay

Wednesday 22 January, 5pm – Twilight Sailing.

Saturday 25 January, 2pm Start – Sprint Racing for Australia Day Long Weekend.

Wednesday 29 January, 5pm – Twilight Sailing.

Saturday & Sunday 1-2 February – DBSC hosts the Metros. For more info and entry click HERE. 

View Tom Slingsby’s Conversation at DBSC

In November, many members were lucky enough to be present at the club to hear Olympic Gold Medallist Tom Slingsby recount highlights of his illustrious sailing career. For those who missed the incredible evening, a video of the event is now available for viewing HERE. Check it out for many great insights on Tom’s journey to become one of Australia’s best sailors, including the highs and lows on the way to success and the mind-set and dedication it takes to win. 

Tom Slingsby speaking with Martin White. Photo by Peter Collie.

DBSC at the Australian Laser Champs

The 2020 Australian Laser Championships, held at Sandringham Yacht Club, Melbourne, included Laser 4.7, Laser Radial and Laser Standard rigs. The Championships attracted large fleets as Australian and international sailors used the event to prepare for the Open and Masters World Championships in the coming months in Victoria.

With 264 competitors from 26 countries competing, all eyes were on the elite level sailors. There was also a good representation of masters, middle-of-the-pack sailors and also a few newcomers to the class.  The national Championships provided a rare chance to be out there sailing with Olympic and World Champions, while competing in some fantastic big fleet racing and having fun.

Double Bay was well represented across all fleets with some top 10 results as well as solid mid fleet performance.

Above: The large fleet ready to go. Photo courtesy http://www.lasersdownunder.com

Check out a full write up of the event HERE.

You can see the results HERE and event photos HERE.

You can see write ups of the event on the Laser 2020 event web site HERE.

The best way to stay in touch with this and all the Laser 2020 events is with the Laser2020 app which you can get free on the AppStore HERE or PlayStore HERE.

2020 Racing Begins

A very variable light to moderate Southerly breeze greeted the fleet for the first races of 2020. It was a lovely day for the start of the Autumn Pointsocre, though the racing was made a bit trickier by the huge shifts and big holes, which meant big gains for some and losses for others. In one of the best moves of the day, at the start of the 2nd race Daryl Lawrence went right, while the rest of the fleet went left. Daryl got a huge lift and the gains he made meant that he almost lapped the fleet. Well played Daryl!  First over the line after handicap were: Standards: Michael Osborne (heat 1) and Nick Alexander (heat 2); Radials / 4.7s: Hugo Knight (heat 1) and Daryl Lawrence (heat 2). Hats off to Hugo for scoring a victory in his first race as an “official” DBSC member.

Thanks to all last week’s volunteers for putting on a great day of racing, including PRO Jules Hall who was assisted by Clare Alexander on the Jazzman, COTD: Matthew Knight, and CoCOTD: James Leaver. As always the toasties were delicious thanks to the canteen crew who were assisted this week by Michael Osborne and Pat Levy. 

Photo by Matthew Knight.

Big Boat Report

Written by: Stephen Quain

Despite a heavy smoke haze and no wind around lunchtime, we decided to race with a predicted 15-knot SE breeze and a flat sea - and so it was.

Time and Tide did not make it from Balmain, and a late withdrawal was Chris due to Corinna springing a leak on the mooring-so he spent the afternoon bailing her out-hopefully being able to rectify the leak.

Peter Collie started us as arranged: 4 boats in line with Sanity slightly late but not for long.

The first reach was slow for about 10 minutes, but the breeze came in, which Sanity and Pleasure 2 made the most of, to round the Point Piper mark 1st and 2nd followed by Chenonceau jousting with Rockhopper, and Smitten not far behind.

Welcome back Mike after a long absence, despite the appearance of her sails, Rockhopper sailed very well in the conditions. We had a near square run across the harbour.

From Taylors Bay to the S&P mark was one long reach-very enjoyable.

For the most part we also had a tight reach back to Shark Island with just 2 tacks to make the mark and another reach home with varying winds and direction.

Positions over the line: 

• Sanity (at 3.09)

• Pleasure 2 (about 3.12)

• Chenonceau (at 3.15)

• Rockhopper (est. 3.20)

• Smitten (est. 3.25)

As usual some of us retuned to the club deck and a shared a drink watching the 18s return with several new boats in their fleet.

A much better afternoon than expected, thanks to all.

A calm start to the Big Boat Race. Photo by Peter Collie.

DBSC Scales New Heights

Three DBSC members, Andrew Cox, James Tudball and Peter Speed, successfully summited Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, arriving at the top of the 5,895-metre peak at 7am on 11 January. 

The expedition involved 7 days of gruelling trekking and acclimatization over some 60km, before commencing the summit attempt at midnight, climbing 1.3 vertical kilometres over 7 hours on a dusting of fresh snow, to arrive both exhausted and exhilarated at the peak. 

The team was back down off the mountain in time to celebrate Andrew’s 50th birthday on 12 January. 

Watch out for some impressive sailing performances from the summit team, fresh with an overdose of red blood cells and toughened-up quads. 

Worldwide Publication

We’re happy to announce that Brett Beyer’s article on rules at the top mark has been republished on the International Laser Class Association’s website. Everyone should check it out HERE and re-read the article as there has been some misunderstanding of top mark rules by DBSC members.  This lack of understanding was showcased by several top mark incidents (and some of the off-water discussions that followed) in the last few weeks of the spring season. Hopefully Brett’s article can clear up any confusion.