Clean Up Australia Day – This Sunday

Thanks to the leadership of Jonathan Stone, DBSC is once again participating in Clean Up Australia Day this Sunday, 1 March. There is a low tide at 7.30am and so we’ll be cleaning the beaches and parks near our club from 7.00 - 10.00 am on Sunday morning. 

Jonathan encourages members to “Please keep up the strong tradition of club-member support: Clean Up Australia Day is an important part of the Club’s contribution to the community at large. We have a great site on the Harbour, but our continuing presence there requires long-term acceptance by the community.

Just come to the Clubhouse on the day, ready to spend 30 minutes clearing rubbish from Steyne Park and the beaches to east and west. The beaches are particularly littered after the recent rains.”

A big thanks to Jonathan Stone for running this initiative for many years. Jonathan, who has overseen this event at DBSC for many years, will be retiring from this capacity after this year. Luckily for us, going forward, Kate McHugh has generously offered to continue this great tradition at our club. A big thanks to both Jonathan and Kate. 

Save the Date

Here are two save the dates for you calendar:

Family & Friends Day – 4 April. A jumping castle, family Laser sprint races, RIB rides and a kiddie friendly BBQ will round out DBSC’s Annual Family & Friends Day from 5pm on Saturday 4 April (after that day’s racing). It’s the chance to show off the DBSC spirit to your loved ones.

Annual General Party – 22 May.  This is a not-to-be-missed event which includes our annual prizegiving, a great feed and dancing until dawn with a new and even better band courtesy of the one and only James Tudball.  Note, the date is 22 May, not 29 May as previously shown in the calendar.  Apologies to anyone who planned their schedule around the 29th.

Up Next at DBSC

Wednesday 26 February, 5pm splash – Twilight Sailing.

Saturday 29 February, 2pm Start – Sprints (See info above). 

Sunday 1 March, 7am – 10am – Clean up Australia Day. (See info above).

Wednesday 4 March, 5pm splash – Twilight Sailing.

Saturday 7 March, 9am Start – Learn to Race.

Saturday 7 March, 2pm Start – Club Champs heats 11 & 12 AND Autumn Point Score heats 7 & 8. Followed by a BBQ.

Early Start This Saturday for Vaucluse Regatta

Instead of our usual club racing, this Saturday we’ll be participating in The Vaucluse Regatta. It’s the 88th running of this grand regatta, and is a great opportunity for racing in a big fleet. VYC intends to run three short races for the Laser fleets. 

The Laser racing is scheduled to start at Vaucluse at 1:05pm which means they day will start earlier than normal for us. We’ll have a briefing at DBSC at 11:15am (and a splash around 12, depending on winds).  At the briefing, we will review the format of the racing. It should be a good day on the water with Laser sailors from around the harbour.  There is no cost to participate and all are encouraged to attend (as there will be no sailing at DBSC) – think of it as a normal Saturday on the water for us, just at the other end of the harbour.

Finish Boat Needed for Saturday

We need a couple of volunteers to staff the VYC finish boat and record the finishers at the Vaucluse Regatta on Saturday. This is a request from VYC as one of their people has had to pull out at the last minute due to health issues. 

It would be really appreciated if anyone not sailing would be willing to assist our sister club with this! If you are keen, please email Andrew Cox HERE ASAP.

RIB Upgrade Arrives at DBSC

We are excited to announce that the club has purchased a much newer second-hand RIB to replace the existing Paul Adam. 

The new RIB, which is scheduled to arrive this week, is a 2005-year Gemini Elite 630 (about the same size as the Bergman) with a 115hp Yamaha outboard. 

Our new beauty.

With Paul’s permission, the new RIB will also be named the Paul Adam, continuing our recognition of Paul’s tremendous contribution to the club over such a long period of time.  

We are grateful to Dave Sharma MP, Member for Wentworth, who represents our electorate in the Commonwealth Government, and has been very active in the community since his election in 2019. Dave championed the award to us of a $10,000 Commonwealth Government Stronger Communities Program grant to assist with purchase of this much-needed safety and response boat upgrade. 

Member for Wentworth, Dave Sharma, presents Commodore Cox the award.

We are also grateful to the Australian 18 Footers League and Jonathan Stone, who each made a further $10,000 contribution towards this purchase. 

The Australian 18 Footers League is our long-time close affiliate, contributing to the club’s financial position each year and conducting their racing from our club with the assistance of our RIBs each Sunday in season. 

Jonathan Stone is a life member, who has been a great contributor to the club over a very long time. His contributions included an astonishing 33 consecutive years on the management committee, during which time, among other things, he served as President, Commodore and Club Patron, coordinating the big boat fleet and acting as PRO for Club Championship races, as well as organizing our annual participation in Clean Up Australia Day. His donation towards the purchase of our new RIB, which he made upon his retirement from sailing last year (see previous article HERE), represented yet another of his continuing contributions to the club. 

Thanks to the three generous contributions we received, we have been able to purchase the new RIB, and also add much needed improvements to both it and the Bergman, including new tube covers, nav lights, upgraded radios, and also improvements and extensions to the davits to reduce wear and tear on the RIBs and improve operating safety.

Thanks are also due to Pat Levy for his extraordinary commitment of time and energy in sourcing the new RIB, negotiating its purchase, arranging all the upgrades to both it and the Bergman, and collecting and delivering it and the Bergman to multiple service providers all over Sydney! Thanks also to Luke Parker for donating the steel davit extensions and thanks to Andrew Simpson for their design and certification. 

There will be an article next week with some important operational notes about the RIBs. 

Transportation to Nationals and Worlds

If you are attending either The Masters Nationals or Worlds, it’s imperative that you attend the whiteboard session taking place after sailing on Saturday. At the session, we’ll work out transport for these events.  

If you can’t make it on Saturday, can you please email Ian Alexander HERE in advance and let him know:

• Are you planning to tow your own trailer?

• If so, have you already agreed to take anyone else’s boat on your trailer (and, if so, who)?

• If you are towing your own trailer, how many spaces (if any) do you have available for others (in addition to your own boat and in addition to any other boat you have already agreed to take)?

• Does your trailer require stackable dollies and (if so) how many do you need (including your own boat and any others you have agreed to take or are willing to take)?

• Do you have a towbar and are you willing to tow a club trailer?

• Are you planning to go, but do not have a towbar or trailer (and have not already agreed a spot on someone else’s trailer)?

Laser Race Report

Last Saturday an impressive fleet of 48 boats took on another challenging light and shifty southeasterly breeze. The day served as both Heats 5 – 6 of the Autumn Pointscore and Heats 9 – 10 of the Club Championship. It was tough sailing as the competitors had to avoid the holes and be on a constant lookout for shifts.    

At the end of the day, the winners were: Championship – Standards: Matt Wenke (Championship Heat 9) and Luke Parker (Championship Heat 10); Radials: Daniel Costandi (Championship Heats 9 and 10); Pointscore (after handicap): Standards: Murray Stone (Pointscore Heat 5) and Ashley Deacon (Pointscore Heat 6); Radials / 4.7s: Daryl Lawrence (Pointscore Heat 5) and Sara Brooks (Pointscore Heat 6). 

Thanks to this week’s race volunteers — Andrew Cox (PRO) and Kevin Gilroy on the Jazzman, Pippa Batchelor (COTD), and Peter Speed (CoCOTD) on a RIB, and Julian Van Aalst and Jen Wells in the canteen. After competing on the water, the sailors were also very thankful to the team that put together the delicious meal upon their return!

Youth Grants Available

Local Sporting Champions Grants are now open. 

The Local Sporting Champions program provides financial assistance for coaches, officials and competitors aged 12-18 years participating in state, national or international championships (which includes Laser State and National regattas). 

Further information regarding eligibility criteria and an application can be found HERE.

Tasar Crew Needed This Weekend

Kirsty from WSC is looking for crew or competent skipper for the NSW Tasar Championship this weekend (22-23 Feb) at WSC.

If you are interested, please contact Kirsty on 0418 837 156.