60 Seconds With...

We're missing sailing with all of you, but as we all know, DBSC isn’t just about the on water competition (say the authors who never win…), our onshore friendships are equally as important. The Saturday DBSC Zoom cocktails are a testament to this (watch The Top Mark for more of these sessions).

As a way to continue to get to know our fellow sailors during the Coronavirus lockdown, we thought it would be fun to run a Covid-19 "60 seconds with..." special in our Newsletter. 

12 questions are listed below (although feel free to skip any you're not comfortable answering). No more than 20 words / question are allowed. 

So….. Ready. Steady. Go.

1. How old were you when you first stepped on a boat? 
2. If money (& sailing ability) were no limit, what boat would you buy? 
3. What is your sailing goal? 
4. Tell us the back story to your laser's name? 
5. If you could add any ingredient to our already world’s best toasties – what would it be?
6. What are your second/third favourite hobbies (obviously assuming sailing holds the #1 spot)
7. Describe what you do for work in less than 5 words? 
8. What’s the first international flight you are going to book post Covid-19? And why? 
9. What’s the maximum number of toilet rolls you’ve held in your household post 01 March 2020?
10. What’s your go to Covid-19 dish?  
11. What life skill are you committing to learning whilst in lock-down? 
12. Tell us something interesting about yourself that members of the club don’t know?

And finally, please attach both your first sailing photo (no matter how bad the lifejacket looks) and a more recent photo of yourself.

Please send your answers to newsletter@dbsc.com.au where we will share on a regular basis. Thanks for playing!

Rubbish In, Rubbish Out

Please note that our rubbish bins are not being collected while official club activities are cancelled due to COVID-19. If you are in the clubhouse to retrieve your boat for individual sailing, please do not put anything in any of the bins. We want to avoid insect and rodent infestations. Thanks for your help with this. 

Miss Being on the Water?

Check out Vela, an epic YouTube sailing series, that was recommended to The Top Mark by Finn Alexander. Enjoy!

Important Restrictions on Club Use

Last week, we published rules permitting people to access the club to retrieve and return boats for sailing for the sole purpose of exercise. You can see these rules HERE. 

These rules were formulated specifically by the club for the benefit of our members – they are not generic rules that we have merely adopted.

The rules are intended to ensure the club and its members act within both the letter and the spirit of the law, as reflected in the Public Health Orders related to COVID-19, interpreted in accordance with guidance set out by the Office of Sport and by Maritime.

There has been some discussion about the meaning of the rules and, in particular, the meaning of the rule that “no more than two people are allowed to sail together on the water”. For the avoidance of any doubt, please note that this means no more than two boats are permitted to sail in any proximity with each other.

If you are planning to go for a sail, you should coordinate that with no more than one other person.  If you see other boats from the club (or from another club) on the water, you should avoid them by sailing somewhere else.  Don’t sail over to say “hi”.

This is very important.  The harbour is a highly visible arena where a group of sails really stands out, particularly with the nearly zero activity occurring on the water at present.  It is important not only that we do the required thing, but also that we are SEEN to be doing the required thing.

There has been some debate as to whether or not more than two boats is in fact an illegal gathering.  This is a moot point.  The fact is that, as a community club that occupies public land and a public building, and that benefits from public funding, we must avoid any adverse perception.

We appreciate your cooperation with the club’s position.  We hope we are all able to continue to enjoy sailing for exercise on an individual basis or a two-boat basis throughout this period of lockdown.

If you have any queries about this, please contact the Commodore to clarify.

Australian Sailing Online Race Officer Course

Australian Sailing is running free, online, Club Race Officer courses. (See below for all the details from AS’s regional manager, Carl Webster). Mark Crowhurst has also enquired about Sailing Australia putting on a DBSC specific course, open to our members only. If you are interested in a DBSC course please let Mark know HERE. 

In light of the current Covid-19 situation, I have been looking at ways to further engage members during this time. To assist Australian Sailing are putting on five Club Race Officer Courses, to be run as an online interactive video conference via the Microsoft Teams platform. This course would usually be $65.00 per person, however we are offering these at nil cost to the participant at this time. We are encouraging those who might be keen to join us for this 3-hour course to register online.

April 15th – 1500 – 1800 - https://www.sailing.org.au/events/65049/

April 18th – 0900 – 1200 - https://www.sailing.org.au/events/64938/

April 29th – 1400 – 1700 - https://www.sailing.org.au/events/65093/

May 16th – 0900 – 1200 - https://www.sailing.org.au/events/65039/

June 20th – 0900 – 1200 - https://www.sailing.org.au/events/65040/

Virtual Drinks

Last Saturday Nick Pellow organized a DBSC virtual drinks get together via Zoom. Posting an invite on our Top Mark Facebook Group, Nick explained that the rules were: 1. Can only be drinking from the usual DBSC drinks list 2. Must be wearing some sort of sailing gear! Over a dozen of us showed up for drinks – even some not in the country. It was almost as fun as being on the back deck with everyone. Rumour has it that there may be another virtual get together this Saturday. Keep your eyes on The Top Mark to see all the details.  

DBSC Zoom Drinks.

A Year Ago

As we all huddle away from each other in isolation, it’s nice to think back to one year ago when DBSC hosted a huge Community Day celebration. Well over 500 people came to enjoy the sparkling day. Steyne Park was at its festive best, with a massive jumping castle, an array of favourite carnival games, flapping sails advertising laser sailboat rides on the lawn, remote controlled sailboats in the harbour, fairy floss and sausages to enjoy, and power boat rides from the front deck of the club. Hopefully it won’t be too long before we can all start enjoying these types of good times again. 

DBSC Community Day - April 7, 2019. What a difference a year makes.

Clubhouse Closed Due to COVID-19

As you no doubt know, in the last 48 hours the federal and NSW governments have put in place very restrictive guidelines to stop the spread of coronavirus. On Monday, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian had this message, “If you can do everything from home, you should. It is only in the exceptional circumstances that you should leave home." A strict Public Health Order was enacted late on Monday night, which, in part, states, Community Organisations must not be open to members of the public.

The interpretation on what this Order means for a club like DBSC is up for debate, but the spirit of the new legislation is clear – people should stay home unless it’s essential to go out. In light of this new Order and to aid in preventing unnecessary activities outside of the home, we are immediately restricting access to the clubhouse. The clubhouse is now closed to all members until further notice other than to remove your boat (so you can sail individually from your own premises). No sailing is to occur from the club until further notice.

There may be additional clarification forthcoming about how the new Public Health Order pertains to sporting clubs like DBSC, if so all members will receive an email with any changes to this policy. 

We understand not having access to your boat is difficult, but this is one small step we can take as a club to help “flatten the curve” and encourage the wider community to take the message to stay at home seriously.      

We look forward to being back at the club, sailing together, once the virus threat has passed. In the meantime, please be safe and stay healthy.

Sailing in the Backyard

So maybe we can’t sail on the Harbour this weekend… but no one is stopping us from practicing in the backyard, like these ingenuous 49er sailors.

Check out the video HERE. Thanks again to Katie McHugh for sharing the video on The Top Mark.

Club Lockdown

Due to the increasing spread of the coronavirus and official guidance to limit all non-essential gatherings, all official DBSC activities are cancelled until further notice.  This includes all racing (and associated BBQs) and all Learn to Race for the remainder of the summer season. It also includes Family Day. At present, it is unlikely that the AGP will be able to occur and, if this is the case, alternative arrangements will be made (to be advised).  It is also unlikely that the winter championship will occur, but we will confirm that in due course.

For now, members are still permitted to sail individually. This could change in the future if government advice changes. If you do choose to sail individually, please maintain social-distancing if there are others present and ensure your wash your hands thoroughly before and after touching any surfaces at the club. We also ask all members to continue to practise good hygiene to protect against infections.

You may NOT enter the club at all if:

• you or anyone in your immediate family and work colleagues has COVID-19

• you or anyone in your immediate family and work colleagues has been in contact with a known COVID-19 patient

• you or anyone in your immediate family and work colleagues is in voluntary isolation, say as a recent overseas returnee

• you have a cold or cold-like symptoms.

We look forward to sailing together again once the virus threat has passed. In the meantime, please be safe and stay healthy.