History Corner

The canteen has come a long way! Here’s an extract from the May 1958 news-sheet: “One of our members thought it a good idea to serve the lads a hot drink after the race each Sunday. A band of three or four women rallied forth never missing a Sunday, led by Mrs Slight, and the delicious cup of rich Cocoa together with biscuits was prepared for each member with a small charge of 6d, which goes towards Club Funds.”

60 seconds with Richard Au

1. How old were you when you first stepped on a boat? Around 16 or 17 – a friend of mine took me out in his Swanson Dart, a sweet sailing 22’ keel boat.

2. If money (and sailing ability) were no limit, what boat would you buy? A new Laser would be nice. A cruising yacht would also be nice but I don’t have time for that, my little speedboat is already not being used enough.

3. What is your ultimate sailing goal? Sailing faster! I’m a beginner in dinghies so tacking more efficiently and getting better at sailing by the lee.

4. Tell us the story behind the name of your Laser? The friends of the previous owner of my boat thought he was a bit stuck up, a toff, so as a joke he named his first Laser “Toff".  This boat was his second Laser so it was called “Toftu". Being vegetarian I thought “Tofu" was a good name so I removed the t.

5. If you could add any ingredient to DBSC's world’s best toasties – what would it be? More mushrooms like portobello or porcini or shiitake.

6. What are your second/third favourite hobbies (assuming sailing is #1)? I’ve got too many hobbies so I rotate them. The constants though are reading fiction and non-fiction, music and photography. To facilitate music reproduction I’ve been into restoring and tweaking high fidelity equipment since I was a kid. It’s surprisingly difficult to make both Mahler symphonies and the Rolling Stones sound good on the same system. So when tuning I err towards Mahler, Davis and Coltrane. I don’t shoot so much these days but when I do I concentrate on light and composition which I also look for and really appreciate in other people’s photographs.

7. Describe what you do for work in less than five words? Develop apps on Apple iOS, Swift, Xcode.

8. What is the first international destination you will travel to (once we're allowed) and why? Not sure because it's unlikely all destinations will be open at the same time but Hong Kong and Taiwan would be nice.

9. What is your favourite TV show, movie, and/or book? I don’t have favourites, there’s too many of them. Of the recent releases I liked the 2018-19 mini-series Das Boot and movie Interstellar. War and Peace might be the greatest work of fiction. I’m not kidding, I’ve read it twice and highly recommend it. For non-fiction, I’ve just finished (DBSC member) Finn Kirk’s dad’s book “The Genes that Make Us”, an excellent read.

10. Tell us something interesting about yourself that members of the club don’t know? I like to build and/or fix things. Recent projects include restoring a ~120 year old German violin, refitting and rewiring an old Cruise Craft runabout with Johnson 70hp outboard, rebuilding two sets of QUAD amplifiers and FM tuners for Morgan and myself. In my 20s I liked working on classic sports cars.

I’m with my brother Derek (left) and friend David in his then new Northshore 38 (circa 1986)

Coming Up

Wednesday 24 Feb - Twilight Sprints, Brett Beyer Twilight Program 5/10, and State Masters Debrief presented by Brett Beyer (8pm)

Saturday 27 Feb - Club Championship 11 & 12

Wednesday 3 Mar - Twilight Sprints, Brett Beyer Twilight Program 6/10

Saturday 6 Mar - Learn To Race, Clean Up Australia Day 1/2, Metropolitan Championships at HHSC 1/2, DBSC Sprints

Sunday 7 Mar - Clean Up Australia Day 2/2, Metropolitan Championships at HHSC 2/2

NSW/ACT ILCA Laser Master Championships

The largest ever contingent of DBSC sailors travelled to Jervis Bay over the weekend for the State Masters, and for many the first time competing in a regatta. It was certainly a test of fitness and skill with 3 hours of intense sailing and 30kms covered each day in moderate to fresh southerlies, with some consistent waves to surf downwind.

There were a total of 143 entries and DBSC filled almost a quarter of the spots with 15 of 77 Radials, 17 of 64 Standards, and 2 of the 9 females. Congratulations to all the sailors that attended and those that excelled in their divisions: Radial - James Tudball overall winner and 1st Apprentice, Gavin Blake 3rd overall and 2nd Apprentice, Andrew Cox 1st Master / Standard - David Newman 2nd Apprentice, Brett Beyer 2nd overall and 1st Master, Luke Parker 3rd Master, Ashley Deacon 1st Great Grand Master. Full results [HERE].

A few more highlights include: Tuddy Jnr competing in and winning his first Masters with Tuddy Snr in the same fleet; Gavin Blake’s farewell Laser regatta as he moves up to the Moth class; all the Masters newbies including Nick Pellow, Steve London, Conor Roche, Diana Chen, David Murphy, David Airey, Ian Tudball, and James Tudball. Diana should have received a prize for possibly the most downwind capsizes and still getting the job done to finish all 6 races – not a bad effort for a rookie.

The weekend was filled with amazing memories, many “YeeHa” moments, and maybe some held-back tears. It was a great event for our club and we hope that more members will join us for the next away regatta. Thanks to Jervis Bay Sailing Club for hosting!

Some great photos from the weekend by Jon West available for purchase [HERE]

Race Debrief presented by Brett Beyer

Brett will be offering a State Masters race debrief and Q&A at the club on Wednesday 24th Feb at 8:00pm. All members are welcome (even if you didn’t go to the States) to come and listen to his strategy, tips, tricks, and advice. Cost is $20pp - click [HERE] to book your spot.

Race Report - DBSC Sprints

6 sailors from DBSC and 1 from Vaucluse braved the rain and blustery southerlies with 6 short & sharp sprints and some nice fast hiking when the gusts hit. All boats started at the same time and despite some valiant efforts by the Radial sailors, Jason Wilkins and Geoff Boscoe in Standards dominated the races, splitting the bullets between them. Jason pipped Geoff in the decider with some America's Cup style tactical match racing. Thanks to Simon Stone for running the show, canteen helpers, and those who were at the club early to sweep out the shed and sort through a large number of used sails.

Solar Project

Keen (bird's) eyes might have observed some changes at the club.

Stage 1 of the DBSC Solar Project was completed this week, with the western roof section (the 2012 extension) entirely covered in solar panels.

We estimate that this size system should generate more than the club's power needs, and make it a net supplier of green electricity to the grid and the local community.

Future stages will eventually entail covering the entire roof with Solar, and we have reached an in principle agreement to supply that power to our friends, the A18s - helping to make all sailing activities in Double Bay powered by the same force that gets us around the marks, Mother Nature.

The club would like to thank the NSW Government for their generous help towards this project. We would also like to thank the army of people within the club who have assisted in making this possible.

Stay tuned for Stages 2, 3, 4 and 5!

Electronic Payments

EFTPOS has finally arrived at DBSC! From this Saturday, you will be able to pay for your toasties, snacks, drinks, and spare parts using your card or phone. The tab book will be phased out over the next few weeks, so please ensure you settle your account as soon as convenient.

Sail Cam

Have you ever wondered what the conditions were like in Double Bay or just wanted to study the clouds over the harbour? Look no further, the DBSC Sail Cam is for you! Click [HERE] to access or via our website under About Us. Press the play button to start.

Rack Reshuffle

A rack reshuffle is scheduled for this Saturday after sailing. If you are unable to stay behind to help, please ensure you store all your gear inside and/or on top of your boat to make it easier for the volunteers doing the moving.