RACE REPORT Saturday 10 February 2024

Autumn Point Score Series Races 7 & 8

by PRO, Alistair Sutherland

Having spent the week watching our fellow club members battle big waves and breeze in Adelaide at the Master's Worlds, about 35 sailors turned up to see what Double Bay could offer.  No massive waves, no trips to a vineyard, but 18 knots of stiff breeze was just what everyone needed for some great fun.  The race committee turned up to find a South / South Easter and, after some contemplation, decided there was enough breeze rolling down Bellevue hill and out of the Eastern side of Double Bay, so no need to move the whole operation around to the South East course in Rose Bay.  This decision saw a surprisingly steady breeze in the middle of the course, with a massive Rose Bay shift on the left hand side, and shifts off of Clarke Island on the right hand side.

The ILCA 4 class continues to grow at DBSC, and a decision was quickly made to give the 6 entrants their own start.  This decision led to rolling starts with the first gun at 14:00 sharp, and a total of 6 fleet races completed across 2 hours.  The ILCA 4 had some great battles with Jasper Kinsman and Miles Greenwood battling it out neck and neck at the front, with the pack very tightly congested.  Jasper took both wins on corrected time and is chasing Charlotte Jenkins hard at the top of the series leader board.

The Radial's sported the largest fleet of the day with 20 plus starters and countless battles throughout.  At the front James Tudball and Healy Ryan had a royal battle and shared the honors with a gun each.  Michael Morris and Jack Restuccia hung in there with excellent boat handling to take wins on handicap.

The Full Rigs came close to testing the race officers patience on the final start of the day, but the surprisingly compliant 10 boats in the fleet managed to sort themselves out just in time for the gun, and proceeded to have some great racing.  Luke Parker had a great first race, but performance of the day was reserved for race two where Yves Stening proved that a commitment to mid week training results in taking the gun at the weekend.  Check out his moment of glory here :

Massive thanks to the race team of Craig Ryan, Gerard Cafe, Alban Delpey, Nick Pellow and Dave Evenden for making sure races were high quality, on time, and safe.  Thanks are also due to the entire fleet for making such a great effort to sign on - the finishing system is so much easier when we all do the right thing here.

Photos from Alistair, Nick, Craig and David

DBSC at the ILCA 2024 Masters World Championship in Adelaide

The Adelaide Worlds were spectacular.

Some of us did some training in the week leading up to the event under the guidance of Mark Bethwaite.  As well as preparing us, we got to meet some great people from Italy, the US and UK.

After keeping an eye on the open worlds, we were expecting windy and challenging conditions. It took one look at the forecast at the start of the week to confirm we were in for a windy regatta.

The first day was around 10 knots and shifty but a great start to the event. There was no better sound than hearing the 5 min signal and knowing it was game on.

From then on it was like Groundhog Day. Beautiful clear water, sunny skies, waves and wind ranging from 20-29 knots at times.

It was quite brutal, but we loved it. You only had to listen to the chatter in the change rooms after each day’s sailing. 

Personally, I have never been so fast in a laser, screaming down the faces of waves heading back the beach on completion of the days sailing.  It was exhilarating.

The DBSC crew caught up most nights. Special thanks to Roberto Blum and his wife Laura who hosted some of us for a BBQ on the lay day.

On the final day of sailing, I was so impressed that among the elderly at the event, there were a couple of 86-year-olds battling around the track each day.  Astonishing.

These events tend to attract the cream of the crop and there were plenty of previous world champions and ex Olympians on show. 

Colin Beashel dusted off the sailing gear and was prominent in the Radial fleet and, on presentation night, he sat next to Martin and shared a few stories.

If you haven’t been to a world’s, get into it.  It’s about meeting likeminded people and sharing a great experience. For most it’s not all about winning but about challenging yourself. 

The worlds are on in Italy in September next year, then rumour has it, maybe the Greek Islands in 2026 and Martinique in the Caribbean in 2027.  Can’t wait.

 by Rod Barnes

Results were as follows:

ILCA 6

Apprentice                          Roberto  Blum  6th

Masters                               Andrew Cox 10th

Grand Masters                   Jacqueline Winship 45th

Great Grand Masters        Jeff Loosemore 4th
Martin White 7th
Pat Levy 15th
Ian Tudball 23rd
David Airey 30th 

Legends                                Peter Heywood 7th

ILCA 7

Apprentice John Sweeney 7th
Max Djura 12th

Masters                              Rod Barnes 6th

Grand Masters                  Johan Hedberg 16th

Andrew Cox practicing a new form of speed Gybe

Franco from Argentina Sending it in practice

Photos from Rod and other members attending

Video From Ian Tudball, windy conditions

Other Official on water Photos by Smugmug are at this LINK
Official Results

2024 Vaucluse Regatta, Saturday 2 March

The Vaucluse Regatta returns for its 92nd edition.

A staple of the Sydney Harbour racing calendar, this iconic regatta celebrates its 92nd year and welcomes a range of Yachts, Historic Dinghies, Lasers, OK Dinghies, Cherubs, VS’ and VJs.

Date: Saturday 2nd March 2024
Location: Vaucluse Yacht Club

SAILING INSTRUCTIONS AVAILABLE HERE

All participants are welcome to attend the presentation bbq at the Vaucluse Yacht Club after racing.

Cost: Free via registration via Sailsys (click here)

Please contact us here if you have any questions or issues entering

Or go the the website HERE for more information

sdfg

60 Seconds with Grant Lovelady

This week new member Grant Lovelady gets grilled by Tory Epsworth:

How old were you when you first stepped on a boat?

Sailing since 7 yrs old, Pelicans in Perth. Family all been into sailing.

If money (& sailing ability) were no limit, what boat would you buy?

Another Laser, maybe a new Etchells. A TP52 would be cool.

What is your sailing goal?

To continuously learn and improve.

Tell us the back story to your Laser's name?

Grunt ‘n Groan [sounds rather self-explanatory to me —Ed.]

If you could add any ingredient to our already world’s best toasties – what would it be?

I hear they are already pretty good.

What are your second/ third favourite hobbies (obviously assuming sailing holds the #1 spot)?

Ocean swimming, being outdoors.

Describe what you do for work in less than 5 words?

Management Consultant / Advisor / Program Director.

What's the dream destination for your next trip? And why?

Italy, anywhere sailing.

What’s your favourite TV show, movie, and or book?

“Breaking Bad”. Books: reading “Second Fleet”, “1788”, and “Batavia”

Tell us something interesting about yourself that members of the club don’t know?

I was a long-time DBSC member in the 2000s. I moved back to Perth with the family but still worked east based out of Melbourne and now Sydney again. Nice to be back at the world’s best Laser club.

Grant grunting and groaning

WHAT'S GOING ON

From the Club Calendar

Wednesday 14 Feb: Twilight Sailing (5PM splash)

Thursday 15 Feb: Twilight Racing (5PM splash)

Saturday 17 Feb:
Learn To Race 9AM-12PM
Combined Autumn Point Score Races 9 & 10 with Club Championship Races 11 & 12
- 1PM briefing, 2PM first warning
- 5PM BBQ on the Deck after Racing - Partners and Parents welcome (let us know for numbers)

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Thank you to the members who are sending through information for the newsletter. If you have content for the newsletter, please email it to newsletter@dbsc.com.au by Monday evening.

View all racing results here.
The club’s calendar can be viewed and subscribed to here.
Make a tax deductible donation to DBSC here.

RACE REPORT Saturday 3 February 2024

Local Photographer: Tim Stuparich

Autumn Point Score Series: Races 5 & 6 Recap

by PRO, Kirk Marcolina

The Double Bay Sailing Club's Autumn Point Score series continued with its fifth and sixth races under exceptional conditions, marking another memorable weekend of sailing. The afternoon started promisingly with a gentle 12-knot northeast breeze, ideal for a smooth sail. However, the wind had its own agenda, escalating to over 20 knots by the second race. This sudden increase led to a few memorable capsizes, providing a stern test of skill and a quick dip for some.

Credit goes to COTD John Vasey for his early start. John initially helped lay out a perfect course. However, the best-laid plans of sailors and race committees often go awry, as evidenced when the Etchells fleet placed their start line inconveniently close to our top mark. Cue the rapid response team: John, alongside CoCOTD Otto Henry and RIB Reserve Ben Byford, who probably set a new speed record for course adjustment. Thanks to them, we managed a 2 pm start on a slightly shorter course.

For race 6, with the Etchells fleet having moved on, the race committee took the opportunity to extend the course back to its planned glory, much to the satisfaction of all sailors involved.

Despite the day's unpredictable elements, our sailors showed exceptional skill, particularly the handicapped winners of both races:

Race 5 Winners:
ILCA 4: Charlotte Jenkins.
ILCA 6: Scott Hunter
ILCA 7: Geoffrey Boscoe

Race 6 Winners:
ILCA 4: Charlotte Jenkins again, showcasing her consistency and skill.
ILCA 6: Cormac Johnston
ILCA 7: Connor Kellett

A round of applause for John Vasey, Otto Henry, Ben Byford, and the entire team of volunteers who managed the day's curveballs with professionalism and a calm demeanour.

Photos by Craig Ryan and Kirk Marcolina:

Photos below by Tim Stuparich a local photographer that was on the water saturday (Here is a web link to his other work)

Pre Laser Master Worlds Training at DBSC

Eight seriously good Laser Master sailors from ITA GBR and USA descended on DBSC for some southern hemisphere training before the LMW in Adelaide which started on Saturday 3 February.

Sydney served up a range of weather for them – from 39degC on Australia Day when many arrived, through sparkling north easters to cloudy light/moderate to fresh southerlies.

Those who had arrived sailed with the DBSC fleet on Saturday 27 Jan, then training took place on Sun 28 through Wed 31 Jan. A good number of DBSC ILCA6 and ILCA7 sailors joined in so that the squad was 20 boats on some days.

Most of the training was sprint racing in the mouth of Double Bay, but on the Monday when conditions were ideal with a sparkling moderate NE, the fleet raced in three stages to South Head. We then reached offshore to run windward/leeward courses in ocean conditions using Club RIBs as starting and rounding marks.

My sincere thanks to

• those chartered their boats to our visitors

• Rod Barnes for allocation of boats and arranging charters

• John Vasey, Peter Collie, Andrew Simpson and Hadrien Bourely for on water assistance

• John Vasey again for arranging a dinner for nearly 30 people at the 18 Footers on Sunday night

• Luke Parker for hosting a dinner cruise on his super RIB on the Tuesday night

• Club members who made our visitors feel really welcome.

My great friend from our sister club Vela Club Campione del Garda, Roberto Bini thought so highly of the event that he is planning to host a similar training program on Lake Garda the week before the LMW in Formia, Italy in September 2025. Formia is about half down the W coast of Italy from Rome to Naples.

So here’s the deal – get fit, get coached, get packed and get two bucket list events for the price of one (almost!) – sail on Lake Garda then in the first LMW in Italy for at least 30 years in September 2025!!

Mark Bethwaite

DBSC at the ILCA 2024 Masters World Championship in Adelaide

A group of seasoned Masters from Double Bay Sailing Club are currently competing at the ILCA 2024 Masters World Championship in Adelaide, you can checkout what’s happening and follow the action on the event website HERE: https://2024ilcamasters.ilca-worlds.org/

And photos HERE: https://ilca.smugmug.com/2024-ILCA-Worlds/2024-ILCA-Masters-Worlds-Adelaide-AUS

Breakfast of Champions!

WHAT'S GOING ON

From the Club Calendar

Wednesday 7 Feb: Twilight Sailing (5PM splash)

Thursday 8 Feb: Twilight Racing (5PM splash)

Saturday 10 Feb: Autumn Point Score Races 7 & 8 (1PM briefing, 2PM first warning)

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World Championships

ILCA Laser 2024 Masters Worlds: February 2 - 10, Adelaide, SA

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Thank you to the members who are sending through information for the newsletter. If you have content for the newsletter, please email it to newsletter@dbsc.com.au by Monday evening.

View all racing results here.
The club’s calendar can be viewed and subscribed to here.
Make a tax deductible donation to DBSC here.

RACE REPORT 27 January 2024

PRO Geoff Boscoe reports:

Saturday’s on-water crew arrived at the club looking forward to hosting Australia Day Long weekend sprints in the forecasted moderate north-eastery breeze. However, Ma Nature was slow to get the message and it remained completely calm at the time of the 1pm briefing. That was embarrassing, especially since we were hoping to impress a contingent of Worlds Masters competitors who were joining us from all points of the globe expecting champagne sailing on Sydney harbour. Nevertheless, there was no option but to hoist the AP flag, settle in at the clubhouse with a world famous toasted sandwich and remain optimistic.

Fortunately, the patience of around 20 sailors was rewarded just before 2pm when light ENE breeze kicked in and we were able to get the first sprint race underway shortly after 2.30pm. The light but building breeze remained very shifty throughout the afternoon which meant for testing sailing conditions. The wind direction swung constantly through NE to ESE creating arguably even more testing conditions for the race officials who were continually chasing the breeze. Thanks to all the members of the race team (especially Roberto Blum and Brendan Pollard) for a great effort under challenging conditions.

There were four short format races each of about 20 mins and all were very keenly contested. Congratulations to Cormac Johnston who enjoyed multiple victories. The other honours were shared widely.

Photos by Roberto Blum