The final race of the season for the 18 Footers is this Sunday, March 17th, and we need one last RIB driver volunteer for the race. If you’re interested, please contact Mark Crowhurst.
Category: Latest from Double Bay Sailing Club
Community Weekend Needs You
The Weekend of April 6-7 is Community Weekend. It’s our chance to show off the club we love with our loved ones, friends and the wider community. The weekend kicks off on Saturday afternoon, April 6th with an event just for members and their families. Post racing we’ll have a jumping castle set up in the park, family Laser races, RIB rides, and a kid-friendly BBQ on the deck. It’s free for all, but to help us with numbers for catering please RSVP here now. On Sunday, we’re taking it to the next level with a free festival of games and activities designed to share a bit of the DBSC spirit with the wider community. Carnival games with prizes, motor boat rides, Laser demonstrations, a jumping castle, food and much more will be on offer. The community festival takes place on the 7th of April from 10am to 2pm in front
Toasties are Too Hot, Beer’s Not
Our beloved toasties are getting a makeover. To cut down on complexities in the kitchen and to relieve the canteen crew from endless shopping trips, chopping and sorting, toastie ingredients are being simplified. From this Saturday forward you can choose from ham, cheese and tomato (or any combination of those items) to have on your toastie. Those are the ingredients that we all love anyway – so it’s a win for all!Also, it’s been noted that several members are taking beer out of the beer fridge without paying; this is especially true during BBQs. Please note the only free food and drink during BBQs are the items on the serving tables (many times this includes free wine). However, the beer and other beverages are never free, so please make sure you pay up.
Race Report
We had nearly 40 boats turn up last Saturday for heats 13 and 14 of the Club Championships. It was an unsettled day with a trying 3-10 knot breeze that started Southerly but tuned E/NE. The light breeze, and a big fleet of 18’s gave us some tricky racing. The winners were: Full Rigs: Geoff Kirk (race 13),Murray Stone (race 14); Radials: Mark Louis (race 13), Jack Littlechild (race 14); 4.7s: Finn Kirk (races 13 & 14). Thanks to last week’s volunteers for putting on a great day of racing: PRO Jonathan Stone, assisted by Rod Barnes, COTD Tim Heath, CoCOTD Kevin Gilroy, and Canteen Assistant Pippa Batchelor. Thanks also to the canteen crew for putting on the best post-racing “minimalist BBQ” ever.
Big Boat Race Report
It was a classic early autumn afternoon on the Harbour.The 18s ‘world championships’, their JJ Giltinans, were on and I heard stories of their first race, the day before. There was also a Sydney Harbour regatta with multiple fleets, so many that start boat volunteers were having a hard time picking which was their pin. Protests were being prepared. And of course the DBSC BIG boats. The Clubhouse was crowded, Paul and his catering group were busy, busy. Small repairs were being done on the grassIt was sunny and autumn-warm. A classic Sydney sea breeze, nor-east, blew all weekend.Corinna, G-Force, Sanity, Smitten, T&T all presented for the start; our line is fixed and in a nor-easterly we have to cross the line on port. That all happened with manoeuvrings and judgements; Corinna won the start, then T&T and G-Force, Sanity and Smitten.T&T was late because – we were late; her skipper misjudged time by 15 seconds; Sanity because she had to give
Double Bay North
You could have mistaken Lake Macquarie for Double Bay last weekend, with so many DBSC members sailing there in the State Masters Championship. In fact, our club arrived at Lake Macquarie with 15 standards and 6 radials to compete against a fleet of 72 standards and 56 radials. The 21 traveling sailors marked a DBSC record for most attendees at a regatta outside of Sydney Harbour. By all accounts the DBSCers made the most of their weekend away – both on and off the water. Many of the sailors made it a bit of a holiday, some sharing an Airbnb whist others camped out under the stars. Good meals, fine wine and tall tales from past regattas were shared. When it came to the on-water competition, the team didn’t let us down. With strong overall finishes from Ian Alexander (8th in standards) and Andrew Cox (5th in radials) on equal points with
More Traveling Fun in 19/20
With the overwhelming success and positive feedback from last weekend, we’re already looking forward to next year’s State Masters Championship on 8th-9th February 2020. The regatta will take place at Lake Jindabyne, which is a fun location with options for group accommodation and things to do at night (other than stretching exhausted TFLs and going to bed!). We want to get a big contingent to that regatta in the lead up to the Masters Nationals (13th-18th March 2020) and Masters Worlds (19th -28th March 2020) at Geelong. So, mark the dates on your calendar now! In the meantime, there are several local and regional regattas coming up as set out below. We will coordinate attendance, transport and accommodation as needed for each of these as they approach.
Next Season’s State Laser Highlights.
Sprints on the Harbour
Turnout was strong at Saturday’s sprints despite many of the club’s more mature sailors limbering old bodies into action and attending the State Masters Championship. In total 21 spring chickens presented and we managed to fit in about 6 races. Conditions were fun with a sprightly 12-15 knot Nor Easter and choppy waters. The harbour was particularly packed with 2 additional fleets racing … the 18s in their JJ champs and a big boat regatta… both setting up start / finish lines in the mouth of Double Bay. The course was set in the only spare area between the JJs start and the CYCA mark off Point Piper; however, there were still a few too many close calls, as various out of control boats decided to skewer through the laser fleet. All is well that ends well and there was positive feedback about the sprint format and opportunity to complete so
Messy Clubhouse
The clubhouse is extremely crowded these days, so it’s more important than ever to make sure all dollies and boats are put away properly. A clear aisle down the club must always exist and the fridges and kitchen areas must always be accessible. No exceptions – even if you are dropping off a boat late at night. The kitchen crew often makes early morning deliveries and it is unacceptable for them to have to clear a pathway to the canteen – which is exactly what happened earlier this week. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation with this!
Club Championship This Weekend
It will be very crowded in the park this weekend, as we will be sharing the rigging area (and clubhouse) with the A18s annual JJ Giltnan World Championships. The A18s have agreed to leave space for us between the club and the eastern boat ramp – for those who rig first, please rig in the main park behind the playground area to leave room for later-comers to rig in front of the club. We appreciate your patience and understanding. There will be a lower-key-than-normal, but still excellent, BBQ after racing.