Christmas – DBSC Style

DBSC members celebrated the festive season on the harbour in style, donning Santa hats as they sailed the annual Tyrell and Rousso races last Saturday. With the Sail Sydney Fleets taking up our traditional ENE race course, out fleet moved to a rare Rushcutter’s Bay to Clark Island course. In the Tyrell, the handicapped chase saw Andrew Cox winning in a very close finish. He crossed the finish line just centimetres ahead of Mark Crowhurst who had been leading for much of the race.   

A happy Andrew Cox after squeezing out a victory. Photo by Clare Alexander.

In the Rousso (a scratch race with a massed start) the finish saw Craig Sheers finish first in the standards and again saw Andrew Cox first in the radials, with Craig taking the trophy after application of

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Up Next and Holiday Schedule

Wednesday 11 December, 5:30pm start – Twilight Sailing.Saturday 14 December, 2pm start – Tyrell and Rousso races. (See info above)Saturday 14 December, 6pm – Christmas Party. (See info above)Wednesday 18 December, 5:30 start – Twilight Sailing with Brett Beyer. Saturday 21 December, 2pm start – Sprint Racing.Saturday 4 January, 2pm start – Sprint Racing.Wednesday 8 January, 5:30 start – Twilight Sailing.Saturday 11 January, 2pm start – Autumn Point Score (and we’re back to normal).

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Top Tip – Check Your Vang Tang

Luke Parker’s back with another important tip: check your vang tang.So far this season about 6 full rigs have snapped the stainless steel vang tang on their mast. They break where they are bent, just below where the vang attaches to the tang. We’re not sure why they are suddenly breaking… it could be dodgy material, could be the firmer vangs we are all sailing with, could even just be bad luck. In any event, it’s well worth checking your vang tang regularly. They are not difficult to replace, but impossible to race without. In addition to Luke’s suggested inspection, Commodore Cox suggests a two vang range attached in case one breaks. And to also get the newer thicker one that is now available. You can check out Andrew’s setup next time you’re at the club. 

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Spring Pointscore Finale

The fleet sailed the final hearts of the Spring Pointscore (and two heats of the Club Championships) in a 5 -15 knot unsteady easterly breeze. The order of the day was to look for pressure, and watch out for the shifts. Thanks to Gerry Donohoe and Simon Stone on the Jazzman, to Emily Ball and Mark Lewkovitz in the RIB, and to Steven London and Nick Pellow who helped in the canteen. Also, a big thanks to James Tudball and his cinematographer, Tom, for their work shooting footage on Saturday for our promo video — we are looking forward to seeing the final product with eager anticipation!The competition heading into the final week of the Spring Pointscore was tight and our computers are working overtime to finalise the results, which will be revealed at the Christmas Party on Saturday. 

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Festive Racing This Saturday

This Saturday we have our famous once-a-year Tyrell and Rousso races, which are super fun formats. The Tyrell is a handicapped chase, with the slowest boat starting first and successive faster boats hunting each other down as they start over the next 5-10 minutes per their handicaps. The format makes for what is perhaps the most competitive and exciting race of the season!  The Rousso is a scratch race with a massed start, in which all boats in all classes start together – a yardstick is applied to the winner in each of the classes to determine the overall winner.  By tradition, everyone wears a Santa hat – however they have gone missing. Does anyone know where at the clubhouse the Santa hats have been stored? They were last seen in a plastic bag hanging in the bathroom. If you do know please let Commodore Cox know HERE.We will hand the hats out on the

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Help with Metros Needed

DBSC is hosting the 2020 NSW Laser Association Metropolitan Championships on 1-2 February. It is an important event for the club, with sailors coming from near and far to compete, and we want to put on a good show.We’re looking for members who do not wish to sail in the Metros to assist us and drive a RIB/boat on Saturday or Sunday. We currently need 3 RIB drivers and a Jazzman driver for both days. We also are looking for 3 canteen helpers on Saturday (lunch only) and 3 canteen helpers on Sunday (Breakfast & Lunch – will accept offers to do one of the two sessions). If you can assist, please let Mark Crowhurst know HERE ASAP. 

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Up Next at DBSC

Wednesday, 4 December, 5pm Splash – Twilight Sailing / BBTP. We’re still looking for 20+ boats. Join us TONIGHT!Saturday, 7 December, 2pm Start – Final Heats of Spring Pointscore & Club Champs. BBQ on deck after racing. Wednesday, 11 December, 5pm Splash – Twilight Sailing. Saturday, 14 December, 2pm – Tyrell and Rousso Christmas races (more info to come next week).Saturday, 14 December, 5pm – Christmas Party.Wednesday, 18 December, 5pm Splash – Twilight Sailing / BBTP.

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Big Boat Race Report

Written by Chris BowlingThe day was warm but we saw little of the sun, though cloud and the bushfire haze that has troubled the city for what seems to be weeks. With a forecast of nor-easter building during the race to 22 knots both Corinna and Smitten opted for small sails, while other boats looked at the real conditions and went big.  In the event, the nor-easter came in but never gusted over 15 and the big sail people had it right. Perhaps the haze took the edge off the power behind it.Six boats registered, 5 starters arrived.  Corinna made the best of the start but Sanity’s size and design and skilled crew moved her through the fleet to be ahead by a boat length at the first mark, with Katinka and Chenonceau in hot pursuit.  Smitten reached the start somewhat late and eventually retired for a family cruise.Reaching to Taylors Bay, Sanity

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DBSC Victorious in Vaucluse Challenge

It was a good day on the water for DBSC in the first leg of the 2019/20 Vaucluse Challenge. We fielded a fleet of 31 boats to VYC’s 8.After applying the complex scoring formulas, scores for Standards were DBSC 24 vs VYC 60 and for Radials / 4.7s were DBSC 47 vs VYC 103, for an overall score of DBSC 71 vs VYC 163.Thanks to VYC for their good sportspersonship and for hosting a terrific BBQ on the deck of their club with to-die-for views of the harbour and the city skyline!Thanks to Luke Parker, Andrew Craker, Clare Alexander on the Jazzman, and John Vasey, Marlena Berzins, Alvaro Manzanares-Bertran, Julian van Aalst on the water.  And thanks to Geoff Kirk, Craig Sheers, Christine Patton and Shirley Roach in the canteen.

The victorious DBSC Team.

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