Category: Latest from Double Bay Sailing Club

Thanks to the leadership of Jonathan Stone, DBSC is once again participating in Clean Up Australia Day this Sunday, 1 March. There is a low tide at 7.30am and so we’ll be cleaning the beaches and parks near our club from 7.00 – 10.00 am on Sunday morning. Jonathan encourages members to “Please keep up the strong tradition of club-member support: Clean Up Australia Day is an important part of the Club’s contribution to the community at large. We have a great site on the Harbour, but our continuing presence there requires long-term acceptance by the community.Just come to the Clubhouse on the day, ready to spend 30 minutes clearing rubbish from Steyne Park and the beaches to east and west. The beaches are particularly littered after the recent rains.”A big thanks to Jonathan Stone for running this initiative for many years. Jonathan, who has overseen this event at DBSC for

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Here are two save the dates for you calendar:Family & Friends Day – 4 April. A jumping castle, family Laser sprint races, RIB rides and a kiddie friendly BBQ will round out DBSC’s Annual Family & Friends Day from 5pm on Saturday 4 April (after that day’s racing). It’s the chance to show off the DBSC spirit to your loved ones.Annual General Party – 22 May.  This is a not-to-be-missed event which includes our annual prizegiving, a great feed and dancing until dawn with a new and even better band courtesy of the one and only James Tudball.  Note, the date is 22 May, not 29 May as previously shown in the calendar.  Apologies to anyone who planned their schedule around the 29th.

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Wednesday 26 February, 5pm splash – Twilight Sailing.Saturday 29 February, 2pm Start – Sprints (See info above). Sunday 1 March, 7am – 10am – Clean up Australia Day. (See info above).Wednesday 4 March, 5pm splash – Twilight Sailing.Saturday 7 March, 9am Start – Learn to Race.Saturday 7 March, 2pm Start – Club Champs heats 11 & 12 AND Autumn Point Score heats 7 & 8. Followed by a BBQ.

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Sadly, the Vaucluse Regatta was a non-starter due to a highly unseasonal absence of raceable breeze, with the wind ranging from 0-5 knots and changing direction from SE to NE during the course of the afternoon!A large fleet of DBSC boats headed up the harbour for the event, partly under sail and partly under tow offered by Pat Levy in the new Paul Adam.  However, after some solid drift practice, they were forced to return, again partly under sail and partly under tow!But all was not lost. Just as people finished their showers, a puff of breeze appeared and the SailGP fleet were out in force for a practice session, foiling up and down the harbour.  A bunch of DBSC sailors headed out to watch them up close and personal – including a cheery wave from Tom Slingsby as he flew past for team Australia.

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That leads us to what’s happening this Saturday …The harbour will be a bit busier than normal this Saturday with F50 Catamarans taking up our normal racecourse for the 2nd annual SailGP event. Here’s the spin from their website: “National pride will be on the line as world class teams take part in dramatic, adrenaline-filled racing on the iconic Sydney Harbour.”They are racing on Saturday from 4pm to 6pm, with a huge exclusion zone starting at 3pm. The exclusion zone will make it very difficult (if not impossible) to sail between Vaucluse and Double Bay. Because of this, we will be running Sprint Racing this Saturday on a course that avoids this exclusion zone.  After the Sprints, some DBSC members are planning on heading out to watch and support SailGP.  The boats (RIBs plus Jazzman) will be leaving the deck promptly at 4.10 to maximise the amount of racing we get to watch. Please RSVP

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As flagged in last week’s newsletter, there are six important notes in relation to use of the RIBs – these will be added to all the other instructions in the COTD Guide.  PLEASE READ THESE CAREFULLY:1. No Propeller Guard The new Paul Adam has no propeller guard at this stage, due to availability.  One will be installed in due course, but in the meantime please exercise EXTREME CAUTION when operating the boat around people in the water, or when in the water around the boat.  This is a CRITICAL SAFETY WARNING

There is NO prop guard on the Paul Adam.

2. Insert and Remove BungThe Paul Adam has a bung at the back that MUST BE REINSERTED BEFORE LAUNCH or the boat will flood and sink!  And it must be REMOVED AFTER RETRIEVAL otherwise the boat

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Wednesday 19 February, 5pm Splash – Twilight Sailing.Saturday 22 February, EARLY START 11:15am Briefing – Vaucluse Yacht Club Regatta. (See more info above.)Wednesday 26 February, 5pm Splash – Twilight Sailing.Saturday 29 February, 2pm Start – Sprints (Due to SailGP).Sunday 1 March, 7am – 10am – Clean up Australia Day. Come help clear rubbish from Steyne Park and the beaches to east and west of our clubhouse.  

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Instead of our usual club racing, this Saturday we’ll be participating in The Vaucluse Regatta. It’s the 88th running of this grand regatta, and is a great opportunity for racing in a big fleet. VYC intends to run three short races for the Laser fleets. The Laser racing is scheduled to start at Vaucluse at 1:05pm which means they day will start earlier than normal for us. We’ll have a briefing at DBSC at 11:15am (and a splash around 12, depending on winds).  At the briefing, we will review the format of the racing. It should be a good day on the water with Laser sailors from around the harbour.  There is no cost to participate and all are encouraged to attend (as there will be no sailing at DBSC) – think of it as a normal Saturday on the water for us, just at the other end of the harbour.

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We need a couple of volunteers to staff the VYC finish boat and record the finishers at the Vaucluse Regatta on Saturday. This is a request from VYC as one of their people has had to pull out at the last minute due to health issues. It would be really appreciated if anyone not sailing would be willing to assist our sister club with this! If you are keen, please email Andrew Cox HERE ASAP.

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We are excited to announce that the club has purchased a much newer second-hand RIB to replace the existing Paul Adam. The new RIB, which is scheduled to arrive this week, is a 2005-year Gemini Elite 630 (about the same size as the Bergman) with a 115hp Yamaha outboard. 

Our new beauty.

With Paul’s permission, the new RIB will also be named the Paul Adam, continuing our recognition of Paul’s tremendous contribution to the club over such a long period of time.  We are grateful to Dave Sharma MP, Member for Wentworth, who represents our electorate in the Commonwealth Government, and has been very active in the community since his election in 2019. Dave championed the award to us of a $10,000 Commonwealth Government Stronger Communities Program grant to assist with purchase

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