Last Wednesday was a momentous evening at DBSC. The clubhouse was packed with members intently listening to Olympic Gold Medallist Tom Slingsby recount highlights of his illustrious sailing career. During the evening Tom shared rare insights on his journey to become one of Australia’s best sailors, including the highs and lows on the way to success and the mind-set and dedication it takes to win. Tom admitted that he wasn’t the best youth sailor, preferring tennis at an early age. However, after giving up tennis, his love for sailing quickly blossomed. Winning the 2007 Laser World Championships he was ranked number one going into the 2008 Olympics. Tom shared the many reasons for his crushing 22nd place in those Olympic Games, and the resilience it took to keep going and eventually win Laser gold in the 2012 Olympics. Tom also revealed how Oracle Team USA made their incredible comeback against Team New Zealand
Category: Latest from Double Bay Sailing Club
Rule of the Month — The Top Mark
By Brett BeyerEditor’s note:We were excited to receive an email via our website from the International Laser Class Association, which is a subscriber to our newsletter. ILCA saw Brett Beyer’s last Rule of the Month article, and asked for permission to re-publish it in their global newsletter. With Brett’s kind permission, this has now occurred, along with a blurb about Brett and DBSC. You can read it HERE. It is worth another read to get the start rules down pat!This month, we have another excellent article from Brett, this time about that next great source of contention — the top mark. Here it is …The top mark is a hotspot for rule infringements.While most of the yelling and bumping rarely results in a penalty turn (even with a jury present), care needs to be taken because the consequences of a penalty turn or two during a chaotic rounding situation can be a massive distance penalty.The
Up Next at DBSC
Wednesday, 27 November, 4:30pm Splash – Twilight Sailing / BBTP (early start)Saturday, 30 November, 2pm Start – Vaucluse Challenge (early splash, see above)Sunday, 1 December, 2pm Start – Big Boat RaceWednesday, 4 December, 5pm Splash – Twilight Sailing / BBTPSaturday, 7 December, 2pm Start – Final Heats of Spring Pointscore & Club ChampsSaturday, 14 December, 7pm – Christmas Party
We are Competent
Thanks to the 43 members who attended competency training on Saturday. The feedback was that it was a very informative day, and pretty much everyone said they learned something new. Thanks also to our five volunteer trainers: Dene Bergman, Gerry Donohoe, Andrew Cox, Matt Knight, and David Murphy for imparting their skills and knowledge. For the 50% of our masters members who did not attend or only attended for part of the training, we strongly encourage you to watch the videos of last Saturday’s sessions which are available HERE. This training is an important safety and competency requirement for all members, and it’s imperative that everyone is up to speed. We have also posted on the website the refreshed Sailing Instructions (which include clarification as to how various events are scored, including the award and calculation of average points), as well as the new Summer Race Management Guide, PRO Guidelines, COTD Guidelines, Course Management Guide and Race Record Sheets. We suggest that
Early Twilights Tonight
Twilight sailing this week will be half an hour earlier, with splash at 4.30 for a 5pm start and 7pm finish. Brett Beyer will be conducting the twilight sailing session again – let’s see if we can set a new record of >25 boats! There is a function that night at the club, starting at 7pm for 7.30pm, so please pack up your boats and shower quickly upon returning to shore after twilight sailing. Boats will need to remain on the lawn until after the function.
Vaucluse Challenge This Saturday
The first of the two legs in this season’s Vaucluse Challenge races will be held this coming Saturday, 30 November. This is a seminal event in our calendar, where we do battle with our friends from the French Enclave to defend the honour of the title of champions of the main harbour! The racing will be held in “neutral waters”, somewhere up near Nielsen Park / Rose Bay – note, it will take much longer to sail to the course area, so we are encouraging all boats to launch immediately after the 1pm briefing – get rigged and dressed before 1pm.Vaucluse Yacht Club will be hosting a BBQ after racing. Could all sailors please plan to attend this? We will be driving two RIBs to Vaucluse, and will also take several cars.This leg of the Vaucluse Challenge will comprise two ~45min races, with separate fleet starts for Radials / 4.7s and
Christmas Party – December 14
Please save the date for our annual Christmas Party on the evening of Saturday 14 December. It’s sure to be the holiday event of the season. The festivities cap off a day of unique sailing with our famous once-a-year Tyrell and Rousso races, which are super fun and competitive formats. More info on both the racing and party soon.
Regatta Kit Invoices
If you ordered regatta kit you should have received an invoice for any items not covered by the ILCA regatta allotment. We’d appreciate it if you could please pay your invoice promptly.
Boat Numbering
To assist in identifying your boat in our racks, could you please ensure that your transom contains your boat number. This is a mandatory requirement of storing your boat in DBSC’s clubhouse. Boat numbers can be purchased from Boat Names Australia HERE which provides an excellent service and offers a 10% discount with the code “passiton”. Boat Names Australia provides us with our DBSC stickers for free, so please support them with your orders for boat names and numbers.
Pointscore Heats Up
It was another light and variable Southerly for Pointscore heats 11 and 12; causing headaches for both the sailors and the race committee. Because of the ever-changing conditions, the racing was delayed and both heats were shortened. Watching for pressure and reacting to shifts was the name of the game. The winners (after handicapping) were as follows: in the Standards, Murray Stone and Hadrien Bourely, in the Radial/4.7s, Julian Van Aalst and Pia Hattersley. With only two more heats in the Spring Pointscore to come, the competition is very tight in both fleets. In the Radial/4.7 Fleet, Daryl Lawrence leads over Pat Levy by 5 points, with Matt Knight, Andrew Cox, Kate McHugh and Sylvie Stannage all within striking distance. It’s even closer in the Standards, with Murray Stone leading by just 0.5 points over Steve London, with Luke Parker and Andrew Simpson close on their heels. Thank you to our PRO, Matt Knight, assisted