News and other stories about real people, places, and events in Double Bay and nearby suburbs.
Photo by Beau Outteridge
Last week we had 24 DBSC members compete at Sail Sydney across all three ILCA classes. Nine sailors were in the Olympic classes section, and Fifteen sailors competed in ILCA 4’s and 6’s across the Open section. There were some brilliant results, some key learnings and positive improvements, and above all…some highly competitive and enjoyable racing on Sydney Harbour.
Have you recently replaced some of you Laser bits, but the old ones are still serviceable? The Learn-To-Race team are needing spares, in particular:Boom vangsDownhaulsRadial (ILCA 6) mast bottom sections. If you’d like to donate, please contact either Martin White or Scott Hunter.
Maxim Djura will be working on his Laser over the holidays and is hoping for some company: “I will be doing maintenance on my boat in the morning and early afternoon of 30th and 31st of December. Anyone who has boat repairs to do, is welcome to join me. I have epoxy, flow coat, a polish solution, degreaser and masking tape to share. Please note that I don’t give any professional advice on repair, just the materials.”
Wednesday 20-Dec: Twilight Sailing (5PM splash)Thursday 21-Dec: Twilight Racing (5PM splash)Saturday 23-Dec: Informal Sprint Racing (1:30PM splash).Monday 1 Jan – Monday 8 Jan: Oceania & Aust. Open & Youth Titles – Adelaide SCSaturday 6-Jan: No Learn to Race Club Sprints (2PM Start)
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.
TyRrell & Rousso Race Day
PRO Ian Alexander reports:The Double Bay Sailing Club’s annual Tyrrell and Rousso event was held last weekend. The two races – the Richard Tyrrell handicap race and the Mano Rousso yardstick race allow all three classes to be pitted against each other in novel formats that pay homage to two of our great former members of DBSC.Conditions were challenging, with Sydney Harbour turning on a full NE’er gusting up to 25 knots. Despite the tough conditions, the sailors put on an impressive display of skill and determination weathering many capsizes and near misses, but were impressively well-behaved on the start line and around the race track.In
After a very physical day on the harbour (see previous article), sailors, partners, friends and family gathered for our annual Christmas Party. As the sun receded, the air cooled, and a lovely evening unfolded with great food, fine wine, cold beer and a little bit of dancing.
Thanks to all
26 Double Bay Sailing Club members recently competed at the Nationals, held at Adelaide Sailing Club on January 2 – 8. We had the strongest representation of any club in the country and our on-water success across all three rig sizes is incredibly exciting. It is also testament to the depth and quality of Laser sailing at our club.The majority of our sailors who travelled down to the regatta were our youth members, led by our Reach Youth coaches Josh Becker and Daniel Costandi. Josh and Dan did a superb job preparing our sailors in the lead up, and then assisting with the logistics and on-water coaching throughout the regatta. A big thanks to Josh and Dan for their expertise and efforts.With any regatta, the goal is to have successful and enjoyable experiences both on and off the water. From all reports this was certainly achieved, so congratulations to all
Luke Parker reminds us that as our families give us a leave pass to sail each Saturday, it’s our obligation to use it. There is no official club sailing on 23 December as it’s the Christmas weekend, however as Seinfeld fans know, 23 December is also Festivus (Gen Y, Z and younger sailors might want to click this link to understand what we’re talking about: https://youtu.be/1njzgXSzA-A). To celebrate, we’re planning an old school twilight-type experience, and everyone is welcome to join in. Details:1.30PM launch from the club, rabbit starts, windward-leeward around the fixed buoys in the Harbour. The start sequence is the tricky bit… the nominated lead boat (aka rabbit) will yell and wave to attract attention and then round the bottom buoy on port and sail upwind. The fleet should be lined up on starboard, and each boat ducks the rabbit to start. We’ll rotate the role of rabbit amongst the
We thought we would get some insights from our sailors (and parents!) who travelled down to participate at the Nationals. These shared experiences could be particularly useful for our contingent of masters sailors competing in Adelaide next month.Interview with Brooke Wilson (Australian ILCA6 National Champion):What was your best race, and why?I was really happy with my strategy execution in Race 4 of the qualifying. The wind had shifted left and therefore was coming off the land. I made a plan to start at the pin and go hard left, I was able to get a good start and I stuck to my plan and won that race! Given that the left side of the course was advantageous throughout the regatta, the pin end was quite crowded, so I was happy with how I managed my gap on the start line and my acceleration! What were some of the most challenging things
From Transport for NSW:The F7 ferry services will resume at Double Bay Wharf from Thursday 21 December 2023. For timetable and service information please visit transportnsw.info or call 131 500. Ferry passengers and other wharf users will benefit from the new and improved accessibility features, including:a dual-sided floating pontoon so that two vessels can berth at the same timecovered waiting areapassenger seating and weather protectiona gangway connecting to the jetty to provide an accessible route from the street to access a waiting ferryimproved lighting and security.Woollahra Council has also upgraded footpaths and ensured accessible car parking spaces meet accessibility standards.You will also see beautiful new Aboriginal artwork at the wharf. We worked with the Gujaga Foundation and Artist Shane Youngberry to incorporate stories of Country into the wharf design. Shane belongs to the La Perouse Aboriginal community and is a member of the Gweagal Clan of the Dharawal Nation and the