Category: Latest from Double Bay Sailing Club

All photos by Brendan Pollard and John Sweeny

Dick Tyrrell and Manos Rousso RacesWhat was shaping up to be another glorious day on the harbour did not disappoint for our annual Tyrrell & Rousso Christmas racing. A northeasterly breeze started building in the late morning, slowly increasing to around 15 knots as we made our way out to the racecourse.What felt like a long wait for the start time of the Tyrrell pursuit race started to click over until things really began to heat up at around the 8-9 minute mark, with everyone crossing the line with a look of determination not to get mowed down! Besides a few premature starters, the handicap system worked as designed and

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Club Championship Races 7 & 8Hot and Hazy weather over Sydney in the morning, the race team set out early with an ominous “north-west to north” forecast – it was light – but there was a small chance it was warming up for a nor-easter. So after the briefing, and after a slow journey out of the bay, 45 sailors were disappointed to find the wind had dropped further to about 2-3 knots from the east (on Martin’s wind instruments) and so

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The 4-day regatta at the end of November, saw our elite young sailors from DBSC head south to Melbourne for a World Class event that included many current Laser Olympians from foreign countries, as well as Australian dual gold medalist, Matt Wearne.

DBSC member final results

Our members performed exceptionally well. In the “7’s”, Campbell Patton, Julian Taylor and Healy Ryan were top 10 contenders. Zander Bijkerk had some bad luck with gear failure but was certainly around the pointy end for the regatta, and Hamish Crabb also had a great result.In the ILCA 6, Sylvie Stannage finished 13th overall and Sara Bruce sailed well to finish 25th. Elouise

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The Tyrrell and Rousso races will be held this Saturday, 13 December 2025. and will be followed by the club Christmas Party which will comence after the racing from 5pm for Members and their guests – Don’t forget to RSVP HERE.The first race (the Tyrrell) is a handicapped start where the faster boats must chase down the slower boats.  There will be a normal 5-minute countdown start sequence, at which time those will zero handicap (the slowest boats) will start. After that, faster boats will start when the race time reaches their handicap over the next 15-20 minutes.  The handicaps will be announced during the briefing on Saturday. The first boat over the finish is the winner.  The second race (the Rousso) is a scratch race, with everyone starting on the same start line with a normal 5-minute countdown sequence.  The first ILCA4, ILCA6 and ILCA7 across the line are

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We would like to welcome our newest potential member Mika! – Two weeks ago we noticed Hadrian was unavailable to race with us (ok so only one day! – We may have assumed he was having a rest day – Not so!) Well now we know why: his lovely wife Elle gave birth to baby Mika!  (at 3.8kg – she might be the first standard laser woman in our fleet!!!) He assures us new family life is better than any new boat he’s ever had! – Mother and daughter are doing well. Congratulations Hadrian and Elle!!

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Club Look-ahead ScheduleThursday 11 December: Twilight Racing (5pm splash) — last one of the yearSaturday 13 December:Learn to Race: 9am startTyrrell and Rousso Races: 1pm briefing, 2pm first warningChristmas Party after racing (circa 5pm)Saturday 20 December: (last races of the year)Spring Point Score Races 13 & 14: 1pm Briefing, 2pm First warningSaturday 27 December: NO CLUB RACINGSaturday 3 January: Sprint Racing: 1pm splashOther Upcoming EventsILCA Australian Masters Championships 20266-9 February 2026 at Bay Sailing Centre Soldiers Point, Port Stephens NSWNotice of RaceEntryFor help with accommodation and logistics, please contact Dave Newman

NoteOver the Christmas break, please be aware that DBSC’s facilities will be shared with the following events:Cherub Nationals: Sunday, 28 December through Sunday, 4 January12-ft Skiff Interdominions: Sunday, 4 January through Saturday, 10 January

Thank you to the members who are sending through information for the newsletter. If you have content for the newsletter, please

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Spring Point Score, Race 11

Hardest part was getting out of and into Double Bay…

PRO Alistair Sutherland reports:Saturday the 29th of November saw only a handful of DBSC regulars brave enough to face up to the North Westerly that ripped through in the morning.  By the time the briefing finished, and the Race Team got back on track, we found it had shifted to the West and slacked off to a pleasant 15 knots.  After a hurried adjustment to the course, we got both Full Rigs and Radials/4.7s away in good order with the fleets executing near-perfect starts – powered up, on the line, and starting with speed without being over early. 

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Learn To Race under head coach, Martin White, is taking a new direction in developing racing skills for intermediate sailors; particularly those who are current DBSC members. The sessions will cover many facets of racing and any Double Bay member who wants advice on boat set-up, race tactics and sail trim are welcome to attend the regular sessions for free, using their own boat. Martin has won a World Masters Title in Croatia and he is an expert in concisely explaining the nuances of Laser racing – and how to make a Laser go fast! Martin is supported by a friendly group of Double Bay sailors who help to facilitate the sessions. Learn To Race takes place once a fortnight on Saturday mornings, with the sessions kicking off at 9am.  Keep an eye on the club calendar for the upcoming dates.  The format begins with rigging tips, a talk on race tactics, and then

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Club Look-ahead ScheduleThursday 4 December: Twilight Racing (5pm splash)Saturday 6 December:Club Championships Races 7 & 8: 1pm briefing, 2pm first warningBBQ after racingThursday 11 December: Twilight Racing (5pm splash) — last one of the yearSaturday 13 December:Learn to Race: 9am startTyrell and Rousso Races: 1pm briefing, 2pm first warningChristmas Party after racing (circa 5pm)Saturday 20 December: (last races of the year)Spring Point Score Races 13 & 14: 1pm Briefing, 2pm First warning

Other Upcoming Events

ILCA Australian Masters Championships 20266-9 February 2026 at Bay Sailing Centre Soldiers Point, Port Stephens NSWNotice of RaceEntryFor help with accommodation and logistics, please contact Dave Newman

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

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Spring Point Score, Races 9 & 10PRO Andrew Cox reports:There’s nothing like a tricky easterly to open up the field in a sailing race on Sydney Harbour.The breeze flicked capriciously from left to right and back again throughout the afternoon, putting the race management team through their paces. After resisting over-rotation of the course to the left during a pre-race rain squall, the score was 1-0 to the race management team. But the breeze had the last laugh (as it tends to do) when a massive right shift rendered the last beat or two of the second race somewhat over-skewed the other way.The ILCA 6s and 4s did not disappoint, with the requisite general recall required in each race before a well-behaved black flag restart each time. The ILCA 7s maintained more appropriate decorum – as expected from a generally older, certainly larger, and debatably wiser cohort – with the

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