ILCA NSW & ACT

The next round of the NB Sailsports Sprint Series will be Sunday 21st June at Belmont 16′s Sailing Club.

There are three races scheduled the first of which is 11.00am.

Belmont is the venue for the Open National Laser Championship next season so this is a good chance to get some miles on the race track. The club has great facilities for sailing and for socialising on a winter Sunday.

You can enter online on the NB Sailsports web site here or using cash at the venue on Sunday. Entry fee is $20.

You still have lots of chances to get tickets for the draw for fabulous prizes from NB including a new Laser upgrade. The more races you compete in as well as how well you do will determine how many tickets you get for the prize draw which will occur at the final NB event at Double Bay Sailing Club on 29th August.

Results for the series to date are here.

The final leg of the NB Sailsports Sprint Series at Double Bay has been moved forward one week to 29th August.

At this event the draw for the prizes, including the new Laser upgrade, will be made. If you participate in any of the races in the series you will qualify for the draw but the more and better you sail the better your chances of winning.

The revised Notice of Race for the series is here.

It is a whole winter and a bit away but the Coast Championship this year will be held on 17-18th October at Port Kembla Sailing Club.

This should be a great event and a while since we have had a Laser event on Lake Illawarra.

The club has unpowered camp sites and will allow sailors with swags to bunk down in the club. The club will be open from mid day on Friday 16th October. There is also motel style accommodation availble in the area.

The club has a fully licensed canteen and a cafe and it will be serving dinner on Saturday night at very reasonable cost.

More information on the venue and arrangements for the event are here.

The Notice of Race is here and you can enter online here.

To assist with indicative planning and catering the club have asked that on entry you indicate if you would like to avail of the camping, swag space or dinner on Saturday. There are check boxes on the entry for this purpose.

Radial winner and series leader Finn Alexander on a better wind day

66 boats turned out for the NB Sailsports Sprint Series run by Avalon Sailing Club off Sand Point at Palm Beach on Sunday.

Thanks to Commodore Jan Scholten and the team at Avalon Sailing Club the event ran smoothly, if slowly and the après sail sausage sizzle was much appreciated.

The weather was cold and damp and the wind took a holiday so only two of the scheduled three races were completed for the Standards and Radials. The 4.7′s completed only one race when the race time ran out in in their second as the shifty four knot breeze retired early.

It was great to see the large contingent of 4.7′s towed up from RPAYC on the day. They probably enjoyed the tow more than the sailing – such is life.

Winner on the day in the 26 boat Standard’s fleet was Chris Dawson. Chris won by one point from fellow RPAYC sailor William Dargaville. Malcolm Parker was another point away in third.

In the Radials Finn Alexander from DBSC posted a first and a second in the tricky conditions to win in the 21 boat radial fleet. Second was Jordan Makin from GSC closely followed by Noah Taylor from CYC.

Nathan Bryant from RPAYC won the only completed 4.7 race from Jack Littlechild and Charley Wells. 19 4.7′s competed.

Results for the day are here.

The results for the series to date i.e. after four races are here.

Avalon are raffling a new Laser sail. Tickets are $5. The funds raised from the raffle will be put towards the club’s deck construction which is currently underway. The draw for the sail will be made at the Gosford leg of the NB Sailsports on 2nd August so you still have a chance to win. If you would like to donate to help Avalon then there is a form here.

The next round of the series will be at the National’s venue Belmont 16′s Sailing Club on 21st June. A good chance to experience an interclub Laser event on the National’s race track.

The next round of the NB Sailsports Winter Sprint Series is on Sunday 31st May hosted from Avalon Sailing Club. The rigging and sign on and off location will be at Sand Point Palm Beach on Sand Point Lane off Iluka Road and Woorak Roads. You can see the location by clicking the link here.

The sailing course will be off Sand Point and will be windward leeward with three races. The first race warning will be at 11.00am.

The Sailing Instructions, the Notice of Race, and the results to date are on this web site.

As usual you can enter online, paying by credit card, on NB Sailsports web site here or by beach entry in cash at Sand Point. Entry fee is $20.

After racing results, a sausage sizzle and a drink will be available at Avalon Sailing Club. There will be a raffle for a new Laser sail drawn on the day at ASC.

Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club Laser fleet races on Newcastle harbour on Friday nights during summer.

The fleet has grown from three boats five years ago to more than 20 each race. With the races being at the end of the week, there’s a casual but competitive atmosphere with everyone heading over to NCYC bar afterwards for a beer or “Laser burger”.

The club has built a launch pontoon off the end of one of its piers to give easy access into the harbour. The fleet has experienced phenomenal growth over the past three seasons due to the relaxed atmosphere, location and timing of the races.

During daylight saving the NCYC races are from 5.30pm and are usually finished by 7.30pm, or sunset, at the latest. The series starts on the first Friday after daylight savings begins i.e. 9th October this year.

Entries are now open for both the Australian Open Laser Championship at Belmont 16′s 27 December 2015 to 4 January 2016 and the Australian Laser Masters Championship  12th to 15th February 2016 at Port Stephens Sailing & Aquatic Club.

You can get the Notices of Race and information as well as place entries on the dedicated event web sites:

2016 Australian Open Laser Championship

2016 Australian Laser Masters Championship

Laser Masters don’t forget the South Pacific Masters Championship is on earlier this year from 15 -18th May 2015 at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron.

This is always a great event.

The Notice of Race is here and you can enter online here.

MHASC’s change room with a sea view

Due to unfortunate storm damage at Middle Harbour Amateur Sailing Club the second round of the NB Sailsports Sprint Series on 31st May 2015 has been moved from MHASC to Avalon Sailing Club. The first start not before 11.00am. The revised Notice of Race is here.

The sailing will take place in the area off Sand Point. Launching is recommended at Sand Point, where plenty of trailer and car parking is available just adjacent to Iluka Road. For those that are familiar with it – this is the beach where the Hobies usually race.

Following racing a sausage sizzle and bar will operate at Avalon Sailing club and we would like to encourage sailors to come along and share in the après sail fun. To this end NB Sailsports will be running a raffle for a sail – with the proceeds going to the refurbishment of the club.

Jan Scholten is the commodore at Avalon S.C. He can provide additional information and can be contacted on 0418 245 902.

MHASC are working to repair the damage to the club. The club sustained damage to flooring, launching ramp, piles and now has a change room with a sea view. There is information on the storm damage and the club activities on their web site here.

The first round of the NB Sailsports Sprint Series was held at Georges River Sailing Club on Anzac Day. There were 43 entries with Standard Rig the strongest having 23 competitors.

Two races of the three scheduled were completed before everyone headed for shore to avoid the ominous looking storm which later caused havoc in Sydney further north.

With no breeze and a fair tide at 1.00 pm the start was delayed. A little later a nice 8 knot sea breeze gave pleasant sailing conditions on the two lap windward/leeward course set by R.O. Andrew McLauchlin.

The tide, which changed as the races progressed, proved to be important and those watching and following the locals heading towards the Towra shore did best in the run in tide in race 1.

Winners on the day were Malcolm Parker from David Early in the Standards, Finn Alexander just nudged out Jordan Makin in the Radials while Joshua Bull won the 4.7′s by a point from Charley Wells.

The full results are here.

Time to start planning for next season. This will be a big one for us as we are hosting the Australian Open Laser Championship at Belmont over Christmas/New Year and the National Laser Masters Championship at Port Stephens 12-15th February 2016.

We have set our regatta program for next season as follows:

• Coasts 17/18 Oct 2015 Port Kembla Sailing Club
• Combined State Open and Masters 14/15 November 2015 Wangi WRSLASC
• Nationals Belmont 16’s 27 Dec 2015 to 4 Jan 2016 Belmont 16’s SC
• National Masters 12-15 Feb 2016 Port Stephens PSSAC
• Metros 5/6 March 2016 Bayview BYRA

Because we have the Open Nationals and National Masters and a big Sail Sydney you will notice that we have combined the Open and Masters States just for next season.

Notices of Race, Sailing Instructions and online entry for all these events will be available on this web site.

We will be encouraging participation but also looking out for some assistance on the water and on the land with the running of the two big National Championship events. In particular because we expect these events to draw large fleets we are looking for additional RIB’s or similar craft, preferably with a driver to augment the fleet we have. If you are, or know someone who is, willing to assist and enjoy aspects of these prime events from close quarters while helping to make them memorable then please contact Kevin Phillips at chairman@laser.asn.au

If any clubs are interested to host any of our NSW/ACT events in season 2016/17 (a long way off I know) then please contact chairman@laser.asn.au. We pay $2,000 to offset host club’s costs and have race management logistics, race officer and some equipment to help clubs with events.

The NB Sailsports Winter Series is on again this year. The venues and dates for the series are:

• 25th April: Georges River Sailing Club
• 31st May: Avalon Sailing Club
• 21st June: Belmont 16ft Skiff Sailing Club
• 2nd August: Gosford Sailing Club
• 5th September: Double Bay Sailing Club

There will be three races at each venue. $20 entry online  here  or in cash at the venue.

The Notice of Race is here. Sailing Instructions will be available at the venue.

NB are again offering the major prize of a new Laser trade-up. Anyone who enters any of the six three race events can win this and other great prizes simply by participating. The more races you complete the better your chance to win a prize. There are of course prizes for the series winners in 4.7’s Radials and Standard rigs.

Rob McMillan at NB is further offering a $750 NB parts voucher to anyone who enters three of the series events and purchases a new Laser from NB before round one of the series. Rob’s offer and event flyer are here.

And if to much sailing is never enough RPAYC is running an ice breaker series starting on Sunday 17th May then every 3rd Sunday through to 16th August. The notice of race is here.

Manly Yacht Club is running its 20th Helly Hansen sponsored Women’s Challenge which will include Lasers on Saturday 21st March 2015.

MYC says “We have a commitment to encourage, excite and support Women in sailing at every level of experience.
MYC invites our members and other female sailors around Australia to participate in the Manly Yacht Club Helly Hansen Women’s Challenge 2015.
The event is being conducted over two days.
Lasers, Optis, PJs, MJs, Flying 11s and access dinghies competing on Saturday, 21st March 2015; with yachts whose overall length is between 6 and 20 metres competing on Sunday, 22nd March 2015.
Come race with Manly Yacht Club on beautiful Sydney Harbour and join us afterwards for the presentation of fabulous prizes supplied by our sponsor, Helly Hansen.
The One Design Trophy will be presented to the winner of the one design fleet with the most boats entered.”

Entry NoR SI’s and other information is on the MYC web site here.

Ready for action at Double Bay SC. PNG and Cook Islands boats on the right

The Metropolitan Championship was concluded at Double Bay Sailing Club over the weekend. There were 123 competitors with eight countries represented along with sailors from NSW, ACT, Victoria and Queensland. With a number of elite level sailors training in Sydney the visitors were well represented in the podium positions.

Winds were  good – a nice NE’er on Saturday and on Sunday a better than forecast southerly. The 4.7 and Radial fleets completed six races while the Standards wore themselves and RO Col Chidgey out with multiple black flag general recalls on Sunday and only completed five races.

On Saturday the Harbour was record busy with the huge Middle Harbour Yacht Club Regatta add to that the ferries, grand hot water boats and the odd seaplane. Our RO tried to set a course in Rose Bay away from the rather more crowded parts of the Harbour. The wind in Rose Bay was problematic and after an attempt to set a start line and course and, with some prompting from the Rose Bay ferry skipper, Col Chidgey moved to Plan B with a course between Clarke and Shark Islands which worked well.

On Sunday after a delay ashore to allow the wind to settle a useful southerly came in and a course off Double Bay worked well with little interference from the other maritime traffic.

The Standard rigs were dominated by the visitors with Colin Cheng from Singapore the run away winner followed by Chen Huichao from China with Fredrik Westman from Finnland 3rd. Thomas Vincent from McCrae YC in Melbourne, a regular competitor in our events, was the first under 21. In the Radials DBSC local Finnian Alexander won in a close contest with Middle Harbour ASC’s Stuart Plenderleith. Third was Australia’s top ranked woman Laser sailor Ashley Stoddart from Royal Queensland YS. In the 4.7′s Laura Thomson from Albury Wodonga YC was the run away winner from RPAYC sailors Nathan Bryant and Joshua Bull.

The full results are here. 

Thanks to our RO Col Chidgey and his on water team who jointly had a busy time setting and re-setting courses and start lines and managing the multiple starts and recalls. Thanks also to the great team at Double Bay Sailing Club for their organisation of the event.

There is a good write-up of the event on the DBSC web site here.

The Metropolitan Championship is on 7-8th March at Double Bay Sailing Club. This is a great club and this will be a cracker event on Sydney Harbour.

Race Documents and Entry
The Notice of Race is here and the Sailing Instructions are here. You can enter the event online here or up to 11.30am on Saturday 7th at Double Bay.

Registration and Sign on and Off
Registration will be from 9.30 to 11.30am at Double Bay. If you are not rigging at Double Bay and you have entered online you can register (before 11.30am) and sign on and off by text message to 0427146400. You must include the sail number and skippers name in the text message.

Parking
There is only a limited amount of untimed car parking in Double Bay, and the council rangers are vigilant. DBSC has arranged day parking in the Double Bay Public school grounds, just 150m across the park from the club ($10 donation to the P&C). Trailers are allowed to be left in a designated area at the western end of Steyne Park. Other Parking options are the Cross St Car park @ $18/day and free untimed parking in the Marathon St area of Darling Point for those that (a) are feeling lucky and (b) don’t mind a hike up the stairs at the end of the day.

There is more event information on the Double Bay mini web site at http://www.dbsc.com.au/metros

The following is a message from DBSC Commodore Luke Parker

On behalf of all at DBSC, I’d encourage Laser sailors from far and wide to join us at the 2015 NSW Laser Metropolitan Championships. This is the first major regatta DBSC has hosted for many years, and we’re determined to make it a success on and off the water

We’ll be racing on Sydney Harbour, not far from the Bridge, the City, the Harbour Islands and Fort Denison. Its a spectacular and challenging place to race. Of course, we won’t have the harbour to ourselves, but we’ll be positioning courses to make the most of the prevailing winds with consideration of other traffic.

There’s an abundance of grassed rigging area, arrangements have been made for parking, our change rooms have ample hot water, you get a complimentary regatta T shirt, the canteen will be stocked and we have a $2 sausage sizzle after racing. What more could you want?

We look forward to racing with you on 7 and 8 March.