Latest News about BSC in 2020

Try Sailing Day - 13th September

Broome Sailing Club”s ‘Try Sailing Day’ on Sunday 13 September was a great success with almost 20 new sailors in attendance, The Pacer training boat,skippered by Club Commodore John Dayman, was working hard to keep up with demand.

Conditions were excellent for this time of year. With a steady westerly blowing in over the beach and enough wave action to give everyone some fun getting out through the break.

Commodore John has been in contact with all the participants and is working to come up with dates and a schedule for another round of Learn to Sail courses. If you couldn’t make it on the day but are interested, please send us a message and keeping watching this page for announcements.

Latest News about BSC in 2017

Pacer Racing - 6th August

On Sunday 6th August there was some close racing using the club's fleet of Pacer dinghies. Click here for some photos of the activities.

Coconut Wells - 9th September

On Saturday 9th September the club sailed to Coconut Wells for an overnight stay. Click here for some photos of the activities.

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News about BSC in 2016

Annual Presentation Night - 19th November

On Saturday, Broome Sailing Club held its annual Presentation Night at Roebuck Plains Roadhouse. After the bus collection by driver Loi O'dore from the Men's Shed, all arrived at the Road house for a usual Roadhouse mountain of food. The Roadhouse as a venue is terrific, getting out of Broome town and going somewhere close but different is a popular event.

After the main meals Commodore, Alex Tiverios, presented the 2016 trophies. Encouragement Award went to new comer Kerr Wright for his enthusiasm in the Learn to Sail Course and continued involvement in the club activities.

Most Improved went to Jeff White and his Laser who has not just bought the club Laser yachts, but improved it, built a custom made trailer and beach trolley for it and is assisting driving the Broome Seas Scouts in their sailing endeavours in to 2017.

Sink or Swim award went to Miranda Dibdin for successfully completing races one day only to lose a mast not far from the beach at Gantheaume, and having to be towed to shore.

Both BSC Club Handicap and Yardstick awards were taken out by John Dayman in his blue Impulse yacht Blue Chip, with Miranda 2nd and Mike Burbridge 3rd in each category.

For the full list of 2016 BSC club awards click here.

Training photos

Click here for some photos of Training during 2016.

BSC Meeting - 3rd November

BSC heads to social sail path - at a General Meeting last night, Broome Sailing Club has decided to take on more "social sailing" to encourage those residents in Broome, who have boats and don't want to race, or can sail and also don't want to race, but just get out there and have a sail with the club in a safe environment. There will be many years of experience on the beach and on the water to give any assistance that may be required.

There are many off the beach yachts sitting derelict on verges and driveways of Broome, time they were dusted off and washed down. The first will be November 27th at Town Beach from 12 noon onwards. The BSC rib will be on the water as Safety Boat, members will be able to take out the BSC Pacer yachts, which will also be there.

Over the last 3 years BSC has trained over 24 people in the Level 1/2 Learn to Sail, but very few continue. It's thought that racing is all too serious and that a social sailing program, mixed with the racing for the die hards, will be a welcome change and get a few more back out on the water. We also want to get those people with yachts that sit around doing do sailing too come down and join in. Life jackets, etc and all regulations will need to be adhered to. So BSC will have the safety RIB out on the water and will encourage last years and all previous years students to come and get back in to it.

The club has also added two video clips to the web site (click here) covering much of the first two Learn to Sail lessons. Prospective students can now have a look on the web page at what it's all about and get a feel for what they will be taught over the 4 lesson course. Next courses will be in 2017 dry season.

Broome Sea Scouts will be back in 2017 also, bigger and stronger. Stay tuned for more joint activities between the Broome Sailing Club and Broome Seas Scouts.

Racing News - 23rd October

Four boats hit the water yesterday in the first races of the Clark Rubber Wet Season races with Broome Sailing Club. During the wet season, weather permitting, BSC run one race per month, scaled down from the fortnightly every fortnight races in the dry season.

On Sunday we had the Hobie 16 of Miranda Dibden, Impulse of JD, Jeff White in a club Pacer and Brian on the Wetta tri. All keen after quite a dry spell to get out there.

With a south westerly of about 15 knots and varying and some nice waves to surf down, there were two races sailed over what was a short course, in an attempt to keep boats of varied speeds not too far apart. In the first race, some boats headed to wrong areas searching for marks, giving JD a couple of head starts, but in the end Miranda was first over the line and JD second. Then followed the Wetta and club Pacer.

The second race was similar result, after a closer start, Miranda was again first over the finish line, with JD next and then the club Pacer, as Brian had pulled the pin and sailed back to the beach.

With an impending dark sky looming in the north, it was decided to call it a day at the end of the second race and head for the beach. This turned out to be a good call as the breeze increased not long after we were all beach side. Not that it would have been un-sailable, but it's winds like that can do damage, which isn't always easy to repair up here in Broome. Click here for Results.

Three Race Day - 17th July

Boats attending on a day when there was a nice southerly blowing for once - Miranda Dibden and Stuart Brown on the Hobbie 16, Mike Burbridge on a Laser and John D on his Impulse. Rib/start boat was run by Colin Pruden and ablely assisted by Broome visitor Gordon.

Three races were run and line honours in all went to the bigger Hobbie Cat of Miranda and Stu. But the battle was really between the two alike boats of Mike and John. Whilst not exactly the same, they are very very similiar. The Laser is actually the faster on the official handicap than the Impulse, but the day was set for three battles. First second place went to John in the Impulse, second second place in the 2nd race went to Mike in the Laser, but as the breeze strengthened, the third race turned in to nail biter. Both boats got a good starts, with the Laser slightly ahead. Around the first mark it was the Laser by 50 metres, but after 2 down wind legs, the Impulse had snuck ahead by a couple of boat lengths. The Laser then got away again up wind and held this over the next two legs. Last lap saw the Laser of Mike ahead at the third last mark by 80 metres, but again - two very quick down wind legs saw a nail biter...the Impulse sailing through to leeward on the Laser took a second place by 1 second!

Who said sailing isn't a spectator sport...... the rib crew certainly got their money's worth with close racing.

Then to top it all off Miranda and Stu broke a shroud and down came their mast on the way back to the beach...but a friendly tow from a jet ski with the BSC Safety Rib at hand saw everyone back on the beach safely and with a few running repairs, will be ready to rock again in 2 weeks time.

BSC Sailing - 3rd July

The final lessons on Sail Training were held at Ganth last Sunday with almost all participants getting the required ticks of approval. It was a very light to no wind affair to start with until the southerly came through, then it was perfect. Most trainees completed everything they needed to do, with the exceptions of some absentees. And even Amber Fabry fronted up to crew in the afternoons races with Commodore Alex Tiverios, which was great to see.

Next for the trainees is to get out there whilst they have their 3 months Yachting WA insurance and utilise the BSC club Pacer Training boat to just build their confidence by spending more time on the water on race days. That was the final training day for 2016 for BSC and a big thank you to all who not only attended, but to all the BSC members who assisted through out, for without them it just wouldn't happen.

Then we raced...... 3 races run very ably by Colin Pruden (YA) and assisted by Ricky in the safety boat. Three full Olympic courses were run on a shorter distance. Fierce competition at each start line and throughout most of the races. The first legs of each race were specially contested with places changing between Gary Hardings Okanui MG 14 skiff and Miranda Dibdens larder Hobbie 16. However at the end of the day places were pretty much the same in each race. The second race saw 2 more boats join in - Jeff on his Laser and Brian on his Weta Trimaran. But Miranda Dibden and Stu Brown were first over the line each each race in the end, followed by Gary Harding in the first race and Brian in races 2 and 3. Next was John on his blue Impulse and then Alex and Amber on the Nacra cat and Jeff on his Laser.

It was an exhausting day, but with three races run, we picked up one missed on earlier weekends.

BSC Sailing - 20th June

Blustery, but sailable last Sunday saw 6 BSC trainees hit the water solo. They quickly learnt that mistakes made in lighter winds are magnified in heavier winds., With first capsize only minutes after leaving the beach, there was to be only one other for the morning. Three trainees per boat and each one got their second training session on deep water capsize drill. But despite a puffy offshore easterly, they all went through what they had learnt at varying levels and helped each other remember what they could not. Sailing up and down a set course, they practiced their gybing and tacking turning techniques and quickly learnt what not to do. We did need to put an experienced skipper back on to one of the boats just to bring them up to speed on what they had forgotten, but by the end of the session everyone was going well. With 4 absentees, there is plenty now to make up for in two weeks time. But many of the attending trainees got their log books signed off on Sunday.

Racing saw 4 boats on the water, a trimaran, Hobbie 16, and two mono hulls a Laser and my Impulse.

Races were pretty much in order with Miranda Dibden and Stuart Brown first over the line followed by Brian Borroughs and then first race was then Mike Burbridge in his Laser and then self in Impulse. Second race the latter two were reversed and I beat Mike over the line in a tight tustle in very light airs and a southerly changed breeze

BSC Training - 12th June

Sunday 12th was to be "Solo Day" for the class of 2016 Learn To Sail, but as we watched and looked at the white caps pout past the reef at Ganth, it wasn't looking good.

We did a bit of land based training while we watched the BOM site and others monitoring the wind. As it increased to 48kph in the gusts and 26kph steady at the Observation point at Broome Airport, it was decided not to push the limits of the new trainees. We don't want to put them off before we start.

So with club and Safety boat all set up it was race or not to race. Once again numbers were low due to absentees from Broome and the wind was still up.

At Noon the formal race was postponed and three boats decided to go and have a blast. John in his blue Impulse, Mike Burbridge in a club Pacer and Fiona, Mike and family in another Pacer. The seas were flat and the wind was still up around the 15kts and gusty.

There were some good rides to be had by all, including one capsize by Mike Burbridge.

We don't get breezes like this often and it's great to be able to have a bit of fun and get some good rides at speed.

Photos of today's training activities will be found here, and there's a YouTube video below.

BSC Training / Race 1 & 2 - 15th May

Broome Sailing Club hosted it's biggest class of Learn to Sail last Sunday at Gantheaume Point Beach. 8 of the 11 registered students turned up on what was a picture perfect day to start their sailing experience. With our usual dry season desert easterly blowing across the tops of the taller sand dunes, it is quite unique and quite refreshing for all involved. The offshore breezes flatten the sea making launching and retrieval of boats from the water considerably easier than the bigger south westerlies of the wet season.

This class is a mixture of male, female, adults and kids. With club members Alex Triverios and Loi O'Dore assisting John Dayman in the Club Pacer yachts and John Collins and Gary Linert in the Safety boat, after a couple of hours of theory, knots, dry capsize drill and basics, rigging the boats, the class got wet.... With between 3 and 4 per boat, the students were given the touchy feely bit of sailing. Just getting used to being out there, feeling the wind and motion of the boat, getting their balance and reinforcing some of the basics. After pack down and debrief, students were given their log books and theory books to swat up before the next lesson. Sailing is full of jargon and terms specific to the sport, so the books serve an important role in reinforcing all that happens on the beach and on the water. The books are specially selected by Yachting Australia for the purpose of dove tailing in to their training program.

Training photos click here

Next lesson will get straight in to it with rigging and getting out there. Areas to cover will be towing, skippering and more on sail trim and balance.

Following the training the club ran two races in what was mixed conditions. We had wind shifts in both direction and strength. But two races were completed with John Dayman and Mike Burbridge on the 470 taking first race line honours, followed up by Loi O'Dore and then 3rd place was Miranda Dibdin and Stuart Brown.

The second race was reverse with Miranda first over the line, once a gain a second from Loi and third by John and Mike. A very successful but tiring day for the Dry Season's first outing for the Broome Sailing Club.

BSC Open Day - Sunday 1st May

Sunday 1st May was a very successful Open Day for Broome Sailing Club.

This opened with a Blessing The Fleet ceremony, in combination with Broome Sea Scouts and Broome Volunteer Sea Rescue Group.

The Scouts provided a sausage sizzle, and Sea Rescue gave members of the public a high speed jaunt around the bay.

The Sailing Club provided forty five new chums with the opportunity to have a sail on a catamaran or one of the club's training boats.

Photos of the activities will be found if you click here
For photos fo the Broome Sea Rescue activities on the same day click here

BSC 2016 AGM

Was held on Tuesday 15th March at the Broome Surf Life Saving Club. The following officials were elected:

Commander - Alex Tiverios
Vice/Rear Commander - John Dayman
Secretary - Frank Burgess
Treasurer & Registrar - John Kennedy

20th September 2015 - Race 21, 22

A good stiff breeze and a building choppy sea greeted the three mono hulls from BSC on Sunday afternoon of Gantheaume beach. Safety boat/starting was conducted from the BSC IRB by Miranda Dibdin and Colin Pruden, who both did a great job in a changing breeze.

Once the wind settled in to the south west it steadied to give everyone some great racing. John Dayman was on his usual Impulse yacht, whilst Mike Burbridge on his Radial Laser and newest sailor top BSC Jeff White was in for a challenge on his full rig Laser.

The start was one of Colin's usual short start lines and a port tack start by John snuck the Impulse ahead. However, the superior pointing ability of the Radial Laser gave a slender lead to Mike at the first mark being chased by John and Jeff had a capsize slowing him just before the first mark. John chased Mike on the first reach and then caught and passed him on the second leading around the leeward mark, but once again the superior pointing of the Laser gave Mike the lead again at the second time to the weather mark. Chasing hard the lead two were never separated by much and with the use of the increasing waves and wind and a mark mistake by Mike, the Impulse lead around the leeward mark again on the last leg to the finish.

But history repeated itself for the third time with great pointing ability and the Laser snuck across by 24 seconds...great close racing, with Jeff following not too far behind.

Race 22 was abandoned.
For results of Race 21 click here
For photos click here

6th September - Race 17, 18, 19, 20 - Shinju Matsuri Carnival of the Sea

As part of the Shinju Matsuri Carnival of the Sea, Broome Sailing Club integrated a small four race series on Sunday off Cable Beach. The wind started from the SSE light and fluky with a 10.30 start for the first race. The four starters Brian Burough on his Wetta Trimaran, Miranda Dibden on her Hobbie 16 with Stuart Brown, Jeff White on his Laser and John Dayman on the Impulse.

Starts were always hotly contested and with a short start line laid by BSC safety boat and race officers, Gary Lienert and Colin Pruden, it made it even tighter at the start. But with a good course requiring only one small course adjustment as the wind altered, we completed the first race albeit to a slightly shortened course as the wind eased in strength towards the end of the second lap. Over the line it was Miranda, Brian, John and Jeff. This was never to really alter, just the margins changed which in turn effects the handicap and yardstick results. BSC operate results on two benchmarks. A Club Championship which is based on boat, how it's sailed, who is sailing it, past results and can alter every race. The other is a National Yardstick method which after an annually held event rates every class of yacht in Australia and gives them a multiplier to theoretically arrive at the same time for every class.

The second race was held with a lot more west in the wind and race marks were moved to accommodate for the changed wind direction. Albeit with a bit more wind, we sailed the full course after another hot start line, over the line results wre the same, but yardstick results tell the tale. At this stage Jeff had run out of water and had to head back to shore leaving three boats for the final races.

This gave the ideal break for safety boat crew swap, so the RIB ducked in to shore dropped off Gary Lienert and collected John Kennedy.

The third race went the same way, similar wind strength, sloppy sea, not a lot of wind by comparison, Brian had to withdraw due to a crook shoulder, leaving John and Miranda and Stuart to finish the race. With only two boats left, three are required to run a race, the fourth race was postponed for another day.

So whilst these races will contribute to the overall BSC Club Championship and Yardstick, they also served as a mini race series for the BSC Carnival of the Sea trophy. Series within a series you may say. Just a pity we didn't have the breeze that was around Saturday afternoon!

Click here for photos taken during these races

Click here for the Race 17 & 18 results

Click here for the Race 19 results

Thursday 3rd September - Scout Graduation

Thursday night saw the first ever Broome Sea Scout, Daniel Coopes become qualified and receive his certificate in Basic Skills lever 1 and 2 in Sailing. Broome Sea Scouts first Leader, Jeff White, also received his certificate. John Dayman, Broome Sailing Club trainer and Vice Commodore presented certificates to Daniel and Leader Andrew Coopes, Jeff White Leader and Richard Bartlett, father of another Broome Sea Scout in front of visiting District Commissioner North of Scouts WA, Juleen Darwen. Click here for photos.

The Sea Scouts and Leaders have completed more than 20 hours of training in Broome Sailing Club's Pacer yachts from having no knowledge to now being competent to sail solo in them. Leader Jeff White has even purchased his own Laser yacht and is now a regular racer with BSC.

As BSC's John Dayman says, "if you don't use it you will loose it though". "It's vital now that their training is complete at this level that they get out there whilst the BSC Safety RIB is out on the water and practice their skills." BSC has 6 Pacer yachts which can be utilised by the Sea Scouts over the balance of the dry season sailing, then we head in to the wet season and windier end of the year.

The next step in their training is better Sailing and Racing Level 1 which refines their knowledge and introduces them in to the finer points and the tactical side of competition.

This could be a course for the 2016 dry season next year. However with Broome Sea Scouts numbers in Cubs, there may be more Scouts to train in 2016. It is BSC's aim to take the training boats up the Peninsula and give the experience to teenagers at Cape Leveque as well as train up the Derby Scouts.

Sailing on our wonderful Indian Ocean is something that's clean and healthy for our teenagers to do and the involvement of parents and their teenagers is a wonderful addition to the Kimberly community.

26th July - Race 13 & 14

Glorious day again for Broome Sailing Club. Starters, John Dayman, Brett Rippon, Miranda Dibdin and Brian Burroughs all took to the water with a solid offshore easterly breeze, slightly swinging to the south. Club IRB, skippered by Miranda's husband Bob who quickly filled in at the last minute to run the races and lay marks on the course.

Both races went well, places didn't change much for either one with Miranda first over the line on her Hobbie 16, then Brett and Brian fighting it out for second and third, followed home by the smallest boat, the blue Impulse of John Dayman.

If it weren't for a bit of old/dirty fuel, it would have been even better. But at the end of Race 1, Bob on the IRB called Miranda over and had an engine that refused to start........ Luckily he phoned friend and fellow BSC member Loi O'Dore who immediately jumped in his tinny and came out to do the tow back to the beach.

Click here for some photos of these activities