2026 Overnight Race
Published 13:51 on 21 Jun 2026
It's that time of year, the summer solstice, longest day, party night or, as we call it at Ely SC the 12h overnight race.
And conditions were, as ever, stunning.
We started with optimism that we'd get enough people for 3 teams so Ian & Glenn set out in Soy, Phil & Brent in Santiago and Alayne & Catherine in Unnamed Blue Wayfarer. It was a simple course with a run, a reach and a beat are various points (albeit not consistent ones)! And for the first 2 hours, conditions were perfect with a steady wind and warm weather. Sadly, we didn't have any more people to play with us so Unnamed Blue Wayfarer, despite it being a lap in the lead, retired with Catherine & Alayne splitting between the other teams.
Whilst the first crews fired up the BBQ, the following crews took the hit on some of the lightest conditions of the evening but it was neck and neck between the boats the whole time. We didn't abandon them completely though with the powerboat delivering tea and cake on the water whilst they rigged the lights on to the boys.
The firepit was lit and the deck chairs were out in full force for some cat-napping although we were getting a little distracted by pretty skies and wildlife to sleep too much although one of the cadets made a notable effort for a fireside sleep.
With bouy number 3 causing plenty of stalls and a few too many frustrating moments and shallow scares, we cut it out the course in the middle of the night much to the crews joys.
There was a level of cloud cover until the night fully drew in and there was an incredible light show in the clouds - we're taking opinions if it was lightning in Belgium, a concert or something far more exciting altogether...
The sky cleared beautifully for the darkest of the night for some stargazing on the lawn and marshmallow toasting and by about 3am, the tiredness was fully in but the sun was also coming up whilst the mist tumbled over the lake and made us very grateful the mistiest corner in bouy 3's territory had been removed for a gentle run to 6 (a jog?), a reach (most of the time) to 4 and a tactical beat to 1 and back through the gate. Some went high, some went low to make the bouy but positions remained pretty much equal with some up and down of positios.
With 5 in each team, there were plenty of different crew combos but it was neck and neck all night with both boats finishing on the same lap and close racing until the 12h mark about 6:30 where SoY was just ahead to take the win.
A sleepy pack up of boats and the club and it was time for a sleep deprived survivors' photo (anyone know how to work the timer?!), a few congratulations and a bask in the early morning sun. And a good scrub down of the BBQ - the glamour of flag officer responsibilities...
Same again next year!
Photos are at: https://www.elysailingclub.org/gallery/287447
Last updated 14:13 on 21 June 2026