Flag signals: the Newsletter of Ely Sailing Club February 2026
Published 09:12 on 27 Feb 2026
We're well into February, the winter work parties are in full swing getting the club ready for the year and our sights are on the 2026 sailing season. The calendar is now live on the website.
On the working party front, a big thank you to everyone who has helped so far; lots has been done both inside and out, including replacing the main doors, which have been getting harder and harder to close, despite repeated adjustments by our hard-working Bosun. There is plenty still to do over the next few weeks, so please do come on down to help out.
There's lots to look forward to: our trip to Hunter's Yard (18th July), the overnight race on the summer solstice (20th/21st June), afternoon tea and lots more as well as the usual programme so check it out and get your diaries sorted.
This year, we have updated the Duty Instructions as well as created an overview of Sailing at Ely, including a breakdown of scoring, races, format of sailing (social & racing) this year etc. Both are available on the club documents page of the website.
The duty roster is also now open for volunteering. At current, could all adult sailing members (whether on individual, couple or family memberships) please sign up to at least 4 duties (i.e. 8 duties for a sailing couple) if you are able to please try and prioritise powerboat or race officer duties. As a reminder, sailing Cadets aged 12-18 are expected to undertake at least one duty, in line with club rules. If you're struggling to manage your cadets' duties due to the system (if you and your cadet's accounts share an email), please add an additional duty under your name but we really do want it to be the cadet that does the duty as, like the rest of us, it teaches the ropes, develops skills and gets them involved in the club. Social members (unless power boaters trained by the club) are not expected to undertake duties, but are of course welcome to.
In early March, The Algorithm will be deployed to allocate unfilled duties so if you have preferences on which duties you do, please do try to sign up via the system as early as possible. The system has a well-functioning swap system to use should something crop up and mean you cannot attend a scheduled duty. The 'Duties & Volunteering' webpage has new guides and videos on how to use the duty roster, view duties & arrange swaps, so if you have trouble, please check these resources first and then reach out for help if needed.
Something to note is that all non-rescue duties are very much open to all members regardless of experience: someone will always be on hand to offer support with how any duty works & it really isn't as scary as it might seem! Getting stuck in on duties really is one of the best ways to learn more.
On the social side, Knots and Nibbles, led by our resident Knot Master, Dave Robertson was great fun as always and we learnt how to whip rope ends and made some attractive rope coasters. Our thanks to Dave and to everyone who contributed to the nibbles.
Coming up we have a family Games Night on the 13th March and a Nautical themed Quiz on the 17th April, so check the calendar on the website for more details and please come along to join in the fun!
Lastly, we have a vacancy on the training team for a training co-ordinator to help with the administration of training courses. The role has been unfilled for a couple of years now and the training team is really missing the support. You don't need to have any training experience, just the ability to handle email enquiries in a friendly and supportive manner, a degree of comfort with electronic record keeping (training on our system will be given) and a sense of humour. Like all roles at the club, the only rewards are the opportunity to work with a friendly bunch and the warm glow of knowing that you're helping your club and bringing potentially life-changing skills to new sailors. If this could be for you, please reply to this email and we'll be delighted to provide more information and discuss how to make it work for you.
We look forward to seeing you at the club soon,
Ian, Catherine and Brent
We're well into February, the winter work parties are in full swing getting the club ready for the year and our sights are on the 2026 sailing season. The calendar is now live on the website.
On the working party front, a big thank you to everyone who has helped so far; lots has been done both inside and out, including replacing the main doors, which have been getting harder and harder to close, despite repeated adjustments by our hard-working Bosun. There is plenty still to do over the next few weeks, so please do come on down to help out.
There's lots to look forward to: our trip to Hunter's Yard (18th July), the overnight race on the summer solstice (20th/21st June), afternoon tea and lots more as well as the usual programme so check it out and get your diaries sorted.
This year, we have updated the Duty Instructions as well as created an overview of Sailing at Ely, including a breakdown of scoring, races, format of sailing (social & racing) this year etc. Both are available on the club documents page of the website.
The duty roster is also now open for volunteering. At current, could all adult sailing members (whether on individual, couple or family memberships) please sign up to at least 4 duties (i.e. 8 duties for a sailing couple) if you are able to please try and prioritise powerboat or race officer duties. As a reminder, sailing Cadets aged 12-18 are expected to undertake at least one duty, in line with club rules. If you're struggling to manage your cadets' duties due to the system (if you and your cadet's accounts share an email), please add an additional duty under your name but we really do want it to be the cadet that does the duty as, like the rest of us, it teaches the ropes, develops skills and gets them involved in the club. Social members (unless power boaters trained by the club) are not expected to undertake duties, but are of course welcome to.
In early March, The Algorithm will be deployed to allocate unfilled duties so if you have preferences on which duties you do, please do try to sign up via the system as early as possible. The system has a well-functioning swap system to use should something crop up and mean you cannot attend a scheduled duty. The 'Duties & Volunteering' webpage has new guides and videos on how to use the duty roster, view duties & arrange swaps, so if you have trouble, please check these resources first and then reach out for help if needed.
Something to note is that all non-rescue duties are very much open to all members regardless of experience: someone will always be on hand to offer support with how any duty works & it really isn't as scary as it might seem! Getting stuck in on duties really is one of the best ways to learn more.
On the social side, Knots and Nibbles, led by our resident Knot Master, Dave Robertson was great fun as always and we learnt how to whip rope ends and made some attractive rope coasters. Our thanks to Dave and to everyone who contributed to the nibbles.
Coming up we have a family Games Night on the 13th March and a Nautical themed Quiz on the 17th April, so check the calendar on the website for more details and please come along to join in the fun!
Lastly, we have a vacancy on the training team for a training co-ordinator to help with the administration of training courses. The role has been unfilled for a couple of years now and the training team is really missing the support. You don't need to have any training experience, just the ability to handle email enquiries in a friendly and supportive manner, a degree of comfort with electronic record keeping (training on our system will be given) and a sense of humour. Like all roles at the club, the only rewards are the opportunity to work with a friendly bunch and the warm glow of knowing that you're helping your club and bringing potentially life-changing skills to new sailors. If this could be for you, please reply to this email and we'll be delighted to provide more information and discuss how to make it work for you.
We look forward to seeing you at the club soon,
Ian, Catherine and Brent
Last updated 09:12 on 27 February 2026