Thames Estuary Ingram Shield (26th September 2010)
In force 4-5 winds gusting 6 the five Clubs on the north shore of the Thames Estuary competed on 26 September for 5 long established trophies. There were 75 boats entered and the large majority started.
In the Ingram Shield a team of 3 ISOs from the Essex Yacht Club prevailed over teams of Dart 16s, Lasers and RS200s as well as two teams of the locally based class of EODs.
George Chambers was first home in 1167 having got clean away at the massed start and won by an impressive margin on handicap. Bruce Bowler in 1178 was shy of the start line but carried a windward course to emerge from the bunch shortly after the short first leg. At the first leeward mark he was undertaken by a Dart 16 in a serious gust of wind and had to give room only to find that on rounding the mark the Dart had stopped dead on the beat with the crew in a heap. A collision was narrowly avoided. His sixth place overall together with a gutsy performance by Nick Veitch, who tested his righting skills, secured the win.
The combined results of all the teams from Essex Yacht Club also secured the overall Royal Thames Challenge Trophy.
Bruce Bowler
ISO 1178
ISO Class Secretary
