Team of Lester and Ingram wins Mobjack national title

Lewes Yacht Club sailors Sara Lester and Tony Ingram are the Mobjack national champions. With Lester at the tiller and Ingram working the trapeze, the duo won four of five races Aug. 26, the first day of the LYC-sponsored regatta. Weather conditions deteriorated the following day and races were cancelled.

The part-time Lewes residents teamed up five years ago to take part in weekly Sunday Mobjack races, which have become mostly a family and friends event as the fleet has dwindled to just a few boats over the past few years. Only four boats took part in the annual national championships on Delaware Bay.

Brothers-in-law Paynter Ingram and Bert Keller of Lewes finished second. Paynter and Tony are father and son who live in Wilmington and Lewes.

Paynter Ingram was selected by his fellow sailors as winner of the Good Sportsmanship Award; Lester is the national female champion; and Tom Ward of Washington, D.C., is the national senior champion.

The team of Al Williamson of Jefferson City, Tenn., and Cathy Desimone, a part-time Lewes resident, finished third, and the team of Ward and Payton Ford finished in fourth place. It was Desimone’s first time as a crew member of a Mobjack.

Williamson, participating in his 25th national championship, was presented with the Anchor Award, which is a shadow box filled with Mobjack memorabilia added by winners over several decades.