"YACHTSMAN" Timer for Sail Boat Racing, 1950s or 1960s
Obtained from someone who got it from from the estate of the sailing club commodore, in the town of Sheerness, Isle Of Sheppey.
Hi, this is Alan. Thanks for your interest, and for reading these pages. My contact information is at the bottom. Here is another sports timer, this one designed for timing sailboat races. It is the "YACHTSMAN" - maker unknown, but it looks very much like an Ingersoll timer meant for a football referee. I believe it is from the 1950s or 1960s, but I'm not certain. I obtained it from someone in England, who said they obtained it at an estate sale, and the person who sold it to them said it belonged to the commodore of the Isle of Sheppey sailing club. More on this later.
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Many pics here, like this one, were taken with the outer bezel and glass removed, so that you can see the dial details better. As with the Ingersoll football timer, the most prominent feature on the dial is the "color blocking," in this case a very pleasant, medium blue. The blocking is meant to help the user notice blocks of time more easily. I don't know anything about sailing, so I'm not much help with the details, but it's clear that the timer is countdown-type, with the black minute hand moving a full hour from 0-60. I suppose the white sector is a critical time period, when maybe there is 10 minutes left for something. There are also in red, 4, 3, 2, 1 countdowns in red lettering.
Sailboating, on the Isle of Sheppey. Cars look ca. 1930s.
Button at the upper left starts and stops the seconds hand, when timing needs to cease for a while. I've seen how these work. The button is connected to short metal arm inside the watch, and when the button is slid one way, the arm contacts the balance wheel, stopping everything, Once moved, back, timing resumes.
Inexpensive, no-jewell movement. MADE IN GT BRITAIN stamped on one of the plates.
It runs perfectly, and is in excellent condition.
The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the southeast mainland of England, 42 miles from central London, neighboring the Thames Estuary. It is 36 square miles, and about 40,000 people live there. The largest town is Sheerness, where the sailing club that this watch evidently comes from is located. The sort of sharp or triangular area in the upper left of the island, in this photo, is where I believe all the sailing action takes place.
