Captain David Ingham 

His Legacy - a FMMC Bursary via Ipswich Maritime Trust towards their Young Mariners Fund. 

Young people from across Suffolk were celebrated at the Ipswich Maritime Trust Youth Bursary Awards, recognising their first — or next — steps into maritime careers and adventures.

Hosted at the Old Custom House by Ipswich Maritime Trust, the event marked another milestone for the Ipswich Heritage Harbour Project, made possible with support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. This year, seven bursaries were awarded supporting 12 young people, helping remove financial barriers to training, qualifications and hands-on experience on the water.

Recipients include Summer Farrow, from Felixstowe, who will build on her work with local Sea Scouts through further training, and Samuel Murkowski, current mate on the sailing barge Victor, as he develops his professional maritime skills. The photograph shows our former Captain, Ian Buckle, presenting Summer with her award.

In one of the programme's standout opportunities, six students from Ipswich Academy will take part in a five-night voyage aboard Morning Star, having first experienced a day sail on the River Orwell.

One student said: "I'm really excited. I've not been away from home that long before.

I just hope everyone keeps their bunks tidy."

Bursary recipients were selected by a panel including two young people with lived experience of the programme — one now working in local boatbuilding, and another whose first sailing voyage at 15 proved transformative. Both returned to present awards, reflecting the programme's growing legacy. The evening was supported by partners including ABP and the Felixstowe Master Mariners Club. The Captain David Ingham Bursary - to which we, as a club awarded £1000 -was presented in memory of the late Captain Ingham — a Felixstowe Master Mariner and Haven Ports pilot — by his nephew, to Hugh Barker, a young Ipswich boatbuilder developing his skills in traditional craft.

Also recognised is 18-year-old Jude Hayward-Brackenbury, selected for the 2027–28 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. His journey echoes that of Ipswich-born Thomas Eldred, one of the first circumnavigators — showing how Suffolk's maritime story is being carried forward by a new generation.