Breeze on at Chester Race Week

Chester, NS (August 17, 2017) – Two-to-three metre waves and strong winds gusting to 25+ knots (46+ km per hour) changed racing plans for several fleets on Day 2 of Chester Race Week, forcing skippers of some classic boats to retire from the race to avoid damage.

Some didn’t escape unscathed with steel winches ripping out of fibreglass decks for some, and sails shredding for others. The Chester Yacht Club commodore’s tender sunk at the dock.

“It’s in high winds like these when you discover your gear’s weak points and preventative maintenance saves you time and money,” said 30-year Chester Race Week veteran Colin Mann, whose J/92 Poohsticks sails out of the Lunenburg Yacht Club. “We clocked a top hull speed of 14.9 knots out there today – it was a great ride that left us grinning ear to ear.”

Race officers combined the Alpha and Bravo (biggest boats) fleets, something they do at the large biannual Block Island Race Week. That made for some spectacular racing, with boats of all sizes racing together. The International One Design (IOD) boats raced once only. Race officials set a course for the Alpha and Bravo fleets to sail on the same course for the first time. (drone footage)

For the Bluenose fleet, skippers voted to postpone the race in hopes the wind would diminish. It didn’t. Stu MacLean, skipper of Ghost (Chester Yacht Club), says he believes it was the safest decision.

“It’s better to hold off and wait for better conditions. We don’t want anyone getting hurt or any boats being damaged or swamped. Bluenoses are a smaller boat, so we need to wait for the right conditions. It’s a four-day regatta, so there’s still time to race, and you can’t do that if your boat is out of commission.”

Oliver Dix from the Royal Thames Yacht Club in London (UK), is skipper aboard the International One Design (IOD) Bella and says he could not finish the only IOD race of the day because the wind ripped his mainsail, dropping it to the deck.

“It was disappointing because we were leading the fleet, but these things happen. Now we have to find a way to get our main fixed quickly, so we can keep going.”

John Roy remembered
Some fleets had fewer boats on the starting line today not due to weather, but because crew members were in Halifax attending the funeral of accomplished sailor, instructor, yacht broker and musician, John “Leroy” Roy who passed away on August 12.

“When the wind started freaking out his crew, John would always say ‘Wait – five-minute rule’ to see if conditions would improve and he could keep racing”, said Topher Wurts, owner of the William Gardiner P Class sloop Hayseed IV, built in 1912, which did not sail today. “While I was at Leroy’s funeral today I knew there’d be a lot of sailors in that wind thinking to themselves ‘five-minute rule – let’s wait and see, Leroy would’”.

Chester Race Week 2017 edition provides four days of racing on August 16 to 19 in the picturesque and historic seaside Village of Chester, Nova Scotia.

Event information – Race details – Results – Entry list

Day Two Results

J 24 (One Design – 4 Boats)
1. HypeWave, J 24 24, Chris Veinot , Halifax, NS, CAN – 2 -2 -1 -2 -1 -1 ; 9
2. Barely Legal, J/24 24, Jonathan Reid , Halifax, NS, CAN – 1 -1 -3 -1 -2 -2 ; 10
3. Codfather, J24, Caroline Muselet , Tantallon, Nova Scotia, CAN – 3 -3 -2 -5 -3 -3 ; 19

J 70 (One Design – 3 Boats)
1. Joyridin’, J 70 22.75, Graeme Carr , Charlottetown, PE, CAN – 1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 ; 6
2. SeaYa, J 70 22.75, Kim Gibson , Fredericton, NB, CAN – 2 -4 -2 -2 -2 -2 ; 14
3. Point Eight, J 70 7 meters, Peggy Bethune , Charlottetown, PE, CAN – 3 -2 -3 -4 -4 -4 ; 20

Sonar (One Design – 11 Boats)
1. PING, Sonar 23, Andreas Josenhans , Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, CAN – 4 -2 -2 -3 -1 -3 ; 15
2. ShoreEast, Sonar 22, Jonathan Ladha , Halifax, NS, USA – 2 -3 -3 -1 -6 -1 ; 16
3. Barbarian, Sonar 23, Rob Barbara , Halifax, NS, CAN – 1 -1 -1 -2 -2 -12 ; 19

Farr 30 (One Design – 6 Boats)
1. Farr 2 Tangley, Farr 30 30, Peter/Jon Toombs/Ross , Charlottetown, PEI, CAN – 1 -1 -5 ; 7
2. Ocean Yachts Sales One More Time, Farr 30 30, Rob Gale/ Ed Steeves , Halifax, NS, CAN – 3 -3 -2 ; 8
3. Goose, Farr 30 30, Ben Maloney , Bedford, NS, CAN – 5 -5 -1 ; 11

Bluenose (One Design – 22 Boats)
1. dark ‘n stormy, Bluenose 23’-6, David /jacob Mosher/saunders , Chester, Nova Scotia, CAN – 1 -2 -1 ; 4
2. Rebel, Bluenose 23, Thomas/Erik Murphy/koppernaes , Chester, NS, USA – 4 -1 -3 ; 8
3. Wahoo, Bluenose 23′, Henry/Max Demone/Flinn , Chester, NS, CAN – 3 -6 -4 ; 13

International One Design (One Design – 8 Boats)
1. Restless, IOD 33′, Ted Murphy , Halifax, Nova Scotia, CAN – 1 -1 -4 -2 ; 8
2. Mighty Mo, IOD 33 ft, Richard Thompson , Chester, Nova Scotia, CDN – 4 -4 -6 -1 ; 15
3. Bella, IOD 33, Oliver Dix , London, Greater London, GBR – 3 -3 -1 -9 ; 16

Alpha 1 (PHRF_ToT – 8 Boats)
1. Brilliance, J 120 40, Richard Calder , Dartmouth, NS, CAN – 5 -1 -2 ; 8
2. Agincourt, N/M 43CR 42.9, Bob Cragg , Chester, NS, CAN – 2 -2 -6 ; 10
3. Climax, 1D35 35, Nathan Reece , Dartmouth, NS, CAN – 6 -3 -3 ; 12

Alpha 2 (PHRF_ToT – 9 Boats)
1. HELOC, J 35 35, Andrew Childs , Halifax, NS, CAN – 2 -3 -2 ; 7
2. J Hawk, J 35 35, Thane MacDonald , Chester, NS, CAN – 3 -1 -5 ; 9
3. MacIntosh, Custom Cartwright 44, Durk Steigenga , Hubbards, NS, CAN – 6 -2 -3 ; 11

Alpha 3 (PHRF_ToT – 8 Boats)
1. Poohsticks, J 92 30, Colin Mann , Lunenburg, NS, CAN – 1 -2 -1 ; 4
2. DogParty, J-100 32, terry mckenna , charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, CAN – 2 -1 -4 ; 7
3. MOJO, J 105 35, James Mosher , Lunenburg, NS, CAN – 3 -4 -3 ; 10

Bravo 1 (PHRF_ToT – 16 Boats)
1. Highlander, Dehler db1 33, Dan Pride , Halifax, Nova Scotia, CAN – 8 -4 -1 ; 13
2. Just Add Water, J 30 30, Jesleine Baker , Halifax, NS, CAN – 7 -2 -5 ; 14
3. I Sea U, S2 7.9 26, Claudio Martin , London, Ont, CAN – 2 -3 -10 ; 15

Bravo 2 (PHRF_ToT – 8 Boats)
1. Rumblefish, J29 29.5, Scott Covey , Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, CAN – 4 -1 -1 ; 6
2. painkiller, J29 29.5, jane filbee , halifax, nova scotia, can – 3 -2 -2 ; 7
3. Paradigm Shift, J 29 29, Don Williams , Halifax, NS, CAN – 2 -6 -3 ; 11

Classics (PHRF_ToT – 7 Boats)
1. 7887, Star 22, John Hokanson , West Palm Beach, FL, USA – 3 -2 ; 5
2. Tempus Fugit, Alberg 37 37, David McVay , Markham, Ont, CAN – 6 -1 ; 7
3. Seneca, Classic 48, David Creighton , Chester, NS, USA – 1 -8 ; 9

Delta (PHRF_ToT – 9 Boats)
1. To’Mater3, CC25 25, Warren Webber , Bridgewater, NS, CAN – 1 -3 ; 4
2. Mischief, C&C 40 40, Jeff Costwell , Head of St Margarets Bay, NS, can – 4 -1 ; 5
3. Patience, Nonsuch 30 Ultra 30, Bruce/Max Flinn , Halifax, NS, CAN – 5 -2 ; 7

Source: CRW