Classic start for Chester Race Week

Chester, Nova Scotia (August 15, 2018) – The fog lifted and winds picked up just in time for 121 boats to start their races and kick off Chester Race Week 2018 in excellent form. Twenty-five new skippers registered this year and boats came from as far away as Germany, New England, Ontario and Quebec.

“Conditions were classic Chester – ideal, with sunny skies, winds of 8 to a peak of 15-knots and minimal waves. Most sailors were off the water in time to avoid a late afternoon thunderstorm,” said Pat Nelder, chair of on-water activity for Chester Race Week. “This year we’re seeing a lot of new boats joining the regatta – a sign that Chester Race Week is reaching even more people in the sailing community across the region, the country, and internationally.”

Twenty five new skippers registered for the regatta this year, adding fresh perspectives and new boats to the fleets. Halifax housing contractor Andrew Watts has participated in Chester Race Week as a crew member for several years, but this is his first year skippering his new C&C 99 Demon’s Dance.

“This was my first time skippering in a regatta this large so steering through that crowd was new for me. My new boat is much more technical, so we were working hard to master the technical details. There was a huge learning curve, but the best part was that we nailed all our spinnaker jibes. That made my day,” Watts said.

Twenty-one Bluenoses competed in Chester’s front harbour. The fleet has grown in recent years to become the largest, most competitive gathering of Bluenose-class keel boats in Canada – perhaps fitting as the home province of the design.

Some one-design fleets expanded this year, including International One Designs (10) and Farr 30s (7) .

“Oh man, it was Champagne sailing conditions out there today,” said a beaming Evan Petley-Jones, today’s winning helmsman aboard the International One Design Bella. “Great, steady wind and a really tight fleet – as good as you can get for IOD racing, and we made it in before the rains,” added the Halifax-based Petley-Jones who usually races J/24s internationally but wanted to give his IOD a go at Chester this year.

Racing is planned for August 15 to 18.

Event details – Race information – Results

Day One Results – Top Three

Bluenose (One Design – 21 Boats)
1. Wahoo, Henry Demone , CAN – 9 -1 -1 ; 11
2. Shaken Knot Stirred, Malcolm Fraser , CAN – 4 -4 -5 ; 13
3. Long shot , Jim Beatty , CAN – 2 -8 -4 ; 14

Distance 1 (PHRF_ToT – 9 Boats)
1. Deviation, Stu McCrea , CAN – 1 ; 1
2. Brilliance, Richard Calder , CAN – 2 ; 2
3. Climax, Nathan Reece , CAN – 3 ; 3

Distance 2 (PHRF_ToT – 7 Boats)
1. Young Blood, Larry Creaser , CAN – 1 ; 1
2. J’ai Tu, Rodney Johnstone / Gary Bennett , USA – 2 ; 2
3. HELOC, Andrew Childs , CAN – 3 ; 3

Distance 3 (PHRF_ToT – 5 Boats)
1. Wildthing VI, Greg/Liz Hammond , CAN – 1 ; 1
2. Persistence, Mike / Heather Hoyt , CAN – 2 ; 2
3. Sail La Vie, louis bourget , CAN – 3 ; 3

Distance 4 (PHRF_ToT – 7 Boats)
1. Highlander, Dan Pride , CAN – 1 ; 1
2. Flux, Jordan MacNeil , CAN – 2 ; 2
3. Just Add Water, Jesleine Baker , CAN – 3 ; 3

Distance 5 (PHRF_ToT – 12 Boats)
1. Patience, Bruce Flinn , CAN – 1 ; 1
2. Tempus Fugit, David McVay , CAN – 2 ; 2
3. Foxy Lady, Bob Cragg , CAN – 3 ; 3

Inshore 2 – J105 (PHRF_ToT – 5 Boats)
1. McMac, Sean McDermott / Rory MacDonald , CAN – 2 -1 ; 3
2. MOJO, James Mosher , CAN – 1 -3 ; 4
3. Buzz, Barry Eisener , CAN – 3 -2 ; 5

Inshore 1 (PHRF_ToT – 9 Boats)
1. Painkiller, jane filbee , CAN – 1 -1 -1 ; 3
2. Scotch Mist IV, Chris MacDonald , CAN – 4 -2 -2 ; 8
3. Head Games, Terry Schnare , CAN – 2 -3 -3 ; 8

Inshore 3 (PHRF_ToT – 9 Boats)
1. Hummin, Bill Haliburton , can – 1 -2 ; 3
2. Hoonigan, Ivan Fitch , CAN – 4 -1 ; 5
3. Apres Ski, Tony Thompson , CAN – 2 -3 ; 5

Distance (Starting on the Inshore Course) – C&C99 (PHRF_ToT – 4 Boats)
1. Agent 99, Rob Crutcher , CAN – 1 -1 ; 2
2. Equinox 99, Rod Stright , CAN – 2 -2 ; 4
3. Demons Dance, Andrew Watts , CAN – 3 -4 ; 7

Sonar (One Design – 8 Boats)
1. Ping, Andreas Josenhans , CAN – 1 -2 -1 ; 4
2. Barbarian, Rob Barbara , CAN – 2 -1 -2 ; 5
3. Bleep, Paul Rafuse , CAN – 3 -4 -3 ; 10

Farr 30 (One Design – 7 Boats)
1. Head First 3, Peter Toombs , CAN – 1 -1 -1 ; 3
2. Goose, Ben Maloney , CAN – 3 -3 -3 ; 9
3. One More Time, Rob Gale , CAN – 2 -2 -6 ; 10

International One Design (One Design – 10 Boats)
1. Bella, Evan Petley-Jones , CAN – 2 -1 -1 ; 4
2. Piper, Shawn Mulrooney , CAN – 5 -2 -2 ; 9
3. Enigma, Steve Bush , USA – 4 -3 -3 ; 10

Source: Holly Dunn