Chester Race Week 2014 – Down to the Wire

Sailors got off to a great start on the last day of competition here at Chester Race Week 2014. Conditions were great with a nice, steady southwest seabreeze, and winds of 15-20 knots. Most courses ended up finishing in a short range squall under black skies and rainy, blustery conditions. It passed quickly and blue skies returned in time for trophy presentations.

“Today was a fantastic end to a great week of sailing,” said Liz Shaw, principal race officer, Chester Race Week 2014. “The racing was incredibly close and exciting, with a number of classes decided by mere seconds on the last race.”

“What great sportsmanship again this year at Chester Race Week. Boats are taking the appropriate penalties when they have broken a rule, either on the water or off,” said Kathy Dyer, chief judge, Chester Race Week 2014. “

“I want to thank and give credit to the members of the protest committee for handling the 16 matters that our way this week. It’s a difficult job, but they handled it with professionalism and great respect for the competitors and the Racing Rules of Sailing.”

Making its first appearance on the Chester Race Week 2014 scene was the International 14 fleet. Six fast, two-person, two-trapeze skiffs, all from Ontario, demonstrated their racing skills on the choppy waters of Mahone Bay.

“We had a fantastic event. We took the i14s out for a practice run on Tuesday and everyone said if the weather turned and race week was canceled, that one day alone would have been worth the trip,” said Rob Paterson, skipper, Red Headed Step Child, Royal Canadian Yacht Club. “It was refreshing to not have to travel too far to get these great conditions. Every regatta in the world should be run like Chester Race Week — great racing and lots of events for everyone.”

Chester Race Week 2014 served up a perfect combination of good wind, first class racing, superior race management and excellent shoreside hospitality — looking forward to 2015.

“All in all, Chester Race Week 2014 was an incredible event. There were a lot of standout moments over the past few days in weather and competition, and sailors were mentally and physically pushed to their limits,” said Shaw.

“Our new web-based regatta management system, YachtScoring.com, delivered results faster and more accurately than ever before.”

FINAL RESULTS
Legend: Place, Yacht Name, Type, Owner/Skipper, Hometown, Results, Total Points

Distance A1 (PHRF_ToT – 7 Boats)
1. Brilliance, J 120 40, Richard Calder , Dartmouth, NS, CAN – 2, 2, 5, 1, ; 10
2. Adios, J 120 40, Dwayne Smithers , chester, NS, CAN – 3, 1, 4, 2, ; 10
3. Team Ocean , Melges 32 32, John Roy , Haliafx, NS, Can – 1, 8/DSQ, 1, 4, ; 14

Distance A2 (PHRF_ToT – 15 Boats)
1. Climax, 1D35 35, Nathan Reece , Dartmouth, NS, CAN – 6, 1, 11, 1, ; 19
2. Wandrian , Taylor 41 41, Bill Tucker , Halifax, NS, CAN – 2, 16/RAF, 1, 3, ; 22
3. MacIntosh, Custom Cartwright 44, Durk Steigenga , Hubbards, NS, CAN – 4, 2, 9, 7, ; 22

Distance A3 (PHRF_ToT – 7 Boats)
1. Poohsticks, J 92 30, Colin Mann , Lunenburg, NS, CAN – 4, 2, 1, 2, ; 9
2. McMac, J 105 34.5, Sean McDermott , Dartmouth, NS, CAN – 6, 1, 4, 1, ; 12
3. PLAYMATE, J 88 29, Jim Snair , Halifax, NS, CAN – 3, 4, 3, 3, ; 13

Distance A4 (PHRF_ToT – 9 Boats)
1. Scotch Mist IV, J 29 29, Chris MacDonald , Lunenburg, NS, CAN – 3, 1, 5, 1, ; 10
2. Slyfox, Peterson 29 29, James Mosher , Lunenburg, NS, CAN – 5, 2, 1, 2, ; 10
3. Equinox, Frers 33 33, Rod Stright , Bedford, NS, USA – 1, 5, 2, 4, ; 12

Distance A5 (PHRF_ToT – 10 Boats)
1. Mayhem, C&C 29 Mark II 29, Richard Gerstenberger , Dartmouth, NS, CAN – 1, 1, 1, 2, ; 5
2. Sisu, Tanzer 22 22, David Peer , Hammonds Plains, NS, CAN – 5, 3, 2, 6, ; 16
3. Saraphie, Whitby 42 42, Bruce Hancock , Halifax, NS, CAN – 9, 2, 8, 1, ; 20

Bravo B1 (PHRF_ToT – 8 Boats)
1. Silver Woman, J 29 29, Andrew Childs , Halifax, NS, CAN – 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 3, 4, [4] ; 12
2. Paradigm Shift, J 29 29, Don Williams , Halifax, NS, CAN – 3, 4, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 5, [5] ; 26
3. Agent 99, C&C 99 33, Rob Crutcher , Bedford, NS, CAN – 5, 3, 6, 2, 2, 2, 6, 7, 3, 5, 2, [7] ; 36

Bravo B2 (PHRF_ToT – 8 Boats)
1. Highlander, Dehler DB-1 33, Dan Pride , Halifax, NS, CAN – 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, [2] ; 15
2. Flux, J 30 30, Jordan MacNeil , Halifax, NS, CAN – 4, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, [4] ; 17
3. Just Add Water, J 30 30, Jesleine Baker , Halifax, NS, CAN – 3, 4, 6, 5, 3, 4, 9/DNS, 4, 3, 3, 5, [9] ; 40

Bluenose (One Design – 22 Boats)
1. Wahoo, Bluenose 23, Henry Demone , Lunenburg, NS, CAN – 2, 2, 10, 1, 3, 2, 2, [10] ; 12
2. Mahaska, Bluenose 23, Karl Mitchell , Lunenburg County, NS, CAN – 1, 1, 5, 13, 9, 1, 1, [13] ; 18
3. Barbarian, Bluenose 23, Keith Fox , Chester, NS, CAN – 3, 5, 1, 5, 2, 4, 4, [5] ; 19

PHRF – Non-Spinnaker 1 (PHRF = or < 155) (PHRF_ToT – 8 Boats)
1. Mariah, C&C 35 35, Keith Johnson , Chester, NS, CAN – 2, 3, 2, 1, ; 8
2. Mischief, C&C 40 40, Jeff Costwell , Head of St Margarets Bay, NS, CAN – 6, 1, 3, 3, ; 13
3. Pursuit, Peterson 46 46.3, Bob Belliveau , Chester, NS, CAN – 3, 9/DNF, 1, 2, ; 15

PHRF – Non-Spinnaker 2 (PHRF = or > 156) (PHRF_ToT – 10 Boats)
1. Warp Drive, Sonar 23, Paul Avery , Chester, NS, CAN – 1, 4, 1, ; 6
2. Terpsichore, S&S 34 34, Mark MacNeil , Halifax, NS, CAN – 2, 6, 3, ; 11
3. Patience, Nonsuch 30 Ultra 30, Bruce Flinn , Halifax, NS, CAN – 3, 7, 2, ; 12

Classic Yachts (PHRF_ToT – 8 Boats)
1. ripple, Chester C 38 , jim rafuse , Chester, NS, CAN – 1, 1, 2, ; 4
2. Hayseed IV, Wm Gardner P 54, Christopher Wurts , Chester, NS, CAN – 3, 2, 3, ; 8
3. Virginia, Universal Q 43.84, John W Jr Wurts , Chester, NS, CAN – 2, 3, 4, ; 9

IOD (One Design – 5 Boats)
1. Squall, IOD 33, Peter Wickwire , Halifax, NS, CAN – 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, [2] ; 12
2. mighty mo, IOD 33, richard thompson , Chester, NS, CAN – 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 5, [5] ; 14
3. Elida, IOD 33, Jay Nadelson , Chester, NS, CAN – 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 3, [4] ; 29

J 24 (One Design – 9 Boats)
1. Sticky Fingers, J 24 24, John Whynacht , Mahone Bay, NS, CAN – 5, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 4, 1, 2, [5] ; 19
2. Taz, J 24 24, Nick Jako , Toronto, Ont, CAN – 2, 5, 2, 2, 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 5, 3, [5] ; 26
3. Adrenaline Rush, J 24 24, Gregory Blunden , Halifax, NS, CAN – 1, 3, 6, 4, 3, 1, 2, 5, 2, 2, 6, [6] ; 29

Farr 30 (One Design – 7 Boats)
1. Press Gang, Farr 30 30, Roland van Hazel , Toronto, On, CAN – 2, 1, 2, 3, 1, 3, 5, 1, 1, 1, 2, [5] ; 17
2. One More Time, Farr 30 30, Rob Gale/ Ed Steeves , Halifax, NS, CAN – 1, 2, 3, 1, 4, 1, 1, 2, 2, 5, 1, [5] ; 18
3. Venturesome, Farr 30 30, Ben Maloney , Bedford, NS, CAN – 3, 5, 5, 2, 2, 2, 4, 4, 3, 2, 4, [5] ; 31

International 14 (One Design – 6 Boats)
1. Red Headed Step Child, International 14 14, Gordo Cook , Toronto, Ont, CAN – 1, 1, 1, 1, 3, 1, 1, 3, [3] ; 9
2. Something Rude, International 14 14, Peter Hayward , Toronto, Ont, CAN – 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 5, 2, 1, [5] ; 14
3. Goatdog IV, International 14 14, Jamie Keating , Toronto, Ont, CAN – 4, 4, 3, 4, 1, 4, 7/DNF, 7/DNF, [7] ; 27

Photo Caption:  Overall, an excellent week with  plenty of sun, beautiful scenery, an abundant mix of boat types and better than average sailing conditions for Chester this week if you like to sail in big breeze. (Photo: Tim Wilkes Photography)