J/24 and J/29 Fleet Love Fest
(Chester, Nova Scotia, Canada)- The beautiful little village of Chester played host to another wonderful Race Week. The racing concluded with the last classes crossing the finish lines in the late afternoon and the crews anxiously waited to learn the results on the boards at Chester Yacht Club. Many of the boats sail in handicap fleets which have to be calculated before the results are final."The weather and wind conditions could not have been better" said Randy Stevens, chair of this year’s regatta. "The winds were light earlier on but filled in on Friday and Saturday to make for excellent, competitive racing without the drama of gales and foul weather" Stevens added. "The regatta did not experience any unpleasant events and protests were few".
A total of 142 yachts competed in 12 classes on three different courses over the four day event which is the largest keel boat regatta in Canada. Boats were registered from all over Nova Scotia plus three from Prince Edward Island and two from New Brunswick. For those viewing the racing from shore or on the water they were treated to a kaleidoscope of color with the spinnakers billowing and pulling the boats to the finish lines. The yachts varied from the 23ft Bluenose class to the magnificent classic yachts and the large ocean racers.The social side was not neglected with Barbeques and parties every night until the wee hours. The popular Hopping Penguins Band entertained on both Thursday and Friday evenings. The festivities finished with an appearance of a band 'The Halifax Pirates' in full privateer regalia.
In the A2 Fleet, the J/35s sailed well, finishing 4th and 5th for the week against a slew of Beneteau 36.7s. Gary Sullivan's J/35 SUMROO was 4th with a 7-7-5-2-3-7 record for 24 points, beating his stablemate Richard Oulton's J/35 WHISTLER'S AIR on a tie-breaker!
In the A3 Fleet, the J/92 POOHSTICKS sailed by Colin Mann finished second with a 1-3-2-2-2 record, to lose by only one point the top of the podium!
For the Cruising Fleet, the J/120 BRILLIANCE from Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron sailed beautifully to finish first with a 1-1-1-5 record. Also participating in their class were Reg Goodday's J/44 AKUBRA and Mike Kennedy's J/105 GRAND CRU.
The J One-Designs had some great sailing with a good turnout for both classes. The J/24s had seven boats participating. After the final gun, it was John Whynacht's STICKY FINGERS that took the gold, with Gerg Blunden's ADRENALIN RUSH taking silver and Jamie Storey's WAVE RUNNER the bronze.
The J/29s had an excellent fleet with nine boats racing. After a real donnybrook of a fight, it was the "dogs" on DOG PARTY that took first place, sailed by a bunch of characters from Charlottetown Yacht Club and ably captained by Terry McKenna and crew. Second was Chris MacDonald sailing SCOTCH MIST and third overall was Larry Creaser's JAEGER from the host Chester Yacht Club. For more Chester Race Week sailing information.