J/Teams eclipse Chester Race Week 2025

by J-Boats 25 Aug 09:36 PDT August 13-16, 2025

Chester Race Week 2025 © Bob Pettipas

The beautiful little seaside village of Chester, Nova Scotia, played host to another wonderful Chester Race Week. The Chester Yacht Club played host to over 100 yachts that competed on three different courses over the four-day event, which is billed as the largest keelboat regatta in Canada.

Boats were registered from all over Nova Scotia, plus boats from Prince Edward Island and 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.

Near Perfect Weather

The opening day began under calm conditions, with glassy waters and light air delaying the action. By mid-afternoon, a sunny day with a light breeze filled in across Mahone Bay, setting the stage for competitive racing. On day 2, it dawned with steady morning breezes, a welcome change from the calmer start on the first day. Crews took to Mahone Bay ready for another round of fierce competition across all courses, with close mark roundings, tactical duels, and shifting wind conditions keeping tacticians on their toes. Then, on the final day, the crews experienced lively conditions on Mahone Bay, with steady winds fueling fast-paced racing across all divisions. Crews pushed hard into the weekend, with overall standings tightening, and several fleets setting up for thrilling final day showdowns.

J/105 Class

The well-attended nine-boat class was treated to a bit of a "schooling" by the winners- Sean McDermott's McMAC from Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron. The McMAC team scored six podium finishes in their eight-race scoreline to handily win the class with 16 pts net. Second went to Robert Merchant's AUSTER II from RNSYS with 18 pts net and third was Evan Oulahne's BEAR with 21 pts net.

PHRF A1 Division

The large thirteen-boat class had a large contingent of seven J/Teams mixing it up with their competitors. J/crews took six of the top ten places. In the end, taking the silver medal was Andrew Childs's J/120 JANE, followed by Richard Calder's J/120 BRILIANCE in fourth place, Jordan McNeil's J/120 HELIX in sixth, Grace Fleming's J/133 BELLA J in seventh, David Wilson's J/40 ARIADNE in eighth, and Keith Amirault's J/130 DRAGONFLY in tenth place.

PHRF A2 Division- J/Sweep I

This nine-boat fleet was treated to a clean sweep of the top four spots on the leaderboard. Leading the charge were two J/100s, Larry Creaser's YOUNGBLOOD winning by counting all 1sts and 2nds, followed by Terry McKenna's DOG PARTY in second, counting all podium finishes, too. The final step on the podium for the bronze medal was Todd Wilson's J/35 FALCON. Then, fourth place to complete the sweep was Paul Rafuse's J/100 CROWS.

PHRF B1 Division- J/Sweep II

One can probably surmise that competitors in this thirteen-boat fleet were not expecting J/domination like their colleagues in the PHRF A2 division. Nevertheless, that is exactly what happened, with J/teams sweeping the podium and occupying seven of the top nine slots. Winning was a perennial favorite in this fleet, Colin Mann's J/92 POOHSTICKS. Behind them, it was the battle of the six J/29s! Top J/29 and staking the silver medal was Paul Fillbe-Dexter's PAINKILLER. Taking the bronze medal was Terry Schnare's HEAD GAMES. Then, filling in the rest of the top slots were Chris MacDonald's SCOTCH MIST in fifth, Chris Power's JAEGER in sixth, Matt Wawrzyszyn's RUMBLEFISH in eighth, and Ryan Morris's LIQUID ASSET in ninth. Quite the showing by those J/crews!

PHRF B3 Division

Not to be outdone by her colleagues, Jesleine Baker's pretty baby-blue J/30 JUST ADD WATER treated her fleet to a "whitewash" or, to be charitable, an honest-to-goodness "spanking"! After a disappointing first race second place, she and her crew chalked up an eye-popping seven straight 1sts to dominate her class!