Please select your home edition
Edition
Maritimo 2023 S-Series LEADERBOARD

Helly Hansen Chester Race Week hosts World Class Racing and J70 Canadian Championship

by Helly Hansen Chester Race Week 26 Apr 11:31 PDT August 14-17, 2024
2023 Helly Hansen Chester Race Week. day 4 © Tracey Wallace / Atlantic Boating

Helly Hansen Chester Race Week 2024 will take place in scenic Chester, Nova Scotia from August 14th to 17th and this year's highlight will be the J70 Canadian Championship as part of the event.

Billed as the largest fixed keel regatta in Eastern Canada, Chester Race Week offers an unsurpassed racing venue.

The Chester Race Week has a rich 120-year history, celebrated for spectacular competition on the water combined with an unrivaled social scene off the water. The J70 Canadian Championship will draw boats from all over the region and country, with an expected 15 entries. Last year, 125 total boats competed in the annual regatta, making it the largest Chester Race Week in a decade.

This year's event will feature:

  • The remarkable, colourful Bluenose Fleet, with a possible 35 competitor boats. The history of the Bluenose Class sloop dates to 1946 when naval architect William J. RouĂ© designed the wooden One Design. These days modifications and improvements in construction of the Bluenose reflects the popularity and demand of a quickly evolving race fleet.
  • The One Design course, sailing windward leeward. Back again will be the International One Design Fleet, the Farr 30 Fleet, and the Sonar Fleet.
  • The PHRF A and B classes will sail a mixture of windward/leeward and around-the-cans courses using fixed and/or inflatable marks. Outside of the Bluenose fleet, these classes are strongly attended with 70-80 PHRF boats participating in various fleet splits.
  • The beautiful Classics (aka the Chester postcard), sailing a Pursuit Style of race. Competitors who would like to sail non-spinnaker are eligible to participate in the pursuit course.

The action and fun ashore are part of HHCRW and organizers have planned four nights of live entertainment every day from 4:00-6:00 pm; 7:00-9:00 pm and 9:30pm-1am.

There will be an awards and prize-giving ceremony each day at 6:00 pm and local food trucks will be on site. Also back is the Sailing Trivia Contest, for which the winner gets a complimentary entry to Chester Race Week 2025.

On-Water Chair Daniel Conrod has assembled a great roster of Race Officers for 2024: Principal Race Officer (PRO) Luke Porter and Race Officers Peter Van Muyden, John Abel, Pat Nelder, Tom Clarke and Trish Finlay, accompanied by Chief Judge Katie Nicoll, excellent course officials and a committee of dedicated volunteers. On shore activities are coordinated by the Chester Yacht Club and Kim Johnson and a team of local volunteers.

The event is sailed out of the Village of Chester on beautiful Mahone Bay located approximately one hour's drive southeast of Halifax Nova Scotia.

This year the event is partnering with Suzuki Canada & Suzuki's Clean Ocean to promote their Clean Ocean Project for a healthy and clean environment, to Chester Race Week audiences. They also will be doing shoreline cleanups at various Nova Scotia coastal locations.

Also new for this year, due to the interest of competitors, HHCRW is integrating Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) scoring within the existing distance fleets as an alternative scoring system for some participants. ORC is globally recognized in local, national, and international races making it the most popular measurement-based rating system in the world.

The presenting sponsor is Helly Hansen with additional support from Atlantic Boating Magazine, Suzuki Canada, North Sails Atlantic, Playwear Canada, Goslings, Blue Lobster, Mahone Marine, Atlantic Yacht Sales, Salty Dog Tours, Fireball, and Ocean Yacht Sales. We are also pleased to welcome new sponsors Coldstream Clear Distillery and Tir Na Nog Builders. To register and learn more about Helly Hansen Chester Race Week, visit chesterraceweek.com.

Related Articles

Glorious Race Weeks
Bumper participation is an indicator for the health of sailing It would be so easy to write about the Olympics and America's Cup this week in my newsletter but, in all honesty, we're writing and talking enough about those on Sail-World.com and YachtsandYachting.com already. Instead let's focus on Race Weeks. Posted on 3 Sep
Great White crowned J/70 Canadian Champion
Over 150 yachts competed in this year's running of Chester Race Week Dozens of competitors from across Canada and the Eastern Seaboard descended upon the picturesque fishing village of Chester, Nova Scotia for Canada's largest keelboat regatta - Chester Race Week. Posted on 25 Aug
Helly Hansen Chester Race Week Overall
The biggest in a decade, with a record number of women skippers Helly Hansen Chester Race Week was the biggest in a decade, with a record number of women skippers and competitive conditions that delivered. Posted on 18 Aug
Helly Hansen Chester Race Week Day 4
Tight battles across all fleets The fourth day of Helly Hansen Chester Race delivered perfect conditions, full of tight battles across all fleets. A beautiful breeze built to 10 plus knots from the southwest. Posted on 18 Aug
Helly Hansen Chester Race Week Day 3
Terrific conditions and plenty of tight races The third day of Helly Hansen Chester Race delivered terrific conditions and plenty of tight races. Posted on 17 Aug
Helly Hansen Chester Race Week Day 2
The second day once again presented a calm start The second day of Helly Hansen Chester Race once again presented a calm start that eventually delivered enough wind for a number of classes to complete three races. Posted on 16 Aug
Helly Hansen Chester Race Week Day 1
A calm eventually shifted to a southeasterly breeze The first day of Helly Hansen Chester Race presented a calm start that eventually shifted to a southeasterly breeze, ending with rain clouds from the north. Posted on 14 Aug
Helly Hansen Chester Race Week overall
Two-time Olympian Lisa Ross victorious in the Bluenose fleet The fourth and final day of Helly Hansen Chester Race was headlined with 'champagne' sailing conditions under sunny skies and a 10 to 15 knot breeze which picked up to gusts of 20 knots. Posted on 20 Aug 2023
Helly Hansen Chester Race Week day 3
Presenting torrential downpours and tropical temperatures The third day of Helly Hansen Chester Race presented torrential downpours and tropical temperatures, but the breeze came in and the wind was steady throughout the day. Posted on 19 Aug 2023
Helly Hansen Chester Race Week day 2
Under epic conditions, crews saw plenty of close finishes and steady wind The second day of Helly Hansen Chester Race delivered on both weather and competition. Under epic conditions, crews saw plenty of close finishes and steady wind under largely sunny skies. Posted on 18 Aug 2023
Maritimo 2023 S600 FOOTERTrinidad and Tobago - Sail Service Stay