Chester Race Week sees most competitors in a decade

Mahone Bay, N.S., had 125 boats spread out across the water to compete in a number of race courses for the annual Chester Race Week. 

The competition was stiff as organizers of the event said this year’s race week saw the most competitors in a decade.

“There are some boats that are not here this year but they’ve been replaced by new boats and new skippers that we’ve never seen before. That’s always very exciting,” said Pat Nelder, race officer for the Chester Race Week.

Sailors and crew came from across North America and beyond.

Nedler said the weather did not cooperate throughout most of the week. Between gloomy skies, lack of wind and heavy rain, there were changes to the race and participation.

“Some of the races got cut short. We got half of our competitors of our classics course. The other half opted to stay home. The conditions were relatively dreadful.”

Many of the boats are built outside of Canada, however, at least 33 are Maritime made.

“This year the biggest fleet – the Bluenose fleet, majority of those boats are here and some of them are very old,” said Nedler.

The annual race brings a lot of tourism to the Chester-area. Locals in the area say businesses always see a boost around this time.

“They all say their race week returns are a lot better than any time in the year. The restaurants [and] the gift shops they all have an uptick in business,” Tim Harris, Chester resident and volunteer for the race week.

Harris, who’s lived in Chester for most of his life, said while this tradition continues, the atmosphere has changed.

“We’ve got an aging sailing fleet. There are younger racers coming along but not quite as many as there used to be and in the evenings the streets are a little quieter,” said Harris.

He said residents of the area are happy with this change.

Despite the welcoming change, Harris said seeing the next wave of sailors would be great, but the problem with that is the costs associated with participating in the sport.

“The cost of big boats is not cheap anymore but you will find the Bluenose fleet, which 23 foot is quite affordable now, which is why this year we saw 33 boats in line.”

Harris said that the junior sailing programs across the maritime are key ways to bring in the next wave of sailors.

In a long standing tradition of more than a 100 years, the Chester Race Week is wrapping up its final race day.

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