Chief Judge
Rick Hatch, of Vancouver, is a World Sailing International Judge, a National Umpire, chair of the Sail Canada Racing Rules Committee and a member of the Sail Canada Appeals Committee.
Rick has been a Sail Canada-certified judge since 1987. Since 2004, he has judged and umpired at numerous international fleet racing, match racing and team racing events – in Australia, New Zealand, Russia, the USA and Canada. In addition to being a jury member for the 2019 Bacardi Cup and at Sail Melbourne 2018, since 2017 Rick’s major judging experience includes serving on International Juries for seven classes’ World Championships. He has also been a member of protest committees at two Sail Canada Youth National Championships, most memorably on St. Margarets Bay in 2011.
Rick is enthusiastically looking forward to returning to the Nova Scotia South Shore for this year’s Chester Race Week.
Principle Race Officer | PHRF-NS B Course
Luke is the Race Director at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron, a position he’s held since 2014. In that time, he ran innumerable races, including World, North American, and Canadian Championships, all while supporting the largest yacht club in Atlantic Canada.
Luke maintains a Regional Race Officer and Regional Judge certification with Sail Canada.
Race Officer | One Design Course
Paula is a Vice Commodore at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron and an active racer.
Paula has raced at or been on the Signal vessel for about 25 Chester Race Weeks and often volunteers as a race officer at CYC during the regular season.
Paula started as a timer with the Nova Scotia Match Racing Championships in the late 1990s and has been contributing to racing in Nova Scotia ever since, in just about every role. She has served as PRO and CRO at numerous youth and CICSA events. She has assisted at several national and world events, including the 2012 Laser Worlds, the 2022 North American and World Nacra, 49er, and 49erFX Championships.
Paula maintains a Regional Race Officer certification with Sail Canada.
Race Officer | PHRF-NS A Course
Tom started sailing Optimists in Toronto when he was 9 years old, attending a couple of World Championships in France and Portugal. He moved into Fireballs at Junior sailing, then International 14s, a 470, and a Tornado. His family boats were two 1930s vintage 8-metres, which he campaigned on Lake Ontario and Scandinavia, including four World Championships, winning two—with one at the helm.
Tom crewed on various IOR boats, starting on the foredeck and moving back to jib and main trim over the years. Highlights included the ’83 SORC and Admiral’s Cup, two Canada’s Cups, the NYYC Invitational and two years in Chicago events.
Tom began his race committee work in Bermuda in 2017 and received his IRO qualification in 2019. He has since managed races in Bermuda and Canada, including the 2022 49er/FX/Nacra Worlds in St. Margaret’s Bay and St. Maarten, as well as the UK and the US.
Race Officer
Trish Finlay grew up sailing in Bedford, where she raced both dinghies and keelboats. As a teenager, working with her mother, she helped start races and ran a mark boat for younger sailors.
In the mid-90s, she moved to Chester with her family, where she taught Junior Sailing at Chester Yacht Club and has worked as a race officer for Chester Race Week, Opti Jam, and various other regattas hosted at Chester Yacht Club for over ten years.
Race Officer | Bluenose Course
Peter van Muyden, from Alberta, is returning as the race officer for the Bluenose class.
As an International Race Officer with extensive international race management experience over the last 30 years, he will bring his knowledge of high-level races to the Bluenose racing circle.
Peter is a member of the World Sailing Race Management Sub Committee and has run three world championships in Nova Scotia during his race management career.
Race Officer | Classics Course
Pat is our Race Officer for the Classics Course. Pat was our On-Water Chair of Helly Hansen Chester Race Week from 2017 to 2023.
For more than 20 years, Pat Nelder has been one of the biggest promoters of sailing and boating in Atlantic Canada. Nelder, who served as the executive director of Boating Atlantic, formerly the Atlantic Marine Trades Association (AMTA), retired from that role in 2022.
Nelder says: “I think the best part of Race Week is all the energy of everyone coming to race. I think that’s so much fun. Whether you’re attending it or working it, it’s a super event!”
Scorer
David Borrowman grew up sailing dinghies at the Pointe-Claire Y.C. His keelboat sailing has mainly been cruising, with some racing experience crewing on Lake Ontario.
Since 1998, he has volunteered on the Results Crew at CORK, including helping to write the Scoring Manual.
After moving to Chester, he scored Opti Jam in ‘18 and ’19 and CRW in ‘18, missing 2019 while scoring during Laser 4.7 Youth Worlds at CORK.