According to Scott Spurlin, J/Dealer in Texas, “The J/Sailors in Texas needed this event! The enthusiasm to get out on the water was over the top! On Friday, the rain was coming down and the gusts were in the 40s, and people still trailered their boats in. We delayed the start on Saturday to give them time to set up and launch. Then we had a full weekend of racing.” The J/Fest Southwest Regatta celebrated its 11th anniversary with over 70 boats. The huge J/22 fleet was extremely competitive, and the battle at the top of the leaderboard went all weekend long. The top five were only separated by six points, and the showdown for the podium was not determined until the final leg of the final race. Starting off with a 1-2, Larry Wise’s crew on LET THE WOOKIE WIN faltered in the next four races, chalking up a 12-6-3-6 for a 30 points total. After surviving the onslaught from several National and World Champion crews in the J/22 Class, Wise’s team held their composure to win with 30 points—a 5th average, the highest winning average of the regatta. Casey Lambert’s crew on BLACKBURN MARINE RACING took the silver with a scoreline of 4-5-3-7-4-9 for 32 points. Rounding out the podium in a hard-earned bronze medal was Mark Foster’s PRESSURE DROP, posting a 10-3-1-4-5-10 for 33 points. The balance of the top five included Jim Freedman’s MISS CONDUCT and Tom Meeh’s MEEHEM in fourth and fifth, respectively. For more J/Fest Southwest information, visit https://www.jfestsouthwest.com/.