J/Fest West & J/24 Westerns Deliver Great Racing in Ventura

(Ventura, CA)- Last weekend, the Ventura Yacht Club held the 2026 edition of the J/Fest West and the J/24 Westerns off Ventura, CA. A competitive fleet of fifteen J/70S and seven J/24S participated in the regatta. For most of the J/70s, it was a good warm-up for the upcoming J/70 USA Nationals in July being sailed in Santa Barbara, CA.

J/70 Class
This fifteen-boat fleet saw Ryan Cox’s DJ team of Mike Uznis, Stanton Smith, and RD Burley win five of the seven races to handily win the regatta with just 7 pts net. Taking second was Jeff Janov’s USA 538 with five seconds in his scoreline for 11 pts net. Rounding out the podium to take the bronze medal was Scott Deardorff’s CAKE with 17 pts net.

J/24 Class
Crowned as the 2026 J/24 Westerns Champion was Deke Klatt’s JADED from the home club- Ventura YC. With three 1sts and three 2nds in his scoreline for 9 pts net, his was not an easy win! Taking the silver medal was Jasper Van Vliet’s EVIL OCTOPUS with three 1sts, two 2nds, and a 3rd for just 10 pts net! Over the two days, it was pretty clear these two teams were “head & shoulders” above the rest of the fleet in terms of their tactics, boat speed, and boat handling. Rounding out the podium to take third was Carl Sheath’s GHOST OF THE TUNDRA ROSE from Seattle, WA with 17 pts net.

For more J/Fest West and J/24 Westerns sailing information
https://theclubspot.com/regatta/hDLosTKBym