Leccese sets new Ronstan Bridge to Bridge course record

by Meredith Laitos on 27 Aug 2016 They say records are made to be broken, and for kiters on San Francisco Bay, that continues to be true. On Thursday, August 25, in 18 knots of breeze and a ripping 2.5-knot flood tide, Italian foil boarder Rikki Leccese set a new Ronstan Bridge to Bridge record of 10:31, shattering Johnny Heineken’s existing 12:00 record. Leccese’s average speed was 33 knots over the 5.8-nautical-mile racecourse.

Thirty-seven adrenalin-fueled craft participated in the 19th running of the Ronstan Bridge to Bridge, which traverses San Francisco Bay from west of the Golden Gate Bridge to the Bay Bridge. The fleet included foiling kiteboards, windsurfers, the Mod 70 Orion and the Marstrom 32 Miller Racing. Conspicuously missing were the 18-foot skiffs that couldn’t make this year’s race due to a schedule conflict.

Conditions were excellent for the downwind rip. A southwesterly breeze, flat water and a favorable flood tide allowed racers to push their crafts hard down the entire racecourse. A fleet of kiters took the lead early and held it for the entire race.

“The foiling kiteboards continue to dominate the Ronstan Bridge to Bridge with highly refined hydrofoils and high-aspect race kites,” said event organizer Alan Prussia of Ronstan International. Of the top ten finishers, nine were foiling kiteboards and one was Tom Siebel’s Mod 70 trimaran, Orion, which finished sixth with an elapsed time of 11:55, also breaking the existing record.

“This is always an impressive race on the Bay,” said St. Francis Yacht Club Race Director Lynn Lynch. “This year’s race was particularly impressive, with a 70-foot trimaran battling a fleet of kiters, all crossing the Bay in less than fifteen minutes.”