Please select your home edition
Edition
Henri-Lloyd Dynamic Range

20th Annual Ronstan Bridge to Bridge at St. Francis Yacht Club

by Amanda Witherell 10 Aug 2018 08:17 PDT 9 August 2018
20th Annual Ronstan Bridge to Bridge at St. Francis Yacht Club © St. Francis Yacht Club / Amanda Witherell

Just as the tide turned from ebb to flood, 26 hydrofoil kites, 23 5o5s and eight windsurfers queued up for the 20th running of the Ronstan Bridge to Bridge, hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club on August 9, 2018.

A downwind distance race from Golden Gate Bridge to the west span of the Bay Bridge, with a steady 20 knots of breeze at the start and a flood tide, spectators were hoping to see kiter Johnny Heineken crack the 11-minute mark or better for a new course record. Unfortunately, he didn't quite hit those milestones, but he did nab his sixth first-place finish and stands out for the most wins in the race's 20-year history.

"It was definitely my fastest time ever down to the bridge," said Heineken, who finished the course in 11:04, followed by Gabriel Wicke, then Joey Pasquali. Sailing a size 13 "was too much kite for the beginning of the race but that's how it has to be for this race," he added.

The bigger kite powered him through the light air at the bottom of the course that stymied most of the other competitors. Only seven kiters, five windsurfers and 12 of the 5o5s finished – a normal outcome for this tricky course that runs from the nuclear narrows of the bay's entrance around the corner into the wind shadow of San Francisco's eastern coast.

Among the windsurfers, Chris Radkowski won the day in 22:02, edging out Xavier Ferlet by ten seconds. Jean Rathle crossed the line third. Michael Menninger and Reeve Dunn were first over for the 5o5 fleet, with a time of 25:08.

"We started out away from everybody and keyed into a nice puff," recounted Dunn. "Michael did a great job keeping on the pressure and I just held on."

Menninger and Dunn also had a good first day in the first three races of the 5o5 North American Championship, which started earlier in the afternoon. Standing at second overall, they were awarded the Ronstan Top Performer of the Day. Mike Martin and Adam Lowry nabbed two bullets for first overall and Craig Thompson and Matthew Woodworth are holding strong at third.

Buoy racing continues tomorrow through Sunday and with seven World Champions on the course, the 5o5 North American Championship remains anyone's game.

Related Articles

Casa Vela Cup 2025 at St Francis Yacht Club overal
Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink Normandy team claimed a decisive victory French match racing skipper Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink Normandy team claimed a decisive victory on Saturday at the 2025 Casa Vela Cup, held in the iconic waters of San Francisco Bay and hosted by the St.Francis Yacht Club. Posted on 1 Jun
Casa Vela Cup 2025 at St Francis Yacht Club Day 3
Pauline Courtois will meet Nicole Breault in the final Defending women's match racing world champion Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink Normandy Elite team from France will meet USA's Nicole Breault/ Vela Racing in the final of the 2025 Casa Vela Cup in San Francisco. Posted on 31 May
Casa Vela Cup 2025 at St Francis Yacht Club Day 2
Another flawless day for top-ranked French skipper Pauline Courtois and her team Another thrilling day of racing with top-ranked French skipper Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink Normandy Elite Team continuing their unbeaten streak with fifteen straight wins in the qualifying round robin stage, asserting a dominant lead. Posted on 30 May
Casa Vela Cup 2025 at St Francis Yacht Club Day 1
San Francisco turns it on for opening day of Women's Match Racing The opening day of the Casa Vela Cup 2025 hosted by the St Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco kicked off the 2025 Women's World Match Racing Tour in spectacular fashion with ten of the world's top all-female match racing teams Posted on 29 May
StFYC repeats as Women's 2v2 Team Race Champs
Being the captain for competitive adult team sport is often a thankless task Being the captain for competitive adult team sport is often a thankless task involving a lot of emails, texts and phone calls to coordinate a group of busy people with multiple conflicting priorities. Posted on 19 May
Excellent condition at Sailing League Championship
Ethan Doyle and San Francisco Yacht Club Team qualify for finals in Kiel, Germany St. Francis YC hosted the second year of the US Sailing League West Coast Championship, an offshoot of the SAILING Champions League, an international high-level club vs. club fleet racing circuit that's been held in Europe and Australia since 2014. Posted on 6 May
Gorgeous sunny Spring Fest on San Francisco Bay
OIne-design fleets of J/24s, J/88s, and J/105s go racing The battle-hardened, hard-core sailors of San Francisco Bay, accustomed to the worst their Bay can dish out, were pleasantly surprised to contend with a very sybaritic weekend of sunny weather and light to moderate wind conditions! Posted on 21 Apr
2025 US Wingfoil Championship registration open
The National Championship set to take place at St. Francis Yacht Club St. Francis Yacht Club and US Sailing have opened registration for the second annual US Wingfoil Championship, to be held in San Francisco, California, June 20-22, 2025. Posted on 14 Apr
Nicole Breault wins California Dreamin' Series
LBYC's Shane Young wins overall series for invitation to 2026 Ficker Cup Long Beach Yacht Club Commodore Lisa Meier awarded the Barney Flam Perpetual Trophy on Sunday to Nicole Breault from the St. Francis Yacht Club for her first-place finish in LBYC's final stop of the 2025 California Dreamin' Series. Posted on 9 Apr
Registration open for 2025 Rolex Big Boat Series
This legendary regatta rewards the best in West Coast racing The Notice of Race is posted and registration is open for the 61st edition of Rolex Big Boat Series, hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club. Posted on 27 Feb
PredictWind - GO! exec 728x90 BOTTOMRS Sailing 2021 - FOOTERMaritimo M50