Registration opens for Ronstan Bridge to Bridge at St. Francis Yacht Club
by St. Francis Yacht Club 18 Jun 18:52 BST
August 22, 2026
Ronstan Bridge to Bridge © St. Francis Yacht Club
How fast can you get from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Bay Bridge, racing across San Francisco Bay in your watercraft of choice in full-send downwind conditions?
This is the premise of Ronstan Bridge to Bridge, an annual race hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club and scheduled for August 22, 2026. First run in 1998, the event was conceived to settle a friendly bet between windsurfers and skiff sailors over which watercraft could get from one bridge to the other the fastest. The inaugural race was won by Olympic sailors Jonathan and Charlie McKee on a 49er skiff with a time of 27 minutes and 18 seconds.
Since then, it's been contested in everything from a Formula 40 catamaran to a Mod 70 trimaran, early generation kiteboards and foiling windsurfers, and even a hydropter.
"It's 'bring what you got'," says Mike Martin, StFYC's chair of the event and a frequent competitor who won it in 2008 racing an 18ft skiff with Howard Hamlin and Paul Allen. Over the years, the feat has been tackled by sailors using the latest in board sports technology, with several wins clocked by world champion Johnny Heineken on kiteboards and hydrofoil kites as the sport evolved. The current race record is nine minutes, set by Markus Edegran in 2024, who was fresh off his Olympic campaign in the Formula Foil Kite.
This year's race will be held on Saturday, August 22, allowing for weekend travel and with an earlier start than in the past, during peak wind and during a flood tide.
"Conditions are prime for the record to be broken," adds Martin.
Register Now
All kiteboards, wingfoilers, parawingfoilers and windsurfers are eligible to enter. Other vessels, such as Moths, Waszps and Mod 70s, may request permission to enter by emailing .
Ronstan has been a reliable title sponsor from the beginning and continues their support this year. The winner of the event will earn their name on the Bridge to Bridge Perpetual Trophy at StFYC.
Leading up to the Saturday event, foilers can tune up at StFYC's Thursday Night Foil Racing and Friday Night Foil Series, both of which are open to kiteboards, wingfoils and windsurfers.
"Come for three days of foil racing in what we expect to be epic conditions!" said Martin.