BRING IT IF YA GOT IT

The 18ft Skiff International Regatta saw 15 teams last week test the waters

of San Francisco Bay for this 10th annual event hosted by the St. Francis

Yacht Club. Americans Howie Hamlin/ Matt Noble/ Paul Allen sailing CST

Composites outlasted the strong contingent from Australia and New Zealand

to win their sixth title.

The 10 race series consists of nine windward-leeward races extending from

the Golden Gate Bridge and beyond Alcatraz Island, but the hallmark race is

the Ronstan Bridge to Bridge Race – an open contest to determine the

fastest craft on the bay.

With Kiteboards, Windsurfers, Aussie 18 Skiffs, a 49er and even a Weta

Trimaran on the line, the Ronstan B2B is a bring it if ya got it affair.

And this year kiteboarder Bryan Lake brought it all, and then some, as the

kiteboards revenged last year’s loss to the skiffs.

The Ronstan Bridge to Bridge (B2B) is an all out dash between San Francisco

Bay’s two iconic bridges. With the fleet starting just outside the Golden

Gate Bridge the starting gun sends the racers on a mark-less sprint to the

Bay Bridge finish line some 8 miles straight downwind.

As the fleet readied to start it was a dark and dank scene with fog

completely consuming the Golden Gate Bridge. The upside to the bone

chilling cold of the fog was the solid 20 knot breeze it was fueling. With

a big 3 knot flood tide moving the same direction as the wind all the

ingredients were set to threaten Windsurfer Micah Buzianis 16 minute course

record.

As the gun sounded it was Formula Windsurfer Mike Percey and Kiteboarder

Bryan Lake nailing the start and surging out to an early lead. Lake was

pushing his Cabrinha Kite deep and fast and was able to sail the middle of

the course staying with the stronger winds and faster moving current.

Percey took a higher line to the San Francisco city front in a move that

would allow Lake to slip away. The 18 ft skiffs started in tight bunch of

boats and used their superior angle to drive a deeper line pushing,

literally, some of the boards out of the way.

Anyone who enters this race knows the risk they are taking and this year’s

regatta set up some all too close calls that served as stark reminders of

the risks at hand. While both Kites and Windsurfers can literally stop and

spin on a dime, but not so for the lit up spinnaker flying 25 knot skiff

boat.

Windsurfers Steve Sylvester and Jean Rathle got a firsthand taste of the

potential risk with Sylvester leaving a bit of blood on the course to show

for it. Just after the start one of the skiffs was driving down deep on to

the two windsurfers and just as the wind gusted up the skiff rolled to

leeward with its rack literally hitting Sylvester on the head and then

raking his hand and drawing blood.

Somehow Sylvester managed to remain upright but not so for Rathle who after

coming in the lee of the rampaging skiff thought the better for it and

decided a quick swim was better than a potential impaling. — Read on:

http://tinyurl.com/Pressure-Drop-082811

18ft Skiff International Regatta daily reports/results: