Racing Round-Up and More

Kiteboarding phenom and 2012 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Johnny Heineken won yesterday evening’s Ronstan Bridge to Bridge, foiling his board from the Golden Gate to the Bay Bridge. He finished in an amazing 12 minutes, taking 2 minutes off the course record. Johnny’s kiteboarding sister Erika was the first female, coming in eighth. Looming over the competition and finishing in fifth place was Tom Siebel’s MOD 70 Orion. The first Aussie 18 to finish was David McDiarmid on Yamaha, which is currently leading the Nespresso 18-ft Skiff International Regatta. "We sailed the whole race on starboard tack," said the Kiwi. "Off Alcatraz the call was for everybody else to jibe. We just kept going and got a shift." Mike Percey was the winning windsurfer.

The 18-footers conclude their series today, with three races starting at noon. See the host site, www.stfyc.com for more. And check out the video below of Heineken practicing off the Alameda Naval Air Station last week.

Long Beach YC hosts the second annual Patriot Regatta tomorrow, for teams from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. The military branches are provided with the same Long Beach Sailing Foundation 37-ft Catalinas used in the Congressional Cup. The public can watch from Belmont Pier in Long Beach.

The U.S. Singlehanded Championships, hosted by Manasquan River YC in Brielle, NJ, started yesterday and run through tomorrow. Last year’s runner-up, Hanne Weaver of Gig Harbor, WA, took an early lead in the women’s Byte CII division on day one. The men are sailing in Lasers.

Deneen Demourkas of Santa Barbara is among the 26 skippers from nine countries registered for the Melges 32 Worlds September 18-22 in Porto Rotondo, Sardinia, Italy. Deneen is the reigning three-time Farr 30 champion.

Sea Scavenger Conservancy’s final America’s Cup Healthy Ocean Project Shoreline Cleanup with Kaiser Permanente will be tomorrow morning, from 9:30 a.m.  to noon, at Islais Creek Park, which is near Third Street and Pier 90 in San Francisco’s India Basin neighborhood. Details, plus simultaneous cleanup events in Oakland, Montara, and Sacramento, can be found at seascavengerconservancy.eventbrite.com.

Spaulding Wooden Boat Center in Sausalito is hosting an open house tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free, and they’ll be giving free rides on Dixie, a wooden powerboat, with a docent from the Sausalito Historical Society onboard. They’ll also be dishing up hot dogs and giving tours of the center’s traditional working boatyard, including the restoration of the historic boat Freda, youth boatbuilding in action, plus the Arques School of Traditional Boatbuilding. See www.spauldingcenter.org.