The 35th Annual Delta Ditch Run Set for Saturday

The Delta Ditch Run (DDR), co-hosted by Richmond Yacht Club and Stockton Sailing Club, is another of the Bay Area’s signature events that has elements of the Three Bridge Fiasco, an obstacle course and a marathon. 2026 is the 35th annual running of this downwind, upstream, 65-mile ride from the cool Bay to the inland heat of Stockton. The race starts in the morning with a favorable flood to help carry racers from the Bay to the Delta. The cruising division starts at 8:25 in the morning and the racing divisions kick off at 10:25 (read the race instructions). There’s still time to enter this typically downwind, Bay Area drag race. There were already 99 boats signed up when we last counted!

The typically dominant class in this regatta is the currently 25-strong Moore 24 fleet. (It’s a great opportunity for them to dial up their program in anticipation of the 50th Moore 24 National Championship in September. Race organizers expect upwards of 50 boats for this celebration, which is being held in Santa Cruz, birthplace of all 158 Moores ever built.) Many Moores have raced doublehanded to Hawaii, and Webb Chiles famously completed a solo circumnavigation aboard one. The 24-footers are often the Delta Ditch Run’s overall monohull winners, even recently, despite the design’s being over 40 years old.

In the 2016 DDR, Bart Hackworth’s Gruntled topped the 22-boat Moore 24 fleet and corrected out to first monohull overall. He did it again in 2021. In 2019, the top four boats overall were all Moore 24s. Pete Spaulding and Daniel Roberts sailed Flying Circus to the overall win. In 2025, it was Melinda Erkelens who won the Moore 24 division aboard Flying Circus, while a Melges 24, Rufless, was the overall winner. With 25 boats in the Moore 24 peloton, there are lots of nearby competitors to push you to stay at the top of your game. Smaller fleets don’t benefit from the close rivalry of the Moores, but may also find clearer air.

For racers pushing their boat to the max, the winding curves of the river and sudden wind shifts during this race create numerous opportunities to get overpowered or find yourself on a tight reach with the wrong kite up and little room to maneuver. Last year’s event featured three skippers overboard as round-downs, round-ups and a broken tiller extension took their toll.

While the racing division can be intense, the Ditch Run’s cruising division often enjoys a much more relaxed pace while settling into the cruise-in-company nature of this portion of the event. Cruisers join in because June kicks off their Delta summer cruising, and the favorable current is a great opportunity to get your boat to the Delta for summer explorations. It’s also interesting for cruisers, leaning into comfort and control, to watch the dialed-up racers that started two hours behind play through the course with their boats on edge. Plus, the DDR rounds off with a party at the Stockton Sailing Club.

The 35th annual Delta Ditch Run promises challenge, fun, competition, and the struggle to get your boat to the top of the fleet. Among the 99 boats already signed up are 11 cruisers and 11 multihulls. And there’s still time for others to join.

The long-range forecast calls for an adventurous race, whatever the weather. You can sign up here.