Cake or Death and the Karma Police

Cake or Death's nice new graphics.

I got a comment on my last post (see below) from Kyle Roethle on the San Juan 24 Cake or Death, which finished second behind Full Moon in the Rum Run. Kyle's blog is http://actionyachting.blogspot.com, which I'm enjoying reading and will now follow regularly. Kyle also directed me to a posting on Pressure Drop (http://www.pressure-drop.us/forums/content.php?3068-The-Real-McCoy!&s=cfaa0c5ae3e0d585cd3b0a3bc2987057). It seems the Karma Police were watching over Tipsy Gypsy after their smooth move at the Locks - they sailed into and were briefly caught in a fishing net!

Oops, We Did It Again...

Daniel stays warm and dry.

The 2012 Rum Run was déjà vu all over again, apart from the gray skies and a few light sprinkles. It started with Tipsy Gypsy cutting in front of everybody to be first out of the Locks on the way to Shilshole, just like last year. To put it politely, somebody has an extremely inflated sense of self-importance!

Regardless, Full Moon still had time for a (very) quick pit stop at the Shilshole marina before heading out to the starting line. With even more “fast” racers showing up than is usual on the lake, Full Moon requested to go in third start rather than square off against 29-33 foot J-boats, 37-40’ cruising boats, etc. Sometimes size does matter and Full Moon is not quite 25 feet long.

Tammy has time to update Facebook!

Full Moon crew Tammy “Yee-hah!” Cross, J “Coffee Geyser” Irons, Daniel “Tunes” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Wrong Course?” Mengedoht maneuvered for a port tack start but couldn’t find a big enough gap. Having to tack and then tack back to port didn’t make for a great start but Full Moon settled into a fast groove and managed to catch the lead boats within a few hundred yards. Amazingly, Full Moon then managed to lay the West Point buoy in a straight shot while putting a sizeable lead on the third start fleet and passing a number of second start boats including Runner, Poco Mas (T-bird), Fortis, and Zephyr!

J looks feisty as he eyes the competition.

After rounding the buoy, the mighty Equalizer was launched but with a big twist about a third from the bottom. Once the jib was down, J quickly freed the twist and Full Moon took off for Meadow Point on a very fast beam reach, rarely dropping below 7 knots. Full Moon managed to pass even more second start boats, dropped the Equalizer a shade early to make sure the crew could wrestle the nylon monster back aboard (it only got a little wet…), and was quickly around the Meadow Point buoy and off on a close reach toward the finish at Port Madison.

The first and second start boats had an extra leg back to West Point before heading to the finish. As Full Moon flew westward across the Sound, though, none of the boats behind appeared to be following. Had the Race Committee changed the course for third start? Surely we hadn’t passed that many second starters? After many agonizing minutes, it was finally clear that at least one boat had jibed a spinnaker around the buoy and was following us. Full Moon was so far in the lead, though, that we needed binoculars to clearly see the second place boat!

Those little white dots back there are the competition!

Approaching Bainbridge Island and trying to spot the Committee Boat, Full Moon’s eagle-eyed crew spotted a fishing boat instead, with a long string of nets right in our path. A big jog to the south upwind avoided catastrophe, though the fishermen appeared to be a little nervous about it. Those little white floats are truly hard to see and we hope nobody else got caught in the nets.

The Race Committee seemed a little surprised to see us so soon at the finish but recognized we’d been in third start and tooted the horn for first place and the Gold Duck. It always feels great to win, of course, but the margin of victory was kind of embarrassing, especially since we also passed so many second start boats. Third start was a reasonable decision, given some of the exceptional boats allowed into second start, but the Race Committee really needs to change the mix to make second start fair competition. The range of speed potentials is just too wide.

Daniel secures the Gold Duck!

In any case, the post-race raft-up was the usual fun and the rum drinks were very tasty (not for Daniel, of course!). After a nice lunch and some socializing, it was time to head back across the Sound. The wind had built up to over 20 knots out of the south, which provided an entertaining ride under sail, especially coming off the waves. A relatively short time later, it was time to drop the sails and motor into the locks and then home to Lake Union. As always, a good time was had by all!

The latest addition to the Duck collection.

Grand Finale

Tammy, Judy, J, Randy (in the cabin), Daniel, Dave, Marcelle, and Cap'n John crowd aboard for the final Duck Dodge of summer as Michael takes the photo.

The final Duck Dodge of summer is always Martini Night aboard Full Moon with much more of a party atmosphere than serious racing, not that we didn’t try. With lounge lizard tunes emanating from the Jambox, Full Moon crew Randy “Shake n’ Bake” Olsen, Michael “Naked Duck” Medina, Marcelle “I’m In!” Lynde, Tammy “Statue of Liberty” Cross, Dave “I’ll Have Another” Pulsifer, Judy “Buoy Dancer” Tiffany, J “Wet Line” Irons, Daniel “Blue Shoes” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Persistence” Mengedoht managed a decent start, though both old rival Ignitor and new rival Zephyr were out ahead.

With many boats disturbing the moderate breeze, progress to the Freeway buoy felt slower than normal (even factoring in the extra large crew), though Full Moon more or less matched the pace of the Thunderbirds Predator (slightly ahead) and Selchie (slightly behind) and gained a bit on Zephyr. A late wind shift lifted Full Moon nicely to the buoy, saving a tack or two and allowing Full Moon to get by Zephyr.

The second leg past Gasworks brought Full Moon even with Predator and a little closer to Ignitor while Zephyr continued to fade. The mighty Equalizer was hoisted promptly at the Aurora buoy and the long running leg to the “AGC” buoy allowed Full Moon to put the T-birds behind for good while gaining some more on Ignitor and even nearly catching speedy Tenacious!

Tenacious jumped ahead again upwind to complete the first lap but Full Moon continued chipping away at Ignitor. Heading past Gasworks again, Full Moon delayed tacking to the north and enjoyed a nice bit of breeze just as it faded elsewhere and was then able to ride the wind patch nearly to the Aurora buoy where a group of boats sat nearly parked with next to no wind. Full Moon managed to dodge through the drifting cluster and carry momentum around the buoy for another nice launch of the Equalizer. Ignitor had been passed before the buoy but was close behind.

By this time it was dark and the wind continued to fade down the lake. Zephyr had skipped half of the Freeway-to-Aurora leg before turning south under spinnaker (did they think nobody would notice?) but then gave up entirely as the Race Committee began honking air horns to beckon boats for the big raft-up party. Full Moon and Ignitor, however, continued slowly drifting south with mostly collapsed spinnakers, determined to complete the full two laps.

Full Moon was clear ahead at the AGC buoy but only just. Ignitor was slow bringing down their spinnaker, though, and Full Moon pulled ahead upwind by about thirty yards. At this point, it was too dark to read the Windex atop the mast or even to see the telltails on the sails, not that they would have been flying much in the tiny breeze. Full Moon eventually tacked to clear some boats heading for the raft-up while Ignitor continued straight. This proved decisive as the wind filled in for Ignitor just as it faded out for Full Moon! In the end, Ignitor came cruising in toward the finish line on starboard tack and Full Moon was forced to tack out of their way, losing out by mere feet to our old rival. That’s how it goes sometimes and I’m sure it felt great on Ignitor to vanquish a foe which usually beats them.

Meanwhile, the martinis continued to flow and the great food was passed around the boat as Full Moon sailed around enjoying the final evening. It has been a great summer and Full Moon has done quite well, enjoying the victories in third start and beating many competitors in second start. For those interested in the numbers, Full Moon dominated in third start with four firsts, one second, one third, and one fourth out of seven races. In second start, Full Moon averaged tenth, unable to beat the variety of much faster boats (J33, J29, J80s, Olson 30, etc.) but able to more than hold her own against the Thunderbirds and J22s which are considered fairly even competition. Regardless, it was all great fun.

Full Moon will likely return to racing for the Duck Dodge Rum Run out on the Sound on November 3 and will then rest a bit before joining the Goosebump fleet in January. Brrrrr….

Schadenfreude

The mighty Mast Men, Daniel and Michael (with horns).

Daniel and Marcelle enjoying some end-of-summer sun.

Robert also enjoys a golden glow from the setting sun.

An inflatable turned into a giant loon proved hugely entertaining to watch.

Full Moon crew Michael “Danger” Medina, Marcelle “No Dip” Lynde, Robert “Simpler Times” Leykam, Daniel “T-1000” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Maestro” Mengedoht set up fairly well for a port tack start near the “pin” end of the starting line last evening but were foiled at the last second by another boat tacking just in front. Thus “Dirty Downtown Abby Night” began for Full Moon with a lot of “dirty air” from the many boats ahead. This condition remained for most of the first leg to the “Freeway” buoy, the boat feeling painfully slow. Worse, new rival Zephyr was slightly in front! Full Moon had a better buoy rounding, however, and managed to pull out ahead and then force Zephyr to tack away to get out of Full Moon’s wind shadow.

This set up a see-saw battle that was to continue throughout the two lap race, though Zephyr apparently felt the need to cheat to get ahead, completely failing to round the “Aurora” buoy on the first lap! Full Moon pulled closer under the mighty Equalizer on the first downwind leg and then it was back to a tacking duel upwind to start the second lap.

Full Moon had regained the lead to round the Freeway buoy the second time around but the spinnaker halyard had hung up on the steaming light on the front of the mast, in turn fouling the jib when Full Moon tacked to head for the Aurora buoy. This allowed Zephyr back in front, though not by a lot. Full Moon rounded the Aurora buoy right on Zephyr’s stern and soon gained an overlap to leeward under spinnaker. Full Moon could not pull ahead without running through Zephyr’s wind shadow but was content to set up for an inside overlap at the final “AGC” buoy, both boats managing to pass a few others on the long reach/run. A few hundred yards from the buoy, Zephyr’s skipper yelled out “Mine’s bigger!” no doubt referencing either his spinnaker or his boat (both are, in fact, bigger). Full Moon’s response: “Mine’s faster!”

Sure enough, Full Moon had the inside position at the buoy, made good job of dropping the giant spinnaker, and rounded clear ahead and pulling away. Zephyr was then solidly stuck behind Full Moon all the way to the finish. With all the close racing and increasingly wide variety of second start boats, we could not tell for sure what position this was but estimate somewhere about twelfth; quite good given the relatively poor start and what was essentially a match race with Zephyr! Full Moon also beat occasional rival Runner, which was, amazingly, about half a lap back.

It gets dark way too early these days, a reminder that the final Duck Dodge (not counting the November 3 Rum Run) is next week. This is always Martini Night aboard Full Moon, with an especially large crew to celebrate the end of the season. Cheers!

Big Shrimp!

The Ducktoberfest Duck Dodge began with an October-gray sky and a decent, if very shifty, northerly breeze. Full Moon crew Randy “Keep Pulling” Olsen, Judy “Whoops” Tiffany, Dave “More?” Pulsifer, Daniel “Trapped” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Yes or No” Mengedoht enjoyed a good start, right behind the Ranger 26 Runner. Approaching the Freeway buoy, Full Moon was still close to Runner and just ahead of speedy Scat. Unfortunately, new-rival Zephyr took advantage of a wind shift to pull ahead at the buoy.

Full Moon took a slightly higher line on the close reach to the Aurora buoy and pulled steadily ahead of Zephyr, leaving her behind for good and also getting ahead of Runner. The wind faded and shifted a bit near the buoy, causing Full Moon and several other boats to put in a couple of late tacks. Once around, the mighty Equalizer was quickly hoisted and Full Moon began to pull ahead of other boats. The course became nearly dead downwind and savvy Runner began a series of jibes, sailing more distance but at a faster pace. This allowed them to catch up right at the AGC buoy. However, they had troubles rounding and Full Moon popped right back ahead!

Unfortunately, Full Moon then had her own troubles with a couple of tacks and Runner regained the lead once more. Positions held steady for much of the second lap until disaster struck with the takedown of the giant Equalizer, which ended up mostly in the water. The retrieval process and cleanup after rounding the final buoy allowed the Buchan 37 Distance to get by, though with the increasing wind favoring the bigger boat, Distance would likely have gotten by anyway. In the end, Full Moon was once again tenth, proving we are, if nothing else, fairly consistent. Still, all of the Thunderbirds and J22s were behind and all the boats ahead except Runner rated faster, so Full Moon actually did quite well. Meanwhile, the German beers were ice cold and delicious!

Jammie Time

The sun dips down too early these days but it sure was nice out there!
Art Teller photos

The Pajama Night Duck Dodge served up sunny skies and a nice warm breeze from the north to encourage lightweight sleepwear but it appears most of Seattle sleeps in teeshirts and shorts. Full Moon crew Art “Bandaid” Teller, Katie “Pale Ale” Freels, Don “Porter” Caffrey, Chuck “Black Butte” Weldy, Daniel “Coke Control” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Corona” Mengedoht were similarly attired apart from the skipper’s sexy nightshirt.

With the first leg set up to the “Freeway” buoy, the starting line favored the right side but a port tack start on the left looked like a straight shot to the buoy with no tacks. Full Moon went for the port tack approach rather than risk being sandwiched in the starboard tackers and unable to tack out. This worked to plan, once free of a few others with the same idea, though the boats that nailed the start on the right still had a small lead.

Approaching the Freeway buoy, Full Moon was in good company with Scat just ahead, the Santana 20 Sushi (moved up from 3^rd start this week) just to port with an inside overlap, and Runner not far behind. Fortunately, new rival Zephyr was farther back and would remain quite far behind for the remainder of the race. After rounding the buoy, Full Moon continued to hold off Runner while crossing tacks with Scat. Sushi stayed just ahead, though, and Full Moon would need to work hard to beat her ex-third-start rival.

The mighty Equalizer went up quickly for the downwind leg and Full Moon passed a boat or two but also got passed by the relative giant (36’) Mata Hari. The second lap continued much the same way until the second spinnaker run where Full Moon finally overtook Sushi for good, picked off a J22, and nearly caught both a blue Thunderbird and the J29 Salsa. Salsa should have been much farther ahead at this point (they rate much faster and have at least two second-start gold ducks this year) so Full Moon was sailing well!

After rounding the AGC buoy to head for the finish, Full Moon initially suffered in bad wind from boats ahead (this is what happens when you nearly catch bigger boats!) but held off Sushi to officially place tenth, an excellent finish in a large fleet full of fast boats. 

Cool Runnings

"Shades" and "Fleece" are having a great time!

The Hat is very stylish, no?

The Shirt works to keep Zephyr from getting by to windward.

After a weekend of record-breaking heat, Tropical Night was, unfortunately, cloudy and maybe 70 degrees at best. Of course, this didn’t stop Duck Dodgers from donning tropical attire and enjoying the free beer dispensed from the 48 Degrees North “island.” Full Moon crew Randy “The Hat” Olsen, Art “The Plaid” Teller, Ian “The Fleece” Mengedoht, Daniel “The Shades” Mengedoht, and skipper John “The Shirt” Mengedoht lined up near the heavily favored Westlake end of the starting line but got stuck in the traffic jam, resulting in a relatively poor start.

The first lap went quite well with four beer cups scored at the floating island, a speedy spinnaker run, and the passing of a number of competitors, including all of our old rival boats (Shogun, Ignitor, and Fortis). Heading for the beer island on the second time around, Full Moon was right on the transom of the San Juan 28 Zephyr. After buzzing the island but coming up dry (they ran out!), Full Moon did a quick jibe and came out a bit ahead of Zephyr with a brief delay launching the Equalizer to sort a twisted spinnaker pole. For some reason, Zephyr then seemed determined to harass Full Moon, violating a rule or two in the process, and, at one point, draping most of their spinnaker over Full Moon’s rigging! Zephyr did manage to pull back out in front, though they certainly didn’t make any friends on Full Moon.

As if that wasn’t quite enough, the Ranger 26 Runner established a late inside overlap at the end of the run and began screaming for room at the buoy. Since the overlap not achieved until way too late (the current racing rule is three boatlengths out), they were not entitled to room and Full Moon squeezed them out. This, after all, is racing and Full Moon was abiding by the rules. It was disconcerting, however, to have two conflicts with boats in a relatively short time. Is Full Moon so good that we are now a target? Nah, we've never been that good!

In the end, Full Moon finished about tenth. It appeared that all Thunderbirds and all J24s were behind us, too, which is always nice. Next up: Pajama Night!

Breeze On!

Full Moon crew Art “Busy Boy” Teller, Chuck “Tattered Hat” Weldy, J “Jersey” Irons, Daniel “Leverage” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Speedy” Mengedoht encountered sunny skies but also white caps and a strong gusty northerly for the Toga Night Duck Dodge. This precipitated the unusual step of setting up the No. 3 (100%) jib as well as the standard spinnaker instead of No. 1 genoa and the mighty Equalizer.

With the breeze and crowded starting area, Full Moon opted for a starboard tack start, hoping to cross about half way down the line. Unfortunately, two much larger boats were able to get to windward near the Committee Boat, killing our speed. The result wasn’t great and Full Moon crossed the line about mid-pack. Still, the boat was well balanced with the small jib and progress was rapid on the first leg to the Aurora buoy.

The spinnaker went up quickly for the downwind run and Full Moon was soon engaged in a battle with one of the Buchan 37s. The Buchan eventually pulled ahead but Full Moon got past a few other boats and ended up close behind the J-80 Crazy Ivan before rounding the AGC buoy. Amazingly, Full Moon got by Runner just after the buoy and, even more amazingly, passed Crazy Ivan upwind on the long leg to the Freeway buoy!

On the second lap, Crazy Ivan managed to get back in front under spinnaker but Full Moon kept hammering away at other boats and it appears we passed or stayed ahead of all the Thunderbirds, which is always nice. At the downwind finish, Full Moon was officially eighth, a great accomplishment on an evening that should have favored the bigger boats.

Unfortunately, Full Moon will miss the July 31 Duck Dodge as her skipper has a business trip but she'll be back to enjoy Tropical Night on August 7.

San Juan Islands Adventure

Full Moon headed north on July 11 for some cruising in the fabulous San Juan Islands. Skipper John was joined by sons Ian and Daniel - wife Vickie wasn't quite up for camping style cruising!

Day One: Under way on Lake Union a bit after 9 AM, got the Fremont Bridge to open after a short wait, then out through the locks and into the fog. The ancient handheld Garmin GPS is wonderful but it isn't radar so things are a bit scary. Strong wind on the nose (still with fog!) after Point No Point, chose the Port Townsend Canal rather than bash into it on the outside. Sunny and clear from the Canal into Port Townsend and the Point Hudson Marina. Hit the used book store (William James Bookseller) closing next April - somebody please buy this shop!!!) then great burgers for dinner at Nifty Fifty's.

Ian takes his usual spot on the bow at the Locks.

Daniel is excited by the scenery in Port Townsend.

Day Two: Showers and a great breakfast (as always) at the Hudson Point Cafe, then under way across the Straits in still more fog. Daniel suffers from some mal de mer but retains breakfast. Things clear a little for Cattle Pass and the San Juan Channel. Handheld VHF is dead coming in to Friday Harbor so try to stop at the Harbormaster booth for a slip assignment - but it takes two tries! What is going on? It seems the trusty Yamaha 8 is stuck in forward gear! We get a slip at the end of the dock and coast in. It turns out a bolt has come adrift holding the shift linkage in place. 5 minutes poking around and a 10 mm socket and we have neutral and reverse once more. (Good thing Dad is mechanically minded...) Time for ice cream and a walk around town, then a really great dinner at The Place right on the waterfront.

Day Three: Showers (five quarters for five minutes) and a good breakfast at the Blue Water Bar & Grill, then we're off for Reid Harbor at Stuart Island. The mooring buoys are all occupied so we drop the hook. The propane barbeque produces some tasty burgers and dogs. Then it is time to get buttoned up for the lightning show as strikes hit on every side but to the west.

Sentinel Island, south of Speiden Island on the way to Stuart Island. Got all that?

A little Trouble in Reid Harbor - while the weather is still behaving.

 Day Four: Eggs on the one-burner alcohol stove and we head north for Shallow Bay at Sucia Island. Once again, the mooring buoys are all occupied - and two are out of service - so we drop the hook in a good spot and set it well. (This bay isn't exactly huge and it is, indeed, shallow.) We pump up the "dinghy" and Daniel and I row to shore to check out the beach and rock formations. Dinner is burgers and dogs again but everybody seems pretty happy with that. Must be the sea air or just a boat full of boys? It gets very windy during the night.

Daniel applies sunscreen in his unique way as we head to Sucia Island.

Beautiful Shallow Bay at Sucia Island.

Day Five: We wake up to very strong wind (20 to 30 knots) and cloudy skies - and the anchor actually dragged about 50 feet! No harm done - we're still well clear of shore and other boats - but that hasn't happened before. Pulling up the hook, it is covered in a big blob of grass, so it must not have been able to dig down through into something more solid. Skipper John dons some foul weather gear and we bash south to the north side of Jones Island for some shelter and some breakfast in the rain. Time for some civilization and showers - we head to Roche Harbor!

Ian and Daniel prepare to play Bocce Ball in Roche Harbor.

Sure, it's a mess, but it's home, sweet home!

Day 6: Daniel votes for another dock at Deer Harbor but is over-ruled - we head for Lopez Sound. Spencer Spit is fully occupied so we check out Sylvan Cove at the north end of Decatur. This is all private property and private mooring buoys but we find there is room for one boat on an anchor in the middle with good holding and good shelter from the regular nighttime southerlies. The residents seem a bit surprised to have a visitor in "their" cove but we don't present any threat (we've anchored very carefully!) and are left alone. Dinner is spaghetti with meatballs and a side of vegetables - pretty amazing considering the one-burner stove!

Sunset from Sylvan Harbor.

Day 7: Back to Friday Harbor for our final night in the islands. We consider trying a different restaurant but return to The Place. Excellent dinner once again!

The boys chow down at The Place. Dad chose the grilled chicken with pasta, which was awesome!!!

Day 8: Tidal currents dictate an early departure so coffee and breakfast are grabbed from The Crow's Nest - which has great coffee drinks but not so great breakfast burritos, at least according to Ian's stomach. Moderate fog allows acceptable visibility. The San Juan Channel provides a nice ride with the current, then we're out into the Straits, past Smith Island and back to Port Townsend (mind you, this took a number of hours...). We hit the used book store again and buy even more books! (How did we miss these?) Dinner is just okay at the Public House Grill - I remember it being much better - but the beer is good! Perhaps we should have climbed the hill to Lanza's - I enjoyed it very much a number of years ago and it is still getting great reviews.

Day 9: Currents and opening times for the Fremont Bridge in Seattle (before 4 PM or after 6) suggest a Noon departure. Breakfast is excellent once more at the Hudson Point Cafe. You may note that I have not described a lot of sailing action thus far and this is because we either didn't have wind or had too much coming right on the nose - so we didn't sail. But that was about to change.

The main went up before we got to the tip of Marrowstone Island and the ancient "small" spinnaker went up shortly after. A good northerly and strong currents push us south very fast indeed - we see bursts over 8 knots on the instruments and well over 9 on the GPS (speed over ground). Just south of Marrowstone, we encounter a cruising Beneteau of about 35 feet flying a cruising chute. Time for a race? Full Moon shows her stuff and slowly pulls ahead.

Ian and Daniel find a friendly Corgi at the Port Hudson Marina.

The vintage 1978 spinnaker flies in the sun, heading south back to Seattle.

Daniel seems a bit glum to be back but he is secretly craving a Dick's Cheeseburger!

The spinnaker stays up nearly all the way to Shilshole. Good sailing at last! Then it is into the locks, under the bridges and back to good old Lake Union. Full Moon is home.

A Comment I Had to Publish

Any time somebody says "You're skilled sailors" it is sure to be posted and not just a comment! Thanks for the kind words. We'll likely stick with 2nd start through the rest of summer but it sure was fun winning some ducks!


As a 3rd start boat I want you and your crew to know we on Ana Maria (Blue hulled San Juan 24) enjoy racing against you and have no problems with you in 3rd start. You're skilled sailors that we have been observing and learning from, along with the Ranger 22's and Tuna 20's that are also tough competition. If you decide down the road to come back to 3rd start we would be the first to welcome you.

Summer's Here

Full Moon crew Art "Big Honker" Teller, Katie "Skirt" Freels, Dave "Surprised" Pulsifer, Judy "Little Bit Wet" Tiffany, Daniel "Cabin Master" Mengedoht, and skipper John "Big Load" Mengedoht finally decided to make the switch to second start for the Dead Celebrity Night Duck Dodge, no doubt much to the relief of the third start fleet. With a relatively strong breeze, things looked good for a start on port tack near the favored buoy end but it proved challenging to put into play as many starboard tack boats came down parallel to the line. Full Moon ended up with a decent start but not quite in the front row and then had to tack a few times for clear air in the massive second start group.
After battling with a couple of J24s, Full Moon reached the Aurora buoy and had a swift launch of the mighty Equalizer, though a jibe-set might have been a better move. Still, Full Moon made good progress under the nylon cloud for the long run to the AGC buoy.
By this time, the wind had lightened considerably but there was still enough to keep moving on the long 2 1/2 lap race. Full Moon gained a bit here and there but essentially held position and ultimately finished about tenth on a final downwind run. This is similar to previous efforts in second start but, considering the current makeup of the fleet, is actually pretty good. Meanwhile, it was a fabulous warm and sunny evening which no one could fail to enjoy.
There is no Duck Dodge next week and Full Moon will be taking time off to play in the San Juan Islands. More on that when we return...

Red, White and Blue

The Duck Dodge Race Committee cancelled the July 3 race due to the massive restricted zone planned for the fireworks barge. Full Moon will return to racing on the 10th for Dead Celebrity Night and then head north for some fun in the San Juans.

Disco Duck

Prom Queens 1 and A. Ian needs more bling.

Daniel can't normally get away with this.

Hiking hard on Cinc-O-Sink. These guys are fast!

Ian secures the Gold Duck from the Race Committee.

It was Prom Night on the lake and the mini mirror ball was spinning aboard Full Moon, though the wind was next to nonexistent at the start. Crew Michael “Señor” Medina, Tammy “Prom Queen 1” Cross, Marcelle “Prom Queen A” Lynde, Ian “Muppet-Man” Mengedoht, Daniel “Cabin Niño” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Captain Disco” Mengedoht patiently kept the boat moving until the wind began to fill in from the northwest. Fortunately, Full Moon was positioned fairly well for the new breeze with all of the third start fleet either behind or off to the east. This allowed Full Moon to take a solid lead while also passing a substantial number of second start boats, many of which had been essentially parked for their start.

Rounding the Freeway buoy, Full Moon headed toward Gasworks for clear air and then tacked to the west, passing a few more second start boats. The mighty Equalizer was prepped for launch and hoisted shortly after rounding the Aurora buoy. After passing even more second start boats, Full Moon was joined by our friends on the 505 dinghy Cinc-O-Sink for the rest of the long southbound leg.

With a clean drop of the spinnaker (way to go, Tammy!), Full Moon was off on the final upwind leg to the finish, still in the fine company of Cinc-O-Sink. Cinc-O-Sink took the horn for first place in fourth start and Full Moon the same for third start for yet another Gold Duck. Sushi (Santana 20) scored second place after a few minutes, followed shortly by True Blue (Ranger 22) for the bronze.

Duckless in Seattle

Doug captures the racing action from his usual perch.

Hot Tub Boats. What else do I need to say?

New instrument provides accurate depth, speed, and even water temperature!

Full Moon crew Randy “Conspiracy Theory” Olsen, Michael “Hot Tub Envy” Medina, Doug “Slippery Step” Schoemaker, Martha “Real Cheese” Schoemaker, Daniel “Righty Tighty” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Unaccountably Slow” Mengedoht hit the start right at the gun for the Coast Guard Night Duck Dodge, another excellent start. Heading upwind to the Freeway buoy, Full Moon felt a little slow in the light and shifty breeze and, sure enough, speedy Sushi (Santana 20) and very competitive Deception (Catalina 27) managed to get by.

Heading for the Aurora buoy, Full Moon seemed more her normal self and passed a number of second start boats while easily holding off the Ranger 22s Anakena and True Blue. Trouble with a twisted pole delayed the launch of the mighty Equalizer on the downwind run but, once it was up, Full Moon began reeling in Deception. Unfortunately, Full Moon was squeezed between a large second start boat to leeward and Deception to windward and was unable to make the pass, though it was fun to pass the big Buchan 37 Dreamscape (from second start) just before rounding the AGC buoy.

On the final upwind leg, Deception was uncatchable. Sushi was, we believe, first, a big blue boat (looked to be a 35’ racer/cruiser) may have been second, Deception third, and Full Moon fourth, the first race this year without a prized vinyl duck sticker! There was no crying in our cold beer, though – it was a great sunny evening on the water, the new instruments worked beautifully, and we were definitely competitive with our fellow third start boats, not to mention passing the back third of the second start fleet. 

Long John Silver

Ahhrrr, mateys, we've got the silver!

Full Moon crew Randy “Twisted Pole” Olsen, Don “Too Much Moderation” Caffrey, Dave “Alzheimer Donuts” Pulsifer, Angie “Shoulda Been Gold” Tomisser, Daniel “Chernobyl Cherry Coke” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Long John” Mengedoht dodged a boat foolishly trying to motor through the start while hoisting sails and absolutely nailed the start for the Pirate Night Duck Dodge. Cranking along upwind in a decent breeze, Full Moon held off the usual competition of Sushi (Santana 20), Anakena (Ranger 22), and True Blue (another Ranger 22) to the Challenger buoy at the Southeast corner of Lake Union. Once around, it took a minute or two to launch the mighty Equalizer spinnaker but it served well to hold off all challengers all the way to the Freeway buoy.

Heading back upwind in a decent breeze, lightly loaded Sushi began to make gains on Full Moon with True Blue not far behind. Sushi eventually got past but Full Moon kept close while continuing to stay ahead of True Blue.

Rounding the AGC buoy, the Equalizer was launched once again. It wasn’t quite enough to catch Sushi but Full Moon cruised to a relatively easy second place and the coveted Silver Duck. True Blue caught the Bronze a few minutes later.

After the finish, another third start boat cruised by and complained that Full Moon, with her “racing sails,” belongs in second start with the “racing” boats. Lest anyone think Full Moon has anything exotic in her sail inventory, the main and genoa are fully 12 years old and, while not made in the classic woven white, are still just made of good old Dacron. The mighty Equalizer is even older, having been purchased used in 2001!

Regardless, I would readily agree with the complaint if it weren’t for boats like J29s (Salsa), Olson 30s (Chaos) and J80s (Heart Attack, Crazy Ivan) continuing to race in second start. It was the Race Committee who suggested Full Moon switch to third start last summer. I agreed to switch, largely because the definition of a “half-fast” boat seems to have changed. I may yet switch back, though – being in the top three for five weeks in a row is great fun but it is also fun to race for two laps instead of one and to take on Thunderbirds and Ranger 26s and J22s – our more natural prey!

Damp Duck

Daniel grabs the vinyl trophy from the Race Committee.

Kristen likes this stuff!

Daniel is happy to have layers and a good rain jacket.

Cougar colors dominated under the rain gear aboard Full Moon for the Team Spirit Duck Dodge. Crew Art “Pretzels” Teller, Debra “Double Jibe” Ricard, Tammy “Snug Gloves” Cross, Kristen “Shake It!” Bakken, Daniel “Trophy Boy” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Accidental Jibe” Mengedoht enjoyed a good start in light winds, about 4^th or 5^th across the line, and were soon mixing it up with the Ranger 22 Anakena and the Catalina 27 Deception for the lead, with the Santana 20 Hot Cookies not far behind. The second start boats must have had even lighter wind as Full Moon caught a quite a few before reaching the Freeway buoy.

After rounding, the mighty Equalizer was launched but the wind became extremely shifty and still very light, causing a few unplanned jibes. Still, Full Moon kept moving down the course and soon was in the lead by a good margin, passing still more second start boats such as Zephyr and the giant Bolero (Choate 40) as the wind filled in a bit. The spinnaker came down cleanly at the AGC buoy and, while Bolero threatened with an overlap to windward for awhile, Full Moon eventually pulled out ahead again and then tacked in front of the Olson 30 Chaos, yet another second start boat!

Rounding the Chandler’s Cove buoy, the course to the finish was a straightforward close reach and Full Moon cruised easily to the line for yet another Gold Duck! Anakena was second and Deception a close third, though both boats were a long way behind speedy Full Moon. Despite the rain, the cold beer tasted pretty fine. Good times!

Ducked Again!

Daniel scores the prize from the Committee Boat.

Yet another duck joins the flock.

Fading wind made positioning for the start of the “70s Night” Duck Dodge a little trickier than normal but Full Moon crew Art “Humushoe” Teller, Tammy “Wind Whisperer” Cross, Robert “New Again” Leykam, Daniel “i-Pod” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Induced Heel” Mengedoht managed to be more or less in the front row of boats. Joining Full Moon in third start was old rival Shogun. Full Moon initially pulled away from Shogun but as the wind began dying, they found a better path and pulled back in front. Meanwhile, the Santana 20 Sushi had picked up a decent bit of breeze by the Westlake shore and took over the lead before stalling out near the AGC buoy.

Converging boats and boats trying to escape the buoy area under spinnaker made for a morass of barely moving hulls. Full Moon eventually made it around and launched the mighty Equalizer. As the wind had clocked around a bit, the course was much closer to the wind than ideal for a symmetrical spinnaker but the greater sail area was worth the bargain in the very light breeze. Full Moon soon passed Shogun again plus a few others, including some from second start. At this point, it was hard to know exactly what position we were in other than being very far behind Sushi!

After passing a few more boats, Full Moon engaged in a slow-motion battle with a well-sailed Cal 30, rounding the Freeway buoy not far behind them. As the Aurora buoy had been placed about as far northwest as possible, the leg past Gasworks was agonizingly slow, though there was some comic relief from a conversation with a person aboard the Buchan 37 Distance (see the previous post).

Full Moon did get by the Cal before rounding the buoy and then set the Equalizer once again for what was now a downwind reach and run to the finish, still in extremely light breeze. Full Moon managed to pass the San Juan 28 Zephyr from second start and continued to battle the Cal 30, finally pulling ahead for good just yards from the finish line. Nearly two hours after the start, Full Moon finally oozed past the Committee Boat to find that we had managed to pull off third place and the Bronze Duck!

Distance vs. Mata Hari?

It seems more people read this blog than just the Full Moon crew, though apparently not all are happy campers! During the Duck Dodge this week, one of the Distance crew hailed your faithful scribe to express some displeasure with a posting from back in 2009.

I confess I don't have perfect recall of the incident described in my post but Distance and Mata Hari had a side-to-side collision right at the finish line with Distance also hitting the finish line buoy. I implied that Distance was at fault for the collision. I'm reasonably sure both boats were on starboard tack with Distance to leeward, which would mean Distance had right of way and that Mata Hari should have yielded, assuming they had room to turn away. (Score one point for Distance).

However, rules 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 for the Duck Dodge also clearly and repeatedly state "No hitting one-another!" If Distance was sailing to leeward, they would have had the best opportunity to avoid a collision. Thus, I still feel pretty solid about laying some blame on Distance. (Score one point or more for Mata Hari.) There may be more to the story, of course, but from my vantage point, I simply called it the way I saw it. In my book, failure to avoid a collision is worse than failing to yield right of way.

Meanwhile, an attentive reader will notice a little symbol at the end of each posting with some text which typically says “0 comments” right next to it. Clicking the symbol or the text opens a dialog box to add a comment about the posting. I filter all comments before they can show up in the blog so as to avoid all kinds of potential troubles but I welcome any reader to make a comment, especially if they feel wronged by anything I’ve written. If the comment favors the profound over the profane, I will publish it. And if I’ve made a mistake (certainly always possible!), I’ll revise my posting accordingly.

Two for Two!

Daniel, Randy, John, Eileen, and Max enjoy a brief bit of sun.

Daniel shows off the golden prize, along with his new rain gear.

It wasn’t quite so easy this time. On a gray evening with occasional showers and shifty breeze, Full Moon crew Randy “Mini-finger” Olsen, Michael “Almost Wet” Medina, Eileen “Guinness” McHugh, Max “Quick Study” Foley, Daniel “Barking Spider” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Hat Trick” Mengedoht nailed the start near the middle of the line but boats closer to the Committee Boat had a slight advantage. Full Moon was rolled by the Catalina 27 Deception and then mixed it up with Columbia 26 Tuesday, and Ranger 22s Anakena and True Blue through a number of tacks, ending up rounding the AGC buoy in fourth place.

After a short pause to raise the pole, the mighty Equalizer was launched in a building wind. All but Tuesday were soon left behind as the magic nylon pushed Full Moon to hull speed in the puffs. Old rival Fortis and a few others from second start were also passed. Eventually Tuesday also succumbed, only to catch back up as Full Moon dropped the Equalizer a bit early to prepare for a smooth jibe around the Freeway buoy. Tuesday kept their spinnaker up to the last second to poke their bow inside but then had trouble with their jib after the take-down and Full Moon was gone, gone, gone!

Reaching across to the Aurora buoy, Tuesday slowly faded back and no other challengers appeared. Heading back upwind to the finish line, Full Moon pulled even farther ahead to claim the prized Gold Duck by several minutes! Tuesday was second, followed by True Blue for the Bronze Duck.

And so it was two Golds in two tries, or three Golds in a row if you count the Duck Dodge Rum Run last October. If this run continues, the Race Committee may reconsider inviting Full Moon to third start!

Golden Glow

Daniel, Marcelle, Michael, and John zipping along upwind to the Freeway buoy.

"Loose Ends" gives Dad a big hug while holding the coveted Gold Duck!

Last June, the Duck Dodge Race Committee invited Full Moon to switch from second start (“half-fast boats”), where she had raced for many years, to third start (“cruising and slower boats”). This was a tough choice on many fronts, including no longer competing with old rivals, worrying about having an unfair advantage over some truly “slower boats,” and suffering from the image challenge of being classed as a slower boat. Ouch! However, the Committee has been allowing more and more really fast boats into second start, rendering Full Moon essentially uncompetitive. Third start was chosen and Full Moon managed to collect two third-place finishes over the summer and a first in the Rum Run.

And so it was, on yet another gorgeous May evening, that Full Moon crew Randy “Grad Dad” Olsen, Michael “Zeta-Jones” Medina, Marcelle “Overboard” Lynde, Chuck “Zip-Grip” Weldy, Daniel “Loose Ends” Mengedoht, and skipper John “High Gloss” Mengedoht lined up for third start for the first Duck Dodge of 2012. Starting on port tack, Full Moon had to dodge the Merit 25 Incognito coming across on starboard but still managed to be the third boat across the line for an unusually good start (for us). With a good lane and clear air, Full Moon pulled ahead of Incognito to take over first place half way to the Freeway buoy, also overtaking Fortis from second start in the process.

Rounding the Freeway buoy and heading past Gasworks to the Aurora buoy, Full Moon passed still more second starters, including Shogun, Distance and, amazingly, Runner! Heading back south on the long run under spinnaker featured some big wind shifts, necessitating some quick (and somewhat messy) jibes for the mighty Equalizer. Distance caught back up (it is, after all, a 37-footer!) but had issues with their take-down and Full Moon zipped by again just after rounding the AGC buoy.

The final upwind leg to the finish saw no boats threatening from behind and Full Moon cruised on to easily score the coveted gold duck! Was it the fresh bottom paint? Was it the shiny new graphics on the freshly polished topsides? More likely, it was a good start, followed by solid sailing from a veteran, if slightly rusty crew! Regardless, it was great fun and wonderful to be back racing again.