Fabulous Finale

Enjoying a cold one at the dock before heading out on the lake.

The final Duck Dodge of summer is always Martini Night aboard Full Moon, with a bigger crew than usual (and three coolers of food, beverages and ice!) to celebrate the season. While struggling a bit with the extra weight, Full Moon crew Randy “8-Track” Olsen, Art “More Olives” Teller, Michael “Did Nothing” Medina, Marcelle “Did Something!” Van Houten, Dave “Big Pull” Pulsifer, Troy “Dirty Tini” Charlesworth, Daniel “Olives Away” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Gandalf” Mengedoht still nailed the start on port tack near the middle of the line and managed a fairly straight shot to the Freeway buoy. Converging boats at the buoy made things interesting, Full Moon holding off for a clear lane before tacking to the west.

Daniel demonstrates proper shaker technique to the crew.

On the second leg, Full Moon battled with relatively large Black Watch until they finally got by. Necessary Evil (Catalina 30) could not catch up, however, suffering in Full Moon’s bad air. Meanwhile, old rival Ignitor (Martin 29), which had been briefly ahead at the Freeway buoy, chose a path closer to Gasworks. This didn’t pay off for them and allowed Full Moon to get ahead approaching the Aurora buoy.

Full Moon is second from the right in this shot of the start.

The mighty Equalizer was launched to good effect after rounding the buoy but Ignitor continued to threaten from behind, Full Moon maneuvering several times to remain safely in front. At the AGC buoy, Full Moon held off the spinnaker drop until the very end and thankfully it came down smoothly. In the process, Full Moon was able to round inside the wide turn taken by Black Watch, though Black Watch pulled back ahead after a few minutes (sometimes size does matter!).

Ignitor trying to catch up.

On the final upwind leg, Full Moon continued covering Ignitor while also keeping an eye on Necessarily Evil while they sailed at a lower but faster angle. Approaching the finish line, all looked good to vanquish all of Full Moon’s traditional rivals when suddenly Zephyr (San Juan 28) came flying up from behind with incredible speed. After a few moments of incredulity, the telltale sound of their diesel was heard, resolving the mystery and giving us all a good laugh. In the end, it appeared Full Moon had made the top ten finishers, though a good distance behind the fastest boats.

Art and Daniel enjoy the final leg.

To recap the season, a whopping thirty people made up the Full Moon crew at different times, trading a little consistency for providing a lot of people with an opportunity to sail, race, and enjoy the infamous Duck Dodge. The variety of fast and large boats in the second start made any serious pursuit of a vinyl duck sticker (top three finish) highly improbable but Full Moon did reasonably well measured against boats of similar performance potential, coming out ahead overall vs. old rivals Ignitor and Zephyr as well as new rival Necessary Evil. Regardless, the weather was (mostly) great and a wonderful time was had by all.

Zephyr flies by.

Not Last

The amazing string of beautiful Tuesday evenings finally came to an end for the Sesame Street Duck Dodge with cloudy skies and even a few sprinkles of rain. It also brought decent wind out an unfamiliar direction – the southeast! Full Moon crew Michael “Murray” Medina, Debra “Cookie Monster” Ricard, Doug “Big Bird” Schoemaker, Katie “Kermit” Freels, Sophie “Zoe” Ricard, Daniel “Grover” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Bert” Mengedoht set up for a port tack start near the pin end, which worked well, though boats starting right at the buoy faired a bit better.

The Full Moon crew, sans Michael. More crew makes us faster, right?

After a nearly straight shot to the AGC buoy, the Equalizer was quickly launched and Full Moon began to reel in some boats in front while dodging third start boats coming the opposite direction. Approaching the Freeway buoy, it became apparent that boats were able to carry spinnakers onto the next leg. Unfortunately, the jibe near the buoy went badly wrong with the spinnaker wrapped around the forestay. The entire leg to the Aurora buoy was spent getting the nylon monster down on the deck and the jib could not be hoisted until after rounding. The net result was that Full Moon was dead last and even passed by a third start boat. Ouch!

What happened to our weather?

Continuing on, Full Moon played the shifts, tacking several times before rounding the AGC buoy and relaunching the Equalizer. As before, gains were made but this time the spinnaker was brought down before reaching the Freeway buoy. A fast reach to the Aurora buoy then just allowed Full Moon to catch a J24 and hold on to stay ahead to the finish line in the dark. 

Speedy Beads

Pulling ahead from Flash Point on the first lap.

Sporting the requisite beads, Full Moon crew Michael “Pyrat” Medina, Chad “Flor de Cana” Harnish, Daniel “Mixer” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Risky Business” Mengedoht were held up briefly by some third (or fourth) start boats inexplicably cruising down the starting line but still managed a decent port tack start near the “pin” for the Mardi Gras Duck Dodge. Trading a little speed for a higher course to windward, Full Moon nailed the line to the Freeway buoy without needing to tack. A J-Boat to windward prevented a timely tack at the buoy but once they tacked away it was then an easy close reach to the Aurora buoy, which appeared a bit further south than “normal.”

The sun heads down early on the second lap.

With the pole already up at the buoy, the Equalizer was launched smoothly and Full Moon took off on a fast beam reach, gaining on some of the front runners and putting some distance on pursuers from behind. With a smaller crew than normal, a slightly early drop was called for and then Full Moon was around the AGC buoy and heading back upwind.

Looking back across the finish line at the moon and clouds.

Crossing the line to complete the first lap, Full Moon was in the top ten until speedy Flash Point (Hotfoot 27) and Gift Horse (?) finally got past. The rest of the second lap was mostly a repeat of the first apart from having the wind begin to fade on the final leg. Full Moon made it across the line in about twelfth place, well ahead of old rivals Ignitor and Zephyr as well as new rival Necessary Evil (Catalina 30).

Disco Duck

Full Moon (center left) chases Zephyr to the Freeway buoy.

Full Moon regulars Art “Motorcycle” Teller, Tammy “Seychelles” Cross, Daniel “Cinematographer” Mengedoht and skipper John “Second?” Mengedoht were joined by guests UW Professors Ashley “81” Emory and Norm “79” McCormick for the Disco Night Duck Dodge. A conservative start provided a straight shot to the Freeway buoy with a lot of converging boats at the buoy. Full Moon had to tack sooner than desired after the rounding to avoid a J22 tacking directly in front, resulting in a “lower” line past Gasworks toward the Aurora buoy.

Several boats struggled to make the Aurora buoy without tacking, resulting in a bit of a pileup. Full Moon tacked to above the layline, sacrificing some time and distance to ensure clearing the mess. The Equalizer then went up smoothly for a fast romp on a beam reach. The Catalina 30 Necessary Evil threatened to pass several times to leeward but could not punch through, falling back on each attempt. Approaching the AGC buoy, however, they crossed behind and to windward while Full Moon was dealing with a slightly early spinnaker drop and were able to just poke ahead for the rounding.

The 40 foot cat Dragonfly caught by the setting sun.

Heading upwind, Full Moon sailed high to ensure not needing to tack for the Freeway buoy. Crossing the “finish” line to complete the first lap, the Committee Boat sounded a horn – they had apparently assumed Full Moon was in third start! Thinking they would figure things out eventually, Full Moon kept going, passing old rival Zephyr and this time sailing a bit farther past the Freeway buoy before tacking.

Unfortunately, it still wasn’t possible to lay the Aurora buoy without tacking but at least Full Moon was able to leverage starboard tack as Necessary Evil was forced to duck behind. The Equalizer again was launched smoothly and Full Moon took off, leaving Necessary Evil (and Zephyr) behind for good. It was yet another amazingly beautiful evening for a sail, ending all too soon.

The post-race raft-up enjoys the warm evening and fading wind.

Tropic Blunder

Allison trims the sheet.

The starting buoy for the Tropical Night Duck Dodge was a long way south of the Committee Boat, apparently due to an overly short anchor line or some such issue which allowed it to drift. Full Moon crew Michael “Small Boat” Medina, Christian “Coconut Bra” Grange, Allison “Tropical Color” Bahe, Troy “Too Tall” Charlesworth, Daniel “Movie Magic” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Evasive Maneuvers” Mengedoht did their best to stay behind the line while avoiding other boats doing the same. Meanwhile, a fairly large group of boats appeared to over early, perhaps thinking the buoy was closer to its “normal” location. Needless to say, the start was a bit of a mess and Full Moon labored in the disturbed air from the early boats.

Michael enjoys the sun at the bow.

The wind, which had been promisingly strong prior to the start, faded and shifted approaching the Freeway buoy, causing a couple of extra tacks to make it around. Thankfully, the line to the Aurora buoy was a clean tight reach and, after a smooth launch of the Equalizer, Full Moon took off on the run-becoming-a-reach to the AGC buoy.

Christian holds the boom out downwind in light air.

Unfortunately, the floating “island” dispensing free beer for Tropical Night was located upwind of the AGC buoy (historically, it has been a reaching leg) and boats hoping to snag a cup or two had to luff up or hope for a handoff at the very corner of the raft. Full Moon gave up on the beer in favor of maintaining upwind speed, no doubt surprising a few boats maneuvering for the suds.

Troy enjoys a little speed under spinnaker.

The approach to the Freeway buoy was much improved with less traffic and Full Moon nearly caught up to old rival Zephyr, which had enjoyed a much better start (if maybe over early?). On the leg to the Aurora buoy, Full Moon found a bit more speed and took a higher line to pass Zephyr to windward.

Cap'n John and his friend, the tiller.

Unfortunately, the spinnaker hoist went badly awry with a rotated pole. This allowed Zephyr to get by and for Necessary Evil (Catalina 30) to squeeze through to windward between Full Moon and another boat. Once the spinnaker was up, the wind had died down significantly around Full Moon while it filled in nicely in a narrow band right around Zephyr. Game over! In the end, with fading light and fading wind, Full Moon elected to drop the spinnaker and switch to cruising mode rather than continue racing. Still, it was yet another beautiful evening on the water and fun to be out there, crazy start and all.

The sun sets a little too early...

Off Like a Prom Dress

Full Moon enjoys the NW breeze on the second leg.

Full Moon crew Dave “High Side” Pulsifer, Judy “Maternity Dress” Tiffany, Erin “Tall” Osberg, Daniel “Almost Up” Mengedoht, and skipper John “To the Edge” Mengedoht sported a matching set of “tux” tee shirts for the Prom Night Duck Dodge to go along with the obligatory mirror ball suspended from the back stay. With a solid northwest breeze, Full Moon set up nicely for a port tack start at the pin but had to dodge some traffic stalled out ahead, some of whom appeared to be over the line early.

Daniel enjoys his perch near the mast.

Once clear of wind shadows, it was a straight romp to the Freeway buoy, much of it side by side with a dark blue J24 nicely decorated with speed-enhancing balloons. Converging boats made for a tight rounding with several overlaps. Full Moon was inside and immediately tacked at the buoy to avoid a boat directly in front as well as traffic coming in on starboard tack.

The Equalizer pulls hard down the lake.

The Aurora buoy was set north of the main shipping channel and Full Moon stayed on starboard tack nearly all the way across the lake before tacking north on what looked like the lay line until the breeze clocked around a bit. It was still a short tack to reach the buoy and then around onto a beam reach.

Necessary Evil leads Full Moon to the finish line.

The strong breeze and wind angle made using the Equalizer a bit of a gamble but it was sent up all the same. It took some work to get a full hoist and then the sheet had to be dumped a few times to avoid rounding up but then things settled down and Full Moon took off, reaching an indicated 6.71 knots. This created a nice separation from the Catalina 30 Necessary Evil and allowed Full Moon to close the gap on boats ahead.

Deception lost a bit of their "limo" decor during the race.

The Equalizer came down cleanly at the AGC buoy and Full Moon rounded just behind a large boat before taking off upwind. Necessary Evil put her size to good advantage to claw ahead to leeward while Full Moon hung on to hold off the dark blue J24 to the finish line. In the end, it appeared Full Moon cracked the top ten while putting at least a full leg on old rivals Zephyr and Ignitor. Another lap would have been fun, though the sun is heading down a bit earlier these days…

Too Hot For Togas

Full Moon flying the Mighty Isis (blue, black, and white).

There was no Duck Dodge on July 21 due to Whidbey Island Race Week. On the 28^th, Full Moon crew Randy “Blu-ray” Olsen, Art “Pole Control” Teller, Doug “In and Out” Schoemaker, Chuck “Modular” Weldy, Daniel “Dy-no-mite” Mengedoht, and skipper John “What Next” Mengedoht managed a good start for the Toga Night Duck Dodge but then encountered La Gitana (late for third start?) slowly reaching along in the path of the second start fleet. This caused Full Moon to fall off significantly to leeward, giving up what looked like a decent course to the Freeway buoy. Making matters worse, the wind got light and shifty approaching the buoy and a small cluster of paddle-boarders were right in Full Moon’s path. (Nothing against the paddle-boarders – it is their lake, too!) Several slow tacks later, Full Moon had dropped to mid-fleet, a classic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time – twice!

Rounding the Aurora buoy just ahead of Flash Point.

The wind angle required a couple of tacks to make the Aurora buoy and then it was time to quickly launch the Equalizer (aka the Mighty Isis), which proved its worth, allowing Full Moon to pass several boats and gain substantially on several more. Full Moon rounded the Aurora buoy on Zephyr’s transom and then was able to poke inside to windward for the long upwind leg. Zephyr hung in there two thirds of the way up the lake and then tacked behind. The wind looked pretty consistent so Full Moon continued on until tacking near the Eastlake shore, which then led to an encounter with the private ferry/party boat Trek, requiring more tacks.  Meanwhile, Zephyr had found better wind and pulled back in front by a good margin. Foiled again!

The usual post-race raft up in fading light.

The second lap was similar to the first but the Equalizer couldn’t provide enough boost to catch Zephyr, which also managed to pass the J30 Slingshot. (Way to go, Gary! All those girls are making you fast!) In the end, Full Moon finished somewhere mid-fleet, the good news being that at least one T-bird, speedy Flash Point (Hotfoot 27), and one or two J-boats were well behind. The other good news, of course, was yet another spectacular sunny evening with decent breeze and wonderful comradery. Good times!

Some togas look better than others....

A (Less Than) One Hour Tour

Full Moon is in the foreground not long after the start with Runaway ahead and a J-24 to windward.

The Gilligan’s Island Duck Dodge once again offered sunny skies and decent, if puffy, wind. Full Moon crew Art “Pull!” Teller, Kelly “Beer Now” Laleman, Kate “Big Data” Davis, Adam “Moose Drool” Michalak, Daniel “Leverage” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Overloaded” Mengedoht headed on starboard tack for a pin end start, which worked pretty well until boats tried crossing in front on port tack while boats behind remained on starboard. There were some tense moments as a result but Full Moon emerged unscathed, if surrounded by boats creating big wind shadows.

Full Moon is second from the left, heading for the Aurora buoy.

It was a straight shot to the Freeway buoy with an immediate tack to clear dense traffic. The wind then behaved just enough to allow Full Moon to reach the Aurora buoy without tacking, followed by a quick launch of the nylon monster and a speedy trip south. Full Moon put a little distance on Zephyr on this leg while catching up to old rival Ignitor, which had enjoyed a better start, Full Moon rounding the AGC buoy right on Ignitor’s stern in somewhat tight quarters.

Full Moon rounding the Aurora buoy, just before raising the pole and launching the Equalizer.

Traffic cleared out a bit for the long upwind leg north but the gusty wind favored larger boats and Ignitor slowly pulled back out to decent lead. With the Committee Boat directly in Full Moon’s path, a short jog to leeward was required, which then resulted in the need to tack twice for the Freeway buoy, though many other boats had the same issue.

Full Moon romping along upwind to complete the first lap.

Full Moon sailed a bit past the Freeway buoy in order to try and eliminate the need to tack before the Aurora buoy and this worked as planned. The Equalizer was launched somewhat smoothly for another nice romp southward, Full Moon gaining on Ignitor but not quite enough. Full Moon gained a bit more on the final leg, finishing just behind Ignitor but still well in front of Zephyr.

Kelly enjoys her post-race cold one.

Late Santa

Smoke from wildfires provided a hazy sky.

The Committee Boat apparently had difficulty getting through the locks and the Ballard Bridge for the Christmas in July Duck Dodge, zooming into the lake at the last minute and blowing the first warning before even getting an anchor down. With a little confusion over the horn signals, Full Moon crew Art “Wet Spot” Teller, Marcelle “Waldo Socks” Van Houten, Judy “6.48” Tiffany, Dave “Low Rider” Pulsifer, and skipper John “Surfin’ Safari” Mengedoht was a little late getting the jib up but still managed a decent start on port tack. Slingshot (J30) cast a large wind shadow to slow things down for a while but Full Moon managed a straight line to the green Gasworks buoy which substituted for the missing Freeway buoy.

Judy, Daniel, Marcelle, and Dave enjoy some post-race beverages.

With a bit more westerly wind angle than usual, a couple of tacks were needed to round the Aurora buoy before launching the Equalizer in a nice breeze. Full Moon surged up over six knots in the puffs to pass a few boats and put some distance on old rivals Zephyr and Ignitor before rounding the AGC buoy inside Slingshot, which had taken a wide turn. The wind had gone light around the buoy, though, and it took a while to get moving back northward.

John and Art in the background also enjoying post-race beverages.

Playing the shifts paid off as Full Moon squeezed past the Committee Boat’s anchor rode and arrived at the Gasworks buoy again without tacking. By sailing nearly to the shore, Full Moon tacked on the layline to the Aurora buoy, rounded, and then launched the Equalizer (aka Mighty Isis) for another fast run/reach southward. This time the knotmeter nearly touched 6.5 a couple of times before the wind went light again approaching the AGC buoy.

Deception once again goes all-out on decorations.

After a fairly clean drop and some anxious moments trying to get going upwind in the light air, the wind began to fill and Full Moon headed for the finish line, chasing Slingshot not far ahead. A sleek 6 meter threatened a little but Full Moon stayed ahead to finish somewhere in the top third of the fleet, sailing two full laps in well under an hour.

Red, White and Beer

Full Moon crew Art “Teacher” Teller, Katie “Cookies” Freels, Neil “Work Talk” Piispanen, Troy “Laptop” Charlesworth, Daniel “Big Pull” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Flags” Mengedoht set up nicely for a starboard tack start for the Red, White, and Blue Duck Dodge but then kindly allowed Zephyr to “barge” in to windward rather than force them to tack away from the Committee Boat or risk a collision. As a result, Full Moon was not positioned as well as planned but was at least able to tack just after the starting horn. Unfortunately, this also meant sailing in more disturbed wind for much of the first leg and watching the boats that started farther toward the pin doing much better.

Full Moon is at the far left, not long after the start.

Once around the Freeway buoy, things opened up a bit and Full Moon did a little better. Approaching the Aurora buoy, the wind went a bit light and shifty, requiring a double tack. Zephyr attempted to make it without tacking and ended up running over the buoy. Oops!

Full Moon is in the middle of this group on the second leg of the race.

The Equalizer went up smoothly for the long run south and some good wind pressure made sure it could work its magic, Full Moon passing quite a few boats before a clean drop and rounding of the AGC buoy. The long upwind leg was also fruitful as Full Moon seemed able to point higher than some of the competition. After rounding the Freeway buoy, Full Moon made sure to sail high to avoid needing additional tacks to round the Aurora buoy.

Lookin' good with the Equalizer on the third leg, about to pass Zephyr.

The Equalizer popped up quickly again for the spinnaker run but the wind was much lighter, even more so approaching the AGC buoy. The spinnaker stayed full, though, and came down fairly smoothly before rounding the buoy. On the final leg, Full Moon split from several boats heading east in hopes of making another pass or two but this had the opposite result. Still Full Moon finished ahead of the T-bird Selchie (a rare event!), well ahead of rival Zephyr, and not far behind usually speedy Tenacious. In any case, it was another outstanding sunny and fun evening on the lake.

Dead Parrot Society

The skies were sunny for the Pirate Night Duck Dodge and there was mostly decent wind to make things even better. Full Moon crew Art “50 Cent” Teller, Debra “Top of the Game” Ricard, Dave “Spaghetti Sheets” Pulsifer, Judy “Sun-Bather” Tiffany, Daniel “What Parrot?” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Close Call” Mengedoht were set up for a good if relatively conservative starboard tack start near the Committee Boat. Unfortunately, Gift Horse slipped in to windward and just ahead. Even more unfortunately, Gift Horse didn’t have enough speed up to tack in front of other boats coming from behind, leaving Full Moon pinned to leeward for what felt like several minutes until Gift Horse finally tacked away toward the Freeway buoy.

Full Moon full of pirates.

While old-rival Zephyr was behind, even-older-rival Ignitor was ahead and it was time for a Full Moon comeback. A straight shot with good speed to the Freeway buoy and then another to the Aurora buoy helped. A quick launch of the mighty Equalizer spinnaker helped even more, allowing Full Moon to pick off several boats and gain on several more on the long downwind/reach to the AGC buoy.

Art's work is done with the Equalizer flying.

Once around the AGC, Ignitor was left behind, and Full Moon was tasked with holding off a white T-bird just to windward and behind. The lee-bow effect worked well until the T-bird tacked away to make it across the start-finish line to complete the first lap. Full Moon carried on a short distance before tacking as well but then had to dodge a couple of third-start boats, losing a bit of distance in the process.

Zephyr and Mata Hari behind with many more behind them.

By the Freeway buoy, Full Moon had worked up to at least mid-fleet with speedy Scat and the J30 Slingshot not too far ahead. After another nice spinnaker run, it was great to look back and see several J-Boats, at least one T-bird, and even 36’ Mata Hari comfortably behind. All in all, it was a great evening on the water, complete with many well-dressed pirates and even some cannon-fire!

Yet another gorgeous evening on Lake Union.

Jammie Time!

Full Moon crew Michael “Butt Cleat” Medina, Chuck “Noser” Weldy, Kate “Sleeper” Austin, Jeremy “Shorts” Jones, Daniel “Tunes” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Nightshirt” Mengedoht enjoyed a relatively great start for the Pajama Night Duck Dodge, zipping across the line on port tack near the buoy end with the Hotfoot 27 Flashpoint and a couple of J24s. Full Moon held off speedy Flashpoint for most of the first leg to the Freeway buoy and rounded in the top ten boats.

Full Moon is dead center in this shot of the second start.

A delayed tack after the buoy provided a straight shot to the Aurora buoy and then a quick launch of the mighty Equalizer spinnaker. The wind had faded a bit at this point and it took a little time and two jibes to really get going but then the wind filled back in for a nice romp to the AGC buoy. The Equalizer came down fairly smoothly and Full Moon was soon heading back upwind and fending off challenges from T-birds Havoc and then Selchie. Full Moon held on across the line to complete the first lap and then nearly to the Freeway buoy before the T-birds finally got by.

Full Moon is just visible to the right, flying the Equalizer.

The next leg was compromised by the appearance of a big barge and pusher tug heading west. Full Moon had to sail a lower angle than desired to allow room for the barge past Gasworks and then put in two tacks to round the Aurora buoy. Once again, the Equalizer was launched, this time with good breeze onto a beam reach. Unfortunately, the wind went flat in a large zone around the AGC buoy, leaving a giant pile-up of drifting boats. Full Moon’s momentum carried to within 50 yards or so the buoy but some gentle fending off was required to keep the bow of the J30 Slingshot from making contact from behind.

The amazing June weather has continued!

Once around the buoy, the game was on to guess where the wind would fill in and from which direction. Full Moon gambled on heading east, if only to get away from the tight cluster of drifting boats. The wind eventually filled in from the north, though, and the gamble did not pay off. Necessary Evil, a Catalina 30, was further west and got going a bit sooner to pass ahead. Full Moon played the developing shifts and was able to point higher into the wind, though, eventually crossing tacks just ahead and crossing the finish line just ahead of Gift Horse, still ahead of Necessarily Evil and at least one T-bird (Zoe) and a few J-boats.

Duck What?

Full Moon crew Dave “Low Rider” Pulsifer, Judy “Slippery” Tiffany, Kelly “Baba Ganoush” Laleman, Troy “Ready” Charlesworth, Daniel “Skirt” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Prudent” Mengedoht were fresh out of camouflage and fake beards for the Duck Dodgesty Duck Dodge but well stocked with cold beer to enjoy yet another amazing sunny June evening. With a lot of boats out and relatively strong wind, Full Moon attempted a starboard tack start but the line was angled so as to make that very difficult. A well-timed tack to port took care of business, though, and Full Moon was off and zipping along not far back from the leaders. (Third start apparently had a three-boat crash. The Race Committee could do a lot to reduce port-starboard collision potential by setting the start line either square to the wind or favoring starboard tack. Oh, wait, this is the Duck Dodge. Never mind…)

The starting line buoy was a bit different for this race!

A short time and a couple of tacks later, Full Moon was around the Aurora buoy and heading south. However, with a fairly strong breeze and a beginner slated to deal with the foredeck, the skipper elected to keep the oversized nylon monster safely contained in the turtle bag. Gybing out toward the middle of the lake worked out reasonably well, though, and, while the San Juan 28 Zephyr got past under spinnaker, they took a wide slow turn at the AGC buoy, allowing Full Moon room to slip inside and back in front.

Full Moon at the starting line with Tenacious just beyond.

The wind continued to be gusty and shifty for the long leg north to the Freeway buoy. Full Moon was still hanging in there with a couple of J24s and even the J30 Slingshot, though Gift Horse (30’?) eventually managed to get past to windward. The short leg to the Aurora buoy then proved to be a straight shot, though just barely as Full Moon squeaked around with only a foot or two to spare.

Zephyr gets past under spinnaker but Full Moon would return the favor upwind.

Once again, the Equalizer remained tucked away for the southbound leg and once again Zephyr got past under spinnaker, as did our old rival Ignitor. Once around the AGC buoy, though, Ignitor fell behind and the chase was on to catch Zephyr. Full Moon maintained a good line directly to the Freeway buoy while Zephyr faded to the east and had to tack. This put Full Moon back in front for good, though the Catalina 30 Necessary Evil rounded just behind and quickly put their spinnaker to work, passing Full Moon about halfway to the finish line and returning the favor from last week.