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…