Slow Boat

Seven guys, most a bit north of 200 pounds, are not recommended for speed enhancement on a 2400 pound sailboat but crew Randy “Equalizer” Olsen, Art “Cherry” Teller, Doug “Sabbatical” Schoemaker, Troy “Orange Tux” Charlesworth, Ian “Bow Rider” Mengedoht, Daniel “Tunes” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Mobile Ballast” Mengedoht all turned out to enjoy the sunny weather for the Prom Night Duck Dodge. With very light southwesterly wind and a crowd near the Committee Boat, Full Moon opted for the middle of the start line. The wind favored this approach for a while and then filled in closer to the Westlake shore, giving a big advantage to boats that had tacked over in that direction earlier.

 

Full Moon stayed out of this cluster. Yes, that IS an Olson 30 in second start...

Once around the AGC buoy, the short run to the Chandler’s buoy would have benefitted from a spinnaker but the next leg northbound appeared to be a close reach unsuitable for the Equalizer so the nylon monster stayed in the bag to save the hassle. Speed proved to be pretty decent to the Freeway buoy, Full Moon actually gaining on several boats.

 

Second start from another perspective.

Returning upwind to complete the first lap, Full Moon somehow punched out to leeward of the J24 J Estalt, leaving the supposedly faster J Boat behind. Several boats converged at the AGC buoy and Full Moon was able to pick a path avoiding slower cruisers being lapped. After the short leg to the Chandler’s buoy, Full Moon launched the Equalizer for what was now mostly a beam reach north. This worked well until the wind faded and shifted a few hundred yards short of the Freeway buoy. Back under the genoa, Full Moon rounded and then headed to the finish line, chasing – and nearly catching – a much larger Beneteau.

 

Thundorca also enjoyed having a few extra crew!

Despite the weight penalty and finishing behind both Zephyr and Ignitor (a rare event these days!), Full Moon sailed fairly well and stayed in the top 2/3 of the fleet, actually beating a Hobie 33 and the J24. A bit more breeze would have been nice but it was a gorgeous evening on the water.

The "duck boat" was back, zooming around the lake.

Yo Ho Ho!

Full Moon crew Randy “Tilt Pack” Olsen, Dave “Knot In It” Pulsifer, Kristin “Beer Ear” Gasper, Kevin “Drop Beer” Gasper and skipper John “Artful Dodger” Mengedoht sported the requisite big pirate flag and attempted to take no prisoners on a port tack, pin-end start for the Pirate Night Duck Dodge. Unfortunately, numerous other pirate vessels had the same idea, parlaying for room and keeping the gun ports clear for vessels coming in on starboard tack. Booty intact, Full Moon had a decent start, though ships closer to the middle of the line did a bit better.

Yes, there really was canon fire from this pirate ship!

The fleet converged for a congested rounding at the Freeway buoy and then spread out a bit upwind to reach the Aurora buoy with only a couple of tacks. The Equalizer was launched to good effect, Full Moon gaining on several boats, but a relative giant (Oxo-something or other) cast an equally giant wind shadow to slow things back down. With a conservative but clean drop of the Equalizer, Full Moon ended up third boat on the outside of a pinwheel to round the AGC buoy, which allowed stealthy Selchie to slip inside from behind.

Ahhrrrr, mateys!

The long upwind leg back to the Freeway buoy was relatively uneventful, apart from the occasional cannon blast, as was the leg to the Aurora buoy. The Equalizer was a bit slow going up for the second downwind leg but still very effective. Oxo-something or other was present yet again, having passed by upwind, but this time Full Moon was able to get more lateral separation to easily pass the big boat. Full Moon was also able to get the inside position at the AGC buoy for a tidy rounding before heading back upwind to the finish.

Full Moon (beyond) stays in front of Gift Horse upwind.

In the end, it was another great evening on the water enjoying a nice breeze, friendly fellow-pirates, and no rain. It was also the longest Duck Dodge Day of the year, remaining light until well after Full Moon returned to her dock.

Blow Me Down!

The wind was strong out of the south for the Hip Hop Duck Dodge but the truly dark and threatening skies (and all the rain) were all to the north of Lake Union before the start of the race. Full Moon crew Randy “Good Call” Olsen, Dave “Cabin Boy” Pulsifer, Erin “Downwind” Osberg, Adam “Foam Face” Michalak, and skipper John “Sometimes Size Matters” Mengedoht set up for a starboard tack start near the Committee Boat with a lot of company vying for the favored end of the line. This made for slow going until several boats tacked away in search of clear air.

 

Scary clouds prior to the race.

Full Moon was a bit overpowered in the gusts but not bad in between, making good speed to the AGC buoy. With the monster Equalizer spinnaker set to hoist, chaos was likely in the cards until the decision was made to stick with the genoa for the long downwind run to the Freeway buoy. With speeds frequently above five knots and other boats struggling to control their spinnakers, this proved to be a wise choice.

 

Full Moon didn't want to struggle taking down the Equalizer.

It was about this time that a game of cat and mouse developed with the J24 J Estalt, the speedy J boat slipping ahead only to struggle with one thing or another and slipping behind again. So it was that J Estalt forged ahead on the fast close reach to the Aurora buoy but fell behind on the long upwind leg to start the second lap. Rather than risk sending anybody forward to swap the spinnaker and pole, Full Moon again stayed with the genoa downwind after rounding the AGC buoy. J Estalt must have had spinnaker issues or some other trouble because they never regained the lead.

On the final upwind leg to the finish, Full Moon still made a race of it by just holding off a giant Beneteau 423, finishing somewhere in the middle of the fleet. While Full Moon isn’t ideal for heavy air, it was a lot of fun out there!

Cowboys and Aliens

It was great to see another Santana 525, Flying Burrito, out racing for the Western Night Duck Dodge. Welcome to the Duck Dodge!

Crew Michael “Jib, Jab, Jibe” Medina, Marcelle “Twisted” Van Houten, Beth “Jazz Fan 1” Mountsier, Jim “Jazz Fan 2” Peacey, and skipper John “Wrong Way” Mengedoht cruised the starting line on starboard tack but were thwarted from tacking for a great start by a Star boat to windward and just behind. The resulting reach to the Freeway buoy was not fast enough to be in the top ten boats.

Pulling strings on the first downwind run.

The wind dropped quite a bit on the way to the Aurora buoy but the pole was up before rounding and the Equalizer quickly launched for what started as a beam reach. The fickle wind then made a massive shift for an unplanned jibe. Once sorted, the wind naturally shifted back after only a few minutes. Another jibe, Michael! Regardless, Full Moon did well on the leg to the AGC buoy. Unfortunately, after rounding, the skipper forgot the Chandler’s Cove buoy was in play and Full Moon had to broad reach back. This allowed a white Thunderbird to get by and allowed ancient rival Ignitor to nearly catch up.

Keeping out of the wind shadow.

Once northbound again, Full Moon did well with only a few tacks to reach the Freeway buoy and then the wind generally held to the Aurora buoy. The Equalizer was again smoothly launched but this time the wind shifted and then shut down completely, collapsing the nylon monster around the forestay. The mess was just cleared and the jibe completed when the wind filled back in on the other side, initiating yet another jibe. During all this fun, 34’ Runaway got past toward the Westlake shore. Full Moon gave chase but had to contend with a Catalina trying to create a wind shadow from behind.

An awesome sunset to cap a great evening on the water.

Once around the AGC buoy, the Catalina was left well behind and Full Moon gained a bit on Runaway before rounding the Chandler’s Cove buoy. The final leg was a see-saw battle, Runaway just crossing tacks ahead of Full Moon at the line. With a well spread-out fleet, it was tough to tell the exact finishing order but Full Moon appeared to be 12^th, which was excellent given the competition.

Flash Dance

The wind got very light toward the end, many boats appearing to be sailing in random directions.

Full Moon crew Randy “Old-Timer” Olsen, Kelly “Quick Study” Laleman, Troy “Sore Muscles” Charlesworth, and skipper John “Flash Dance” Mengedoht achieved another decent start for the Star Wars Duck Dodge, staying clear of some kind of fracas near the Committee Boat involving a white Moore 24. The first leg to the Freeway buoy was a tight reach followed by a tighter line toward Gasworks and a couple of tacks in decent breeze to round the Aurora buoy.

The mighty Equalizer was soon launched to good effect, helping to hold off the Catalina 30 Necessary Evil and allowing Full Moon to gain nicely on the speedy Hot Foot 27 Flash Point. Approaching the Chandler’s Cove buoy, Full Moon was able to slip to leeward of Flash Point and round on the inside. The spinnaker pole trapped the jib sheets during the take-down, somewhat negating the nice move at the buoy, but Flash Point must have had difficulties of their own as Full Moon retained a lead nearly all the way to the Freeway buoy.

By this time, the wind had faded a bit, though Full Moon still had good speed following Flash Point to the Aurora buoy. Looking down the lake, there were a LOT of boats stacked up near the Chandler’s Cove buoy so it was time to get the very best out of the Equalizer. Dropping the nylon monster a bit early as the wind faded to nearly zero, Full Moon still managed yet again to round inside Flash Point, both boats barely moving and in a lot of traffic. The final leg was a search for wind, Full Moon finishing about tenth, not far behind Flash Point.

Good Karma

Full Moon went for a nice cruise on Memorial Day, exercising the freshly repaired outboard. While touring Portage Bay, a kayak flipped and Full Moon quickly went to the aid of the hapless paddler. Returning to Lake Union, a small sailboat near Gasworks was making very slow progress with a paddle, no motor on board and their main halyard broken. A tow to the Northlake boat ramp was happily provided and greatly appreciated. Glad I was out there for a cruise!