Smoke on the Water

Full Moon needed to be washed down prior to the race to get rid of the accumulations of ash.

All the forest fires made for a very smoky final Duck Dodge and, unfortunately, there wasn’t much wind, either. Full Moon crew Randy “Salty Nuts” Olsen, Michael “Spicy Nuts” Medina, Erin “Gin” Osberg, Dave “Extremely Dry” Pulsifer, Kim “Tomato” Franz, Daniel “The Bartender” Mengedoht, and skipper John “The Cackler” Mengedoht celebrated the season in our usual Martini Night style and even managed to get a great start, tacking onto port just before the horn.

Smoky air and next to no wind make for slow going.

The extremely light northwest wind then waxed and waned, setting up a nice match with our old rival Shogun. The wind then filled in a bit toward the west side of the lake, giving a nice boost to the boats in the right place at the right time. Full Moon made it to the Freeway buoy and then enjoyed some breeze to extend nearly to the Gasworks shore. Things looked good after tacking for a straight shot on the layline to the Aurora buoy but then the breeze died.

The city lights burn through the haze. Boats were still racing well after dark.

It came back in fits and starts and Full Moon rounded the Aurora buoy. The wind was so light that it didn’t look sufficient to fill the Mighty Isis spinnaker so Full Moon drifted slowly south, heeled with crew weight to fool the sails into a useful shape. As the smoky haze changed to smoky darkness, it became apparent that finishing would take a very long time and the iron sail was fired up. Many boats persevered to the end but the Full Moon crew was content to kick back and enjoy more cold beverages.

It has been an interesting season trying out third start. Full Moon managed to score eight top-three finishes, an average finish of fourth and a mean finish of third, but certainly wasn’t dominant, placing first only once. J22s and Capri 25s are certainly fair competition and bigger boats (including 40’ Thundorca) have an advantage if the wind is up. All in all, third start seems a much better fit than second start with boats rating down into the 90s in PHRF.

Twenty-six different people rotated through the crew (with six more scheduled who didn’t make it), continuing a long tradition of giving people an opportunity to try sailing and racing. Best of all, we had a lot of fun out there and a terrific summer. Next up: The Rum Run!

It's a Trap!

The Race Committee thinks pink.

The rule is abundantly clear: a sailing vessel that is to windward shall keep out of the way of a vessel to leeward. However, it is also true that your options are very limited if another skipper won’t sail by the rules. And so it was that Full Moon was pinned on the leeward side of a red Harbor 20, prevented from sailing close-hauled or tacking across the starting line for the Pink Boat Regatta Duck Dodge.

 

Deception with their usual minimal decor.

Crew Randy “Fruit Salad” Olsen, Dave “Summer Ale” Pulsifer, Daniel “Blue Box” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Four-fifty” Mengedoht made the best of the circumstances, eventually clawing ahead of the Harbor 20 and gaining a bit on the leaders on the puffy windward leg to the AGC buoy. After a brief delay, the Equalizer was hoisted to good advantage heading north, Full Moon passing several boats. Unfortunately, passing giant (40’) Thundorca on their leeward side greatly slowed forward progress (passing to windward was not an option given the need to dodge drifting power boats).

Full Moon charging from behind to pass Thundorca.

 The Equalizer came down cleanly and the chase was on for the leg to the Aurora buoy, though big blue Crystal was threatening from behind. Crystal finally got past after tacking at the buoy, though they had to work hard for it. In the end, Full Moon was seventh, not at all bad given the start. Meanwhile, it was another gorgeous evening and the wind never shut down, providing wonderful sailing conditions. Full Moon also made a donation to the cause, of course, and happily added a new hot pink duck sticker to the mast.

Cluster Toot

Full Moon is dead center, still moving toward the AGC buoy and leading third start.

A port tack start near the middle of the line would have been ideal for the Skipper’s Choice Night Duck Dodge but Full Moon crew Michael “Big Toot” Medina, Marcelle “Lady Toot” Van Houten, Daniel “Little Toot” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Megatoot” Mengedoht ended up pinned by another starboard tacker cruising the line, delaying the desired tack. It took a while to get to a zone of relatively clear air but Full Moon was into the top ten boats rounding the Freeway buoy.

Slippery When Wet, left, eventual winner, Full Moon with red "S", and Freedom, eventual 3rd place boat, mid-cluster.

Heavy traffic suggested a tack soon after the buoy and this paid off extremely well, Full Moon nearly capturing the lead before rounding the Aurora buoy. A quick hoist of the Equalizer brought added speed, though the wind was often ahead of the beam and it was necessary to keep the pole low to stretch out the “luff” of the giant spinnaker. Full Moon kept going, though, passing into a solid lead.

Another view of the cluster.

A couple of hundred yards shy of the AGC buoy, the wind began shutting down, leading to a truly massive parking lot of bumper boats, Full Moon fending off on all four sides at once! Once around the buoy, Full Moon was still locked into position by surrounding boats as the wind began to sporadically fill back in. In the end, boats that had been behind lucked out by being in the best place as the wind came back and Full Moon finished about seventh in the dimming light.

Pajamarama

Tristan likes this sailing stuff!

Full Moon crew Dave “Balance Beam” Pulsifer, Judy “Sun Worshipper” Tiffany, Adam “Cookie” Michalak, Jackie “Cider” Hensy, Tristan “Rookie”, Daniel “Flannel” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Near Miss” Mengedoht enjoyed an excellent start for the Pajama Night Duck Dodge, though a crash tack was required to avoid t-boning Mustache Ride, Full Moon having been on starboard tack and the “stand-on” vessel. Other than getting rolled by an Islander Bahama 30 to windward, Full Moon romped in a straight shot upwind to the Freeway buoy, rounded in a bit of traffic, and then tacked into clear air for a nice upwind lane toward the Aurora buoy.

Judy wants the sun to come back.

Unfortunately, the Aurora buoy proved to be a moving target as it had been snagged by a Seascape 27 from the second start, dragging the buoy south and toward the Westlake shore. Two good tacks brought Full Moon into a small pack of boats squeezing around the buoy once it was set free. After a short delay, the mighty Equalizer was hoisted to good advantage, Full Moon briefly catching both the Seascape and Black Out (Santana 30/30) on the long reach/run to the AGC buoy.

Adam would prefer a cookie.

The spinnaker came down cleanly and Full Moon rounded the AGC buoy just inside Slingshot (J30) from second start. Unfortunately, the spinnaker pole had snagged the jib sheets and the jib was hung up for a bit after jibing at the buoy. The “fix” somehow trapped the other sheet with the topping lift on the next tack but Full Moon didn’t lose much speed and crossed the line to take the silver duck for second place. First place went to Loofah, a speedy J22.

Father and son discuss philosophy from the stern.

Lake Union Gyre

On approach to the Aurora buoy. Eventual winner Tatonka is the yellow boat in the background.

Full Moon crew Michael “Sticky Cards” Medina, Chuck “Tacky Whacky” Weldy, Doug “Walking Man” Schoemaker, Troy “Red Lobster” Charlesworth, Daniel “Weapons Officer” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Fend Off” Mengedoht enjoyed an excellent port tack start for the Tropical Night Duck Dodge and started catching second-start boats before even reaching the Freeway buoy. After a tight inside rounding in lots of traffic, Full Moon waited to tack for a while and then enjoyed nice clear air most of the way to the Aurora buoy. A quick hoist of the Equalizer at the buoy led to a fast beam reach south, Full Moon appearing to be in the lead.

Going nowhere fast...

Unfortunately, the wind completely died near the AGC buoy, Full Moon coasting to a stop among a vast cluster of boats going nowhere. The usual tactics of sculling, rocking, and even pulling by swimmers ensued. Full Moon eventually made it to the floating “island” for free beer (thanks, Fremont Brewing!), at which time the wind began to fill back in. Two tacks later, Full Moon crossed the line to take the Bronze duck, Tatonka and Thundorca having somehow managed to get through or around the AGC buoy area unnoticed.

The wind returns! First start winner Freja is close to windward.

Hazy Daze

With wildfires burning in British Columbia, conditions were a bit hazy for the Toga Night Duck Dodge. The wind, meanwhile, was highly variable and challenging to predict. Full Moon crew Randy “Two Jibes” Olsen, Adam “Cookie” Michalak, Chad “Temperature Sensor” Harnish, Mary “Penalty Weight” Harnish, Marcus “Onboard Medic” Engley, Daniel “Eclectic Mix” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Yellow Buoy” Mengedoht joined a large group of boats attempting a port tack start at the advantaged “pin” end of the line. Boats closer to the middle of the line were able to enjoy more clear air and poke out ahead.

The start near the "pin" end was a bit congested!

Full Moon eventually emerged from the pack only to encounter the wind shadow of a much larger boat directly ahead. Prevented from tacking by another boat to windward, Full Moon had to sail a lower course to break free. For all that, Full Moon remained ahead of 40’ Thundorca and a Beneteau 423 to round the Freeway buoy.

Spinnakers were hard to keep full in the light air downwind.

With ongoing traffic, Full Moon then took a high line to maintain clear air on the straight shot to the Aurora buoy. This worked fairly well until the wind faded out approaching the buoy. Once around, the Equalizer was launched and then soon jibed in hopes of stronger wind near the middle of the lake. This did help a bit but the wind remained mostly light until jibing back toward the AGC buoy where Full Moon was lapped by the big first start boat Absolutely.

The smoke in the air made for an especially colorful sunset.

The final leg was fairly straightforward apart from splitting the narrow distance between two drifting speedboats. In the end, Full Moon placed fifth, a commendable result given the difficult start and all the people on board.

Bronze Holiday

Full Moon crew Michael “Too Short” Medina, Marcelle “That’s Okay” Van Houten, Adam “Skinny Santa” Michalak, Jackie “Texas” Hensy, Daniel “Tunes” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Sorry, Marcelle” Mengedoht hit the start line right on time for the Christmas in July Duck Dodge. A few other boats were either over early or very late for second start… Regardless, Full Moon did well on the first leg until reaching the disturbed air off a much larger boat in front. This allowed a few boats, including the always well-sailed Tuesday, to get or remain ahead at the Freeway buoy.

Tuesday is always fast, despite those patches!

On the second leg, Full Moon struggled a bit to find clear air, though that didn’t prevent the passing of a few stragglers from second start! The Equalizer was launched immediately after rounding the Aurora buoy. A jibe toward the middle of the lake might have been advisable but other traffic made that a difficult option so Full Moon stuck with sailing a deep angle. The wind then varied back and forth between nearly dead downwind and a beam reach on the long leg south. Small gains were made on Tuesday but a cluster of slower boats in the way on approach to the AGC buoy made any hope of a pass impossible.

Cruising past the Committee Boat to collect another duck.

Jibing at the buoy brought another tangle of the pole and the jib sheets, the culprit apparently being a topping lift issue. The good news is that this didn’t cost any positions, the bad news was that Tuesday pulled farther ahead. After two tacks, Full Moon received the horn for third place, Tuesday scoring second and a boat called Baby Girl taking the gold. Meanwhile, it was yet another glorious sunny evening on the lake. This has been a great summer and we still have six more races to enjoy!

Is there room on the mast? The boom is full...

Piece of Eight

Kim and Randy take a selfie.

Full Moon crew Randy “Rerouting” Olsen, Kim “Traffic” Franz, Dave “Costco” Pulsifer, Judy “Vaporizer” Tiffany, Daniel “Hot Rod” Mengedoht, and skipper John “IPA” Mengedoht enjoyed a decent start for the Pirate Night Duck Dodge near the “pin” end of the line. Boats closer to the middle of the line had a slight advantage but Full Moon had fun dicing with some SYC J22s while pulling ahead of a few other boats. Apart from giant (40’!) Stella Blue, Full Moon was near the front of the third start fleet as the boats converged at the Freeway buoy.

Drifting power boats always add to the challenge of Duck Dodge racing.

After rounding, Full Moon headed for Gasworks Park, waiting for a clear lane to develop before tacking. This paid off well, allowing Full Moon to put the J22s and often-speedy Tuesday behind before rounding the Aurora buoy.

It appeared to be an epic post-race raft-up, not to mention another awesome sunset!

After a slight delay, the mighty Equalizer was launched to good advantage on the long reach/run to the AGC buoy. A clean drop was achieved a shade early followed by a tight rounding and then a straight shot upwind to the finish line to take second place and the Silver Duck! Stella Blue took the gold by a substantial margin, not surprisingly, given her size. A few minutes later, Mustache Ride (Choate 22) crossed for the Bronze.

Solid Gold!

Panorama of the crew, featuring Chuck in the middle with special Mardi Gras adornment.

Full Moon absolutely nailed the start for the Mardi Gras Duck Dodge, rolling into a nice lee bow position on Slingshot (J30) at the pin end and clearing all boats on starboard tack to take the lead. After dodging a few drifting power boats, crew Randy “Traffic” Olsen, Michael “New Wheels” Medina, Chuck “Busty” Weldy, Troy “Data Miner” Charlesworth, Daniel “Baby Driver” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Ratchet Block” Mengedoht caught the back of the second start fleet and rounded the Freeway buoy with nary a tack.

It was a gorgeous evening with lots of boats.

Rounding wide to keep clear of traffic paid off with clear air, Full Moon rolling past several more second start boats on a tight reach to the Aurora buoy. With the apparent wind clocking through 90 degree shifts, the long reach/run to the Chander’s Cove buoy involved a lot of trimming but the Equalizer spinnaker kept Full Moon moving well.

Nice sunset, captured by Michelle Mathison from her Facebook post.

The spinnaker pole trapped the jib sheets when it came down, taking a while to sort, but Full Moon didn’t lose too much speed heading back north. Two tacks later, Full Moon crossed the line to take first place! Summer Sled (Harbor 20) was second, about a minute back, followed by Blue Jeans (C&C 27). 

Drifter

The crew, heading out onto the lake.

Lots of boats going nowhere crowd the starting line.

Lake Union was flat calm for the Prom Night Duck Dodge. Full Moon crew Michael “Rocker” Medina, Martha “Pearls” Schoemaker, Doug “It’s You!” Schoemaker, Steve “Sordid Past” Pfeiffer, Daniel “Snarky Puppy” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Why Not?” Mengedoht employed rocking to get to the AGC and Chandler’s Cove buoys before hoisting the spinnaker and motoring in reverse to fill it. Needless to say, we weren’t actually racing and it is questionable whether any boat made it around the course (legally) before dark, though a few appeared to be trying. One of the highlights of the evening was watching two swimmers pulling a blue Thunderbird – and they were moving pretty well!

Motoring in reverse to fill the spinnaker.

The sunset was spectacular.

Jinxed!

Full Moon crew Michael “Gridlock” Medina, Dave “Big Pull” Pulsifer, Christian “Local Brew” Grange, Neil “Dad” Piispanen, Calvin “What Is This For” Piispanen, and skipper John “Low Pole” Mengedoht enjoyed a decent start for the Hippies and Hipsters Duck Dodge. Full Moon held starboard tack nearly to the Westlake shore before tacking into clear air. This paid off pretty well, Full Moon crossing ahead of 40’ Thundorca and several other boats before tacking back to round the Freeway buoy.

Next was a tight reach to the Aurora buoy, the wind getting very light for the last third of the leg. After jibing around the buoy, the Equalizer was quickly launched and Full Moon began to reel in a number of boats, including some stragglers from second start. A slightly early douse before the AGC buoy set up a nice tight rounding, followed by a fast close reach to the Chandler’s Cove buoy.

Returning upwind, it appeared there were still a number of boats in front of Full Moon but it was hard to tell how many. We didn’t see it happen but, somewhere on this leg, the zippy J22 Jinx lost her mast! We didn’t hear any collision so it may have been a hardware failure (shrouds) but the word is nobody got hurt and the crew were able to gather up the mess and get the boat safely back to the dock. Good work, guys, and we hope to see you back on the lake soon!

Once the rain began to clear out, we were treated to a double rainbow!

Meanwhile, Full Moon had her hands full battling some bigger boats from second start, fortunately being able to outpoint them until they tacked away. Approaching the Freeway buoy on port tack, a different pair of bigger boats on starboard tack were converging. A smooth tack brought Full Moon into a perfect “lee bow” position and the two boats tacked away.

The sunset was also spectacular!

The next leg was very similar to the first lap, though the wind was even lighter near the Aurora buoy. Full Moon launched the nylon monster for the southbound leg, passed a few more boats from second start, and began to slowly close the gap on the Capri 25 Tailwind. After a hasty spinnaker douse, Full Moon again hugged the AGC buoy and romped toward the Chandler’s Cove buoy nearly close-hauled. For whatever reason, Tailwind was on a track further to leeward, along with two second start boats (including our old rival Ignitor). Full Moon was able to round the buoy in front of Tailwind and then hold position to the finish line where we were greeted by a toot of the horn – and some rain. Having figured on being fourth place at best, this was a very pleasant surprise, Full Moon actually finishing second behind always-competitive Tuesday (Columbia 26).

No Western Night

With a sick skipper, Full Moon sat out the Duck Dodge Western Night but we should be back next week for Hippies and Hipsters Night. Congratulations to third start winners Tailwind, Chola/Geoff, and Wandering Angus.

Duck Bronzesty

Chad takes a selfie!

Full Moon crew Dave “Tangled” Pulsifer, Judy “Helper” Tiffany, Chad “Sunscreen” Harnish, Daniel “Haircut” Mengedoht and skipper John “Big Move” Mengedoht enjoyed an excellent start in beautiful weather near the “pin” end of the line for the Duck Dodgesty Duck Dodge. Slippery When Wet (Santana 20) held position ahead to and to windward to slow Full Moon’s progress to the Freeway buoy but Full Moon was able to hold off Summer Sled (Harbor 20) and a J22 before rounding.

 

It was gorgeous out there, unusual for early June!

A tack soon after the buoy took Full Moon out of a lot boat traffic (sailing and drifting power boats) and into better breeze crossing the north end of Lake Union. This provided a huge gain, Full Moon slipping into the lead in third start and passing a number of second starts boats as well before rounding the Aurora buoy.

 

Full Moon takes the bronze!

Once launched, the Mighty Isis (aka “Equalizer” spinnaker) helped Full Moon speed south on a romping beam reach to the AGC buoy. Unfortunately, the take-down had some issues and Full Moon spent agonizing minutes on the final upwind leg with the jib flapping uselessly. This allowed a couple of second start boats to slide past as well as eventual winner Jinx and second place Summer Sled. Once Full Moon got going, though, nobody else threatened to pass and Full Moon secured a still-excellent third place finish.

Another duck to add to the mast.

Not Quite Royalty

Full Moon just after the start.

The weather forecasters were a bit off for the Game of Thrones Duck Dodge, a large cloud dumping rain about 6:00 and soaking the boat, not to mention some distant rumblings of thunder. Full Moon crew Randy “Bluetooth” Olsen, Chuck “No Brakes” Weldy, Kristin “Electrocuted” Gasper, Kevin “Amazonia” Gasper, and skipper John “Slow Starter” Mengedoht were a bit late to the starting line, thereby missing a tight cluster of boats trying to clear the Committee Boat. A quick tack toward the Westlake shore soon provided clear and better breeze, allowing Full Moon to pass a number of boats before rounding the AGC buoy.

Chuck, Kristin, John, Randy, and Kevin enjoying the lack of rain.

The wind for the northbound leg was initially very light and from dead astern but soon filled in more from the west, filling the mighty Equalizer for a reasonably zippy reach. This got Full Moon past a few more boats while gaining on a Capri 25 and Duck Dodge veteran Tuesday (Columbia 26). Full Moon finally caught up to the Capri at the Freeway buoy but the Capri had the inside line to round ahead.

Tuesday, Capri 25 and Full Moon doing a mobile phone ad.

A tack to get out of the Capri’s wind shadow paid off well for most of the leg to the Aurora buoy but then the wind faded approaching the buoy, allowing the Capri to just retain their lead. Full Moon then took a hitch to leeward on the final leg in hopes of getting a little separation but the Capri didn’t falter, pulling ahead about 50 feet.

Full Moon approaches the Committee Boat.

Assuming we were well out of contention with the late start, Full Moon didn’t aggressively defend position when a J22 came up from behind. Much to our surprise, the Capri got the horn for second place followed by the J22 in third. Full Moon was all of two boat-lengths out of the top three!

Do or Do Not

Full Moon, comin' through!

The Star Wars Duck Dodge featured ample wind and mostly cloudy skies. At the start, the wind was out of the northwest, setting things up for all boats to easily cross on starboard tack. Full Moon crew Michael “Nibbler” Medina, Marcelle “Buns” van Houten, Katie “Lightsaber” Freels, Matt “Blaster” Allert, Daniel “R2” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Zig Zag” Mengedoht appeared to have a well-timed start but got caught in a boat sandwich squeezing through the line, a few boats to windward being unwilling to alter course per the rules. Once the boats spread out enough for a little clear air, Full Moon was mid-fleet but soon began to reel in a few competitors.

A gravel barge made things interesting for second start boats.

Traffic began to thin out a bit more after rounding the Freeway buoy and a fast romp to the Aurora buoy. The long beam reach in strong breeze to the AGC buoy made a spinnaker an iffy proposition and few boats made the attempt. After a short leg to the Chandler’s Cove buoy, it was back to upwind mode.

Katie, John, and Matt enjoy post-race beverages.

Since the sign boards on the Committee Boat indicated two laps for all starts, Full Moon took the best course for the Freeway buoy instead of crossing the finish line. Approaching the buoy, Full Moon needed a surgical series two quick tacks to just stay ahead of a well-sailed Harbor 20 and stay inside the J30 Slingshot, which was presumably in second start. Unfortunately, on the long southbound leg, both boats got by. Slingshot, though, completely skipped the Chandler’s Cove buoy or we might have returned the favor!

Michael agrees, it wasn't warm out there.

In the end, Full Moon finished somewhere in the top ten boats, though there was a Facebook post suggesting the Race Committee scored third start boats after just one lap! Regardless, it was a blast racing around the lake, Full Moon recording a speed of 7 knots at one point with extended periods going over 6.

Bronze in the Rain

Full Moon through the spyglass.

Full Moon crew Randy “No Spinnaker” Olsen, Adam “Cheap Cider” Michalak, Jackie “Luck Charm” Hensey, and skipper John “New Folds” Mengedoht nailed the third start for the Ugly Sweaters Night Duck Dodge, enjoying first place all the way to the Chandler’s Cove buoy. Unfortunately, the Ranger 33 Chula just managed to get an inside overlap to round the buoy inside and take the lead.

Post-race treats.

Heading back north on a close reach, Full Moon encountered a patch of light wind, allowing Chula to consolidate their lead, Tuesday (Columbia 26) to slip by, and a J22 to catch up. Even old rival Shogun threatened briefly until the wind kicked back in, Full Moon threading past some slower second start boats to maintain third place rounding the Aurora buoy.

Jackie and Adam

With a relatively short leg to the Freeway buoy and variable wind angles, Full Moon elected not to hoist the spinnaker. Tuesday deployed theirs for only a slight gain to hold onto second place. After rounding the buoy, Full Moon slowly gained on Tuesday upwind to the finish but could not make up the distance, still very happy to secure third place.

Getting ready to apply the new duck!

Meanwhile, having presumably spotted an opportunity to score an easy “duck,” 40-foot Thundorca (a third start regular despite her size), switched to first start so at least there were three boats in that start. Full Moon had briefly considered making the same move but opted to stuck to third start to avoid a second lap in the drizzle. As long as the Race Committee does nothing to regulate it, boats are able to freely choose which start they want and first start will remain sparsely populated. This seems nuts to me but it is what it is!