Shaken AND Stirred

Most boats looked like this upwind.

Conditions at the dock prior to Goosebump Race No. 3 seemed pretty normal and Full Moon was set up with the new genoa and with the Equalizer ready to go. However, crew Randy “Not Letting Go” Olsen, Michael “Cabin Boy” Medina, Katie “Low Rider” Freels, Stephen “360” Doyle, and skipper John “Round-up” Mengedoht soon found that the wind on the lake was quite a bit stronger than the forecast 10 knots.

Full Moon probably looked a bit like this with too much jib and a flogging main.

Despite somewhat irregular horn signals from the Race Committee, Full Moon was positioned fairly well for the start, though quickly rolled by 40’ Surt. With too much sail up in some 20 knots of breeze, it was a wild ride to the AGC buoy and having to double-tack at the end of the leg resulted in Full Moon being next to last in the 10-boat first start.

Yeah, kind of like this.

Turning downwind, launching the Equalizer would have been suicidal and with the knot-meter frequently hovering in the upper six knot range, it is doubtful a smaller spinnaker would have been all that helpful, though Selchie seemed to do well with theirs. A larger boat didn’t do quite so well, exploding their chute and having a challenge getting the shredded remains back down on the deck.

Gust and round-up...

After rounding the Freeway buoy, it was a fast and still over-amped close reach to the Aurora buoy before heading back upwind. Not long after that, it appeared that Scat decided to retire rather than take further bashing. Full Moon kept going, though, with the mainsail mostly back-winded and the new genoa undergoing stress testing. Approaching the southern end of the lake, a big gust brought a scoop of lake water into the cockpit followed by a big round-up and an unplanned tack, resulting in a second scoop of water as the genoa briefly pinned the boat down.

And briefly pinned by the jib...

The rest of the second lap was similar to the first, though Full Moon got passed by a couple of larger second start boats before the finish, which came a little sooner than expected since the Committee boat had apparently dragged anchor! Apart from Scat’s DNF, Full Moon was dead last and then some but the crew was happy just to make it around in one piece!

Twice Around

Full Moon crew Randy “Apple Watch” Olsen, Chad “Bleu Chip” Harnish, Adam “Halyards” Michalak, and skipper John “Warm Beer” Mengedoht enjoyed a good start in light breeze near the Committee Boat end of the line for Goosebump Race #2. As expected, the 30’ all-out racer Nefarious and 33’ Anarchy quickly pulled out into a lead while Full Moon was somewhat more evenly matched with 40’ Surt and the Thunderbird Selchie. Rounding the AGC buoy, Selchie was third, Surt fourth, and Full Moon bringing up the rear as only five boats went in first start!

Randy enjoys the weather.

The Equalizer was quickly launched for the long run to the Freeway buoy and, for a while, it looked like Full Moon might overtake Surt and maybe even Selchie but it was not to be. Meanwhile, Anarchy either got their buoys mixed up or had difficulties with their asymmetrical spinnaker but they eventually came roaring back to the Freeway buoy to hold onto second place.

Chad, too!

The third leg to the Aurora buoy was a close reach and Full Moon elected to be conservative and use the genoa rather than gybe the nylon monster and struggle to take it down at that wind angle. The boats ahead gained a bit with spinnakers up, though Surt then lost more than it had gained when their spinnaker flew behind them as they brought it down. 

Surt in the distance.

The rest of the race showed occasional gains and losses but no changes in the order of boats except that speedy Scat from second start got past Full Moon, overcoming a 5 minute head start. It was surprising to see both Scat and a J30 in second start but that just means less competition for Full Moon!

Regarding the race last week, it was actually Surt that was recorded for third place. Meanwhile, there was a lot of Facebook commentary suggesting the race should not count toward the series scores given all the issues. I would certainly agree with tossing the race results if the Race Committee wants to do that.

Speaking of which, the SSYC web site is a bit sparse on the rules, saying only that there are no handicaps or protests. There is no time limit and no reference to the Racing Rules of Sailing, which leaves only the basic navigation rules from the Colregs. This gets me thinking. We racers actually behave as though at least some of the Racing Rules apply because those rules were created in order to have fair competition (as well as to prevent collisions in situations such as mark-roundings where the Colregs are pretty useless). Stuff like not being over the starting line early, not running your engine after the warning signal, not skipping a buoy (“sailing the course”), not using human propulsion (paddling, rowing, sculling, pumping, or rocking), all are part of the Racing Rules. Without those rules in play, all those things are technically legal, not that you won’t be accused of cheating if you don’t follow them. I understand that many sailors, especially beginning racers, are intimidated by the Racing Rules and their supposed complexity – or else offended at the thought of so many rules impinging on the free spirited fun of “beercan” racing. Therefore, I don’t honestly expect the SSYC or the Duck Dodge to adopt the Racing Rules, even an abbreviated version, but I honestly think it would improve the racing if they did. No more confusion about how overlaps apply at mark roundings or whether “overtaking vessels” must keep clear at all times!

Anarchy Rules?

The Goosebump series has been taken over by the Seattle Singles Yacht Club and the first race displayed a few glitches with the new management. The Committee Boat was over half an hour late and, for whatever reason, no course buoys were set apart from the pin end of the start-finish line – which stretched nearly the entire width of Lake Union! The good news was the beautiful sunshine, which offset the cold temperatures and made up a bit for the lack of wind.

Not much wind for the first Goosebumps race.

Following a couple of years of precedent, Full Moon crew Randy “Sippy Cup” Olsen, Michael “Rock n’ Roll” Medina, Marcelle “HBR” Van Houten, and skipper John “Why Not” Mengedoht elected to go in the first start, which raised a few eyebrows on the Race Committee, but with Scat (custom 25’) and Selchie (T-bird) also selecting first start, this is probably appropriate. Positioned comfortably away from the cluster of boats at the Committee Boat but not so far down the line as to make for a longer first leg, Full Moon enjoyed an excellent start, though the Soverel 33 Tipsy Gypsy nailed it, quickly forging out to a lead under spinnaker. Several other boats also deployed spinnakers on the reach south but Full Moon stuck with steady speed with the new genoa, knowing the spinnaker could easily collapse in such light air.

John, Michael, and Randy, working hard on the first leg.

40’ Surt caught up on the outside and Selchie on the inside approaching the AGC buoy when 33’ Anarchy lived up to its name by barging in with no rights whatsoever (under either the racing rules or the Colregs) and then very nearly bashing Full Moon as their stern swung out while turning at the buoy. (Attention skipper: Your boat pivots around the keel, not the rudder!) There was not much we could do other than make as much room as possible but it was a totally unnecessary move on their part and could have easily caused damage to several boats.

Full Moon is in the foreground. Note the collapsed spinnakers behind.

Once around the buoy, Full Moon found a bit of wind coming down the east side of the lake and stayed in it while trying to figure out when to tack toward what should have been an Aurora buoy. A Facebook search showed the Committee had changed the course to AGC, Freeway, Aurora, which made much more sense for port roundings, but there were no buoys to be seen. Typsy Gypsy tacked between the buoys defining the Lake Union “test” course but Anarchy and a small dinghy continued north. Full Moon tacked and then tacked back as the word went out via Facebook to round “the farthest buoy,” which could only mean the fixed Gasworks buoy.

Approaching the Gasworks buoy, speedy Scat and Selchie finally caught up to Full Moon. At this point, Full Moon went west, still following Anarchy in case there really was an Aurora buoy, while the other boats took a more southerly course. Much to our surprise, Typsy Gypsy then reappeared, heading for the Gasworks buoy in an effort to sail the “correct” course. Given the light wind, that had to have been a painful decision!

Full Moon on the final leg with 40' Surt parked in front but to leeward.

Anarchy eventually rounded a virtual buoy (about where an Aurora buoy might sometimes be found) but then ran into a dead zone with no wind at all. Full Moon turned toward the south in an effort to round outside of the west “test” course buoys so as to at least round outside every actual buoy in the north half of the lake! At this point, the Anarchy crew began vigorous rocking the boat, pumping the sails to move forward. Given the chaos thus far, the fading wind, and the low angle of the sun, the Full Moon crew decided to do the same, as did the crew of Quandary (505 dinghy). Astoundingly, the Race Committee then awarded first place to Anarchy, second to Full Moon, and third to Quandary as we all crossed the finish line, despite the very obvious human propulsion!

A new red sticker adorns the mast.