Finale Drifter

Full Moon had a decent start. For perspective, Shogun (ahead and two boats toward the bottom) was over the line early.

The SW wind was very light for the final Duck Dodge and it proceeded to get even lighter. After a decent start, Full Moon crew Randy “Steel Trap” Olsen, Michael “Tanglefoot” Medina, Marcelle “Deck Ornament” Van Houten, Daniel “Week 19” Mengedoht, and skipper John “No Damage” Mengedoht made it very slowly south for a large pinwheel rounding of the AGC buoy but only went about halfway into the second leg before dropping the spinnaker and firing up the iron sail. The running lights were on by then and it was time for the traditional final race “Martini Night” cocktails.

Full Moon is on the left, not long after rounding the AGC buoy.

Despite the lack of wind, it was a very pleasant evening on the lake, our naturally well-insulated skipper not even bothering with a jacket until well after dark.

The Equalizer only helps if it has wind...

It has been an excellent summer with Full Moon appearing in three different starts depending on circumstances and doing well in all three. In third start, Full Moon managed three gold ducks and one silver. In fourth start (no spinnaker), Full Moon received one gold duck and one bronze. Bumped to second start for two weeks by the Race Committee, Full Moon still managed a fifth and a sixth place, though well off the pace of the fastest boats. Not counting two skipped races and the abandoned finale, Full Moon had a median and average finish of fourth place! Much more importantly, we had a lot of fun out there.

Randy surveys his martini glass holder, vintage 1997.

Next up, maybe, is the Rum Run – depending on weather and how many of the crew are up for it.

The city looks fabulous from Lake Union. Yes, some boats were still racing well into the night.