Gold or Silver?

Full Moon is the fourth boat from the left - great start!

The wind was out of the southwest for the first Duck Dodge of 2026. The goal for Full Moon was to start at or near the buoy end, which worked out pretty well with Full Moon first or close to first across the line.

Full Moon is squeezed between late-tacking Solara and a J22 at the AGC buoy.

Crew Randy “Untwisted” Olsen, Michael “Mariners” Medina, Chad “Beer Meister” Harnish, Daniel “Twisted” Mengedoht and skipper John “Patience” Mengedoht then sailed a solid first leg, nearly laying the AGC buoy. A late tack required ducking speedy Scamp (Harbor 20) then tacking back just inside a J22 from SYC. Unfortunately, relative giant Solara (40’) came in on port before tacking right in front of Full Moon, creating a tight squeeze with the J22. Collision was averted, Full Moon rounding the buoy in third place.

Full Moon buzzes the Committee Boat while gaining on Scamp.

It took a while to launch the mighty Equalizer (we haven’t done this since September), but it paid off as always, allowing Full Moon to eventually get by Scamp while Solara faded back without a spinnaker up. The Freeway buoy was farther north than normal but Full Moon rounded in first place, just behind the last of the second start boats.

Crew post-race with gold duck!

Unfortunately, that boat was then directly in front of Full Moon for the westward leg, making it difficult to get by or to sail fast in the “dirty air.” This allowed boats behind to gain a bit, Necessary Evil (Catalina 30) nearly catching Full Moon at the Aurora buoy as the wind went light. Necessary Evil did get past on the final leg, though Full Moon returned the favor a bit later. Meanwhile, Scamp was still in the mix, sailing a bit closer to the middle of the lake where the wind was slightly better, and giant Solara was charging up from behind (sometimes size does matter!). At the finish, Solara got a horn followed in quick succession by a horn for Full Moon and another for Scamp. And then maybe yet another for Necessary Evil?

Cap'n John stretches to install one more duck on the mast.

Full Moon dropped the jib and swung around to collect our duck sticker from the Race Committee, expecting silver. Much to our surprise, it was gold! We then encountered Solara, who let us know they, too, received a gold duck for third start. We’ll assume for now that we were in second place until the results are posted…

Drifting in the Dark

Full Moon is fourth across the starting line, though to leeward of a lot of boats.

Full Moon crew Ian “Beer Meister” Mengedoht, Rebecca “Mom Texts” Herivel, Daniel “Double Deluxe” Mengedoht, Kaylee “Snacks” Charlesworth, Troy “Coach” Charlesworth, and skipper John “Patience” Mengedoht opted for a relatively conservative starboard tack approach to the start for the final Duck Dodge (“Martini Night” aboard Full Moon) and this paid off somewhat in avoiding a cluster of boats on port tack at the Committee Boat. With decent wind, the fleet spread out, tacking back and forth. A final tack nailed the layline to the Freeway buoy, Full Moon pulling ahead of 22’ Anakena and overlapped on the inside of a 29’ Dragon.

Full Moon then continued north to Gasworks before tacking west nearly to the Westlake shore, then tacked north on another perfect layline to the Aurora buoy. This enabled Full Moon to round just (barely) ahead of Necessary Evil (Catalina 30) with Slingshot (J30) just behind. Unfortunately, both 30 footers came in ready to launch their spinnakers while Full Moon still needed to get the pole up, having just tacked at the buoy. This allowed both 30-footers to pull ahead and to windward.

Full Moon trails Necessary Evil and Slinghot to the AGC buoy.

Thus began a long battle south, Full Moon not quite able to punch through the wind shadow of both boats while Necessarily Evil could similarly not escape Slingshot. The good news is that all three were slowly reeling in Makima (26’ T-bird). Approaching the AGC buoy in fading wind, a Beneteau 423 from second start entered the mix. Makima made it around safely in front. A (very) late spinnaker drop on Full Moon allowed rounding inside the big Beneteau, but the ensuing cleanup also allowed them back out in front. Full Moon tacked away but by this time the wind had dropped to nearly nothing.

The final leg was agonizingly slow. Makima eventually crossed the line first, followed by Necessary Evil many minutes later. This left Full Moon and Slingshot to battle for third until Brushfiire (Mirage 24’) snuck past toward the Eastlake shore. Full Moon ultimately prevailed over Slingshot to take fourth, both boats barely moving.

Lots of boats never made it to the AGC buoy before abandoning the race.

This was Full Moon’s 30^th year of dodging ducks going back to 1995. (There were no races in 2020 due to COVID.) We sailed in seventeen out of eighteen races, skipping just one when the boat was hauled out for bottom paint. Amazingly, we also only had rain for one race in May. Keeping with tradition, twenty different people rotated through the crew, including four “newbies.” We managed to score one gold duck, two silvers, and five bronze ducks. Our average finish was 4.5 and our mean finish was 4^th place. Not bad for a 47-year-old boat!

New Moons

After replacing the vinyl letters for the name and the registration numbers, I finally got around to replacing the crumbling moons. I bought the vinyl online and cut it myself - not bad for an amateur.

Oops, We Did It Again!

Full Moon is over the line just a bit early...

After two poor starts recently (and one incredible comeback), Full Moon crew Anne “Birthday Girl” Gustavson, Ben “Coach” Spicer, Poorva “Muscles” Joshi, Daniel “Renaissance Man” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Comeback King” Mengedoht went for a relatively aggressive port tack start for the LED Night Duck Dodge. Unfortunately, traffic and the need to avoid starboard tack boats led to Full Moon being over the line early. WAY early!

Full Moon leads the red J24 (no name) to the AGC buoy.

Quickly whipping around the Committee Boat to restart, Full Moon was still in a lot of traffic but, multiple tacks later, finally got out into the middle of the lake and better wind. By the Freeway buoy, Full Moon had somehow crawled back to about sixth, though it was difficult to tell at that point. After rounding, Full Moon tacked north toward Gasworks to escape the wind shadows of a white T-bird (Makima?) and Great Expectations (SJ 24) and in hopes of catching Amorillo (Moore 24). This didn’t pay off in the short term, but Full Moon went nearly to the Westlake shore on the next tack, which set things up for a perfect approach to the Aurora buoy. This brought Full Moon up to Amorillo, just ahead of the T-bird, and a fair way ahead of Great Expectations.

Daniel reaches for the Silver Duck.

The Equalizer was quickly launched for the beam reach south and Full Moon soon pulled away from the others and then powered past a red J24. With a clean drop, Full Moon rounded the AGC buoy to head for the finish line. Unfortunately, the wind then went extremely light, making for a painfully slow final leg. Full Moon kept slowly moving, though, and eventually crossed the line in growing darkness, in second place for the Silver Duck!

A 505 dinghy responds well to the LED Night theme.

Mission Improbable

Full Moon is at the far right middle of this photo taken right after the start.

Full Moon crew Michael “Jack Nicklaus” Medina, Marcelle “Dry Drop” Van Houten, Kristen “Deck Ornament” Rue, Daniel “Topo Chico” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Late Again” Mengedoht suffered a poor start for the Medieval Knight Duck Dodge, crossing the line in 19^th place a full 1 ½ minutes after the horn and at the disadvantaged end of the line. The silver lining to this dark cloud was having relatively clear air, enabling Full Moon to pass a good number of boats before rounding the AGC buoy.

Heading for the Freeway buoy, Full Moon will pass all but one of these boats!

The Equalizer was quickly hoisted for the long beam reach north and Full Moon began picking off more boats in the relatively light breeze and then passing a cluster of boats approaching the Freeway buoy. With a clean drop of the spinnaker, Full Moon rounded the buoy and was on to the final leg south.

Full Moon about to round the Freeway buoy, chasing the J22.

Next up was a J-22 from SYC, usually difficult to pass upwind, but Full Moon got past to leeward and pulled away. On this final leg, there was a large gap ahead and a ton of boats behind. Could it be? Approaching the Committee Boat, we heard one horn then another, and, finally, one more horn for Full Moon for the Bronze Duck! An amazing comeback!

Cap'n John reveals the bronze duck on one of the few bare spots left on the mast (without a ladder).

New Hatch Seals!

The vintage 1978 forward hatch seals on Full Moon haven't been fully watertight for years and I finally got around to replacing them. They are taller than the originals but fairly squishy so I think they'll be fine. Besides, they were inexpensive so it won't be a big deal to swap them out. Now to chase down the leak at the mast!

Rock The Boat, Baby!

Band Night featured a smoky sun, lots of heat, and minimal wind.

Full Moon crew Randy “Go Behind” Olsen, Ian “Starboard” Mengedoht, Daniel “Port” Mengedoht, Rebecca “Day Camp” Herivel, and skipper John “Whatever” Mengedoht were stuck in a windless mess for the start of the Band Night Duck Dodge on the second hottest day of the year. With numerous “tacks” to avoid other boats, it was over 10 minutes before Full Moon oozed across the line. Deciding that a top three finish was not remotely possible, Daniel employed serious “kinetics” (rocking the boat) to propel Full Moon forward and out of the drifting pack. (This would, of course, be cheating in serious racing.)

Since we were out there anyway, it was decided to proceed at least to the Freeway buoy. This took a long time but then the wind filled in enough to keep going to the Aurora buoy, and then to hoist the Equalizer for the long leg south. This worked well until the wind died again on approach to the AGC buoy. Full Moon barely kept moving, just enough to reach the buoy.

The final leg, however, looked dismal. There is typically a 9 PM cut-off for racing, though, and kinetics were put into play once more in hopes of "finishing" before then. Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to us, the Race Committee had decided to call the race at 8:30 and no boats from third start were scored.

Fortunately, we had ample supplies of assorted cold beverages aboard to help beat the heat!

Tropical Fun

Full Moon crew Michael “Mariners” Medina, Daniel “Cup Control” Mengedoht, Troy “Rat Poop” Charlesworth, Poorva “Observer” Joshi, and skipper John “Calm” Mengedoht had a mediocre start for the Tropical Night Duck Dodge, all boats easily crossing the line on starboard tack. A few boats were passed on the first leg to the AGC buoy, though Full Moon lost some ground due to Thundorca apparently motor-sailing with no jib blocking our path!

Full Moon in eighth place just after the start.

The second leg was a straight shot downwind to the floating “island” dispensing beer, Full Moon opting not to hoist the spinnaker until safely past. With multiple Solo cups aboard, the Equalizer was hoisted to good effect, though gusty wind shifts near the Freeway buoy required a slightly early take-down.

Full Moon was able to hold a relatively southward (windward) course past Gasworks and this paid off by not requiring any tacks to make the Aurora buoy and allowing Full Moon to pass Sommerfugl (29’ Dragon) and Necessary Evil (Catalina 30’).

Cap'n John having fun!

The final leg featured lulls and gusts, Full Moon working hard to hold off a J-22 and Necessary Evil. In the end Full Moon was fourth behind Makima (26’ Thunderbird), an excellent result in a large fleet.

Photo Finish

Full Moon (behind SYC 6) has just tacked for the start.

Full Moon crew Randy “1995” Olsen, Daniel “No Bungie” Mengedoht, Mike “Long Hair” Tracy, and skipper John “No Cigar” Mengedoht went for a conservative starboard tack start for the Toga Night Duck Dodge, tacking to cross the line sixth. Choosing when to tack on the way to the Freeway buoy was more about dodging paddleboards and drifting power boats than strategy but Full Moon maintained relative position.

Cap'n John trims the spinnaker, steering with his knees!

Full Moon opted for a northerly track past Gasworks, following Necessary Evil (Catalina 30). Two tacks later, Full Moon rounded the Aurora buoy and launched the mighty Equalizer. On the long beam reach to the AGC buoy, Full Moon gained on the leaders and slowly worked past Necessary Evil and a 29’ Dragon.

Full Moon (right) works past Necessary Evil and the Dragon.

Rounding just inside Necessary Evil, it was a straight shot to the finish line with the Dragon slowly converging from windward, having rounded the buoy on a tighter line. In the end, the Dragon scored third just inches ahead of Full Moon, making for a very exciting finish!

It was a gorgeous warm evening, capped with a great sunset.

Fresh Bottom Paint!

Full Moon skipped the Duck Dodge this week in order to finally get some fresh bottom paint. It is embarrassing to say how long it had been since it was last painted. On the lake, you don't really need it if you clean the bottom regularly but it's still not good if you've worn through the paint in places! Unfortunately, the new paint won't make us any faster - roller jobs are just too rough - but it looks much better plus it is ready for upcoming adventures on the Sound.

Full Moon returns to the water, looking pretty good apart from the worn out blue moon. Not bad for a 47-year-old boat!

Two Laps of Fun

Full Moon (far left) avoids carnage at the Committee Boat.

Full Moon crew Randy “Halyards” Olsen, Daniel “Packer” Mengedoht, Eileen “Port” McHugh, Michael “Starboard” Ward and skipper John “Busy” Mengedoht enjoyed a solid start on starboard tack for the Pink Boat Duck Dodge, avoiding the pile-up at the Committee Boat. With decent wind, however, it wasn’t long before much bigger boats caught up, though the Capri 25 Tailwind was holding their own, eventually taking first place.

Daniel retrieves the bag after helping launch the Equalizer.

With a Paddleboard Rave happening off Gasworks, the first buoy was the Aurora buoy, Full Moon rounding with speedy Iskra (S2 7.9) and just behind Makima (Thunderbird). With the Equalizer deployed, Full Moon passed Makima and then traffic slowed Iskra, allowing Full Moon to round the AGC buoy ahead. Unfortunately, skipper John briefly forgot about the Chandlers Cove buoy before correcting course. It appeared that some boats forgot about the requirement to cross the finish line on the first lap, though it didn’t matter all that much.

Full Moon gets the inside line at the AGC buoy on the first lap.

The second lap was similar to the first, Full Moon losing ground to some boats upwind only to pass or gain on boats downwind. In the end, Full Moon was about tenth on a beautiful warm evening.

Full Moon (left) on approach to the AGC buoy on the second lap.

Full Moon will miss the Summerween Duck Dodge next week, getting a long-overdue haul-out for fresh bottom paint. We’ll return to third start for Toga Night, having completed our second start penance for doing a little too well earlier in the season.

Post-race, several boats drifted among the hundreds of paddle-boards.

Crazy Wind!

Counterclockwise: Rebecca, Ian, John and Michael in the prestart.

Full Moon crew Michael “Bun Dip” Medina, Daniel “First Aid” Mengedoht, Ian “I Can Do It” Mengedoht, Rebecca “Two Beers” Herivel, and skipper John “Crazy Ivan” Mengedoht were bumped up to second start for the Pirate Night Duck Dodge, having scored two bronze ducks in third start. The wind was strong out of the Northwest and Full Moon secured a good position on port tack near the favored Committee Boat end. Full Moon did well on the first leg to the Freeway buoy, despite some amazing wind shifts. The second leg featured a huge round-up before the main could be released. Did I mention the wind was strong?

Full Moon passes the Committee Boat to start about fourth.

Once around the Aurora buoy, there was no need for a spinnaker, Full Moon reaching over 7 knots at times with just the jib and main, flying south to the AGC buoy. By this time, the 40 foot and larger boats had finally caught up (sometimes size does matter), with Leo Kai forcing a squeeze around the buoy, causing side-to-side contact between several boats. Once around, it was nearly a straight shot back to the starting line to begin the second lap.

Full Moon is "wing and wing" approaching the AGC buoy. Tight squeeze ahead!

The wind was a bit lighter at this point, apart from gusts, and Full Moon had good speed around the Freeway buoy. Approaching the Aurora buoy, an inattentive power boat driver forced an unplanned tack and a cabin cruiser was making apparently random turns. You need a head on a swivel on Lake Union!

With the pole set for starboard jibe and wind now lighter and directly out of the north, Full Moon headed toward the center of the lake with jib and main before jibing and finally hoisting the Equalizer. This worked fine until the wind inexplicably shut down completely for several agonizing minutes! Down came the Equalizer as Full Moon drifted slowly southward. The wind eventually filled back in enough to reach the AGC buoy. The final upwind leg was uneventful, Full Moon finishing somewhere in the middle of the fleet though well behind the leaders.

Flag Day

With a variety of flags flying, Full Moon crew Randy “Fender” Olsen, Daniel “Conch Republic” Mengedoht, Robert “Groom” Leykam, Lucienne “Bride” Grace, and skipper John “Tight Squeeze” Mengedoht made certain not to be over early for the Red, White and Blue Duck Dodge but still managed a decent second-row start. The unusual northeast wind made the “pin” end of the line favored but Full Moon only needed two tacks to reach the Freeway buoy, passing a boat or two in the process.

Full Moon in the prestart before hoisting sails.

Initially favoring a northward track, the Aurora buoy was spotted farther south, and it was easy to fall off to the layline. Unfortunately, Leo Kai and another large boat from the second start were clogging the works near the buoy, moving very slowly. With another boat coming in on port tack from the north (which should have avoided all the starboard tack boats), there suddenly was no room to maneuver, resulting in a bit of bumper boats action.

Full Moon is in the second row for the start.

Once around, Full Moon hoisted the mighty Equalizer, though the wind angle and strength made it a struggle to hoist the final four feet. Meanwhile, Full Moon still had great speed southbound which only improved once the hoist was completed. Takedowns can be challenging in reaching conditions so Full Moon was a bit conservative with a slightly early drop but there didn’t appear to be any direct competitors nearby. Leo Kai had managed to get barely back ahead at the AGC buoy (sometimes size matters) but Full Moon tacked after rounding for clear air while Leo Kai rumbled eastward.

Full Moon (blue, black and white spinnaker) getting past Leo Kai approaching the AGC buoy.

Approaching the finish line, Full Moon needed two tacks to cross but had to yield to the Capri 25 Tailwind as well as an unnamed J30. Since Tailwind also needed a couple of tacks, this led to a tacking duel, Tailwind prevailing at the end (they’d had the advantage from the beginning) to take second place with Full Moon third for another Bronze Duck. By virtue of the new Duck Dodge rules, this means Full Moon will have to be in second start for the next three weeks.

Best Comeback Ever!

Wigs provide some Pride Night color on Full Moon.

If you’re never over-early, you’re probably not trying hard enough. So it was that Full Moon and one other boat were across the starting line just before the horn for the Pride Night Duck Dodge, requiring us to circle around the end buoy to restart and costing a few minutes. Full Moon crew Michael “Who, Me?” Medina, Marcelle “Eagle Eye” Van Houten, Daniel “Big Six” Mengedoht, Leslie “Shutter Bug” Synnestvedt, and skipper John “Legendary” Mengedoht nonetheless found a nice upwind groove to the Freeway buoy, which was placed a bit farther west than normal. This apparently confused quite a few boats, which proceeded farther north than necessary to round the fixed Gasworks green buoy rather than the official Duck Dodge buoy. The good news for Full Moon was that this allowed us to advance from near the back of the fleet to closer to the middle.

Full Moon and a Hobie 33 were just barely early across the starting line.

Well-placed tacks to pick up the wind shifts brought Full Moon past a few more boats to the Aurora buoy where the mighty Equalizer was soon launched. Favoring the middle of the lake to escape the wind shadow of boats to windward, Full Moon got past a few more boats on the long broad reach south, culminating in passing speedy Necessary Evil (Catalina 30) just before the AGC buoy.

Getting past Necessary Evil.

A straight shot upwind to the finish line widened the lead over boats behind and, much to our amazement, we received the horn for third place! Given the disastrous start, this was surely Full Moon’s best comeback of all time.

Skipper's Choice

Early on the first leg to AGC. Can you spot Full Moon?

Full Moon crew Randy “NA” Olsen, Chad “Amber Ale” Harnish, Carey “Azimuth” Reibman, Daniel “Dry” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Not Dry” Mengedoht intended to set up near the middle of the starting line for the Skipper’s Choice Duck Dodge but ended up a bit too far back and in a crowded pack of boats near the “pin” end. Starting eleventh isn’t a recipe for success but Full Moon soon moved up to eighth on the first upwind leg (SW wind) to the AGC buoy.

Daniel at his normal station when not on the bow.

The Equalizer was quickly launched for the long second leg, Full Moon threading through boats heading in the opposite direction. The wind was just right for great speed, Full Moon nearly getting up on a plane at one point. Nearing the Freeway buoy, Full Moon had moved up into fifth place.

Cap'n John with a post-race cold beverage.

The third leg was a straight shot nearly close-hauled to the Aurora buoy. Full Moon managed to pass one boat only to have a J22 squeeze inside to round the buoy ahead. The final leg was upwind where Full Moon crossed the line still fifth but way ahead of the rest of the fleet.