Rock the Boat!

Martini Night crew, minus Suzan, who took the picture.
Is anybody moving?

The final Duck Dodge of summer is always Martini Night aboard Full Moon and so it was this week. Crew Randy “Big Pour” Olsen, Art “Moballast” Teller, Grace “OJ Plus” Teller, Michael “Lounge Lizard” Medina, Eileen “Taste of Honey” McHugh, Suzan “No Protection” Schneider, and skipper John “Visualize Vermouth” Mengedoht were pleased that rain held off but dismayed to see nary a ripple of wind on the water.

All three starts began with the fleet parked on the starting line and soon a variety of methods of cheating were displayed as it became apparent that finishing the short course before dark would be unlikely if relying on legal means of propulsion. Full Moon and several other boats employed the time tested sculling of the rudder and then the more obvious rocking the boat from side to side to create some momentum while some others resorted to using their motors. The most entertaining cheating was employed by Mata Hari, who hoisted their spinnaker and then motored around the course backward to provide a full sail, roughly the sailing equivalent of moon walking.

Full Moon actually did manage to sail around the course after the initial bit of cheating, though at speeds that never topped one knot. Our “finish” was, of course, not legal and not counted. Of much more importance were pouring drinks and serving up appetizers to celebrate the end of the season.

It was a great summer and great fun was had by all. Full Moon may do the Rum Run on October 17 but otherwise won’t return to racing until the Goosebumps in mid-January so it’s back to cruising for awhile.

Fading Light

Full Moon crew Randy “Halyards” Olsen, Art “Smooth Jibe” Teller, Grace “Freshman” Teller, Chuck “Hercules” Weldy, and skipper John “No Doughnut” Mengedoht hit the starting line at full speed and right at the horn for the next to last Duck Dodge. Unfortunately, this was near the disadvantaged end of the line but the location did provide clear “air” and Full Moon was, for a short while at least, in second place. A collision at the AGC buoy between a dark blue Thunderbird and 36-foot Mata Hari created a large knot of boats which forced Full Moon to the outside for a painful rounding but prompt hoisting of the mighty Equalizer spinnaker offset most of the loss.

A smooth jibe at the Challenger buoy led to a long run up the lake with Full Moon holding even with nearby boats, though all the traditional rivals were already well behind. The second lap was similar to the first, apart from Mata Hari developing a nasty twist in their huge asymmetrical spinnaker during a jibe, perhaps a bit of karma for hitting the Thunderbird.

Starting the final leg upwind, Full Moon was tenth, just behind two blue T-birds. Holding to the middle of the lake brought a bit stronger breeze and some favorable shifts to push Full Moon ahead but then the trend reversed and the dratted Birds crossed just ahead. However, it was quite nice to finish ahead of Mata Hari, Tenacious, assorted J22s and J24s and at least half a lap ahead of old rivals Ignitor, Fortis, and Shogun.

Beat the Birds!

No simple white togas on Full Moon!
Passing the Thunderbirds.

Still ahead at the Challenger buoy.

Night falls too early these days!

Full Moon crew Debra “Nala” Ricard, Randy “Handbrake” Olsen, Michael “Low Pole” Medina, and skipper John “Early Onset” Mengedoht once again faced a skewed starting line and once again opted for a risky port tack start for the Toga Night Duck Dodge. This time, however, there were no gaps in the wall of starboard-tackers so Full Moon had to wait a bit to cross the line. Even so, this provided a good start with good speed and pointing the desired direction. Full Moon was ahead of all the old rivals and hanging in there with frequent winners Runner and Scat.

Bigger boats like 36-foot Mata Hari and the Buchan 37s Mara and Dreamscape enjoyed the relatively strong breeze and, rounding the Aurora buoy, Full Moon was eleventh. Deploying the mighty Equalizer spinnaker, a threatening blue Thunderbird fell behind but the game was on with a fast J80, Taj Mahal, which struggled to get by despite having an asymmetrical spinnaker perfect for the conditions.

After a clean spinnaker drop, Full Moon was right on Taj Mahal’s transom on a short reaching leg to the Challenger buoy. Returning upwind, however, Taj began to pull ahead while the blue T-bird slowly came up from behind. Full Moon’s line to the Aurora buoy was just a hair low in progressively lighter and shiftier wind and the T-bird got past as Full Moon did two quick tacks to get around.

The Equalizer was hoisted again and Full Moon paralleled the Westlake shore, not too close but not out to the middle of the lake. Amazingly, not only Taj Mahal and the blue T-bird but also the infamous red T-bird Barbaree were caught in dying wind just a little too close to the beach and Full Moon was able to walk on by a mere 20 yards further out. Somehow, the Equalizer remained full to the AGC buoy. Now Full Moon needed hold off the two quick Thunderbirds and the theoretical rocket Taj Mahal for two more legs to the finish.

While there are just plain faster boats in the Duck Dodge, T-birds have similar performance to Full Moon and are often a thorn in her side. If ever it was “game on,” this was the time! On the reaching leg to the Challenger buoy, Full Moon maintained the lead. The final leg was upwind. One by one the other boats tacked and Full Moon tacked to cover. Across the lake went all four. Then Barbaree tacked for the finish and Full Moon tacked to cover. The others could not gain. Game over! Full Moon finished a fabulous ninth ahead of ALL the Thunderbirds AND the J80 and ALL the J22s as well.

One Lump or Two?

Ahhrrrr, Mateys!
Pre-start maneuvering.

Mara is coming fast!

Holding 'em off!

The Duck Dodge Race Committee once again set a skewed starting line so Full Moon crew Michael “Facebook” Medina, Doug “Halyards” Schoemaker, Ian “No Skirt” Mengedoht, Daniel “Sound Effects” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Gusto” Mengedoht opted once again for a risky port tack start near the “pin” end. This paid off, barely, as Full Moon just escaped in front of a host of starboard tack boats. A few other boats timed things just a bit better but Full Moon was an easy sixth across the line for a great start.

Cruising upwind, Full Moon was caught by a faster J27 but picked off old rival Ignitor to maintain sixth. Rounding the Aurora buoy, the mighty Equalizer was quickly set and Full Moon pulled away from all boats behind except the big Buchan 37 Mara, which was held off for nearly the entire downwind leg until just getting by before the AGC buoy. The spinnaker came down cleanly and Full Moon held position on the short leg to the Challenger buoy, though another big Buchan, Distance, briefly threatened.

Turning upwind, Full Moon tacked to find better wind and got by Mara to reclaim sixth. At this point, the fleet was required to cross the start-finish line before starting a second lap. This was a wise choice as the wind soon began to die. Full Moon made it to the Aurora buoy but the downwind run under spinnaker was painful until, with nightfall rapidly approaching, the second lap was abandoned.

This was Full Moon’s best finish of the year, holding off all three Buchan 37s as well as all Thunderbirds and Dreams, the fast Olson 25.

Ménage-a-Donut

The Mengedoht boys enjoy another sunny evening on the lake.
Randy and Ian start in on the post-race cold ones.

Great crew+fun boat=big smile

Full Moon crew Randy “Sound Effects” Olsen, Michael “French Dip” Medina, Ian “Multiphonic” Mengedoht, Daniel “Butt-strap Bill” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Crab Cakes” Mengedoht had a good start for Duck Dodge No. 12, avoiding a pile-up of boats at the Committee Boat by crossing at the middle of the line. Unfortunately, boats that stayed to the right enjoyed better and more consistent wind and Full Moon rounded the “AGC” buoy in about tenth place.

On the short reaching leg to the Chandler’s Cove buoy Full Moon lost another place to always-speedy Scat but otherwise held position. On the next leg, the mighty Equalizer brought the expected gain, holding off a charging Thunderbird and bringing Full Moon ever closer to a cluster of boats in front. Just ahead was old rival Fortis, which had nailed the start. With a pass to windward being risky tactically, not to mention a lot of traffic on that side, Full Moon attempted to pass Fortis to leeward and almost got through but the wind shadow from Fortis was too much and Full Moon was stuck in a four-boat sandwich approaching the Freeway buoy.

Traffic at the buoy worked in Full Moon’s favor as several boats swung very wide, allowing Full Moon ample room on the inside. Fortis was inside Full Moon and overlapped but just far enough back to suffer in the backwash from Full Moon’s sails and Full Moon pulled out ahead. Fortis then tacked to get into clear air. This proved to be their salvation as the wind built on left side as well as the far right while Full Moon soldiered on toward the middle of the lake and an unexpected hole in a donut of wind.

In the end, Fortis finished 11th with Full Moon just behind in 12th out of some 40 boats. Good old Shogun was not too far back while Ignitor had suffered a poor start and wallowed near the back of the fleet.

Beat the Heat!

Live music on the bow (after the race, of course).
Lots of people took a dip.

The pile up at the Challenger buoy.

Art, working hard...

Distance works to get by Full Moon.

Full Moon crew Art “Tired” Teller, Randy “No Basement” Olsen, Don “Bingo” Caffrey, Robert “Bier” Leykam, and skipper John “Chips Ahoy” Mengedoht went for the pin end on port tack for the second week in a row to start Duck Dodge No. 11 on the hottest day of the year - so far. A number of boats had the same idea but this still paid off with Full Moon in the top ten on the first leg to the Aurora buoy, mixing it up with boats like Runner.

Rounding the buoy on the outside of the big Buchan 37 Distance, the Equalizer was quickly launched in a moderate breeze and Distance had to bear off after a while to escape Full Moon’s wind shadow. Meanwhile, a huge gap had opened between Full Moon and the rest of the fleet behind.

Heading into the “Challenger” buoy, the Equalizer came down nicely but, unfortunately, the wind began to die and Full Moon was lucky to get around. Distance and a Thunderbird were just ahead but going nowhere while boats that had rounded just a bit earlier still had wind enough to take them to the finish. Boats that had been much farther back began to pile up heading toward the buoy and soon a good 30 boats were drifting.

Eventually, the wind began to fill in and Full Moon got moving a bit sooner than Distance and held the advantage to the finish line to take 11th, though the T-bird stayed ahead. The usual rival boats were all far behind but I’m not sure anybody cared that much as long as they could be out on the cool water.

Bedtime Story

Gaining on Runner.
Yes, all those boats are behind us!

Scat is gaining...

Chuck with post-race beer.

More beer for Katie and Caroline...

The Race Committee for the Pajama Night Duck Dodge (July 21) finally set a starting line so skewed that it was not even close to possible to cross on starboard tack. Full Moon crew Michael “Spider Man” Medina, Katie “Good Luck Charm” Freels, Caroline “Strategist” Sneed, Chuck “Maximum Exposure” Weldy, and skipper John “Surgeon” Mengedoht went for a port tack start at the heavily favored “pin” end and the slightly risky move paid off with our best start of the season, third to cross the line.

Full Moon held position for much of the upwind leg to the Aurora buoy until a hot Rocket 20 got by and then both a J27 and the always well-sailed Ranger 26, Runner. Full Moon gained a bit under the Equalizer spinnaker downwind but not enough to pass anyone. Two red Thunderbirds were working hard to catch up but so far to no avail. Meanwhile, the beers were out a bit earlier than normal – the crew was hot and thirsty!

The Equalizer came down fairly well (it stayed dry...) but there was trouble with the topping lift for the pole as Full Moon jibed around the AGC buoy and the third leg began with the jib hung up and useless. It was quickly cleared but Full Moon had lost ground. It was a straight shot upwind to the Freeway buoy. On came faster Scat and Full Moon was dropped to sixth.

Heading on a tight reach for the finish, the red Thunderbirds were pushing hard in a strong breeze and gaining despite Full Moon’s attempts to hold them off. To make matters worse, relative giants Mata Hari (Catalina 36) and Distance (Buchan 37) were charging up from behind as well.

At the finish line, Mata Hari had forged ahead and the T-birds both just barely got by (rats!). Distance, however, managed to collide with both Mata Hari AND the finish line buoy as they crossed so their “finish” did not count and Full Moon took ninth. It may seem demoralizing to start third and finish ninth but Full Moon sailed well for the most part and, to be fair, most of the boats that finished ahead were simply faster boats, especially upwind and with a decent breeze on. Regardless, the sky was cloudless, the beer was ice cold, the setting was fabulous, and the crew was great fun as always. Claims from the Hokey Pokey notwithstanding, that’s what it’s all about!

The Jazz Run

Heading out through the large lock.
Boys in the cockpit in Port Townsend.

King of the Boat!

Full Moon headed north to Port Townsend last Saturday to deliver Ian to the Centrum Jazz Workshop. Younger brother Daniel wanted in on the action, of course, so the boys went by sea while Vickie drove up Sunday to bring Ian’s sax and additional stuff for the workshop.

The planned 8:00 AM start from Lake Union was missed by half an hour Saturday and then the Fremont Bridge operator refused to open until 9:00 even though it wasn’t a week day. By the time we got to the locks, there were a good number of boats waiting. The good news: they opened the large lock to get everybody in. The bad news: it takes a long time to get everybody into the large lock and properly tied up!

The delays meant we’d need nearly perfect wind conditions to enjoy any sailing if we were to arrive in Port Townsend before the Point Hudson Marina office closed. It was a gorgeous sunny day, though, and the trusty Yamaha smoothly pushed Full Moon along at over 6 knots. (Ian the music man had fun trying to figure out all the harmonics of the motor and boat humming in tune.). The GPS told a different story of speed, of course, as tidal currents would be briefly favorable and then not so favorable. At least the flood tide would be slowing as we got to the area of Admiralty Inlet.

The trip was mostly uneventful until the wind began to build out of the north as we got past Point No Point. It was tempting to sail but the wind was right on our nose and we had an adverse current of 1 ½ knots. Sorry boys, no sailing yet! (Sailing and schedules don’t play well together.) Of course, the wind also brought some waves. At first this just meant the occasional bit of spray off the bow but by Bush Point every wave brought a blast of spray. How bad could it get? A detour to Port Ludlow was possible but we were already pretty far north…

The wind built to the mid-20s with gusts of 30 knots and Full Moon began to slam into waves, rattling the rigging like mad, while the boys huddled in the cabin. The boat could take it but would the boys be dying of mal de mer? Ian wasn’t enjoying the ride much but was okay while Daniel was dozing and doing just fine. On we went for a solid hour of bashing until we reached the haven of Point Hudson and there was even 30’ of dock space left at the side-tie dock (first come, first served) so we wouldn’t have to raft up.

After a shower for me and burgers at Nifty Fifties, it was time to head back to the boat to stow gear and lay out the sleeping bags. Daniel fired up his portable DVD player, Ian got his nose in a book and Dad just rested, though sleep would be long in coming for all of us as the wind continued to howl in the rigging and wavelets made gurgling noises against the hull.

Rising fairly early the next morning, it was time for showers and a Goldilocks breakfast. (The first restaurant was big but understaffed and promised a long wait. The second restaurant was small and kind of shabby with people at tables looking like they’d been waiting a while for food. The third restaurant, the Point Hudson Café, was just right – clean, bright and airy, pleasant staff, no waiting and, as it turned out, good food.) After a bit of shopping in the used book store, Vickie arrived in town. We all enjoyed a good lunch at the Public House Grill and then it was time to grab some supplies for the boat, gather Ian’s stuff, and drive him up to Fort Worden for the workshop. Vickie and Daniel then headed back for Seattle by car and I stayed another night in the marina to avoid coming home late in the dark.

A shower, another good breakfast at the Point Hudson Café, prep the boat for single-handing (important stuff all readily at hand, other stuff stowed away), and I was underway by 8:30 AM. A back-eddy brought GPS speeds of over 7 knots across Port Townsend Bay but then the ebb tide hit as I got to the tip of Marrowstone Island and I was down in the low 4 knot range. Another sunny day, though, and the current would stop and then reverse as I went south. The wind was light out of the north and not strong enough to make good time under sail.

As the day went on, the wind got stronger and I soon had a pretty good following sea – enough to surf a lot of waves (max speed on the GPS, 9.3 knots!) but a lot of work at the tiller to keep the boat on course. It was very tempting to sail but I was tired from Saturday and from not sleeping well and I knew it could be a challenge to lower and tie down the sails later by myself if the wind held or got stronger. And the wind did get stronger, though thankfully not gusting to 30!

After a fairly quick trip, I arrived off Shilshole and paused to rig fenders and mooring lines on both sides in preparation for the locks. I didn’t count on a lot of boats waiting at 1:30 PM on a Monday but there were more than enough to fill the small lock at least once. Then the Argosy boat showed up and exercised their priority as commercial traffic. More waiting. Finally, they opened the large lock. The Fremont Bridge would not open for boats between 4 and 6 PM – would I make it in time?

Second boat out of the lock at 3:35, two miles to Fremont, top speed 6.2 knots (with more wake than I like but clearly less than the big power boats) – it was just possible to make the bridge. 3:55 PM and I blew the horn and the bridge answered – they would open! 25 minutes later Full Moon was back in her home slip, journey over and only some clean-up to do. Was it worth two long days of motoring, the pounding of the waves, and the poor sleep as the wind howled through the marina? Saturday evening nine year old Daniel said “This is the best day of my life!!!” Ian couldn’t wait to tell the story of our trip north to his jazz buddies. Yeah, it was worth it!

Freedom Reigns

Don trims as we gain on Freedom.

Tammy gets into the spinnaker take-down!

Full Moon was, finally, right on time at the starting line for the Red Wine, White Wine and the Blues Duck Dodge, a little farther left than ideal but clear of some traffic that appeared bent on fouling each other in the middle of the line. Crew Randy “Double Triple” Olsen, Katie “Cold Beer” Freels, Don “Short Hoist” Caffrey, Tammy “Skinny Dip” Cross, and skipper John “Trouble Maker” Mengedoht made the most of it with a clear lane and only two tacks to the Challenger buoy. Oncoming traffic made hoisting the spinnaker a bit risky plus a Thunderbird was just to leeward and determined to sail a hotter angle so the hoist was delayed for about a quarter of the leg. Once up, though, the Equalizer easily pulled Full Moon ahead of the Thunderbird and it was on to the Freeway buoy.

After nearly a straight shot past Gasworks to the Aurora buoy, the rest of the long 2 ½ lap race became a matchup with the J22 Freedom and a modified dull gray Thunderbird as the fleet spread out. The T-bird eventually pulled ahead but Full Moon mixed it up with Freedom all the way to the finish line with Freedom coming out ahead by mere inches to take 11th place out of some 40 boats.

Meanwhile Shogun, Fortis, and Ignitor all started behind Full Moon and were never a threat, all finishing a full leg or more behind.

Boys Night Out

Strong gusty winds and whitecaps greeted Full Moon crew Art “Double Yellow” Teller, Doug “Megapixel” Schoemaker, Ian “Skirtless” Mengedoht, Daniel “Yee-hah!” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Crazy Ivan” Mengedoht for Duck Dodge No. 8. With the starting line skewed, as usual, to make a narrow slot on starboard tack, things got a bit dicey as boats tacked onto port to make it across but Full Moon emerged unscathed in the top third of the huge fleet. From there it was a straight shot to the Freeway buoy and then another straight shot skimming Gasworks Park to the Aurora buoy.

Deploying the mighty Equalizer spinnaker brought a wild but fast ride down the lake and a smooth take-down at the AGC buoy cemented Full Moon’s gains on that leg. After a short reach to the Challenger buoy it was time for Art to repack the spinnaker down in the cabin while the boat heeled on one side or the other as Full Moon tacked back up the lake - with a couple of round-ups to keep things exciting.

The wind faded a little for the second lap, especially near the northern two buoys, but was otherwise a repeat. Everyone enjoyed the stronger winds and clear blue skies and in the end Full Moon was 12th out of 40 or more boats with all traditional rivals at least a full leg behind.

Scuppered!

Tammy prepares to tack.

Go Equalizer!

Say Cheese...

Close quarters at the Freeway buoy

Full Moon crew Michael “Fast Pack” Medina, Chuck “Stanchion” Weldy, Tammy “Hard Lemonade” Cross, and skipper John “Chips Ahoy” Mengedoht were positioned for a decent start for the Economic Recovery Duck Dodge but didn’t count on a huge topsail schooner (complete with gun ports!) virtually parked on the starting line. Boats able to get around the behemoth had good starts. Others, including Full Moon, had to take several tacks to get clear and suffered accordingly.

Fortunately, rivals Ignitor, Fortis, and Shogun were either not far ahead or actually behind at the start and the game was on to beat them all and get to a respectable finish. The massive Equalizer spinnaker helped considerably on two long runs as every gust brought a burst of acceleration and significant gain. With smooth sail handling and consistent good speed an increasing number of boats were left behind while all the usual rivals fell farther and farther back. In the end, Full Moon managed to get up to about 15th of some 40 to 50 boats, a great performance considering the poor start.

Wormhole

Light and shifty winds greeted Full Moon crew Randy “Jibe Time” Olsen, Michael “Jet-Drive” Medina, Don “Beermeister” Caffrey, Chuck “Free Lesson” Weldy, and skipper John “Don't Jinx It” Mengedoht for Duck Dodge No. 6. Initially well-positioned for the start, Full Moon was forced by traffic to execute a “doughnut” or else miss the end of the starting line. This killed all speed and Full Moon was, as usual, late at the start.

Things looked up on the first upwind leg to the south as arch-rival Ignitor crossed tacks behind but Ignitor headed for the Westlake shore and found breeze where nobody else expected any. This propelled them to what looked like an insurmountable lead. Full Moon kept chipping away, though, until finally, approaching the downwind “Freeway” buoy, a large group of boats including Ignitor converged just as the wind faded and then temporarily shifted forward. In what seemed like an instant, Full Moon was just behind and then, turning at the buoy, was neck and neck with Ignitor!

This time, the light wind gave the edge to Full Moon, which steadily pulled out ahead. The wind still had one more trick to play as it suddenly dropped and shifted close to the finish line with Ignitor charging up from behind but the gap was too great and Full Moon prevailed to finish 12th, restoring proper order to the universe.

Barged!

Full Moon crew Eileen “Packing Peanuts” McHugh, Casey “Dread Pirate” Riske, Art “Salad” Teller, Michael “Squirt Guns” Medina, and skipper John “Big Plumber” Mengedoht enjoyed a decent second row start for the Pirate Night Duck Dodge, though it took a few choice pirate curses to avoid collision with a wayward port tack boat. Once clear, all rivals but Shogun were behind and Full Moon made good speed upwind on the first leg toward the Aurora Bridge.

Approaching the buoy, however, a barge and tug appeared from the open mouth of the Fremont Bridge, the tug skipper no doubt dismayed at the spectacle of dozens of sailboats in his path (over 70 boats were racing!). Full Moon had no choice but to keep clear and, while this also affected boats behind, it allowed the boats in front to gain considerably over the rest of the fleet. Once past the tug, though, the Equalizer spinnaker pulled strongly, leaving rivals Fortis and Ignitor far behind and closing the gap at least a little on Shogun.

Returning upwind, Full Moon again had good speed and gained on a few boats. Approaching the Aurora buoy on the second lap, Shogun was less than fifty yards ahead. Heading downwind with spinnakers flying, Shogun veered toward the center of the lake while Full Moon stayed closer to the Westlake side, the net result being no gain and Shogun still ahead.

The final two legs were upwind where Full Moon would normally have an advantage but the wind was getting lighter and Shogun’s skipper proved skilled at finding the brief pulses of stronger breeze. In the end, Full Moon could not quite catch up. However Fortis remained far behind and arch-rival Ignitor struggled badly with half a lap still to go as Full Moon finished in a very respectable tenth place. Meanwhile, the amazing and unusual June weather made for yet another fabulous evening on the water.

Persistent Shift

Full Moon skipped Duck Dodge No. 2 last week, which proved fortuitous as it was apparently the wettest race in Duck Dodge history, not to mention the thunder and lightning. Returning to racing action for Prom Night, Full Moon crew Caroline “Girl Next Door” Sneed, Art “Nuthin’ To Do” Teller, Michael “Mufubu” Medina, Don “Short Notice” Caffrey, and skipper John “Anchor Face” Mengedoht enjoyed a decent start in a mild southwesterly.

Proceeding south on the first leg, the wind, which had been directly out of the south less than half an hour earlier, shifted farther and farther west and then just slightly northwest. This brought out the spinnakers on the “upwind” leg and Full Moon hoisted the giant Equalizer. Full Moon approached the buoy in a tight cluster of boats, most flying spinnakers and needing to jibe the nylon monsters as they rounded. Thankfully, everybody behaved and nobody so much as touched.

Heading east on a relatively short leg, the wind continued to clock around farther north. This meant spinnakers could not be flown north up the next leg and Full Moon was not prepared to rehoist the jib! The spinnaker came down successfully but Full Moon wallowed along for anxious moments with no jib while boat after boat cruised on by.

Finally back up to speed with the jib up, Full Moon gained on some boats but the damage was done with even old rivals Shogun and Fortis ahead and arch-rival Ignitor seemingly way out of reach. Then, while rounding the next buoy, the Buchan 37 Distance tried to cut inside and very nearly t-boned Full Moon, missing by inches. The skipper later apologized but the adrenaline levels remained high for while.

The second lap was much less eventful but, heading toward the final buoy before the finish, who should appear close by but Ignitor! Full Moon caught up and then inched ahead but Ignitor had the inside position to the buoy and Full Moon could not quite break free so Ignitor rounded ahead. It was now a drag race to the finish line and the wind conditions slightly favored bigger Ignitor. Full Moon could not pull ahead to windward and so dove behind to gain separation to leeward and a straighter shot to the finish line. In the end it was extremely close but Ignitor barely held on for a rare victory over Full Moon.

While not a racing tour de force for Full Moon, the weather was gorgeous, and the beer tasted just fine. Win or lose, there are much worse places to be than on a sailboat on Lake Union on a fine spring evening.

The Last Leg

Duck Dodge, May 12, 2009
The Last Leg

Full Moon returned to racing action Tuesday for the first Duck Dodge of summer. Crew Art “Bonkers” Teller, Michael “The Waiter” Medina, Don “All Play – No Pay” Caffrey, Mike “Desert Pirate” Moniuszko, and skipper John “English Beer” Mengedoht had a typical (late) start turn much worse as the fickle wind shut down before the starting line was reached. When the wind did fill back in, though, Full Moon made the most of it to gain back at least some of the lost distance. Approaching the first buoy with the spinnaker pole up ready for the hoist, a couple of boats just ahead made a mess of the rounding, forcing Full Moon wide and then into an unplanned tack. Getting turned back the right direction took more precious time but the spinnaker was soon up and Full Moon began to gain on the boats ahead, including arch-rival Ignitor.

A long reaching leg proved the value of the immense Equalizer spinnaker and at the final buoy Full Moon had closed the gap to Ignitor, rounding just behind them. Full Moon then chose a better course to the finish line to beat not only Ignitor, but a few others as well, including catching 36’ Mata Hari by only a few feet. Full Moon was an amazing 8th, given the poor start and short race, with Ignitor 11th.

Old Stories, 2007- February 2009

Goosebump January 14, 2007
Snow Cones on Deck!

Arriving at Full Moon for the first race of the Goosebumps series on Lake Union, the first task for crew Randy Olsen, Michael Medina, Mat Lipps, Ian Mengedoht, and skipper John Mengedoht was to brush off accumulated snow and attempt to break up the ice on deck. Once underway, Full Moon enjoyed a good start in brilliant sun and a light breeze, staying with the bulk of the fleet heading up the middle of the lake. The wind faded at the first buoy, came back just a bit, and faded again for most of the second leg as Full Moon fell to seventh behind mostly bigger boats (there is only one start and no form of handicapping for the Goosebumps races).

The one-lap race was shortened by omitting the fourth leg and cutting the third leg in half as the wind remained extremely light. Full Moon slowly oozed by 33 foot Audacious (skippered by NBBJ Principal Mackenzie Skene) to capture sixth place. A hot new Beneteau 10R smoked the fleet for first, Runner took an easy second, a large Sabre, Yankee III, grabbed third, Paul Hanson’s J-29 managed fourth, just in front of the infamous red Thunderbird. Full Moon’s traditional rivals didn’t show except for Fortis, which finished way back about twelfth.

Goosebump January 21, 2007
Lucky Thirteen?

Full Moon crew Randy Olsen, Lori Fulsaas, Debra Ricard, Katie Freels and skipper John Mengedoht enjoyed better wind for Goosebump Race No. 2 but suffered from a less than perfect start, spotting arch-rival Ignitor a substantial lead. However, good speed and some well-timed tacks on the first leg erased some of the disadvantage and, with smooth spinnaker work, Ignitor was passed on the third leg.

Unfortunately, the fastest boats were impossible to catch and Full Moon more or less held position until the next to last leg of the second lap when Full Moon somehow passed the 42 foot Sabre, Yankee III. The much bigger boat should have returned the favor on the final upwind leg but didn’t take best advantage of the wind shifts or tactical opportunities, allowing Full Moon to finish in front to take 13th out of about 25 boats. Rivals Fortis, Ignitor, and Shogun were 15th, 18th, and 19th respectively.

Goosebump January 28, 2007
Fortis Denied

Race Three of the Goosebump Series was short on wind, but the shortage varied considerably with time and location on Lake Union. Full Moon crew Eileen “Muscles” McHugh, Michael “Sponge-Butt” Medina, and skipper John “Gambler” Mengedoht had a so-so start and elected to stay toward the west side of the lake in hopes of finding a favorable wind angle to the first buoy. This worked as planned but only partially as the wind was initially stronger toward the middle of the lake and Full Moon rounded the buoy in roughly the middle of the fleet.

Flying the small spinnaker for manageability with a short-handed crew, Full Moon nonetheless did fairly well passing or holding off a J-24, Sabre 42, Tarten 10, rival Fortis, and the dreaded red Thunderbird downwind. Rounding the second buoy, Full Moon was up to tenth place with the T-bird just behind.

The T-Bird managed an inside overlap at the third buoy and pulled slowly ahead on the long northbound leg. Fortis tried to threaten from behind but could never get a significant gain in the inconsistent breeze and Full Moon easily held them off to take 11th. Arch-rival Ignitor was a distant 15th and Shogun a very distant 25th.

Goosebump February 4, 2007
All Tortoises, No Hares

Full Moon is never the fastest boat in any race, at least based on typical handicap ratings, but sometimes conditions and luck conspire to provide a better than expected outcome. So it was on Superbowl Sunday as crew Wendy “Adrenalin” Abeel, Mat “Logo” Lipps, Debra “Human Fender” Ricard, Randy “Winter’s Dream” Olsen, and skipper John “Mobile Ballast” Mengedoht somehow found ways to keep the boat moving in the faintest of light winds.

The start was unspectacular but Full Moon soon left many a larger boat behind, catching and passing 33 foot Audacious on the inside at the first buoy. Heading across the north end of Lake Union, the lead boats were stalled while Full Moon still crept forward. Rounding the second buoy, Full Moon was up to fifth place and then fourth.

Watching the agonizing progress, the Race Committee mercifully shortened the race with three blasts of the horn and Full Moon jibed for the finish line. Several boats threatened (slowly) from behind, including speedy Scat, but none could catch up and Full Moon easily held position to finish fourth. Arch-rival Ignitor was a no-show, as was Shogun, but Fortis was buried at the back of the fleet.

Goosebump February 11, 2007
Rainbow Ride

Mother Nature cooked up a great afternoon for Goosebump Sailboat Race No. 5 with strong gusty winds, a generous hole in the clouds, and even a rainbow. Full Moon crew Debra “Winch Master” Ricard, Tyra “Line Holder” Sorenson, Josh “Prowsman” May, Tam “Dry Nylon” Duong, and skipper John “Mediocre Can Be Good” Mengedoht had the usual Full Moon conservative (slow) start but put on some nice moves to keep up with the faster half of the fleet.

Full Moon doesn’t thrive in strong wind, at least compared to larger boats, but still managed to threaten 33’ Audacious and to keep ahead of rivals Ignitor, Fortis and Shogun through two fast laps around Lake Union. In the end, Full Moon was fourteenth out of thirty boats with Fortis fifteenth, Ignitor twentieth, and Shogun twenty-fifth. Audacious retained their lead to place twelfth.

Goosebump February 18, 2007
Wild Ride

Full Moon had a decent start going for the final Goosebump race until two boats attempted to cross the fleet on port tack (no right of way). Full Moon had to maneuver violently to avoid a nasty collision and suffered with a much less desirable “lane” upwind as a result. Adrenaline pumping from the near miss, crew Tyra “Muscles” Sorenson, Randy “Deck Launch” Olsen, Michael “Bastards!” Medina, Daniel “Ear Flaps” Medina, and skipper John “Snake Wake” Mengedoht did their best to harness the gusty 20 knot winds without further mishap.

Mixing it up with a much larger San Juan 30 on the first two legs, Full Moon successfully launched a spinnaker downwind, though with some initial challenges keeping it under control. The SJ30 fell behind, though, and Full Moon completed the third leg in twelfth place.

Starting the second lap, the SJ30 snuck back in front but Full Moon kept the pressure on and got by easily at the end of the downwind leg when the SJ dropped their spinnaker in the water. In the end, Full Moon was a satisfying 11th out of 22 boats with rivals Fortis and Shogun 14th and 15th respectively.

Duck Dodge May 15, 2007
Runner Stumbles

Race No. 1 of the Duck Dodge provided a promise of summer to come, with sunny skies and no need for jackets. Full Moon crew Eileen “Nice Jibs” McHugh, Art “Tupack” Teller, Michael “Bastards!” Medina, and skipper John “Tack Attack” Mengedoht had a good start in the shifty breeze but rival Fortis managed to ease out ahead and to leeward and then extend their lead as Full Moon chose the left side of the course while the wind gods favored the right.

The giant Equalizer spinnaker (with some nice jibes from “Tupack”) allowed Full Moon to gain on the leaders on the second leg, mixing it up with some supposedly faster boats. The long upwind third leg brought Full Moon ever closer to Fortis, though speedy Perfectly Strange got by. At the buoy, Full Moon tacked left while Fortis split to head closer to Gas Works Park. This time it was Full Moon that enjoyed the favor of the wind and Fortis fell permanently behind.

The wind went very light at the next buoy, creating a difficult rounding, but the Equalizer again paid big dividends as Full Moon nearly caught some boats from the first start and closed within range of always-fast Runner and the infamous Red Thunderbird. The T-bird pulled ahead again upwind but Runner was unable to extend their lead by much. At the final buoy, Runner made a poor turn and touched the buoy, which required them to reround it. Full Moon surged past and flew to the finish line to take an excellent sixth out of over thirty boats. Arch-rival Ignitor did not race.

Duck Dodge May 22, 2007
Equalized!

Full Moon crew Debra “Double Trouble” Ricard, Randy “That’s Good” Olsen, Don “Wet” Caffrey, and skipper John “360” Mengedoht hit the starting line for Duck Dodge No. 2 in a large clump of boats at the favored end, fighting for clear air in a very light breeze. Boats starting farther down the line were able to pull out ahead but nearly a quarter of the fleet were pushed too far right to make the line at all, meaning they had to turn around for a second try. All in all Full Moon had a decent start.

Full Moon made the most of every puff and shift upwind and ultimately completed the first leg without having to tack, making major gains in the process and passing several boats, though speedy Scat was even faster. On the next long reaching leg under the giant Equalizer spinnaker, Full Moon passed supposedly much-faster Dreams, gained on Scat and nearly caught the dreaded red T-bird. Heading across the north end of Lake Union, Full Moon and Scat managed to stay in what little breeze there was while the T-bird sailed into a dead zone and fell behind. Near the final buoy, though, a J24 managed to get by Full Moon.

Back under the Equalizer for a tight reach to the finish line, Full Moon slowly pulled out ahead of the J24 and even gained substantially on Scat. At the line, Scat took third with Full Moon fourth for an outstanding finish out of nearly thirty boats. The T-bird salvaged seventh, while old rivals Shogun took eleventh, just ahead of Fortis. Arch-rival Ignitor was again a no-show.

Duck Dodge May 29, 2007
Pirates Attack!

Ninety-two pirate ships of assorted sizes were afloat on Lake Union for the Duck Dodge Pirate Night, most of them, it seemed, in the same start with Full Moon! Crew Art “Fend Off” Teller, Eileen “Red Stripe” McHugh, Michael “Munchies” Medina, and skipper John “Squeezed” Mengedoht enjoyed the spectacular weather, good northwest breeze, and decent start, though quite a few boats got a better jump off the line.

The first buoy was crowded enough to generate a low-velocity game of bumper boats and Full Moon did well to get around without too much fuss. The second leg was without incident but the long reach under spinnaker featured a tactical battle with an aggressive skipper determined not to let Full Moon get past. These shenanigans did little other than to slow both boats down – and Full Moon got by on the next leg anyway!

The second lap saw Full Moon make some gains but some of the faster boats remained well out of reach. In the end Full Moon finished a very respectable 11th out of well over 30 boats. Ex-arch-rival Ignitor (they never beat us anymore) managed 15th. Fortis and Shogun were far behind, near the back of the fleet.

Duck Dodge June 5, 2007
Fortissimo!

Full Moon crew Bethany “Wet Nylon” Madsen, Lori “Slippin' Jib” Fulsaas, Michael “Hat Decoy” Medina, Ian “Sobe Buzz” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Cat n’ Mouse” Mengedoht timed the start well for Duck Dodge No. 4 but picked the wrong end of the line in the unusual northeast wind, spotting several boats an early lead. A slow spinnaker hoist on the short second leg then allowed a few boats to gain from behind until the Equalizer filled and Full Moon took off.

This left most traditional rivals such as Ignitor wallowing behind but pesky Fortis apparently picked this race to give it their all to beat Full Moon. For leg after leg of the two-lap race, the boats traded position. Then disaster struck as Full Moon had difficulty with the jib following the second short spinnaker run and Fortis pulled out to a 150 yard lead.

However, all was not yet lost. The wind began to die down, favoring lighter Full Moon. The gap slowly narrowed until, at the next to last buoy, Full Moon was only 30 yards behind. The wind then died even further and the game was on to anticipate the wind and to try and be the first boat to get to any stronger breeze. Full Moon was not to be denied and reached the final buoy first. At the finish line, Full Moon was a respectable ninth out of more than thirty boats with Fortis tenth and Ignitor eleventh but considerably farther back.

Duck Dodge June 12, 2007
Going the Distance

Full Moon crew Art “Patience” Teller, Randy “McFishy” Olsen, Mat “Red Stripe” Lipps, Robert “Dunkin’ Spinnaker” Leykam, and skipper John “Jibe Jive” Mengedoht successfully stayed away from the crowd at the Committee Boat for the Fat Tuesday Duck Dodge but a shift in the psychotic breeze forced a couple of late tacks to clear the starting line. The first leg did not go much better and the long spinnaker run on the second leg featured stunning wind shifts, a zig zag course and a lot of work on the bow jibing the spinnaker.

Despite the wind-driven frustrations, Full Moon kept a reasonable pace and was able to stay with the much larger Buchan 37 Distance (2nd place boat last week), trading position throughout the race. The second lap was a bit more stable than the first, apart from the wind dying down to a whisper near the southwest corner of the lake.

At the final buoy, Full Moon had jumped ahead of Distance and held them off on the straight shot to the finish to take eleventh out of nearly forty boats. Ignitor was the nearest rival boat, finishing nineteenth some ten minutes later.

Duck Dodge June 19, 2007
Sandwiched!

Full Moon crew Michael “Chips” Medina, Todd “Bartender” Charlton, Kim “Hobie” McCormick, Jeff “Dry Drop” Klein, and skipper John “Fend Off!” Mengedoht had a well-timed start for Duck Dodge No. 6 but had to struggle for a while to gain a clear lane upwind to the first buoy. Once up to speed, all went well on the first leg until Ride The Duck motored slowly by within twenty feet of the buoy. Collision avoidance maneuvers by several boats resulted in a very slow rounding for Full Moon, allowing rival Fortis a chance to pass by on the inside.

The wind angle for the second leg was iffy for a spinnaker but Full Moon successfully deployed the giant Equalizer to get past Fortis even while dealing with the wind shadows from several much larger boats. The wind then became very light toward the buoy, allowing a few boats to catch up a bit from behind, including old arch-rival Ignitor.

Two boats (one ignoring right of way rules) then forced Full Moon into a tight buoy-rounding sandwich. The inside boat of the threesome swung wide while the outside boat tightened up enough to require pushing and shoving to prevent scuffing fiberglass. Meanwhile, the wide-turning boat left Ignitor ample room to sneak around inside the bunch. When the bumper boats had disengaged, Ignitor was some 75 yards ahead with not much race left for a Full Moon comeback.

In the end, Full Moon did well to make up about half the gap to finish twelfth to Ignitor’s tenth (supposedly much-faster Perfectly Strange splitting the difference). Fortis remained well behind to take sixteenth out of roughly forty boats in second start. There were nearly 100 boats racing overall, enjoying a bit of sun and fun.

Duck Dodge June 26, 2007
Cheap Dates

It was the Prom Night Duck Dodge on Lake Union and Full Moon crew Randy “French Cuffs” Olsen, Art “Trojan Buster” Teller, Grace “Princess” Teller, Ian “Luffing” Mengedoht, and skipper John “BoatFlex” Mengedoht sported a variety of “formalwear” and accessories. A decent start in darkening skies was soon unraveled by poor position in the wind shadow of several bigger boats. Full Moon thus fell to mid-fleet at the first buoy with both old rivals Ignitor and Fortis ahead.

The second leg went much better and on the long third leg, under the giant Equalizer spinnaker, Full Moon got past the rival boats as well as Runner, which is normally near the front of the fleet. Returning upwind for the second lap, Full Moon successfully held off challenges from a J24 and a blue Thunderbird which continued for the rest of the race. In the end, Full Moon was tenth out of roughly forty boats with Runner sixteenth, Ignitor twenty-second, and Fortis twenty-fifth.

Duck Dodge July 3, 2007
Murhpy’s Law

It all began with the dust. Full Moon was covered with it from the un-neighborly neighboring boat’s teak deck sanding project. A vigorous hosing down cured most of that trouble, though not without a grumble or three. Full Moon crew Michael “Butterfingers” Medina, Kian “Smoke” Alden, Katie “Chips” Freels, Lori “Sheets” Fulsaas, and skipper John “What Next?” Mengedoht were now set for a gloriously sunny evening with a healthy 12-15 knot breeze.

The Duck Dodge course was made a bit more interesting with the addition of the 4th of July fireworks barge, a vast ring of warning buoys, and two busy harbor patrol boats to keep sailors and other terrorists outside the buoys. A decent start soon led to a narrow funnel between the barge buoys and the Eastlake shore with boats tacking back and forth like mad. All went reasonably well until a J24, Burrito Mojito, tacked without warning and totally without right of way directly into the side of poor Full Moon, damaging the rub rail but, fortunately, nothing (and nobody) else. Too many mojitos?

Recovering from the shock, Full Moon made it to the first buoy but the fickle wind and a less than perfect tack conspired to bring boat and buoy gently together, prompting a 360 penalty turn. Arch-rival Ignitor was now ahead. This intolerable situation was remedied on the next leg, however, as Full Moon was more successful at managing the gusty wind.

Murphy struck again on the third leg as the spinnaker halyard (hoisting line) launched high into the air without the benefit of being connected to the infamous Equalizer spinnaker. The rest of the leg was spent preparing the back-up spinnaker and gear. Fortunately, Ignitor also had troubles and was unable to pass by.

The fourth leg proved confusing as there was no visible buoy other than one slightly larger one at the end of what appeared to be a line of floats for a fishing net! (Not sure if this was Murphy’s doing or perhaps the Norse god Loki.) Regardless, after a few course changes, Full Moon rounded this buoy and headed north to start the second lap.

All went well after that until the second leg when smoke began to fill the cabin! A seldom-used switch had been bumped and a previously trouble-free pair of wires experienced a short circuit, melting the insulation. Scary, but easily fixed, no extinguisher needed.

Heading downwind, the smaller back-up spinnaker was hoisted but a foredeck-crew-who-shall-not-be-named had set up a great prank during a re-packing by tying a knot in the spinnaker! It was many long minutes before the knot could be undone. Miraculously, Ignitor still had not gotten by, nor would they be able to on the remaining two legs. Full Moon finished – you guessed it – thirteenth out of over thirty boats with Ignitor sixteenth.

Duck Dodge July 10, 2007
Water Cooled

Full Moon crew Tyra “Hand Cranked” Sorensen, Alexandra “Dry Drops” Ramsden, Cuneyt “Perfect Jibe” Havlioglu, and skipper John “In and Out” Mengedoht happily beat the heat in a perfect 10-15 knot breeze on Lake Union for Duck Dodge No. 9. Full Moon had an excellent start but rivals Ignitor and Fortis did even better (were they over early?) and briefly in front. A better upwind strategy soon rectified this and Full Moon was in eighth place with only the fastest boats in front at the first buoy.

With a relative novice on the bow, the standard spinnaker was selected and this proved adequate to hold off anyone trying to get by from behind for most of the second leg until a slightly faster J-22, Festivus, oozed past near the buoy. The rest of the race was a battle with Festivus and a (relatively) massive Catalina 36, Mata Hari.

Ultimately, Full Moon was tenth with Ignitor 150 yards behind to take eleventh, Runner twelfth, and Fortis fourteenth.

Duck Dodge July 17, 2007
Shut Out

The sun broke out before the start of the Pajama Night Duck Dodge but the wind was extremely light. Full Moon crew Debra “Superhero” Ricard, Doug “Halyards” Schoemaker, Matt “Hooray Beer” Lipps, Don “Clockwise” Caffrey, and skipper John “No Room” Mengedoht were effectively blocked from the start line by two boats waiting for the following (third) start and ultimately crawled across nearly four minutes after the horn. This would normally be a disaster but nearly all the boats ahead sailed left into continuing very light wind while Full Moon stayed right and into a building breeze. At the first buoy, Full Moon had passed quite a few boats and moved into the top ten.

With the launch of the Equalizer spinnaker, Full Moon worked the wind and the boat traffic to gain some more, actually passing a C&C 99 from the first start (overcoming a nine minute deficit on a theoretically much faster boat). The wind shifted, then faded, then shifted back approaching the buoy, leading to a jam-up of boats. Full Moon was parked right on Dreams’ transom at the buoy as Runner came up from behind under spinnaker, trying to squeak around the buoy on the inside. Big Mistake - there was no room inside and they were forced to turn around for another try at the buoy.

Returning upwind, Full Moon hung in there with Dreams and passed yet another first start boat, a sleek Hobie 33. Downwind again with the Equalizer, Dreams was left behind for good. In the end, Full Moon was a remarkable fifth followed by Dreams and Runner. Rivals Fortis and Ignitor were far, far behind.

Duck Dodge July 31, 2007
Three Hour Tour

After a week off (no Duck Dodge last week), Full Moon masqueraded as the S.S. Minnow for the Classic Sit-Com Duck Dodge with crew Randy “Sail Karma” Olsen, Eileen “Stanchion Queen” McHugh, Suzan “Mangy Jalapeño” Schneider, Ian “Nonstop” Mengedoht, and skipper John “No Jibes” Mengedoht dressed the parts of most of the Gilligan’s Island cast. A good start was diminished a bit by the need to maneuver around a nearly out of control Nomad but Full Moon was hanging in there with fast boats like Scat and Runner, at least for a while.

The rest of the race was remarkably uneventful other than a couple of faster boats managing to slowly work their way past - it's hard to stop a fast 37-footer getting by in a decent breeze! In the end, Full Moon was a respectable thirteenth out of thirty-three boats with nearest rival Fortis sixteenth several long minutes later and arch-rival Ignitor eighteenth.

Duck Dodge August 7, 2007
Margarita Madness

Fueled by some tasty margaritas, Full Moon crew Michael “Mae West” Medina, Mat “Ass-Saver” Lipps, and skipper John “Duck Killer” Mengedoht had a great start at the “pin” end for the Tropical Night Duck Dodge and rocketed up the first leg to round the first buoy in fourth place. After a very short leg to the special Tropical Night floating “island” to snag two free beers, it was time for the spinnaker. Flying the ancient standard spinnaker instead of the giant Equalizer to spare the short-handed crew, Full Moon still managed to hang in there with the leaders and only allowed one faster boat (Perfectly Strange) to get by.

Approaching the Aurora Bridge, the wind died down considerably while boats behind still had a good breeze. This allowed relative giants Mara, Distance, and Airloom (37 and 38 footers) to catch up and some other boats to get much closer. Returning upwind in very shifty conditions, the J24 California Girl and the World’s Ugliest Thunderbird picked a better path and got past as well, dropping Full Moon to tenth to start the second lap.

Snagging two more beers at the “island,” Full Moon popped up the spinnaker again but had some challenges jibing on the long downwind leg. Fortunately, nobody else got by but one unusual-looking boat with a long bowsprit and giant asymmetrical spinnaker got very close approaching the Aurora Bridge (not our favorite spot this week). Full Moon did very well to hold them off all the way to the finish to retain tenth. Arch-rival Ignitor was much farther back in seventeenth with Fortis nineteenth out of well over thirty boats.

Duck Dodge August 14, 2007
Crowded Roundings

Duck Dodge No. 13 featured a nice balmy breeze out of the north and a cloud-free sky. Full Moon crew Art “Sewerman” Teller, Grace “Six-Pack” Teller, Doug “Boom” Schoemaker, Robert “Shades” Leykam, and skipper John “Woodie” Mengedoht had a decent start and kept good speed up the first leg to stay in touch with the fastest boats. Popping up the Equalizer spinnaker, Full Moon ran into considerable traffic and had a difficult time getting clear air to keep the nylon monster flying well. This allowed the lead boats to pull out ahead a bit more and Fortis to begin to threaten from behind.

The downwind mark saw four boats abreast and the outside boat, though not clear ahead, cutting the corner to cause a royal mess. Full Moon emerged unscathed but lost some ground to the maneuvering. Punching upwind again, Full Moon pulled slowly away from Fortis and actually gained on some boats but not enough to get by anyone.

At the beginning of the second downwind run, Full Moon ran afoul of a boat, not actually racing, but sailing slowly by the buoy. Collision avoidance maneuvers required some fending off an unhappy camper to windward but nothing was damaged except egos. The remainder of the long 2 ½ lap race was thankfully uneventful and Full Moon finished a respectable eleventh in the dimming light. Fortis managed fourteenth quite a while later and “arch-rival” Ignitor was twentieth out of over thirty boats in second start.

Duck Dodge August 28, 2007
Full Moon Rising

Full Moon crew Debra “Barefoot Foredeck Queen” Ricard, Suzan “Helpful Husband” Schneider, Randy “Push Off” Olsen, Ian “Family Feud” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Pull It” Mengedoht were a bit short on matching sports gear for the Team Colors Night Duck Dodge but did honor the skipper with a WSU wind sock up in the rigging. Pre-race maneuvering got off, literally, with a “bang” as a large blue cruising boat t-boned an E-Scow, knocking down their mast. If anyone wonders why Full Moon is not normally very aggressive during Duck Dodge starts, here is your answer!

Full Moon did, however, manage to be on the line for the starting gun, though at what turned out to be the least-favored end. Making matters worse, a San Juan 30 kept Full Moon pinned to leeward nearly to the Westlake shore before finally tacking north toward the first buoy. If this was a defensive tactic, it didn’t work as Full Moon got past them soon after but meanwhile nearly twenty boats were out in front, including arch-rival Ignitor and Fortis!

Carefully picking lanes and wind shifts, Full Moon got past quite a few boats upwind to the first buoy, including Fortis, while closing the gap a bit on Ignitor. Turning downwind, the mighty Equalizer spinnaker was deployed but the wind went very light for a while and it took the length of the lake to get close to Ignitor’s transom. Full Moon got alongside on the third leg and pulled ahead for good on the long fourth leg upwind.

Meanwhile Full Moon had steadily moved up to tenth place. The final reach to the finish was exciting with a strong challenge from a Ranger 26 (sistership to Runner) but Full Moon prevailed. Ignitor managed thirteenth with Fortis sixteenth. Cruising around after the finish, a large and beautiful full moon rose up over Capitol Hill to cap the evening.

Duck Dodge September 4, 2007
Marvelous Martinis

All good things must come to end (until next summer!) and so it was for Full Moon crew Angela “Go Cougs” Minton, Bray “Boom” Hayden, Shawn “Mobile Ballast” Kemna, Bethany “Retro” Madsen, Randy “Quick Hoist” Olsen, Art “Three Olives” Teller, and skipper John “Priority Three” Mengedoht, celebrating the final Duck Dodge race with Full Moon’s traditional Martini Night. The weather cooperated, apart from very light wind, the start favoring lighter boats that could respond to tiny whispers of breeze.

Full Moon did fairly well in these conditions, despite the added weight of a larger than normal crew (and the potential effects of various Vodka concoctions), easily leading traditional rivals Ignitor and Fortis at the first buoy. The giant Equalizer spinnaker went up promptly to start the long downwind leg and Full Moon pulled away from most trailing boats and even reeled in two boats from the first start. The wind then faded and it was back to a drifting contest for a while.

The wind filled in a bit for the next upwind leg in fading light and Full Moon traded places back and forth with a couple of boats to keep things interesting. The final leg was a close reach and the Equalizer was called to action once again. Full Moon aimed for the Committee Boat to finish in the dark, receiving a hail of “fourth!” crossing the line. If only that was true – Full Moon was really a still very respectable tenth (and still ahead of a C&C 99 from first start!) with arch-rival Ignitor 20th and Fortis 22nd.

Goosebump January 13, 2008
Sun Fix

After what seemed like months without sun, Sunday had plenty, though wind was sporadic for Goosebump sailboat race No. 1 on Lake Union. Full Moon crew Randy “Dream Boat” Olsen, Eileen “Dry Drop” McHugh, Art “65 Degrees” Teller, and skipper John “7x50” Mengedoht enjoyed a well-timed start amidst a crowd of boats the right-hand end of the starting line. Unfortunately, the left end proved closer to the wind that eventually filled in. Full Moon eventually found some wind and made some big gains, getting by speedy Scat and staying way ahead of arch-rival Ignitor, but those that found the wind first were already out of reach.

The second leg was more consistent until the wind went soft near the end, allowing a pack of boats to catch up, including the dratted Ignitor! This intolerable situation was soon remedied with the launch of the giant Equalizer spinnaker to start the third leg. Also left behind in the process were several much larger boats, including a fairly new 33’ C&C 99, a 33’ Tarten Ten and a Sabre 426!

The wind continued the mind games, fading to nearly nothing near the end of the third leg. Once onto the final leg to the finish, though, the wind behaved and Full Moon held off all comers to take a very respectable 11th out of some 30 boats – with no form of handicapping. Meanwhile, Ignitor could do no better than 20th, capping a beautiful afternoon on the water.

Goosebump January 20, 2008
Hangin’ With The Big Dogs

Goosebump sailboat race No. 2 featured partly sunny skies and a decent (but very cold) breeze. Full Moon crew Caroline “Muscles” Sneed, Chris “Wet Tissue” Saleeba, Randy “Rats Nest” Olsen, and skipper John “Soft Touch” Mengedoht had a great start near the left end of the line and spent the first leg crossing tacks with much bigger, faster boats, holding off NBBJ partner MacKenzie Skene’s hot new Beneteau 36.7 until mid-way through the second leg. Meanwhile, more moderately sized speedsters Runner, Scat, and Perfectly Strange were all behind, at least for a while.

Full Moon hung in there through the first long spinnaker run but Runner made it past on the fourth leg, partly due to some confusion about which buoy was the mark (there were two!). Then Scat slowly eased by on the long upwind beat to start the second lap.

The wind went soft near the end of the upwind leg and Full Moon just barely kissed the buoy, requiring a penalty turn. The remainder of the race was undramatic until 30 yards from the final buoy when Perfectly Strange finally squeezed by. In the end, Full Moon was a very respectable 12th in a very fast 24-boat fleet. Arch-rival Ignitor was far behind for the entire race, finishing 18th more than ten minutes later.

Goosebump January 27, 2008
No Break for Ignitor

Despite some light hail while rigging the boat, sunny skies prevailed once again for Goosebump sailboat race No. 3 on Lake Union. Full Moon crew Katie “No Pipes” Freels, Randy “Swabby” Olsen, Ian “Cold” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Almighty” Mengedoht had a great start but at what turned out to be the unfavored end of the starting line, spotting most of the fleet a big lead. Worse, arch-rival Ignitor had what appeared to be an insurmountable head-start.

Things continued to be less than ideal with technical difficulties launching the spinnaker. Once up, the mighty Equalizer provided little advantage as the long “downwind” leg was a beam reach. Still Full Moon got by a few boats and gained on some others while holding off a few bigger ones from behind. Meanwhile, a dark red Thunderbird seemed bent on a match race, perhaps being unhappy with losing two straight to Full Moon.

This continued around the lake for the next lap. As fate would have it, Full Moon was just behind the T-bird and not much farther behind Ignitor approaching the final buoy. Amazingly, Ignitor had trouble tacking around the buoy, holding the T-bird off in the process and allowing Full Moon to slip inside and by them both! Pedal to the metal for the finish, Full Moon held place to take sixteenth with Ignitor seventeenth out of about twenty-five boats. Not the best finish but lots of fun racing action on yet another gorgeous day.

Goosebump February 3, 2008
A Fifth for the Superbowl

Goosebump sailboat race No. 4 was Superbowl Sunday and fewer boats than usual braved the threatening gray skies. Full Moon crew Randy “Jibe-Talkin’” Olsen, Mat “Beer” Lipps, Leslie “New Adventure” Welshimer, and skipper John “No Room” Mengedoht had a decent start, making a good guess on timing following confused starting signals from the race committee.

Mark roundings for the first lap were crowded affairs for Full Moon, especially at the end of the downwind run when a giant Sabre 426 attempted to gain a very late (and illegal) overlap inside. Full Moon was able to hold the inside line and force the Sabre to swing wide, though not without some grumbling from aboard the bigger boat.

Returning upwind, the Sabre was left far behind and a battle of speed, if not tactics, continued with theoretically much-faster Perfectly Strange. On the second downwind run, Full Moon found better wind toward the middle of the lake and, with a smooth jibe and clean spinnaker drop, rounded the final buoy some 50 yards ahead. Hoping at best to hold off Perfectly Strange on the beat to the finish, Full Moon also gained spectacularly on a hefty Buchan 37 and managed to cross the line just in front to claim an astounding fifth place. Arch-rival Ignitor was a no-show.

Goosebump February 10, 2008
Wild Ride

Sailboat race No. 5 of the Goosebump series on Lake Union began with strong southerly winds in the 20s gusting toward 30 knots. With sail area reduced to minimum, Full Moon crew Lori “Red” Fulsaas, Mat “High Side” Lipps, Art “Rerigger” Teller, and skipper John “Tack Attack” Mengedoht had their hands full but managed a decent start. Arch-rival Ignitor was ahead but not for long, Full Moon getting by halfway up the first leg.

Rounding the first buoy in fifth place, the wind began to ease and the reef was shaken out of the mainsail. Turning onto the downwind run, it was even possible to fly the spinnaker, though not the oversize Equalizer.

The wind remained strong and gusty and Full Moon did well to hold fifth for the entire two-lap race, keeping ahead of a much larger Sabre 426 and a Buchan 37. Poor Ignitor eventually finished eleventh.

Goosebump February 17, 2008
Sunny Finale

The sun was bright and warm for the final Goosebump sailboat race. Full Moon crew Debra “Rusty” Ricard, Randy “Untangler” Olsen, Chris “Big Fish” Saleeba, and skipper John “Mr. Cool” Mengedoht had an excellent start and rounded the first buoy near the front of the fleet. Unfortunately, the wind disappeared shortly thereafter, allowing a large number of boats to catch up. When the wind returned, it didn’t arrive uniformly and Full Moon didn’t receive any until several boats moved ahead, including arch-rival Ignitor.

Turning downwind, technical difficulties prevented a successful spinnaker launch until halfway down the leg, negating any advantage the giant Equalizer might have provided. Meanwhile, the wind continued to pick up strength, favoring the larger boats as Full Moon returned upwind, allowing Ignitor to remain comfortably ahead, and providing the means for a big Buchan 37 to ease on past as well.

Starting the second lap, Full Moon caught up to the Buchan but not enough on Ignitor. The spinnaker proved cranky again, going up with a twist and coming down reluctantly, taking a dip before being dragged slowly back aboard. With two short legs to go, Ignitor was now uncatchable, not that every effort wasn’t made. In the end, Ignitor took ninth with Full Moon a still-respectable eleventh out of over twenty boats. Despite the rare loss to Ignitor, it was a gorgeous day to be on the water and a great time was had by all.

Duck Dodge May 13, 2008
Double Deluxe

After thirteen summers packed with Duck Dodge sailboat races (sixteen per summer = 208 races!), Full Moon is kicking back a notch this season and will race only occasionally. However, the first Duck Dodge could not be missed, despite the gray, cool, showery weather.
First-timer Daniel “Tipsy” Mengedoht joined big brother Ian “Double Deluxe” Mengedoht, Debra “Patience” Ricard, Randy “Dancing With The Stars” Olsen, and skipper John “Buchan Buster” Mengedoht on the crew. Full Moon had an average start in the gusty breeze, not exactly first across the line but still ahead of perennial leader Runner as well as old rivals Fortis, Ignitor, and Shogun.

Runner got by on the first upwind leg but Full Moon hung in there with everybody else and rounded the first buoy close aboard a big Buchan 37. The second short reaching leg was dead even with the Buchan and rounding the buoy, Full Moon swung tighter for a tactical advantage on the downwind run. A glitch with the spinnaker hoist slowed things a bit but, once up, the giant Equalizer proved its worth, blowing Full Moon easily past the Buchan.

The ample wind made the Equalizer a powerful handful on the long downwind leg, inducing some big rolling gyrations at times. Closing on the buoy, Full Moon had gained substantially on Runner and Perfectly Strange while leaving anybody else well behind. Turning the corner for the final leg, Full Moon couldn’t quite punch out ahead of Runner and had to follow them to the finish to take eighth. Fortis was ninth but a good distance back. Arch-rival Ignitor managed eleventh but was nearly a full leg behind!

Eight year old Daniel spent half the race in the cabin but still had a blast, rain and all, and can’t wait for his next race. It looks like the cookies paid off!

Duck Dodge June 10, 2008
Pirates Attack!

Residents near Lake Union were treated to cannon-fire Tuesday evening as pirates invaded the lake in a wide variety of sailing craft. Fortunately for the land-lubbers, the cannon spoke only a few widely spaced blasts to signify the starting signals for the Pirate Night Duck Dodge sailboat race and no iron balls were hurled through the air to batter fortifications on shore.

Full Moon crew Art “Rusty” Teller, Randy “Big Earring” Olsen, Eileen “Multi-tasker” McHugh, Daniel “Two Cans” Mengedoht, and skipper John “The Usual Timing” Mengedoht enjoyed a decent start with a substantial skull and crossbones fluttering from the backstay and a fine array of plastic cutlasses in hand. Arch-rival Ignitor, with a crew of Vikings (pirates of a different era), was just ahead and should have done well in the relatively strong, gusty wind. Full Moon clearly had more skill at all positions, though, (especially the enthusiastic cabin boy with his twitchy sword) and Ignitor was dispatched easily in the first few tacks upwind.

The faster boats were still faster, of course, but Full Moon did well upwind and down through two full laps of the lake with no spinnaker disasters and relatively few missteps. In the end, Full Moon was tenth and impressively close behind always-fast Runner in eighth with some thirty boats in our start. Ignitor was far behind in about 20th place, the scurvy dogs!

During this month 30 years ago, Santana 525 hull number 123 was completed at the W.D. Schock yard in Corona, California. The transom was stamped with 123 for the hull number and 678 for the date, a random pairing of sequential numbers creating no particular magical qualities save a consistent ability to foster good times. Hull 123 is, of course, Full Moon and she’s still creating fun for her crew 30 years on. Happy Birthday, Full Moon!

Duck Dodge September 2, 2008
Martini Madness

Full Moon skipped the majority of the Duck Dodge sailboat races this summer but made it for the finale last Tuesday. Crew Art “Pierced Nipple” Teller, Debra “Pink” Ricard, Randy “Couldn’t Write This Stuff” Olsen, Suzan “More” Schneider, Michael “Hi-Beams” Medina, Eileen “Cosmopolitan” McHugh, and skipper John “Shiny” Mengedoht enjoyed what is traditionally Martini Night aboard Full Moon with various Vodka-based drinks and some tasty hors d’oeuvres.

The weather cooperated nicely with few clouds and a decent breeze but Full Moon had a poor start at the back of the fleet, the skipper being a bit rusty. Despite this handicap and a bit more weight than usual (lots of ice and two extra crew), Full Moon cruised upwind, easily passing old rival Shogun and the huge Buchan 37 Distance on the first leg along with two Thunderbirds. Arch-rival Ignitor remained ahead, however, and catching them would be difficult in a short one-lap race.

Turning downwind with the mighty Equalizer spinnaker, Full Moon gained a bit on Ignitor and managed pick off another large boat, the Catalina 36 Mata Hari. The spinnaker drop was challenging, though, and the ensuing mess took some time to sort so hopes of catching Ignitor were dimmed. In the end Full Moon finished just behind them with a very reasonable eleventh in the fading light, having advanced through nearly half the fleet. Most importantly, a great time was had by all.

Goosebump January 11, 2009
Imperfectly Strange

Full Moon crew Caroline "Spit & Blood" Sneed, Art "Rusty" Teller, Randy "Short Stick" Olsen, and skipper John "Slave Driver" Mengedoht enjoyed a good start for the first of the Goosebump sailboat race series Sunday on Lake Union. Pitted boat for boat against all-out racers and a good number of much larger boats, a "podium" finish was not likely so Full Moon’s goal was to beat her traditional rivals and try to hang in there with fast boats of similar size: Runner, Rev, and Perfectly Strange.

Despite a few early glitches with spinnaker gear on the first lap, Full Moon was able to stay close to Runner and Rev and trade positions back and forth with Perfectly Strange while pulling steadily away from arch-rival Ignitor, which ended up engaged in a battle of their own with Fortis and Shogun much farther back in the fleet. Starting the second lap, Full Moon was in front of Perfectly Strange again and working hard to stay there. The mighty Equalizer spinnaker helped out on the second downwind run, though the 42’ Yankee III did manage to squeak by at the end of that leg.

On the final two legs Runner was 9th, followed fairly closely by Rev, Yankee III, Full Moon, and Perfectly Strange and all held position to cross the line, an excellent finish for Full Moon. Meanwhile, arch-rival Ignitor was nearly a half-lap behind – a huge margin in a two-lap race.

Goosebump January 18, 2009
Blue Skies

Goosebump sailboat race No. 2 began with fabulous sunshine and exactly zero wind. Full Moon crew Sara “Single-handed” Skinner, Art “30 Rock” Teller, Randy “Subwoofer” Olsen, and skipper John “Spongebob” Mengedoht were parked in a decent spot on the starting line for about a minute when the wind finally began to blow – from behind! With boats pointed a variety of directions and the wind still weak and variable, it took a little while for everyone to get sorted but soon crews were popping up spinnakers to take advantage of the unexpected wind. Full Moon lost out a little in the initial maneuvering but ended up with a clear lane under spinnaker and arrived at the windward mark in the top ten boats.

The rounding was congested and there was added confusion as the Race Committee had changed the course. As a result, arch-rival Ignitor and occasional-rival Perfectly Strange managed to slip out in front. However, Full Moon chose a better path to the next mark, passing both rivals with ease and picking off another boat right at the buoy before hoisting the spinnaker for the run to the finish line. In the end, Full Moon was 15th with Perfectly Strange 17th and Ignitor 20th out of some 30 boats.

Goosebump January 25, 2009
Snow Sail

Goosebump sailboat race No. 3 started with a fresh north wind that was soon joined by fine flakes of snow. Full Moon crew Eileen “Five Layers” McHugh, Randy “Gloves” Olsen, Art “Two-Pack” Teller, and skipper John “Ice Man” Mengedoht nailed the start on the advantaged end of the line and rounded the first buoy in fifth place. Full Moon stayed ahead of a fast Soverel 33 until the very end of the third leg but then managed to keep sixth place for nearly two laps around Lake Union until finally passed by 42’ Yankee III.

Heading into the downwind leg of the final lap under spinnaker, three boats threatened from behind – a big Buchan 37, Distance, a maroon Thunderbird, and the always speedy Ranger 26, Runner. Distance got just ahead at the buoy but turned wide and Full Moon snuck inside to stay even with them to start the final upwind leg. It is challenging to try and stay ahead of two boats at once while also trying to build a lead on yet another but Full Moon went right to stay with Distance, knowing that would provide a right-of-way advantage vs. the other two boats when it came time to tack back the other way. Somehow, Full Moon clawed ahead of Distance and maintained a lead on the others to cross the finish line still in seventh, a fabulous finish in a mixed fleet with no handicaps. Runner managed to squeak in front of Distance for eighth while arch-rival Ignitor struggled a full leg behind in 20th place.

Goosebump February 1, 2009
Pregame Show

The Full Moon crew of Art “Pole Position” Teller, Randy “Jumbo Shrimp” Olsen, and skipper John “Buzz the Committee” Mengedoht were short a body (or two) for the fourth Goosebump sailboat race but glad to be out in a reduced fleet on chilly Superbowl Sunday.

The Race Committee had major timing issues, attempting initially to start the race some seven minutes early, cancelling that start, restarting the timing sequence, and then signaling the one-minute warning and the actual start fully one minute early compared to the five-minute warning. Full Moon would have absolutely nailed the initial start and fortunately were not far off the line for the early restart, which caught many boats by surprise.

The first lap went well with Full Moon staying fairly even with speedy Scat and a hot Rocket 22 while generally holding onto 4th or 5th place. On the second lap, Scat and the Rocket managed to pull ahead by a small margin while a Hobie cat and J-27 began to threaten, the Hobie taking off like a shot whenever a gust hit.

Beginning the third lap, the Hobie and J Boat finally got by to drop Full Moon into a still-excellent 7th place, which remained the order at the finish line. Full Moon beat Perfectly Strange (9th) again as well as the giant Yankee III (10th) while arch-rival Ignitor is clearly a rival no more, finishing 12th a good ten minutes behind.

Goosebump February 8, 2009
Tenacious Denied

Full Moon crew Art “Tired” Teller, Randy “Wino” Olsen, Caroline “Kinky” Sneed, Chris “Frozen Toes” Saleeba, and skipper John “Slip-Disc” Mengedoht enjoyed a good start for Goosebump race No. 5, with partial credit to the race committee for inconsistent start timing (again!). Unfortunately, Full Moon went too far to the east on the first leg and missed out on better wind on the west side of Lake Union. Arch-rival Ignitor had moved ahead and so had Caroline’s ex-boyfriend on Tenacious!

Ignitor was soon passed downwind but Tenacious lived up to the name and an additional battle developed with a sleek J-27, which should have been much faster but wasn’t able to establish a solid lead. The first lap and then the second were completed with the three boats in relatively close contention.

Finally, on the third and final lap, Full Moon pulled out ahead of both boats under spinnaker. Meanwhile, Distance, a big Buchan 37, was coming up from behind. Distance passed the others and very slowly gained on Full Moon but could not get by on the final leg. Full Moon finished an excellent 11th out of about 25 boats with Distance 12th, the J-27 13th, and Tenacious (and the ex-boyfriend) 14th.