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.

Old Stories, 2005-2006

Goosebump January 16, 2005
Goosebumps on Full Moon

Full Moon crew Michael “Bloody” Medina, Jay “Fleece Wings” Thoman, Krisinda “Banana” Parcel, Eric “The Red” Trefcon, and skipper John “Teacher” Mengedoht braved the winter cold for sailboat race No. 1 of the Goosebump series on Lake Union and managed a good start in the 20-boat fleet. Unfortunately, arch-rival Ignitor had a better start and was the only boat to head immediately to the right, picking up a favorable wind shift to put them, at least temporarily, in the lead.

In consideration of a relatively inexperienced crew, Cap’n John called for the small spinnaker downwind and performance suffered accordingly. Good speed upwind balanced things out a little over two full laps and Full Moon managed a decent eighth place finish, holding off a pesky SJ 24 and a J24. Ignitor was passed by two faster boats but held on for third place while old rival Shogun placed thirteenth.

Goosebump January 23, 2005
Ignitor Vanquished!

Sailboat Race Two of the Goosebump Series began with glassy water and nearly nonexistent wind. Full Moon crew Stephanie “Rookie” Wade, Karl “Grinder” Schmidt, Kurt “Foredeck Fiend” Schmidt, Randy “His To Lose” Olsen, and skipper John “Low Side” Mengedoht emerged from the starting line drift-a-thon in decent shape, oozed efficiently down the lake, and, as the wind filled in just a bit, quickly popped up the spinnaker on the second leg. With a good short run and a decent jibe at the next buoy, the giant Equalizer spinnaker did the job as Full Moon blew easily into third place.

Unfortunately, the fickle wind dropped again to whispers at the end of the fourth leg and the crawl to the finish allowed a fast 37-footer to slip past, pushing Full Moon to a still-great fourth place finish. Old rival Shogun crossed ages later in 10th and arch-rival Ignitor, suffering near the back of the fleet, gave up and went home.

Goosebump January 30, 2005
Yellow Goose

Full Moon crew Carrie “Quick Study” Ericson, Corey “Mediterranean” Koenig, Ben “Third Time” Kim, Randy “Old Hand” Olsen, and skipper John “Squeeker” Mengedoht had an excellent start for sailboat race No. 3 of the Goosebump Series, vying for the lead for the first few legs in a decent breeze. With a full two-lap race, there was plenty of action and positions changed frequently.

Heading into the next to last leg, Full Moon was in third place but fending off a host of competitors attempting to pass from behind, including arch-rival Ignitor. Always speedy Scat edged by at the final buoy but nobody else could get past for the upwind dash to the finish line. Approaching the finish, Full Moon ducked behind Scat and immediately tacked for the inside position at the line, allowing Full Moon to just beat Scat by a foot for the Yellow Goose! Ignitor finished fifth shortly thereafter.

Goosebump February 13, 2005
No Rain, Big Gain

After skipping Goosebump Race No. 4 on a drenched Superbowl Sunday, Full Moon crew Debra “Fat Lip” Ricard, Katie “Rookie” Freels, Scott “Wild Man” Homan, Randy “Packer” Olsen, and skipper John “Comeback King” Mengedoht returned to racing action for Race No. 5. A relatively poor start in light wind and some very stiff competition didn’t bode well but Full Moon worked up to the middle of the eighteen boat fleet by the second buoy. After popping up the giant Equalizer spinnaker, more boats fell behind and the lead boats were in sight, if still out of reach.

The second lap saw additional gains, easily passing all rivals (Ignitor, Shogun, etc.), and Full Moon moved into fourth place by the final buoy with two boats close behind. At this point, Lake Union turned to glass and the final leg came down to luck with the wind. As fate would have it, Full Moon fell to sixth with two boats in front by just a few feet. Arch-rival Ignitor and old rival Shogun were still half a lap behind, though, parked in a windless dead zone.

Goosebump February 20, 2005
Fabulous Finale

Full Moon crew Debra “Line Control” Ricard, Randy “Ready for Three” Olsen, Jay “Dry Chute” Thoman, Ian “Mobile Ballast” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Wild Ride” Mengedoht enjoyed beautiful sunshine and powerful winds for the final Goosebump sailboat race. After a late but well-positioned start, Full Moon had a great lane upwind and was near the front of the fleet by the first buoy. One of only two boats to dare a spinnaker on the second leg, third place appeared locked up after one lap.

Bigger and theoretically faster boats did their best and made some gains from behind but Full Moon kept in the groove, holding off all comers (including always speedy Scat) to the finish and the Yellow Goose. Arch-rival Ignitor could do no better than twelfth.

Full Moon dominated all traditional rivals in the series including going 4-1 vs. NBBJ principal Mackenzie Skene with his 33-foot Audacious!

Duck Dodge May 17, 2005
Golden Ripples

Full Moon crew Barry “Smooth Bottom” Shuman, Randy “Get Serious” Olsen, Debra “No Key” Ricard, and skipper John “Concentration” Mengedoht returned to sailboat racing this past Tuesday evening for Duck Dodge No. 1. After a very crowded start in light wind, Full Moon rounded the first buoy in fifth place but right on the stern of three other boats. Popping up the giant Equalizer spinnaker, Full Moon dodged the oncoming boats and eventually stole the wind from perpetual speedsters Dreams and Scat to take over first place.

Then the wind died, leaving the fleet parked. Watching carefully for every hint of wind, Full Moon still inched ahead and when the wind finally filled in a bit, was perfectly positioned to take advantage of it and go around the final buoy. Dreams gained a bit toward the finish but not nearly enough and Full Moon scored the coveted Gold Duck for first place. Arch-rival Ignitor finished tenth much later with old rival Shogun thirteenth.

Duck Dodge May 24, 2005
Reality Check

Duck Dodge sailboat race No. 2 began with sunny skies and some 80 boats out to enjoy it. Full Moon crew Don “Memory Man” Warren, Michael “Haulin’” Medina, Art “Maaco” Teller, Ben “Ejector” Kim and skipper John “Jouster” Mengedoht had a solid start and good first leg but suffered in the wind shadow of much larger boats on the second leg across Gasworks Park while also dodging a tug and barge bound for Lake Washington.

The spinnaker run brought some significant gains and the second lap saw a series of tactical battles with several fast boats. In the end, though, the faster boats were faster and Full Moon did very well to finish eighth out of well over 30 boats. Arch-rival Ignitor was in the game early but fell to 14th with Shogun struggling near the back of the fleet.

Duck Dodge May 31, 2005
Redemption

Duck Dodge sailboat race No. 3 began under dark clouds with all sailors in foul weather gear. Full Moon crew Art “More Jibes” Teller, Doug “Shutterbug” Schoemaker, Todd “Flip Flops” Charlton, Randy “Night Shift” Olsen, and skipper John “Beach Phobia” Mengedoht had a very good start and rounded the first buoy in third. Unfortunately, arch-rival Ignitor was in first! Full Moon maintained position to the second buoy but then the wind faded and the boats coasted nearly to a stop. Ghosting along the glassy lake, Ignitor dropped well back but was replaced by light and speedy Scat. Worse, another boat, Runner, was first to receive the wind as it filled in, dropping Full Moon to fourth.

The giant Equalizer spinnaker was now brought into play, returning Full Moon to third place and making up some ground on Runner. Unfortunately, Scat and Runner proved uncatchable through the second lap. Full Moon battled upwind with a 30’ Dragon until rounding the final buoy for a downwind finish under spinnaker and the Bronze Duck. Ignitor finished ages later in seventh.

Duck Dodge June 7, 2005
June Gloom

Duck Dodge sailboat race No. 4 continued the pattern of gray skies and light, shifty wind. Full Moon crew Debra “Pole Position” Ricard, Randy “Speed Hoist” Olsen, Scott “Dry Chute” Homan, Katie “Cookies” Freels, and skipper John “Early” Mengedoht had a decent start, unlike arch-rival Ignitor which was disqualified for being over the line too early (they didn’t restart). Several faster boats jumped ahead, though, and Full Moon was eighth at the first buoy.

Unfortunately, the wind was not powerful enough for the mighty Equalizer spinnaker to make much difference, though a few boats found better wind near the eastern shore. The final two legs saw little change except that a huge 38-footer managed to work its way past. With a short, one-lap race, Full Moon didn’t have an opportunity for a typical come-from-behind performance but finished a still respectable 9th out of twenty-five boats.

Duck Dodge June 14, 2005
Final Hurrah

Full Moon was well-dressed for the Pirate Night Duck Dodge with a giant flag, swords, knives, flintlocks, eye patches, bandanas, and even a stuffed parrot. Crew Ben “The Blade” Kim, Michael “Treasure” Medina, Art “Boom” Teller, and skipper John “Defector” Mengedoht had a good start in strong wind and rounded the first buoy on the transoms of the lead group of boats. On the first spinnaker run, Full Moon deployed the Equalizer spinnaker to good advantage to stay in the hunt.

Returning upwind, Full Moon continued to cross tacks with the supposedly faster top boats to start the second lap, never taking the lead but staying surprisingly close. The second downwind run under spinnaker was a repeat of the first lap and the final leg to the finish was a battle all the way with Full Moon crossing a very respectable fifth. Arch-rival Ignitor finished ninth several long minutes later.

This is my final article for the Callison Weekly, though Full Moon will continue racing with a partly Callison crew. I hope you’ve enjoyed the stories – I’ve certainly enjoyed the racing, the camaraderie, and all the fun afloat and ashore.

Duck Dodge June 21, 2005
Light Ship

Full Moon crew Ian “Clingon” Mengedoht, Randy “Dash” Olsen, and skipper John “Jibe Again” Mengedoht had a good start for Duck Dodge No. 5, avoiding a pile-up at the pin end. Short two people on the crew, Full Moon ran without a spinnaker on the reaching and running legs, unfortunately allowing old rivals Shogun and Fortis to get by.

Returning upwind, Full Moon returned the favor and left all traditional rivals in her wake, though not the faster lead boats. Downwind, no rivals but Runner could catch up, and Full Moon finished an excellent ninth with Fortis twelfth and Shogun fourteenth. Arch-rival Ignitor was a no-show.

Duck Dodge June 28, 2005
Jammie Time

With grey skies and less than balmy southwesterly breezes, negligees and teddies were not to be seen for the Duck Dodge Pajama Night. Full Moon crew Carrie “Cherry Girl” Ericson, Corey “Flannels” Koenig, Art “Jibe Master” Teller, Randy “Halyards” Olsen, and skipper John “Robe Knot” Mengedoht had a good start, right on time, in the middle of the line but those closer to the rubber duck buoy toward the Westlake shore had a decided advantage. This was proven at the AGC buoy as Full Moon went around about tenth behind even old rival Shogun after battling with giant Thin Air and upwind rocket Katrinka Finkelsplat.

The Equalizer popped up right after the AGC buoy, though, and with a perfect jibe at the Challenger buoy, Full Moon was off and flying, passing several boats. Returning upwind after a brief episode of dunking the spinnaker at the Freeway buoy, Full Moon was surprising close to the leaders. Tacking down the lake, Art was busy repacking the soggy chute and rerunning the sheets and twing lines but all was ready at the ACG buoy to blow dry the spinnaker on the second lap.

The wind had dropped a bit so the Equalizer was not quite so powerful as on the first lap but it was good enough to pull inside Thin Air at the Freeway buoy. Remarkably, Thin Air was unable to gain upwind on the final leg and Full Moon also managed to squeak by yet another boat, the Dragon, right at the finish to take an excellent fifth. Scat was first, followed by Katrina Finkelsplat, Dreams, and Perfectly Strange – all boats that are much faster than Full Moon. The Dragon was sixth, then Thin Air and a J24. Somewhere back there (we lost count) were Runner, Shogun, and Fortis. Ignitor was missing again this week.

Duck Dodge July 5, 2005
Wet, White, and Blue

Despite fairly thin clouds, rain found its way down before, during, and after the Red, White, and Blue Duck Dodge. Full Moon crew Lori “Crash” Jay, Debra “Slippery Shoes” Ricard, Fernand “Beer-diver” Ricard, and skipper John “Damp Denim” Mengedoht had a slow start some 30 seconds late but rode excellent wind closer to the Westlake shore to slip past many of those starting in a more timely fashion. By the AGC buoy, all traditional rivals were well behind and with a quick reach to the Challenger buoy and a very speedy run up the lake under the Equalizer, Full Moon was up near the lead boats.

The second lap saw Katrina Finkelsplat, Dreams, Scat and a J24 pull ahead (they're all supposed to be faster and they were) leaving Full Moon to battle the blue Erickson 38 Thin Air, the Dragon, and a well-sailed black Thunderbird. Thin Air reveled in stronger wind than has been the norm and was uncatchable even with the Equalizer. The Dragon and Thunderbird were another story, though both managed to stay just ahead at the finish to leave Full Moon a still respectable eighth. Shogun sailed well and crossed twelfth with Fortis fourteenth and arch-rival Ignitor, sporting a brand new genoa jib, sixteenth.

Duck Dodge July 19, 2005
Full Moon Rising

Full Moon crew Amy “Three Glasses” DiMarco, Lori “Chilly” Jay, Art “Bored” Teller, Doug “Moon Shot” Schoemaker, James “Stem to Stern” Schoemaker, and skipper John “Duck Shadow” Mengedoht joined a huge fleet parked on the starting line in an extremely light southwesterly for Duck Dodge No. 9. As the boats spread out, each found enough wind to move but it was a painfully slow first leg until the wind began to fill in a bit near the Challenger buoy. (The Indigo Girls were playing at the pier so the AGC buoy was not used).

With a clean jibe and quick spinnaker hoist, Full Moon advanced under the giant Equalizer until the fleet condensed into a giant knot near the Freeway buoy as the wind built from behind. Several boats approached on starboard jibe with the right of way, forcing everybody to jibe as well – except for Scat who paid for their error with a bunt from Full Moon as it tried to cross in front on port tack (no damage was done).

Emerging from the mess, some of which were first start boats, Full Moon was in third place but with speedy Dreams close by and threatening. With a north-south two buoy race, part of the challenge was to avoid traffic coming the opposite way. After a few tacks, Full Moon was out in clear wind with Dreams roughly even and to leeward. A long straight drive to the Challenger buoy saw little change but Full Moon was able to squeeze in front of Dreams at the buoy.

By this time, the wind had shifted more to the north and the spinnaker pole was on the forestay for a very tight reach back north. Full Moon and Dreams were even most of the way up the lake until Dreams got a big puff of wind and popped ahead. Rounding the Freeway buoy, Full Moon was now in fourth but the J24 California Girl was also just behind. Unfortunately, California Girl passed both boats on the final leg to take the Bronze Duck, though Full Moon was in the hunt the whole way and actually gaining on Dreams.

Usually hot Scat was off the pace, finishing 8th with Runner 9th and Ignitor 12th. Shogun was too far back to see how they finished, as was Fortis.

Duck Dodge July 26, 2005
Lost in Transition

Full Moon had the usual Prom Night attire of tux tee-shirts and was fashionably late for the start in decent but not powerful wind. Crew Ian “Sugar Buzz” Mengedoht, Michael “Top This!” Medina, Todd “Halyard Muscle” Charlton, Joe “Not Wet” Kenny, and skipper John “Smooth Jibe” Mengedoht then had a tough first leg up to the Freeway buoy with lots of tacks and avoidance maneuvers as first start boats returned south under spinnaker.

The Equalizer spinnaker paid for itself on the broad reach to the AGC buoy, allowing Full Moon to pass a lot of boats and arrive literally on the transom of arch-rival Ignitor, who had enjoyed a much better start. The wind had gone very light by this time and the close reach to the Challenger buoy was painfully slow as Full Moon wallowed in the wind shadow of several boats. Ignitor was able to pull out ahead and, worse, found better wind up the lake back to the Freeway buoy to put them nearly out of reach.

The second spinnaker run had continuing wimpy wind and the Equalizer was not enough to reel in Ignitor. The short leg to the Challenger buoy allowed a small gain and then the final upwind leg to the finish had extremely light and inconsistent wind. At one point, Full Moon was actually ahead of Ignitor but the capricious breeze gave Ignitor a break and they ghosted ahead to take ninth with Full Moon tenth out of over thirty boats. Also finishing ahead were Norn (extremely fast Santa Cruz 27) two J24s, Katrinka Finkelsplat, Scat, Runner, the red T-bird, and All For A Girl (faded blue Ranger 28). However, both Dreams and Perfectly Strange finished well behind Full Moon with Fortis near the back of the fleet and Shogun actually taking dead last.

Duck Dodge August 2, 2005
Drat the Dragon!

Full Moon crew Annette “Topgallant” Hillesland, Lori “Muscles” Jay, Randy “Pole Rotation” Olsen, and skipper John “By The Lee” Mengedoht had a good start going on starboard tack for Duck Dodge No. 11 until the Dragon barely ahead tacked right on the line with what appeared to be no room to duck their stern. Full Moon crash tacked and stalled, losing all speed and any hope of being in contention for a good finish.

Once moving, though, Full Moon kept pace up to the Freeway buoy and across the lake to the Aurora buoy. With wind of about 15 knots prior to the race and whitecaps on the lake, the standard spinnaker had been set up and this proved the wrong choice as the wind dropped to under 10 knots. The long run to the Challenger buoy saw Full Moon hold position but make no gains on the boats ahead, including arch-rival Ignitor.

Returning upwind, Full Moon passed a few boats and then gained on Ignitor downwind despite the small spinnaker. Unfortunately, Ignitor remained far enough ahead to finish ninth to Full Moon’s twelfth. Fortis finished eighteenth a good deal later with Shogun nineteenth. The good news was holding off a Merit 25 and a J24 through most of the race, including the finish – they’re both supposed to be faster upwind and down!

Duck Dodge August 9, 2005
Tropical Fun

The Tropical Night Duck Dodge brought out a huge fleet of boats to enjoy yet another sunny evening plus the usual floating raft dispensing free beer. Full Moon crew Barry “Thigh High” Shuman, Amy “Free Pour” DiMarco, Dawn “Don’t Tell Him That” Kirchner, Mark “Dry Chute” Kirchner, and skipper John “Hooters Girls” Mengedoht avoided a tight knot of boats at the Westlake buoy with a timely donut and had a good start closer to the middle of the line.

With the wind allowing nearly a straight shot to the AGC buoy on starboard tack, finding a hole for a short tack to onto port was tricky to avoid traffic with right of way. Full Moon was forced to wait until the last minute to tack and then tack back mere yards from the buoy but was able to do so cleanly in front of several boats. The leg to the beer raft was very short but Full Moon scored two beers before rounding and hoisting the Equalizer.

Downwind to the Freeway buoy under the Equalizer saw Full Moon pass a couple of boats including a fast white J24. The leg to the Aurora buoy brought everyone very close to Gasworks and Full Moon was able to get by a blue J24 to ease into 5th place. Unfortunately, the final upwind leg saw the blue J24, the Olson 25, Dreams, and the San Juan 30, Outlaw, get by to drop Full Moon to a still very respectable 8th. It was a close finish as Full Moon was within 75 yards of the 2nd and 3rd place boats Skye Rocket (Merit 25) and Great Expectations. Ignitor was extremely late for the start and finished dead last.

Duck Dodge August 16, 2005
Cool Runnings

Duck Dodge No. 13 began with gray skies, cooler temperatures, and a decent breeze. Full Moon crew Debra “Simply Naked” Ricard, Ben “Just The Tip” Kim, Katie “Belgian Beer” Freels, Randy “Pressure Knot” Olsen, and skipper John “Slow Starter” were late for the starting line, due at least in part to a significant wind shift that left a number of boats unable to make it past the Committee Boat without tacking. Working the Westlake shore, Full Moon gained back some of the lead given away at the start and squeezed around the outside of a stalled Shogun at the AGC buoy.

The Equalizer was deployed for the short run to the Challenger buoy where a jibe was accomplished for the long run/reach up the lake. After zipping around Ignitor’s stern to successfully steal their wind, yet another jibe was needed to make the Freeway buoy and Debra (with Randy’s help) was kept very busy on the foredeck. Katie got the chute down without incident and Debra got things cleaned up quickly as Full Moon skimmed the Gasworks Park shoreline.

Approaching the Aurora buoy, which was placed very far to the northwest, the leaders were bunched up and Full Moon nearly caught up. Unfortunately, the speedier boats showed their legs on the long upwind haul back to the AGC buoy and the fleet spread out again, though Full Moon still picked off one or two boats.

The spinnaker legs were nearly a repeat of the first lap (without the late jibe) and Full Moon rounded the Freeway buoy sixth having just overtaken Perfectly Strange. Positions held across to the Aurora buoy but Perfectly Strange was able to return the favor on the final leg, dropping Full Moon to an excellent seventh in a very strong fleet. The ducks went to Dreams, Katrinka Finkelsplat, and Scat. Thin Air was ninth, Runner tenth, and arch-rival Ignitor eleventh with Shogun about eighteenth. Fortis was a no-show.

Duck Dodge August 30, 2005
Lucky Seven

Full Moon crew Debra “Toga Viridans (Green Toga)” Ricard, Randy “Nodus Denuo (Knot Again)” Olsen, Todd “Fermentum Grandis (Big Beer)” Charlton, Ian “Vestis Puer (Blanket Boy)” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Annacrumena (Little Pouch)” Mengedoht were in togas of assorted sizes, shapes, and colors for Duck Dodge Toga Night. Full Moon hit the favored windward end of the starting line with good timing for once but there were a mass of boats vying for the same location and boats nearer the Committee Boat enjoyed the benefits of clear wind.

After breaking free from the pack, Full Moon reeled in a few boats while the usual rockets moved out ahead. At the AGC buoy, the Equalizer went up quickly and with a jibe at the Challenger buoy Full Moon kept pace with the leaders, though the wind was not strong enough for big gains.

The spinnaker came down neatly at the Freeway buoy and Full Moon began a lengthy battle with Perfectly Strange, Thin Air, Freedom (a pesky J22), Runner, and the red T-bird. The battle continued around the AGC and Challenger buoys but Full Moon moved ahead of all but Perfectly Strange and Runner by the Freeway mark in the growing darkness. The final leg was excellent as Perfectly Strange fell back three places and the red T-bird couldn't catch us. Runner ended up sixth, Full Moon seventh, the red T-bird eighth, and Perfectly Strange tenth. Shogun, Ignitor, and Fortis all finished well back, most likely 20th or worse.

Duck Dodge September 6, 2005
Cosmopolitan Dreamsicle

Following the pattern of recent years, attrition was high on Full Moon for Martini Night with only Amy “Cosmo Girl” DiMarco, Randy “Vanilla Vodka” Olsen, and skipper John “Cocktail Remix” Mengedoht aboard for this final race of summer. With a starting line set to defy a starboard tack crossing, Full Moon opted for a port tack start on the Westlake buoy end and was the third boat across the line. The first leg to the Freeway buoy was then a straight shot upwind and the only boats that got by were a couple of fast J boats, the red T-bird and Katrinka Finkelsplat.

The next leg to the Aurora buoy was in much lighter winds, especially near Gasworks, and Full Moon essentially held position. Unfortunately, in consideration of the short-handed crew, Full Moon didn’t fly a spinnaker on the long downwind leg. Given several jibes needed to work down the lake, this was probably wise but it allowed four boats to get by including occasional rivals Fortis and it was painful to watch this happen.

Rounding the AGC buoy, Full Moon returned to upwind speed with a quick leg to the Challenger buoy followed by a well-sailed final leg to pass a couple of boats to take ninth just behind Fortis. Boats behind included Perfectly Strange and Thin Air with Shogun placing fourteenth and arch-rivals Ignitor back in twenty-first (all having flown spinnakers).

Full Moon continued to sail around on a gorgeous evening, enjoying assorted Vodka-based concoctions while a thin crescent moon rose over Queen Anne Hill. It was a great summer and a very pleasant way to finish the racing season.

Rum Run October 22, 2005
Rum Fun

Full Moon crew Alyssa “Rookie” Mehl, Jose “Halyards” Levya, Josh “Top Secret” May, Art “Crabs” Teller, and skipper John “Bibs” Mengedoht ventured out onto the Sound for the Duck Dodge Rum Run on Saturday. After a “conservative” (slightly late) start across a highly skewed line, the wind slowly dropped below five knots and hopes for a decent breeze began to fade, though the blazing sunshine was a treat. Ever a tease, the wind then rose up into the mid to high teens, overpowering the full main and genoa and bringing the crew to the rail. Unfortunately, the strong wind hit some boats sooner than others while providing an advantage to the larger boats and Full Moon slipped to the middle of the fleet.

A stalled boat at the West Point buoy caused some difficulties rounding in the ebb current but once around, Full Moon popped up the oversized “Equalizer” spinnaker and took off on a screaming reach toward Meadow Point. The gap to the lead boats was reduced markedly but not enough to get by anyone. With a clean spinnaker drop at the buoy, it was time for a close reach across the Sound to the finish off Port Madison at the north tip of Bainbridge Island.

A few boats kept their spinnakers up for this leg with poles on their forestays but the genoa was a more efficient choice and Full Moon was soon rocketing along at over six knots, an impressive speed for an old 25 foot boat. Bigger boats were even faster, though, and Full Moon did well to hold position. At the finish, Full Moon was a decent tenth out of twenty in our start while rivals Fortis and Runner were well ahead, having enjoyed a much better first leg.

The sun continued to shine bright for the traditional large raft-up of boats inside sheltered Port Madison. Even the last boats in agreed it was an absolutely fabulous day on the water.

Goosebump January 15, 2006
No Rain, Big Gains

Full Moon crew Tyra “Rookie” Sorenson, Randy “Pole Master” Olsen, Ian “Cold Hands” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Bumper Boats” Mengedoht enjoyed a rare break in the weather Sunday for Goosebump Sailboat Race No. 1 on Lake Union. With a southwest breeze, the Westlake end of the starting line was favored and Full Moon ended up in a tight squeeze amongst what seemed like half the fleet at that end. Paul Hanson’s new J-29 got away clean and in front but Full Moon had to tack soon after the start to find clear wind.

The first leg looked salvageable until the wind died near the buoy and it took several tacks to get around. However, the wind continued it’s fickle ways, causing a bunch up of boats at the second buoy and allowing Full Moon to gain back much of what had been lost at the start. Once the spinnaker was up for the long downwind run, Full Moon continued to advance, passing rival Fortis.

A reach across the north end of the lake was uneventful until Runner, still carrying a spinnaker, had major difficulties getting the spinnaker down. This allowed Full Moon to easily cruise by the last of our traditional rivals.

The final upwind leg was a nail-biter as the wind had died yet again near the last buoy and it filled in briefly in scattered places giving different boats temporary advantages. In the end, Full Moon held off Fortis but couldn’t stop the J-24 California Girl from just squeaking by to steal 9th in this one-start, no handicaps race series.

Paul’s much faster J-29, with new crew Nicky Lyons took an outstanding 3rd place. Full Moon rivals Runner, Shogun, and Ignitor placed 12th, 14th, and 19th respectively with Audacious in 15th. As always, a good time was had by all.

Goosebump January 22, 2006
Crew Swap

Nicky “Telltales” Lyons and Josh “Smokin’ Halyards” May jumped from Paul Hanson’s J-29 to join Full Moon crew Debra “Pole Position” Ricard, Kevin “Mobile Ballast” O’Leary, and skipper John “Wrong Side” Mengedoht for a wild ride Sunday with winds in the high teens. Meanwhile, Tyra Sorenson “defected” to join Paul’s merry crew on the J-29.

With a decent second row start, Full Moon had a solid first leg upwind and rounded the buoy nicely for a speedy reach across the south end of Lake Union. Unfortunately, the oversize spinnaker pole was prepped on what turned out to be the wrong side for the downwind run, delaying the spinnaker hoist. Once up, the giant spinnaker proved its worth until increasing wind made control difficult. A late jibe near the buoy at the end of the run prevented hoisting the jib until the nylon monster was down and spinnaker pole cleared out of the way.

On the next leg, Paul Hanson’s J-29 finally made it past, having apparently also had spinnaker issues, but supposedly slower Full Moon managed to return the favor upwind to start the second lap. Paul got by again for good, though, crossing the south end of the lake near the beginning of the second downwind run. With slightly lesser wind, the spinnaker was better behaved on the second lap and the jib hoist and spinnaker take-down went smoothly.

The final two legs to the finish were without drama apart from the gusting wind and Full Moon finished a respectable 10th out of about 30 boats (there are no handicaps so big boats and all-out racers usually dominate). Paul’s J-29 was 6th and Full Moon rival Runner was 7th. Arch-rival Ignitor was never much of a threat and finished 14th with Fortis even farther back in 17th place.

Goosebump January 29, 2006
Soggy Shoes

Full Moon crew Maria “Close Crossings” Llobet, Forrest “Halyards Ho!” Llobet, Jose “Patron” Levya, Randy “Fat Lady” Olsen, and skipper John “Competitive Bones” Mengedoht got to test their foul weather gear as rain came down throughout Goosebump sailboat race No. 3 on Lake Union. A decent but not great start was improved with a timely tack and Full Moon had a good first leg upwind to round the first buoy in seventh place. The wind began to build on the close reaching second leg while Randy scrambled to set up the spinnaker pole, which had been pre-prepped on what turned out the wrong side (skipper error).

Once the oversize spinnaker was up for the downwind leg, Full Moon zipped along, passing a Tartan 35, the well-sailed red Thunderbird and perennial speedster Scat. The spinnaker came down cleanly at the end of the run and the fourth leg was another speedy reach. Several boats, including rival Runner, kept their spinnakers up for this leg but paid for it with difficulty maintaining control and, for Runner at least, a troublesome take-down. Full Moon got by Runner and was up to fourth place early in the final leg.

Full Moon was now faced with holding off three speedy contenders, Runner, the red T-bird, and Scat, to hold onto fourth place. A tactical battle began with Scat from which Full Moon emerged victorious but Runner got by in the meantime to steal fourth and Full Moon ended up in a photo finish with the T-bird, losing by less than a second to take sixth.

Still, any day that Full Moon beats Scat is a great day and arch-rival Ignitor was way back in fifteenth. Fortis was thirteenth and Audacious was fourteenth. Meanwhile Paul Hanson’s J-29 cruised to an easy third with Mithuners Scott Harkey and Nicky Lyons on the crew.

Goosebump February 5, 2006
Convergence Comedy

The Norse god Loki clearly had control of the wind for Goosebump race No. 4. Full Moon crew Katie “Endless Halyard” Freels, Art “Sunblock” Teller, Ian “Sleepy” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Clear Air” Mengedoht set up for what should have been an excellent start based on the light pre-race wind out of the west. Loki had other ideas as the wind shifted fully 90 degrees just after the start, leaving Full Moon nearly last on the first leg. Rounding the buoy, though, the spinnaker was quickly hoisted and Full Moon quickly picked off several boats and, with a smooth jibe at the second buoy, began to reel in the middle of the fleet.

Unfortunately, the fleet ahead was essentially parked on glassy water and the spinnaker was soon rendered useless with no wind to fill it. Down it came and the game was on to be first to find a hint of wind and to guess from which direction it might come as Lake Union experienced classic convergence zone conditions. Full Moon is light and agile and made the most of the whispers to pass still more boats and round the third buoy.

The fourth leg had a bit more wind for a short time, allowing Full Moon to get past rivals Fortis and Shogun and even Paul Hanson’s J-29 (for a while), but couldn’t quite catch arch-rival Ignitor or Runner. The final leg featured more unpredictable wind until it finally filled in a bit near the finish line. The result was a huge group of boats crossing the line within seconds of each other. It was impossible to tell the precise finishing order but Full Moon was likely 11th – a vast improvement over the start.

Paul Hanson’s J-29 crew, including Nicky Lyons and Scott Harkey, made similar assumptions about the starting wind but made a better compromise on where to cross the line and were in second place to round the first buoy. The dying wind was especially unkind later in the race and all too many boats were able to ghost on by. The final leg allowed them to retake Full Moon and several other boats and the J-29 finished about seventh.

Goosebump February 19, 2006
Ignitor Vanquished!

Enjoying yet another beautiful sunny day, Full Moon crew Tam “Rookie” Duong, Jose “Neatly Coiled” Levya, Barry “Foredeck Finesse” Shuman, and skipper John “Seriously” Mengedoht prepared for the final Goosebump sailboat race on Lake Union. A good spot was picked for the start but the already light winds went even lighter and Full Moon was, once again, late to cross the line.

With vigilant tweaking of the sails, Full Moon worked ahead of several boats on the first leg and, aided by fortuitous wind shifts, got by still more on the second leg. Arch-rival Ignitor was now just ahead for the long downwind leg. Up went the giant spinnaker and Ignitor was toast, dying in Full Moon’s wind shadow.

The fourth leg looked to have the right wind angle to carry the spinnaker and Full Moon went for it with a nice jibe at the buoy. The wind filled in a bit at this point and Full Moon took off, leaving little time to sort out the foredeck on a fairly short leg. In the nick of time the jib went up and the spinnaker came down and Full Moon was onto the final upwind leg, crossing the finish line behind a Hobie 33 to take seventh out of some thirty boats. Ignitor was eighth and occasional rival Fortis eleventh.

Paul Hanson’s J-29, with Mithuners Scott Harkey and Nicky Lyons, also had a less than perfect start but made the best of it with excellent upwind speed. At the end of the spinnaker run, the J-29 was all the way up to second place but technical difficulties at the buoy allowed several boats to get by and they had to settle for fifth for the finish. Still, with two third-place finishes and consistently good performance, the J-29 is likely in the top three for the six-race series. Way to go!

Duck Dodge May 16, 2006
Lots of Fun in Duck Dodge No. 1!

Full Moon crew Alyssa “Biker” Mehl, Julia “1 ½ Weeks” Stahl, Randy “Houseboats” Olsen, Art “Sleepy” Teller, and skipper John “Catchup” Mengedoht were caught in a dense pack of boats to start the first Duck Dodge sailboat race on Lake Union and emerged into clear air only after the leaders appeared halfway to the first buoy. Good boat speed and crisp tacking shortened the gap somewhat, allowing Full Moon to get by old rivals Fortis and Shogun on the second leg. Unfortunately, the wind nearly died at the second buoy and boats that had already rounded pulled farther ahead.

Popping up the monster Equalizer spinnaker, Full Moon easily passed several boats on the downwind leg and gained substantially on arch-rival Ignitor. However, the slow start disadvantage was simply too much to overcome and, despite shortening the lead on the final two legs, Full Moon had to settle for tenth place (out of over 30 boats), just behind Ignitor. Regardless, the sun was out, the beers were cold, and a great time was had by all.

Duck Dodge May 23, 2006
Spinnaker Surprise

Duck Dodge No. 2 featured gray and threatening skies and Full Moon crew Robert “Halyard Hauler” Leykam, Marget “Dry Chute” Livak, Art “Whip It” Teller, and skipper John “Whoo-hoo” Mengedoht had an equally dark start with a late wind shift necessitating a tack just to cross the starting line. As the boats thinned out, though, Full Moon was well-positioned to ride some long lifts, rising close to mid-fleet by the first buoy.

Launching the giant Equalizer spinnaker for the second leg, Full Moon reeled in several more boats, jibed at the second buoy, and was off onto the long run up Lake Union. Dead ahead was arch-rival Ignitor and some timely tactics quickly brought Full Moon ahead and to windward while passing several other boats as well.

Approaching the final buoy, Full Moon had advanced all the way to fourth place but the winds gods weren’t quite done stirring the pot. One lonely Erickson 38 found an advantage to the far right on the final leg, dropping Full Moon to a still-amazing fifth at the finish line, having passed more than half the twenty-plus boat fleet. Ignitor was seventh, old rivals Shogun tenth and Fortis twelfth.

Duck Dodge May 30, 2006
Fat Tuesday

Duck Dodge No. 3 was N’Awlins Night and Full Moon crew Bethany “Cookie” Madsen, Fred “The Professor” Brown, Michael “Upside Down” Medina, Todd “Special Beads” Charlton, and skipper John “Flasher” Mengedoht were well-equipped with Mardi-Gras accessories. The race start was windless with a mass of boats jammed at the line but Full Moon wiggled across and was one of the first boats to enjoy a bit of breeze that briefly touched down on the lake. For a short while Full Moon even held the lead but the dying wind allowed a few speedsters to get past by the first buoy.

The second leg began with a guessing game of where the wind was going to come from. When it finally arrived, Full Moon made the most of it, holding off some hard chargers coming up from behind. Rounding the final buoy, the giant spinnaker was quickly deployed, though once again the breeze began to die. Somehow the spinnaker stayed full and flying and nobody behind could quite catch up. Full Moon ended up an excellent fourth in a huge fleet out to enjoy another brief glimpse of summer.

Duck Dodge June 6, 2006
Trapped!

Duck Dodge No. 4 was again sunny and, unlike last week, had (mostly) good wind. Full Moon crew Katie “M.J.” Freels, Randy “O-reo” Olsen, Jose “Halyards” Levya, and skipper John “Fiberglass” Mengedoht played the usual game of dodge ‘em at the start and were poised to do well. Unfortunately, one boat refused to respond to boats to leeward (who had right of way), trapping Full Moon and several others behind the line until the offending boat finally altered course and ultimately tacked away. By then, the lead boats were several hundred yards ahead and essentially uncatchable so the goal became to regain at least the front half of the fleet.

The wind dropped at the first buoy, creating a traffic jam and causing occasional rival Runner to miss the buoy entirely. Full Moon made it around safely and, having already passed arch-rival Ignitor, proceeded to get by a few others on the second leg. The spinnaker was used to good effect downwind and a few more boats fell behind. The second lap saw little change as the fleet spread out until Full Moon got by a nearly identical twin Santana on the next to last leg and held them off to finish 11th out of over 30 boats. Arch-rival Ignitor was 16th.

Duck Dodge June 13, 2006
Sudden Impact

Minutes before the second start of the Pajama Night Duck Dodge, a yell of “Starboard!” was followed by the scary sound of crunching fiberglass as 38’ Thin Air impaled a smaller boat. Thankfully, there didn’t appear to be injuries other than to the boats, but Thin Air’s insurance company likely won’t be happy as it appeared Thin Air was at fault.

Meanwhile, Full Moon crew Alexandra “Fat Tire” Ramsden, Cuneyt “June 8” Havioglu, Art “Rock the Boat” Teller, Doug “Optimum” Schoemaker, and skipper John “Doughnut” Mengedoht managed to cross the starting line in very heavy traffic without a scratch, though not exactly in the front row of boats. A good turn of speed upwind kept Full Moon in the game as traditional rivals fell behind.

The first spinnaker run was literally a blast as the wind rose and boat control was occasionally on the edge with the giant Equalizer pulling hard. Speed was good enough to blow by a well-sailed J22 and make gains on the front-runners. The spinnaker takedown wasn’t pretty but little speed was lost and Full Moon did well enough on the next two legs to get past always-speedy Scat.

The second spinnaker run got Full Moon past a sleek old Dragon but Scat managed to squeak back in front at the leeward buoy. The final two legs saw no change in position and Full Moon finished a commendable 8th, close behind Runner, Dreams, and Scat - tough competitors all. Arch rival Ignitor was nearly ten minutes behind in 15th with Shogun 16th.

Duck Dodge June 20, 2006
Battle with Birds

Great June weather continued for Duck Dodge No. 6 with sunny skies and a good northerly breeze. Full Moon crew Lori “Take-Down” Fulsaas, Daniel “Digital” Raymond, Randy “Bowrider” Olsen, Michael “Easy Halyard” Medina, and skipper John “Beat the Birds” Mengedoht had a decent start in heavy traffic but suffered in the wind shadow of bigger boats for much of the first leg. It was also challenging to find a clear lane on the second leg but the spinnaker run allowed Full Moon to close up with the faster boats while leaving much of the fleet far behind.

On the second lap, the notoriously fast no-name red Thunderbird began to slowly gain (though the equally fast no-name blue Thunderbird was no threat). A tactical battle began on the second leg and Full Moon held them off but the wily red Bird squeaked by under spinnaker after much maneuvering and Full Moon couldn’t quite return the favor. Returning upwind for the finish, Full Moon gained but couldn’t get by and finished 8th out of roughly 30 boats. Arch-rival Ignitor was waaay back in 22nd and is in serious danger of losing their rival status. Astoundingly, occasional rival Fortis absolutely nailed the start and managed to score the Bronze Duck for third.

Duck Dodge June 27, 2006
Scuppered!

With giant skull & cross bones flying from the backstay, Full Moon crew Suzan “Newbie” Schneider, Katie “Nylon Buns” Freels, Barry “Jibe Jive” Shuman, Ian “Jib Jockey” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Very Burly” Mengedoht had an excellent start for the Pirate Night Duck Dodge. Arch-rival Ignitor was just ahead but soon fell behind and Full Moon was in the top few boats at the first buoy. The wind went very light on the second leg, condensing the fleet, while Full Moon engaged speedy Scat in a battle of tactics. Scat eventually got by but never pulled very far ahead.

The first spinnaker run proved challenging as the wind oscillated and came and went. Finally it filled in toward the end but not from the expected direction and Full Moon ended up rounding the buoy without a jib up. This allowed Ignitor to close up and pass by, though Full Moon returned the favor two legs later as Ignitor struggled with their spinnaker in unsettled conditions. Full Moon waited to the next buoy to deploy the spinnaker as the wind filled in and Ignitor was left far behind. The ensuing take-down went smoothly and Full Moon was off on the final two legs. Two drifting giants caused some interesting maneuvers as the wind faded yet again at the final buoy but Full Moon got around and made a bee-line for the finish in what appeared to be fifth place.

Just as Full Moon crossed the finish line, though, the sky went dark, the sea began to boil, giant tentacles reached up from the deeps, and a disembodied voice from somewhere in the vicinity of the race committee boat yelled out “Full Moon, you were Over Early.” It turned out that Ignitor, Full Moon, and at least four other boats were over the starting line before the horn (three of the over-early boats obscured the view to one end of the line making it difficult to judge position from Full Moon). Given that it was Pirate Night, though, “cheating” seems entirely appropriate and Full Moon thereby claims First Place among the disqualified boats…

Duck Dodge July 11, 2006
Prom Queens

Full Moon crew Randy “French Cuffs” Olsen, Eileen “Tiara” McHugh, Amy “Sequins” DiMarco, Lori “Little Black Dress” Jay, and skipper John “Faux Tux” Mengedoht had a decent start for the Prom Night Duck Dodge, escaping a pile-up at one end of the line. With boats close aboard on both sides, though, it was difficult to get clear of the pack and, with another pile-up at the first buoy, it was a relief to get onto the second leg. Unfortunately, the spinnaker gear was pre-set on the wrong side and the second leg was too short to switch. Arch-rival Ignitor made the most of their opportunity to catch up, passing right at the buoy.

The wind angle for the long third leg was questionable for flying a spinnaker and Full Moon stuck with the jib. Boats with spinnakers up had control issues but just a bit more speed overall so this was not the best decision. However, Ignitor didn’t pull any farther ahead and hopes were high to get by them on the second lap. Heading upwind, though, it became clear by watching other boats that the Race Committee planned only a single lap race instead of the usual two. Full Moon altered course to cross the finish line but too late to catch Ignitor who finished just in front in 14th.

Duck Dodge July 25, 2006
80 Degrees for Christmas

Sporting reindeer antlers and Rudolf red noses, Full Moon crew Mark “Snowball” Kirchner, Sam “Technicolor Bruise” Kirchner, Debra “Jumpin’ Halyards” Ricard, Art “Hot Pack” Teller, Grace “Cookie” Teller, and skipper John “Yamaha” Mengedoht had a great start for the Christmas in July Duck Dodge and had a nice Christmas present when arch-rival Ignitor missed the first buoy and sailed on to earn a disqualification.

Full Moon enjoyed some tactical battles for most of the race with a brand new Hunter 27x and generally held good speed for two laps around the lake, especially under spinnaker. This kept Full Moon up near the faster boats, rounding the next to final buoy on the transom of speedy Dreams, though still several hundred yards behind the first place boat. At the finish, Full Moon was a very respectable seventh out of some thirty boats. Occasional rivals Fortis and Shogun were all much farther back, the best of them finishing fifteenth.

Duck Dodge August 1, 2006
Down To The Wire!

Full Moon got a decent start for Duck Dodge No. 10 and crew Jill “Cheese Puffs” Reid, Eileen “Nylon Cloud” McHugh, Randy “PowerMaster” Olsen, Barry “Backwards” Shuman, and skipper John “Photo Finish” Mengedoht did their best to make the most of it. Unfortunately, a few larger boats were able to roll across to windward to leave Full Moon dying in their wind shadows. Full Moon rounded the first buoy squarely in the middle of the fleet, having been passed by all traditional rival boats in the process.

The giant Equalizer spinnaker was deployed to good advantage on the second leg and Full Moon passed a couple of boats, including rival Fortis. The next two legs brought Full Moon past Shogun and a few others and, most importantly, much closer to arch-rival Ignitor.

Returning to the spinnaker, Full Moon slowly gained on Ignitor and rounded the next to last buoy within a few boatlengths. A short reaching leg saw the gap reduce to just a few feet. Turning upwind for the dash to the finish, Full Moon tacked out toward the middle of the lake. Ignitor followed suit, having fallen a bit behind but in controlling position to windward. Ignitor tacked for the finish line, Full Moon followed and ever so slowly began to poke out ahead. At the line, Full Moon proved victorious by fifteen feet to take tenth out of roughly thirty boats. Huzzah!

Duck Dodge August 8, 2006
Mooned Again

Despite gray skies and cooler temperatures, Full Moon crew Amy “Blonde” DiMarco, Michael “Mooner” Medina, Allen “Full Sail” Cox, Matthew “Margarita” Lipps, and skipper John “Tourist” Mengedoht sported the usual cheap plastic leis and flowery shirts for the Tropical Night Duck Dodge. Severely restricted in ability to maneuver by a large group of boats, Full Moon had a poor start, crossing the line fully seventeen boats behind arch-rival Ignitor, which managed to pop out into an early lead.

Given a short, one lap race, this did not bode well for a great finish but Full Moon made the most of the wind and picked off several boats on the way to the first buoy. Meanwhile, something went wrong aboard Ignitor as they were seen approaching the buoy as though they’d overshot it on the wrong side. This dropped them back to about eighth.

Rounding the buoy, Full Moon hoisted the giant Equalizer spinnaker but it was a very short leg to the floating beer-dispensing “island” which magically appears on Tropical Night. With the jib slow in coming down, Full Moon rounded the “island” without jibing the spinnaker pole and poor Michael and Matthew had some difficult, if creative, moments sorting out the ensuing mess. Through it all, though, the boat lost surprisingly little speed and, spinnaker now properly flying, Full Moon began to reduce the gap toward Ignitor.

Unfortunately, old rival Shogun chose this moment to appear from behind and to windward and, despite being loaded down with what appeared to be ten or more beer-swilling sailors, managed to use their advantageous position to slip ahead just before the final buoy. Rounding the buoy, though, most boats, including Ignitor and Shogun, tacked immediately, perhaps forgetting that this would bring them amidst the rest of the fleet going the opposite direction. Full Moon waited to tack and enjoyed better wind and very little oncoming traffic, quickly passing Shogun and gaining substantially on Ignitor.

Ignitor tacked back and crossed ahead and then tacked again to head for the finish line. Unfortunately, they didn’t allow for the shifty nature of the wind and it became apparent that they would need to tack twice more to clear the finish line. Meanwhile, Full Moon had come across and had a straight shot to the finish plus right of way over Ignitor! Full Moon crossed the line tenth, having passed eight boats in a single lap, spinnaker troubles and all. Ignitor was passed by yet another boat to drop to twelfth with Shogun farther back in fourteenth.

Duck Dodge August 15, 2006
Bye Bye Barbaree!

Full Moon had a decent start for Duck Dodge No. 12, and crew Jose “Rehab” Levya, Barry “Pole Control” Shuman, Doug “Paparazzi” Schoemaker, Ian “I-gor” Mengedoht, and skipper John “No Beers” Mengedoht made the best of it. The always fast red Thunderbird Barbaree (seven races in the top three boats) briefly threatened from behind but Full Moon set up in a perfect lee-bow position and they were left behind in bad air.

The spinnaker went up quickly on the short second leg but, unfortunately, in the classic “Mae West” twisted configuration. With speedy Katrinka Finkelsplat coming up from behind, the twist was undone just in time for the jibe at the next buoy and Full Moon tore off onto the long reaching leg up the Eastlake shore, holding off all comers to round the final buoy.

Picking the best path to avoid the wind shadow of giant Lady Washington, floating around the lake, Full Moon gained on theoretically faster Scat and Dreams on the final leg but the real question was whether the also-fast J24 California Girl and really-fast Katrinka could be kept at bay all the way to the finish. The tactical battle was great fun and Full Moon emerged victorious to score an excellent sixth out of some thirty boats. Arch-rival Ignitor was never much of a threat and finished well behind in tenth.

Duck Dodge August 22, 2006
Dark Drifter

‘Twas Toga Night on Lake Union and Full Moon crew Katie “Student” Freels, Randy “Ivy League” Olsen, Art “Fend Off!” Teller, Ian “Binoculars” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Mean Dad” Mengedoht sported a nice variety of bed sheets. Full Moon enjoyed a decent start, avoiding a pile-up of boats at the “pin” end of the starting line. Old rivals Shogun and Ignitor did a bit better, however, and were ahead, at least for a while.

Chasing the light breeze and staying out of wind shadows with multiple tacks, Full Moon gained significantly on the first leg upwind. At the first buoy, though, the fleet went in different directions as there was confusion about the course around the lake. This resulted in Full Moon rounding a “bonus” buoy and sailing a longer distance under spinnaker, but it turned out the wind was better on that side of the lake anyway and may have actually provided a small advantage!

Toward the end of the spinnaker run, Full Moon and Ignitor were neck and neck. At the leeward buoy, Full Moon got the inside position and then tacked away into clear air, leaving Ignitor permanently behind. That left two legs of sailing to go in extremely light wind, one leg being the entire length of the lake. With darkness falling fast and running lights aglow, Full Moon finally crossed the finish to take a respectable eighth out of nearly thirty boats. Ignitor was eleventh, unable, once again, to stay ahead of Full Moon.

Duck Dodge August 29, 2006
Nor’ Easter!

Full Moon crew Todd “Layers” Charlton, Eileen “Sunbrella” McHugh, Michael “Long Pack” Medina, Ian “Chips” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Where’s The Buoy?” Mengedoht wore their favorite team colors for Duck Dodge Team Spirit Night, no two having attended the same school. A good number of boats jammed the starting line right at the gun but Full Moon emerged with no scuffs in the fiberglass for a fairly good start. The first upwind leg involved numerous tacks to gain clear air while dodging boats from the first start coming the opposite direction under spinnaker (Mithuner Bill LaPatra observed this from his power boat and expressed amazement at everyone’s ability to avoid collision).

The wind was, very unusually, out of the northeast and subject to lots of changes in strength and direction, which kept things interesting. Full Moon did especially well under spinnaker, though the faster boats maintained a comfortable lead. With two laps to race and the sun dropping from the sky all to early, it was evident that the finish would come after dark for a second week, also keeping things interesting!

Full Moon zipped along to the finish line with all normal rivals well behind and took a very respectable tenth out of more than thirty boats. Shogun managed to beat both Fortis and arch-rival Ignitor to place thirteenth as Ignitor could do no better than nineteenth.

Duck Dodge September 5, 2006
Martini Night!

The final Duck Dodge of summer is always Martini Night aboard Full Moon and crew Katie “Cookie” Freels, Alyssa “Olive Slayer” Mehl, Eileen “Extreme Lounge” McHugh, Suzan “Kneecaps” Schneider, Art “Bongos” Teller, Randy “Shaken, Not Stirred” Olsen, and skipper John “Touch of Vermouth” Mengedoht were well equipped with libations and tasty treats. After a decent but not great start, Full Moon was behind traditional rivals Ignitor, Fortis, and Shogun but passed all of them with surprising ease on the first leg, despite having the extra weight of a larger than normal crew.

Hoisting the giant Equalizer spinnaker for the first downwind leg, the rivals dropped ever farther behind while even some supposedly faster boats couldn’t keep up, though the very fastest remained uncatchable as usual. And so it went as one lap finished and the second began, the nearly full moon rising huge above Capitol Hill in the growing dark.

Unfortunately, as the darkness fully settled in, the pleasant breeze died to the merest whispers. Full Moon gamely drifted on for quite a while until it became clear that finishing the final leg and a half might take until morning. One by one, boats dropped sails and either headed for the giant floating party tied up to the Race Committee boat or, like Full Moon, continued smaller parties on individual boats, all enjoying the gorgeous glowing city backdrop and clear moonlit night. As it turned out, only four out of roughly thirty boats finished in Full Moon’s start.