True Goosebumps!

Full Moon at the dock before the race.

Michael and Marcelle, after the snow stopped.

Randy looking a bit chilled.

Cap'n John can't feel his toes!

Snow coats the trees on Capitol Hill.

Full Moon crew Randy “Toxic Chocolate” Olsen, Michael “Slushballs” Medina, Marcelle “Hot Stuff” Lynde, and skipper John “Shiver Me Timbers” Mengedoht braved the snow Sunday for Goosebump Race No. 1. Heading out onto Lake Union, visibility was down to perhaps 150 yards as big fat snowflakes kept falling, continually covering the deck, lines, hardware, and sails. The snow lightened up a bit approaching the Committee Boat, though there were no visible signs of wind.

After a sneak snowball attack from our good friends on The Black Knight, Full Moon hoisted sails and tried to figure out where the best place would be for the start. When there was wind at all, it was mostly out of the north with the “pin” (west) end of the line closer to the Aurora buoy, so that was where Full Moon was positioned. This was good, in theory, but a tiny bit more wind filled in toward the other side of the line and boats on that side quickly pulled ahead. Rats!

After a painfully slow first leg, Full Moon rounded the Aurora buoy and headed “downwind” toward the AGC buoy. Hoisting a spinnaker ultimately would have paid off but that isn’t always the case in such light wind and Full Moon went without, choosing to try for more “speed” by sailing a hotter angle with the genoa.

Many crews didn’t read the sailing instructions and rounded both the red navigation buoy near the AGC building as well as the offset red ball buoy. However, what the other crews apparently knew – and Full Moon’s crew did not – was that the Race Committee had changed the course before the start to eliminate the “Cove” buoy at the southeast corner of the lake! Full Moon dutifully sailed the extra distance to round this buoy, losing a number of places in the process. (Note to self: Make sure to sail by the Committee Boat at 10 minutes to the start.) Ultimately, Full Moon was not last but certainly not in the top ten, either, a best guess being about 14^th place. On this day, though, the true challenge was just showing up. Hot Buttered Rum never tasted so good! (Thanks, Marcelle!)