Junuary

Full Moon sails behind Jedi in pre-start maneuvers.

Bright sunshine with temperatures in the mid-60s felt wonderful for Goosebump Race No. 3. The wind, unfortunately, was extremely light, though better than two weeks ago. Full Moon crew Michael “Moonie” Medina, Marcelle “Amber” van Houten, Allison “Stella” Bahe, and skipper John “Red Menace” Mengedoht hoped the pin end of the line would be less crowded (with better chance of catching the whispers of breeze) but ended up with plenty of company. Meanwhile, the Committee Boat end proved better for Nimble (Aerodyne 43?), Selchie (T-bird), Tipsy Gypsy (Soverel 33), Havoc (another T-bird), and speedy Scat (custom 25).

Nimble pulled into an early lead but apparently misunderstood the position of the “AGC” buoy, traveling several hundred yards past before turning around. Unfortunately, they never did properly round the buoy, earning a disqualification despite sailing much farther than anyone else. Full Moon, meanwhile, stayed away from blue giant Jedi (J145) and slowly pulled ahead of the 505 dinghy Quandary (subbing for the veteran 505 Cinco-O-Sink), and the J24 Fat Chance. The wind fortuitously clocked around to the west, allowing Full Moon to make the buoy without tacking, following not far behind Scat. Once around, Tipsy Gypsy appeared to be parked and Full Moon slowly passed by, a rare moment to be ahead of a very fast boat!

Full Moon (briefly) ahead of Tipsy Gypsy!

By now, the wind had continued shifting around into the north to provide an upwind crawl for the second leg. Full Moon slowly reeled in Havoc and made some gains on Scat. Scat then tacked to the west while Full Moon continued on port tack. Typsy Gypsy finally got moving and eased past to windward before tacking as well. With boats ahead to the northeast slowing down (not that they were ever moving fast), Full Moon elected to tack as well, hoping the center of the lake might provide more wind. Unfortunately, the right side paid off with Havoc, Flash Point (Hotfoot 27), Blue Jeans (C&C 27) and Blue Lullaby all moving ahead before jamming into a tight knot at the Freeway buoy with 41’ Surt, Scat, and tiny Quandary.

Heading slowly toward the finish line with the Equalizer.

Full Moon took a wider turn, rounding right behind Flash Point. In such light air, a spinnaker can be a waste of time but the mighty Equalizer was promptly hoisted and set up like a giant jib for the reach to the finish. Ever so slowly, the nylon monster took shape and Full Moon pulled ahead of Flash Point, Surt, and Scat. Blue Lullaby was next and then Blue Jeans just before the finish, allowing Full Moon to take an excellent eighth place.

Enjoying a cold one in January!