Country AND Western

Full Moon is fourth boat from the left during the start.

Full Moon crew Don “Cookie” Caffrey, Kim “Observer” Prestbo, Eric “Stella” Prestbo, Daniel “Screw Top” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Sailing Chaps” Mengedoht did not have much in the way of decorations or paraphernalia but managed a good start near the advantaged “pin” end of the line for the Country Music Duck Dodge. Unfortunately, quite a few other boats had the same idea and it was slow going until the boats spread out a bit.

With a straight shot to the Freeway buoy and nearly a straight shot to the Aurora buoy, Full Moon was more or less holding her own until the long run south. Short on crew to deal with the spinnaker, Full Moon could not keep up with many other boats with just the main and genoa, though the broad reaching angle in light air wasn’t too bad.

The wind stayed very light for most of the evening but Full Moon persevered for the requisite two full laps and then enjoyed a gorgeous sunset under the Aurora Bridge.

We Blame the Committee! :-)

The starting signals for Team Spirit Night were inconsistent – and not by a small amount – we’re talking well over a minute! Add to that a start line massively favoring a port tack/Committee Boat approach and chaos ensued, though perhaps not much more than most evenings. Rather than wait endlessly for the horn while heading for the disadvantaged end of the line, Full Moon crew Michael “Margarita” Medina, Doug “Big Cam” Schoemaker, Allison “Team Gear” Bahe, Neil “Beer” Piispanen, Daniel “Big Coke” Mengedoht, and skipper John “We’re Just Going For It” Mengedoht crossed when we thought the signal should have come and ended up some 30 seconds early compared to the “actual” starting horn. We had plenty of over-early company, though we were clearly the worst offender. Oh, well, a duck sticker was not likely to be in the cards and, hey, it’s just the Duck Dodge!

Some of the second start boats heading for the first mark. Full Moon was already gone!

After a quick close reach to the Freeway buoy and only two tacks to the Aurora buoy, Full Moon was still in the “lead.” The mighty Equalizer was hoisted and all looked well until running into a dead zone halfway down the lake. This allowed several boats to catch up from behind before nearly everyone dropped their spinnakers, including Full Moon. The rest of the leg to the AGC buoy was painful as the wind was light and fickle.

Neil, Allison, John, Doug, and Daniel enjoying the sun.

Heading back north, the Equalizer was hoisted again since the wind had clocked around but the wind died yet again and the Equalizer was brought down about halfway to the finish line. At this point, the Margaritas were brought forth and any “racing” was half-hearted. Full Moon did cross the line to complete one lap and continued around the Freeway and Aurora buoys but then elected to call it an evening. Wind or no wind, it was a gorgeous evening and fun to be on the lake.

Ugly Sweaters!

Dan focuses on jib trim.

Full Moon crew Michael “No It’s Not” Medina, Eileen “Wooder” McHugh, Chad “Trotify” Harnish, Dan “Cindy” Schultz, and skipper John “Yes It Is” Mengedoht had a few beauties for Ugly Sweater Night but mostly kept them covered up with another layer to stay warm. After a decent but very crowded start near the Committee Boat, Full Moon tacked for clear air and played the wind shifts to the AGC buoy. Presetting the spinnaker pole to port necessitated a gybe set but the mighty Equalizer was soon full and pulling nicely. Two gybes later, it came smoothly back down at the Freeway buoy, though it might have been (just barely) possible to keep it up for the reach to the Aurora buoy.

Eileen, Chad, John, and Eileen enjoy the downwind run.

By now, the traffic had thinned out quite a bit and Full Moon was well back from the leaders, though still mixing it up with some J24s. The second lap was fairly uneventful until approaching the Freeway buoy with one last gybe to make. Unfortunately, the wind suddenly freshened with a huge header. Rather than gybe away from the buoy, the Equalizer was quickly brought down. Unfortunately, the pole ended up on top of the jib, preventing a hoist, and it took a while to clear up the mess!

Full Moon approaches the Freeway buoy on the first lap.

Rounding the Aurora buoy, there was still one J24 fairly close behind and the race was on to the finish line. Could the J Boat use its superior upwind speed to get by or would Full Moon’s position ahead provide enough “dirty” air to hold off the J? It was a near thing but a tack at the line gave Full Moon the edge to cross ahead by a boat-length.

Deception shows off their ugly sweater collection on the rail.

Despite the gray skies, it was nice to have a little wind and great fun to be out on the lake. Congratulations to Herb and Lynn on Flashpoint for taking second place!

Flashpoint leads Slingshot to the line to take second place.

Cinco de Febrero

It was a gloomy evening!

The first Duck Dodge of 2015 featured dark grey skies, plenty of rain, and low temperatures, all accompanied by light to nonexistent wind. The good news: forecast thundershowers did not appear!

Full Moon crew Randy “I Can’t Feel My Fingers” Olsen, Art “You Can Do It” Teller, Dave “Soaked Through” Pulsifer, Judy “Cabin Girl” Tiffany, and skipper John “Shiver Me Timbers” Mengedoht enjoyed a decent start in a NE breeze until rolled to windward by some bigger boats. After rounding the Freeway buoy, the wind looked barely strong enough to fly a spinnaker. Full Moon opted to stay with the jib and took a relatively straight line toward the Aurora buoy. Unfortunately boats that jibed further south or hugged the Gasworks shore found a bit more breeze and were able to pass by under spinnaker.

Hopes of flying the mighty Equalizer for the long leg south were dashed as the wind clocked into the SE and faded. Full Moon persevered under jib and main but then watched the wind fill in from behind and toward the middle of the lake, allowing some third start boats to get by… Time for a shot of tequila!

Full Moon eventually worked eastward into a bit of breeze and left the remainder of the fleet behind. One tack at the AGC buoy and it was a straight shot to the finish line. Unfortunately, the Race Committee had called for two laps and stuck with the game plan. Full Moon continued on to the Freeway buoy and then, faced with more light to nonexistent wind, decided to call it a night. We were COLD!

While not spectacular sailing, it was great to get out there to start the series. Warmer weather is coming!

One boat really got into Cinco dy Mayo. Hope they got the Black Duck!