Go Faster!

The Race Committee hailed Full Moon before the 5^th Goosebump race to say there was something to pick up. They then realized it was a mistake and one person called out that if we wanted something, we’d need to go faster! And so it was that Full Moon crew Randy “Plankin’” Olsen, Michael “Shoeless” Medina, Marcelle “Hot Buttered” van Houten, Troy “Low Side” Charlesworth and skipper John “Fast Enough” Mengedoht nailed the start and quickly surged into a clear lead. The J24 Beagle briefly threatened on the first leg, as well as 40 foot Stella Blue, but both then faded back as Full Moon played the wind shifts to the AGC buoy.

Michael and Marcelle enjoying being in first place.

With the pole prepared for a jibe set, Full Moon quickly launched the Equalizer to good effect in a gusty breeze. The wind had clocked around from the Southwest to the South, though, calling for a jibe near the middle of the lake. A second jibe was a bit too close to the Freeway buoy and the decision was made to just drop the spinnaker early, which was much better than carrying the spinnaker around the mark!

The third leg was a fast close reach to the Aurora buoy before a straight shot upwind to cross the line to complete the first lap. The J22 Freedom had gained a bit by this point but then lost ground again through the next few tacks upwind.

The Blue Goose sticker for first place!

The second lap was similar to the first apart from a bear-away spinnaker set and single jibe. In the end, Full Moon led the entire way and finished well ahead of second-place Stella Blue, followed by Freedom, which just beat out Necessary Evil (Catalina 30) to take third.

Super Bowl Pregame

Kate and Adam enjoy some Goosebumps.

Lake Union was dead calm on Superbowl Sunday until about 45 minutes before Goosebump Race No. 4 when a light breeze magically appeared out the NW. Full Moon crew Randy “Teacher” Olsen, Adam “Halyards” Michalak, Kate “Groundhog Knot” Adams, and skipper John “Vintage Sails” Mengedoht lined up for a port tack start toward the east end of the line, which worked well apart from being about 20 seconds late to the start. Boats farther west sailed a longer but lower and faster course, leading to a convergence of boats approaching the Freeway buoy.

Flying the ancient orange spinnaker.

After surviving the congestion at the buoy, Full Moon stayed on port tack for a short distance before tacking into a relatively clear lane. The wind shifts heading west worked in Full Moon’s favor, Full Moon crossing just ahead of old rival Zephyr before a final tack to the Aurora buoy. The tack cost a bit of speed, though, and Full Moon rounded even with Zephyr but on the outside.

Full Moon is flying the orange spinnaker in the middle, chasing Zephyr on the far right.

With a reduced crew, the decision had been made to fly the ancient standard spinnaker rather than the oversized Equalizer. This provided Zephyr with the opportunity to pull back ahead. A stuck spinnaker halyard messed up the takedown but Zephyr must have had some issues as well since Full Moon nearly caught up again to start the final leg. Full Moon was pointing higher but Zephyr was moving faster and managed to pass in front and provide a dose of disturbed air. Still, it was clear Zephyr would need one more tack to make the finish line while Full Moon would not. In the end it was extremely close but Zephyr prevailed to take fifth place with Full Moon a very respectable sixth.

Scat and Mouse

Prestart. It was a bit cold but it was nice to have wind.

At the invitation of the Race Committee, Full Moon opted for the second start for Goosebump Race No. 3. Crew Michael “Dayquil” Medina, Kate “North Face 1” Freels, Allison “North Face A” Bahe, Chad “Harley” Harnish, and skipper John “Boom-Boom” Mengedoht enjoyed an excellent start near the middle of the line and were able to lay down some “dirty” air to a cluster of boats close behind, eventually popping free into first place! Speedy Scat got by approaching the AGC buoy and then the chase was on under spinnaker for the long downwind leg.

Kate, John, and Chad hard at work upwind.

Approaching the Freeway buoy, Scat appeared from the west on a “hotter” line and then jibed, running neck and neck with Full Moon – but with the inside line for the buoy. This gave Scat the edge to pull ahead again but it was great fun to be hanging in there with a relatively fast boat. It was a straight shot to the Aurora buoy before turning upwind again to start the second lap. Scat took a course further east while Full Moon favored the western shore, which paid off as Full Moon nearly closed the gap before rounding the AGC buoy.

Michael at his post on the pointy end.

Full Moon held position to the Freeway buoy under spinnaker and for another straight shot to the Aurora buoy. Heading for the finish line, Scat was uncatchable but no boat was seriously challenging Full Moon from behind. Sure enough, Scat scored first with Full Moon second! Necessary Evil (Catalina 30) took third, not too far behind.

The second place sticker goes on the mast!

Unfortunately, it turns out the Race Committee had intended all boats to go through the finish line to complete the first lap, though this was not crystal clear from the sign boards on the Committee Boat. This explained Scat’s course toward the east, which brought them across the line. Necessary Evil, on the other hand, sailed a course similar to Full Moon and did not cross the line. The Race Committee has not chosen to change the results, perhaps because a lot of boats didn’t understand the requirement. So Full Moon is still officially second, but it would have been much better if all boats had sailed the same course. Regardless, win, place, or lose, it was great to be out there!