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.