Never Seen That Before!

Scat and Surt before Surt came to an unexpected halt.

Full Moon crew Randy “Tunes” Olsen, Marcelle “Kraken” Van Houten, Adam “Newport” Michalak, Ashley “Muscles” Robinson, and skipper John “Baptiste” Mengedoht enjoyed a gorgeous sunny day with a decent breeze for Goosebump Race No. 5. Opting for a conservative starboard tack start, given the fairly short start line, Full Moon ended up about 30 seconds late, though still in fifth across the line. With wind out of the northwest, it was a straight shot to the Freeway buoy, which was positioned just east of the fixed Gasworks buoy. Three boats ahead then opted to harden their line, heading for Gasworks. Unfortunately, 40’ Surt went a bit too close to shore, coming to a quick halt as they ran aground! Since the crew appeared to be in no danger, Full Moon kept going, moving up to fourth place.

Crusin' on a fast beam reach.

After a couple of tacks, Full Moon rounded the Aurora buoy and soon launched the Equalizer for a thrilling beam reach. Typsy Gypsy had been in the lead but chose a course somewhat close to the Westlake shore. Scat and Selchie found more wind toward the middle of the lake to get by Typsy Gypsy before the AGC buoy while Full Moon was able to gain on all three.

Gaining on Typsy Gypsy...

The leg to the finish line was a straight romp on a tight reach but the Race Committee added a lap so Full Moon continued the chase to the Freeway buoy and on to the Aurora buoy. Under the Equalizer once again, Full Moon gained on Scat and Selchie, who were battling each other, but couldn’t catch up. In the end, Full Moon was fourth, our second-best finish of the series.

Adam and Randy enjoying the sun.

After a very pleasant post-race cruise in the glorious sunshine, Full Moon headed back to the dock. During the usual tidying up, skipper John ventured to the bow to secure a halyard when the boat rocked unexpectedly. With the forward lifelines down in “race” position, there was nothing to grab onto, with the result being in a very wet skipper! Thankfully, the sun was warm and marina manager Steve quickly rustled up a towel and change of clothes. Thanks, Steve!