Pregame Show

The Goosebump Race Committee provided a relatively short, one-lap course for Race No. 4, which was thoughtful given the Superbowl and the fairly light wind out of the southeast. Prior to the start, the wind clocked even more into the east and Full Moon crew Randy “Double Winch” Olsen, Marcelle “Poncho” Van Houten, Michael “HBR” Medina, and skipper John “Low Pole” Mengedoht set up for a port tack start near the starboard end of the line. Unfortunately, Full Moon was a bit late to the line but still third after 40’ Surt and 33’ Typsy Gypsy.

The Bumblebee Boys working hard.

Also unfortunately, the wind proved a bit stronger to the left, allowing the big boats to pull further ahead and for 37’ Distance to catch up and pass. Full Moon did hold off speedy Selchie (26’ Thunderbird) to remain in fourth to the AGC buoy.

Marcelle keeps nice and warm under the poncho.

After rounding, Full Moon held off launching the Equalizer for a while in light of the tight wind angle but then elected to give it a try with a very low pole to stretch the leading edge. This paid off in the puffs with nice bursts of speed but Full Moon could not hold a course to the Freeway buoy and eventually had to give up in favor of the jib. During the takedown, however, the spinnaker was briefly hung up at the top of the mast, creating a very functional air brake. By the time everything was down and cleared up, Selchie had pulled ahead to a comfortable lead.

Foul weather gear is good to have!

Naturally, the short leg from the Freeway buoy to the Aurora buoy would have been perfect for the spinnaker but there was no time to get it set up. In the end, Full Moon was fifth out of five in first start but still a contender for the series since only Surt has also finished each race – at least if the Committee is still counting the crazy first race…