Solstice Race

The third start fleet heads for the AGC buoy.

The skipper’s choice for the Skipper’s Choice Duck Dodge was no theme at all. A theme every week is just too much work!

James and the Giant Jib.

Crew Randy “Invisible” Olsen, Doug “Short Lens” Schoemaker, James “Tacoma Limes” Schoemaker, Troy “Peaches” Charlesworth, Daniel “Pink” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Dodge, Dip, Duck, Dive and Dodge” Mengedoht enjoyed a decent start toward the pin end of the line as this had proved favorable last week with similar SE wind.

Troy and Daniel balance the boat.

Things generally went well on the first leg, but the wind was near zero and very shifty at the AGC buoy, leading to some parked or very slow-moving boats. With Full Moon on final approach on starboard tack with at least two boats close by to windward, Scat came zipping across in front on port tack, causing further confusion. In the end, Full Moon skipped the buoy rather than risk a collision. This disqualified us for the race, but we weren’t going to place anyway and coming around again for a second try just wouldn’t have been worth the effort!

Full Moon is at top left, in front of at least some other boats!

Heading back north on port tack, Full Moon had to avoid a number of southbound boats on starboard tack but still managed not to get too far to leeward, avoiding the need to tack for the Freeway buoy.

Watch out for floating distractions...

The Aurora buoy was set farther north and west than usual and Full Moon opted for a more southerly course to avoid extra tacks up against the moored ships on the north shore of the lake. This proved wise as Full Moon passed a few boats before rounding the buoy.

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Randy enjoys the smooth ride past Gasworks.

The final leg called for a spinnaker, but the crew was more interested in cold beer so Full Moon opted to sail deep with the genoa with a bit of wing and wing for a slow easy ride to the finish line. The weather was spectacular, especially for June, and we sailed on for quite awhile before heading to the marina.

Full Moon "finishes" just ahead of Ignitor.

Windy Pirates

Full Moon chases two J-boats across the starting line.

Full Moon crew Randy “Pork Rinds” Olsen, Chuck “The Shrimper” Weldy, Chris “Aquavit” Beza, Ben “Cup-holder” Spicer, Daniel “Media Mogul” Mengedoht, John “Not That Good” Mengedoht enjoyed a decent start for the Pirate Night Duck Dodge, hindered a bit by a couple of boats “barging” at the Committee Boat.

Uh-oh! Giant Beneteau sneaks up to leeward.

Once clear of a giant Beneteau 41, Full Moon rode out the big gusts for a fun romp to the AGC buoy, then launched the Equalizer for the long run/reach to the Freeway buoy, at which point Full Moon was actually in front of a J92S, an Olson 25, and another smaller Jboat or two!

Aaandd the Beneteau gets past... for now!

After a clean spinnaker drop, it was a straight shot to the Aurora buoy, then back upwind to complete the first lap.

Is it supposed to look like that? A little more hoist and a level pole will help!

The Equalizer went up again after rounding the AGC buoy and Full Moon was clear of other traffic except for the big Beneteau, which held onto a small lead.

Ben enjoys a beer on the easy leg to the Aurora buoy.

The spinnaker drop went great until it didn’t, with some of it enjoying a rinse cycle in the lake, but it was quickly brought on board to round the Freeway buoy. After another straight shot to the Aurora buoy, it was on to the finish, Full Moon not first but not last, either!

Randy enjoys the sun as we head south.

Damp Jammies

The first leg. Full Moon is barely visible on the left.

Full Moon crew Michael “Aluminum” Medina, Kate “Met Market” Freels, Chad “Snakebite” Harnish, Daniel “Dry” Mengedoht, and skipper John “QC” Mengedoht opted for foul weather gear instead of pajamas for the Pajama Night Duck Dodge and this proved a wise choice. A gray wall of clouds appeared above Lake Union and brought strong and gusty winds, along with a good bit of rain later in the race.

A good start was hampered by the massive 40’ Thundorca, which prevented an earlier tack for the line (totally fair, just unfortunate for Full Moon). Full Moon still did reasonably well on the beam/broad reach to the Freeway buoy, though quite a few boats catching up from behind in a gust bailed out from rounding the mark and opted not to circle back around. (This included Thundorca, which really should have refused their second-place duck sticker but, hey, it’s the Duck Dodge!) Unfortunately, the group of “cheaters” set Full Moon back in the fleet with little hope of catching up, especially to the larger boats.

It was a straight shot in lots of traffic to the Aurora buoy. After a wide rounding to avoid traffic, it was on to the AGC buoy with a wind angle way too tight for the spinnaker, not to mention that the wind was still fairly boisterous. Early in this leg is when the rain hit hard, though not for all that long.

The wind eased toward the south end of the lake and this might have been a clue to consider setting up the spinnaker for the final leg but then it was hard to predict if the wind would increase again closer to the finish. Better safe than sorry! In the end, a good time was had by all and none of us had to dry out any pajamas…

Crazy Wigs!

Rainbow wigs rule!

After waiting a few extra weeks for all crew members to be fully vaccinated, Full Moon finally returned to racing action for the Crazy Wigs Duck Dodge. Enjoying the rare June combination of 80 degree temperatures and a nice northerly breeze, crew Michael “Pole Stopper” Medina, Marcelle “Pole Dancer” Van Houten, Adam “Cookie Monster” Michalak, Katharina “Spin-Dry” Stoll, Daniel “Still Pulling” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Rusty” Mengedoht managed a fairly good start, though bigger boats slowly crept up on the first leg to the Freeway buoy.

Katharina likes this racing stuff.

Traffic delayed any early tack toward the Aurora buoy, then more traffic and wind shifts led to some extra tacks just to make the buoy. Once around, the topping lift for the spinnaker pole refused to cooperate and the entire south-bound leg was spent trying to coerce the pole and spinnaker into a usable configuration. This naturally allowed quite a few boats to get by before the spinnaker finally came down before rounding the AGC buoy.

Daniel at his usual post.

With any hope of a decent finish long gone, Full Moon dropped out of the race and broke out the usual post-race food and beverages, though continuing to enjoy a fabulous light air sail around the north end of the lake. This ultimately proved to be an excellent decision when the wind dropped to zero at the south end of the lake, leaving a floating mass of first and second start boats struggling for what seemed like an hour trying to complete their second lap to finish.

John and Michael enjoy the fading light while heading back to the dock

The topping lift issue turned out to be a broken block at the base of the mast that jammed the line whenever any load was applied. This should be an easy fix before next week’s race.