Photo Finish

Full Moon (behind SYC 6) has just tacked for the start.

Full Moon crew Randy “1995” Olsen, Daniel “No Bungie” Mengedoht, Mike “Long Hair” Tracy, and skipper John “No Cigar” Mengedoht went for a conservative starboard tack start for the Toga Night Duck Dodge, tacking to cross the line sixth. Choosing when to tack on the way to the Freeway buoy was more about dodging paddleboards and drifting power boats than strategy but Full Moon maintained relative position.

Cap'n John trims the spinnaker, steering with his knees!

Full Moon opted for a northerly track past Gasworks, following Necessary Evil (Catalina 30). Two tacks later, Full Moon rounded the Aurora buoy and launched the mighty Equalizer. On the long beam reach to the AGC buoy, Full Moon gained on the leaders and slowly worked past Necessary Evil and a 29’ Dragon.

Full Moon (right) works past Necessary Evil and the Dragon.

Rounding just inside Necessary Evil, it was a straight shot to the finish line with the Dragon slowly converging from windward, having rounded the buoy on a tighter line. In the end, the Dragon scored third just inches ahead of Full Moon, making for a very exciting finish!

It was a gorgeous warm evening, capped with a great sunset.