Aurora Triangle

Daniel mans the "pit."

Full Moon crew Randy “Stripes” Olsen, Daniel “Tidy Foredeck” Mengedoht, Leslie “Rookie Again” Synnestvedt, Lilian “ASA 101” Ha, and skipper John “Hard To Pass” Mengedoht had to make a last minute maneuver to get by a J22 that wasn’t even in our start, getting away about ninth for the Barbie Night Duck Dodge. Racing in second start once again, there were several large boats, but Full Moon managed to peel off one of them on the first leg by using a drifting pontoon boat as a screen.

Randy checks the rigging.

Higher pointing and judicious tacks kept Full Moon in front of Necessary Evil (Catalina 30) at the Freeway buoy and held them off to the Aurora buoy in the NE breeze. Unfortunately, the breeze faded to zero, resulting in a large cluster of boats struggling to get around the buoy. This also created an opportunity for third-start boats to gain from behind. Once around, the mighty Equalizer was hoisted but it took a while for the breeze to build back.

Leslie takes a selfie.

Once moving, Full Moon pulled away from several boats, including Necessary Evil, eventually ending up parallel with 40-foot Thundorca to windward. Mouse (J30) then tried to sneak between from behind, but Full Moon wasn’t about to allow an overtake to windward! Unfortunately, Mouse was able to zip behind and around Full Moon to leeward and create a Full Moon sandwich. Meanwhile Makima (Thunderbird) from third start (!) got past all of us to windward.

Lilian enjoys a quieter moment.

The wind faded again on approach to the AGC buoy, leading to another cluster of boats squeezing together. As boats “pinwheeled” around the buoy, an opening was created for Full Moon to go around inside. The final leg was straightforward. In the end, Full Moon was about ninth with Necessary Evil and Mouse behind.

Rampage scores the Black Duck.

Wind and Wiring!

With the wind howling all afternoon Tuesday, Full Moon opted not to race in the "Ducks Night" Duck Dodge. You might think sailors would love a lot of wind but it can be dangerous on Lake Union with a lot of boats, not all of which have skilled crews. Live to race another day!

On Sunday, foredeck crew Daniel and skipper John went to the boat for a nice afternoon sail and to beat the heat. Minutes after climbing on board, truly nasty smoke began swirling in the cabin coming from the stern area. With no visible fire, there was nothing to point an extinguisher at. And with truly toxic smoke pushing us out of the cabin, there was nothing to do other than make sure the shower power was disconnected (it already was). The breakers are always turned off unless in active use.

After a bit, the smoke dissipated enough for skipper John to carefully disconnect the battery. It turned out the wires from the outboard's alternator to the battery had developed a short, probably where the wires went through the transom. Unlike the shore power charger, it turns out there was no fuse for these wires, something that will be rectified in the repairs!

It was incredibly lucky that we happened to arrive at the boat when we did. The wires melted enough on their own to eventually break the short but it would not have taken much for something else to catch fire. The battery checks out okay, which is good news. 

The offending wires, or what is left of them!

Over Early!

Full Moon is just a bit early across the line. The Hobie was from another start.

Since scoring three “ducks” in third start in four tries, Full Moon advanced to second start for the Derby Night Duck Dodge. With very light wind out of the northwest, Full Moon was positioned close to the starting line but left no room to maneuver vs. other boats and was forced across the line early. (It didn’t help that two dinghies were still checking in with the Race Committee on the starting line side!) With virtually no hope of a top three finish, Full Moon elected to just continue sailing rather than spend ages trying to re-round the Committee Boat for a clean start. (It’s the Duck Dodge! We race for fun!)

Full Moon briefly, if illegally, in the lead!

Crew Michael “Gallery” Medina, Troy “Non-man-splaning” Charlesworth, Kaylee “Snacks” Charlesworth, Daniel “Trainee” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Low Pole” Mengedoht were thus near the front of the fleet initially until slowly being passed by bigger and faster boats before reaching the Freeway buoy. Full Moon played the shifts on the upwind leg to the Aurora buoy, holding our own, while dodging the many paddle boards, kayaks, and drifting power boats.

Something you don't often see, Full Moon (far right) ahead of a J70.

After rounding, the mighty Equalizer was soon hoisted for the long reach south. The Equalizer allowed Full Moon to take back a few places. Then, as often happens, the wind began to fade and shift approaching the AGC buoy. Full Moon dropped the Equalizer in favor of flexibility with the jib, switching from upwind one moment to directly downwind the next.

Troy still can't believe she married him...

After rounding the AGC buoy, it was on to the final upwind leg. Full Moon had to tack a few times but managed to hold off any boats from behind (including rival Necessary Evil) and even got past the speedy Moore 24 Amorillo. In the end, though it didn’t count, Full Moon finished about 10^th, all of us thoroughly enjoying the warm sunny evening.