Port Tack Rules

Full Moon is in shadow but close to the line at the start. Boats to windward had a big advantage.

Full Moon crew Michael “1” Medina, Michael “A” Ward, Eileen “Helper” McHugh, Daniel “Pole Control” Mengedoht and skipper John “Slow” Mengedoht enjoyed a decent start for the Sea Creatures Duck Dodge before getting rolled by a big Catalina 36. As usual, port tack was heavily favored for the start, leading to lots of interesting maneuvers. Anyway, Full Moon ended up in good company with Tailwind (Capri 25) and unusual company with Anakena (Ranger 22) on the first and second legs, the Freeway buoy having been set farther west than usual.

The wind held reasonably well all the way to the Aurora buoy, Full Moon rounding well behind the leaders. After a brief delay to untangle the spinnaker pole, the Equalizer was launched for a fast reach down the lake, speeds exceeding 7 knots at times. This allowed Full Moon to leave many boats behind, including Tailwind and Anakena, while gaining substantially on the lead boats.

The Equalizer on a tight reach toward the AGC buoy.

Unfortunately, this was still not good enough to cross the line better than sixth place with Sommerfugl (Dragon), giant Leo Kai, and two SYC J22s ahead, among others. Meanwhile, it was wonderful to beat the shoreside heat on a brilliant sunny evening. The beverages were cold and life was good!