Another Great Start...

Just like a cell phone advertisment - count the bars! (Art Teller photo)

It's hard to keep the boat balanced in such strong wind... (Art Teller photo)

Full Moon crew Randy “Halyards” Olsen, Art “Jamaican” Teller, Michael “Cheap Drunk” Medina, Daniel “The Quiet One” Medina, and skipper John “Big Enough” Mengedoht were well positioned for the start of Goosebump Race No. 5 until a wave of much larger boats essentially shut down the wind. Once the monsters were past, Full Moon recovered and had a good first leg upwind to the AGC buoy, picking off Shogun and several other boats which had been smart enough to avoid the big dogs (but not fast enough to hold off Full Moon!).

Full Moon maintained good speed on the reach to the Cove buoy, pulling farther ahead of boats behind, though only passing two boats and not really gaining on the leaders. Rounding the buoy, the giant Equalizer spinnaker rose to the occasion and Full Moon began to reel in 42 foot Yankee III, Tenacious, and a speedy dinghy, all sailing a “hotter” angle toward the middle of the lake but into weaker wind. As all three jibed back toward the Freeway buoy, Full Moon had pulled in front by some 75 yards and into 7th place!

Heading on a tight reach to the Aurora buoy, Yankee III and Tenacious began to gain slowly and it was unclear if Full Moon could remain ahead all the way around and to the finish line upwind. It was painful to watch and Full Moon used every scrap of wind but the bigger boats had their way, along with the pesky dinghy, using the light wind to its advantage and relegating Full Moon to a still-good 10th place finish. Shogun had managed to come on strong to take 11th but Fortis was a long way back, finishing some ten minutes later.

Superbowl Comeback!

Full Moon was caught behind a wall of boats in light wind at the starting line for the Superbowl Sunday Goosebump race and, when the fleet began to spread out, Full Moon was nearly last! A few strategic tacks to slightly breezier spots helped as crew Caroline "The Model" Sneed, Sara "Politically Incorrect" Skinner, Chuck "In The Pocket" Weldy, and skipper John "Slow Learner" Mengedoht began a slow crawl toward respectability.

At the end of the first leg, Full Moon had caught and passed old rival Shogun and a few other laggards. Rounding the AGC buoy, Full Moon jibed and then hoisted the giant Equalizer and squeezed past a few more boats. The leg from the Cove buoy to the Freeway buoy was a long and fairly tight reach but Full Moon kept the Equalizer in play and quickly picked off Fortis, another boat or two, and, very nearly, a J33!

The J33 surged back ahead, though (they should!), and the final leg was a slow upwind drag race to a 14th place finish out of more than 25 boats. This doesn't sound all that fabulous but there were a couple of T-birds and all of our old rivals in our wake plus there was no rain!

Wind!

Art working hard in the pre-start...

Eileen enjoys multiple warm layers.

Randy says: Does this make it look like we're heeled over?

Though the skies were pewter gray, no rain fell and there was measurable wind for the third Goosebump race. Full Moon crew Randy “Long & Thick” Olsen, Art “Halyard” Teller, Eileen “Warm” McHugh, and skipper John “Puffs” Mengedoht had a decent second-row start, tacked for clear air, and made it to the first AGC buoy in 11th place. With a short beam reach to the Cove buoy, the Equalizer stayed in the bag until the 3rd leg up the Eastlake shore where it helped Full Moon gain on a red Thunderbird and always-fast Runner.

Runner had problems with their spinnaker drop at the Freeway buoy and Full Moon rounded ahead, nearly catching the T-bird and the big Buchan 37 Distance. Returning upwind to complete the first lap, Distance had pulled out ahead and Runner caught up but the T-bird suffered in lighter air near the western shore and Full Moon got by. Always nice to pass a T-bird!

Full Moon held position to start the second lap but the spinnaker hoist went awry with the head trapped under the top of the forestay. The Equalizer still filled and pulled the boat but with reduced area. This allowed the red T-bird to slowly work on by. The wind began to decrease at this point but was still blowing and the remainder of the race was a battle with the T-bird which, unfortunately, finished just a few feet ahead to leave Full Moon a still-respectable 10th. The rest of the fleet was left to suffer with fading wind, old rivals Fortis and Shogun a full half lap down on Full Moon.

Shiver Me Timbers!

Goosebump Race No. 2 continued the trend of extremely light wind with the added bonus of rain and colder temperatures. Full Moon crew Sara “Energy Conservation” Skinner, Randy “Boy Toys” Olsen, Art “It Will Kill You!” Teller, and skipper John “Shivering” Mengedoht tried to anticipate the best wind for the start and at first were doing relatively well near the middle of the lake. Unfortunately, progress was painfully slow, moving maybe 100 yards in the first fifteen minutes. The “wind” then grew slightly stronger toward the Westlake shore and Full Moon fell back toward the middle of the fleet.

After rounding the “AGC” and “Cove” buoys, Full Moon found an advantage toward the middle of the lake and made up some ground but the racing remained painfully slow and it took seemly forever to round the “Freeway” buoy. After crawling past Gasworks Park, Full Moon finally rounded the “Aurora” buoy but it appeared hopeless to reach the finish line within the two hour time limit.

A few boats attempted to fly spinnakers on the final leg but they mostly hung limp and Full Moon did better with the genoa, passing several boats and nearly catching Runner. Finally, just before the time limit, the Committee Boat hoisted anchor and began motoring toward the remaining racers, scoring each “finish” with a toot of the horn as they passed. The Full Moon crew gratefully fired up the outboard and headed for the dock.

I’ve no idea how we finished, if we were even scored (several boats did make it to the line before the time limit), but Full Moon was once again ahead of old rival Fortis. Ignitor and Shogun have not appeared for the first two races.

Slow Boat to Gasworks

The first Goosebump Race of 2010 began with extremely light wind. Full Moon crew Randy “Nice Ripples” Olsen, Debra “Winch Wench” Ricard, Michael “Sticky Pants” Medina, Chuck “Rusty” Weldy, and skipper John “Patience” Mengedoht were positioned for the start in the only area with any wind but most other boats were in the same area and it took a while to get moving.

The first “Cove” buoy was nearly a parking lot but Full Moon got a little push of wind to get around inside a cluster of other boats. This move forced Full Moon toward the center of the lake, though, while the breeze remained strongest near the Eastlake shore. Old rival Fortis stayed in the weak breeze and steadily pulled ahead, though Full Moon stayed ahead of a Thunderbird by eventually tacking toward the beach.

Rounding the “Freeway” buoy, it was easy to see many of the lead boats becalmed near the “Aurora” buoy. Full Moon carefully worked every hint of wind and soon caught several boats, including Fortis and the big Buchan 37 Dreamscape, finally rounding the buoy ahead of them both.

The next long leg was anywhere from a beam reach to a run as the fickle wind came and went. The mighty Equalizer was hoisted in hopes that its generous sail area would help a little. After many minutes with limp nylon, a breeze filled in up high, not touching the water to disturb the glassy surface, and Full Moon surged ahead at a whopping two knots. This was enough to get past several boats, including Perfectly Strange, and bring Full Moon up even with speedy Runner!

At the final “AGC” buoy, Runner went wide and Full Moon easily turned inside but then Runner tightened their line and slowly oozed ahead. Full Moon then tacked for better wind to the east. This gamble nearly succeeded as Full Moon almost caught Runner, but Perfectly Strange almost got by in the process. In the end Full Moon was a decent 13th, barely ahead of Perfectly Strange and quite a number of places ahead of Fortis.

Rock the Boat!

Martini Night crew, minus Suzan, who took the picture.
Is anybody moving?

The final Duck Dodge of summer is always Martini Night aboard Full Moon and so it was this week. Crew Randy “Big Pour” Olsen, Art “Moballast” Teller, Grace “OJ Plus” Teller, Michael “Lounge Lizard” Medina, Eileen “Taste of Honey” McHugh, Suzan “No Protection” Schneider, and skipper John “Visualize Vermouth” Mengedoht were pleased that rain held off but dismayed to see nary a ripple of wind on the water.

All three starts began with the fleet parked on the starting line and soon a variety of methods of cheating were displayed as it became apparent that finishing the short course before dark would be unlikely if relying on legal means of propulsion. Full Moon and several other boats employed the time tested sculling of the rudder and then the more obvious rocking the boat from side to side to create some momentum while some others resorted to using their motors. The most entertaining cheating was employed by Mata Hari, who hoisted their spinnaker and then motored around the course backward to provide a full sail, roughly the sailing equivalent of moon walking.

Full Moon actually did manage to sail around the course after the initial bit of cheating, though at speeds that never topped one knot. Our “finish” was, of course, not legal and not counted. Of much more importance were pouring drinks and serving up appetizers to celebrate the end of the season.

It was a great summer and great fun was had by all. Full Moon may do the Rum Run on October 17 but otherwise won’t return to racing until the Goosebumps in mid-January so it’s back to cruising for awhile.

Fading Light

Full Moon crew Randy “Halyards” Olsen, Art “Smooth Jibe” Teller, Grace “Freshman” Teller, Chuck “Hercules” Weldy, and skipper John “No Doughnut” Mengedoht hit the starting line at full speed and right at the horn for the next to last Duck Dodge. Unfortunately, this was near the disadvantaged end of the line but the location did provide clear “air” and Full Moon was, for a short while at least, in second place. A collision at the AGC buoy between a dark blue Thunderbird and 36-foot Mata Hari created a large knot of boats which forced Full Moon to the outside for a painful rounding but prompt hoisting of the mighty Equalizer spinnaker offset most of the loss.

A smooth jibe at the Challenger buoy led to a long run up the lake with Full Moon holding even with nearby boats, though all the traditional rivals were already well behind. The second lap was similar to the first, apart from Mata Hari developing a nasty twist in their huge asymmetrical spinnaker during a jibe, perhaps a bit of karma for hitting the Thunderbird.

Starting the final leg upwind, Full Moon was tenth, just behind two blue T-birds. Holding to the middle of the lake brought a bit stronger breeze and some favorable shifts to push Full Moon ahead but then the trend reversed and the dratted Birds crossed just ahead. However, it was quite nice to finish ahead of Mata Hari, Tenacious, assorted J22s and J24s and at least half a lap ahead of old rivals Ignitor, Fortis, and Shogun.

Beat the Birds!

No simple white togas on Full Moon!
Passing the Thunderbirds.

Still ahead at the Challenger buoy.

Night falls too early these days!

Full Moon crew Debra “Nala” Ricard, Randy “Handbrake” Olsen, Michael “Low Pole” Medina, and skipper John “Early Onset” Mengedoht once again faced a skewed starting line and once again opted for a risky port tack start for the Toga Night Duck Dodge. This time, however, there were no gaps in the wall of starboard-tackers so Full Moon had to wait a bit to cross the line. Even so, this provided a good start with good speed and pointing the desired direction. Full Moon was ahead of all the old rivals and hanging in there with frequent winners Runner and Scat.

Bigger boats like 36-foot Mata Hari and the Buchan 37s Mara and Dreamscape enjoyed the relatively strong breeze and, rounding the Aurora buoy, Full Moon was eleventh. Deploying the mighty Equalizer spinnaker, a threatening blue Thunderbird fell behind but the game was on with a fast J80, Taj Mahal, which struggled to get by despite having an asymmetrical spinnaker perfect for the conditions.

After a clean spinnaker drop, Full Moon was right on Taj Mahal’s transom on a short reaching leg to the Challenger buoy. Returning upwind, however, Taj began to pull ahead while the blue T-bird slowly came up from behind. Full Moon’s line to the Aurora buoy was just a hair low in progressively lighter and shiftier wind and the T-bird got past as Full Moon did two quick tacks to get around.

The Equalizer was hoisted again and Full Moon paralleled the Westlake shore, not too close but not out to the middle of the lake. Amazingly, not only Taj Mahal and the blue T-bird but also the infamous red T-bird Barbaree were caught in dying wind just a little too close to the beach and Full Moon was able to walk on by a mere 20 yards further out. Somehow, the Equalizer remained full to the AGC buoy. Now Full Moon needed hold off the two quick Thunderbirds and the theoretical rocket Taj Mahal for two more legs to the finish.

While there are just plain faster boats in the Duck Dodge, T-birds have similar performance to Full Moon and are often a thorn in her side. If ever it was “game on,” this was the time! On the reaching leg to the Challenger buoy, Full Moon maintained the lead. The final leg was upwind. One by one the other boats tacked and Full Moon tacked to cover. Across the lake went all four. Then Barbaree tacked for the finish and Full Moon tacked to cover. The others could not gain. Game over! Full Moon finished a fabulous ninth ahead of ALL the Thunderbirds AND the J80 and ALL the J22s as well.

One Lump or Two?

Ahhrrrr, Mateys!
Pre-start maneuvering.

Mara is coming fast!

Holding 'em off!

The Duck Dodge Race Committee once again set a skewed starting line so Full Moon crew Michael “Facebook” Medina, Doug “Halyards” Schoemaker, Ian “No Skirt” Mengedoht, Daniel “Sound Effects” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Gusto” Mengedoht opted once again for a risky port tack start near the “pin” end. This paid off, barely, as Full Moon just escaped in front of a host of starboard tack boats. A few other boats timed things just a bit better but Full Moon was an easy sixth across the line for a great start.

Cruising upwind, Full Moon was caught by a faster J27 but picked off old rival Ignitor to maintain sixth. Rounding the Aurora buoy, the mighty Equalizer was quickly set and Full Moon pulled away from all boats behind except the big Buchan 37 Mara, which was held off for nearly the entire downwind leg until just getting by before the AGC buoy. The spinnaker came down cleanly and Full Moon held position on the short leg to the Challenger buoy, though another big Buchan, Distance, briefly threatened.

Turning upwind, Full Moon tacked to find better wind and got by Mara to reclaim sixth. At this point, the fleet was required to cross the start-finish line before starting a second lap. This was a wise choice as the wind soon began to die. Full Moon made it to the Aurora buoy but the downwind run under spinnaker was painful until, with nightfall rapidly approaching, the second lap was abandoned.

This was Full Moon’s best finish of the year, holding off all three Buchan 37s as well as all Thunderbirds and Dreams, the fast Olson 25.

Ménage-a-Donut

The Mengedoht boys enjoy another sunny evening on the lake.
Randy and Ian start in on the post-race cold ones.

Great crew+fun boat=big smile

Full Moon crew Randy “Sound Effects” Olsen, Michael “French Dip” Medina, Ian “Multiphonic” Mengedoht, Daniel “Butt-strap Bill” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Crab Cakes” Mengedoht had a good start for Duck Dodge No. 12, avoiding a pile-up of boats at the Committee Boat by crossing at the middle of the line. Unfortunately, boats that stayed to the right enjoyed better and more consistent wind and Full Moon rounded the “AGC” buoy in about tenth place.

On the short reaching leg to the Chandler’s Cove buoy Full Moon lost another place to always-speedy Scat but otherwise held position. On the next leg, the mighty Equalizer brought the expected gain, holding off a charging Thunderbird and bringing Full Moon ever closer to a cluster of boats in front. Just ahead was old rival Fortis, which had nailed the start. With a pass to windward being risky tactically, not to mention a lot of traffic on that side, Full Moon attempted to pass Fortis to leeward and almost got through but the wind shadow from Fortis was too much and Full Moon was stuck in a four-boat sandwich approaching the Freeway buoy.

Traffic at the buoy worked in Full Moon’s favor as several boats swung very wide, allowing Full Moon ample room on the inside. Fortis was inside Full Moon and overlapped but just far enough back to suffer in the backwash from Full Moon’s sails and Full Moon pulled out ahead. Fortis then tacked to get into clear air. This proved to be their salvation as the wind built on left side as well as the far right while Full Moon soldiered on toward the middle of the lake and an unexpected hole in a donut of wind.

In the end, Fortis finished 11th with Full Moon just behind in 12th out of some 40 boats. Good old Shogun was not too far back while Ignitor had suffered a poor start and wallowed near the back of the fleet.

Beat the Heat!

Live music on the bow (after the race, of course).
Lots of people took a dip.

The pile up at the Challenger buoy.

Art, working hard...

Distance works to get by Full Moon.

Full Moon crew Art “Tired” Teller, Randy “No Basement” Olsen, Don “Bingo” Caffrey, Robert “Bier” Leykam, and skipper John “Chips Ahoy” Mengedoht went for the pin end on port tack for the second week in a row to start Duck Dodge No. 11 on the hottest day of the year - so far. A number of boats had the same idea but this still paid off with Full Moon in the top ten on the first leg to the Aurora buoy, mixing it up with boats like Runner.

Rounding the buoy on the outside of the big Buchan 37 Distance, the Equalizer was quickly launched in a moderate breeze and Distance had to bear off after a while to escape Full Moon’s wind shadow. Meanwhile, a huge gap had opened between Full Moon and the rest of the fleet behind.

Heading into the “Challenger” buoy, the Equalizer came down nicely but, unfortunately, the wind began to die and Full Moon was lucky to get around. Distance and a Thunderbird were just ahead but going nowhere while boats that had rounded just a bit earlier still had wind enough to take them to the finish. Boats that had been much farther back began to pile up heading toward the buoy and soon a good 30 boats were drifting.

Eventually, the wind began to fill in and Full Moon got moving a bit sooner than Distance and held the advantage to the finish line to take 11th, though the T-bird stayed ahead. The usual rival boats were all far behind but I’m not sure anybody cared that much as long as they could be out on the cool water.

Bedtime Story

Gaining on Runner.
Yes, all those boats are behind us!

Scat is gaining...

Chuck with post-race beer.

More beer for Katie and Caroline...

The Race Committee for the Pajama Night Duck Dodge (July 21) finally set a starting line so skewed that it was not even close to possible to cross on starboard tack. Full Moon crew Michael “Spider Man” Medina, Katie “Good Luck Charm” Freels, Caroline “Strategist” Sneed, Chuck “Maximum Exposure” Weldy, and skipper John “Surgeon” Mengedoht went for a port tack start at the heavily favored “pin” end and the slightly risky move paid off with our best start of the season, third to cross the line.

Full Moon held position for much of the upwind leg to the Aurora buoy until a hot Rocket 20 got by and then both a J27 and the always well-sailed Ranger 26, Runner. Full Moon gained a bit under the Equalizer spinnaker downwind but not enough to pass anyone. Two red Thunderbirds were working hard to catch up but so far to no avail. Meanwhile, the beers were out a bit earlier than normal – the crew was hot and thirsty!

The Equalizer came down fairly well (it stayed dry...) but there was trouble with the topping lift for the pole as Full Moon jibed around the AGC buoy and the third leg began with the jib hung up and useless. It was quickly cleared but Full Moon had lost ground. It was a straight shot upwind to the Freeway buoy. On came faster Scat and Full Moon was dropped to sixth.

Heading on a tight reach for the finish, the red Thunderbirds were pushing hard in a strong breeze and gaining despite Full Moon’s attempts to hold them off. To make matters worse, relative giants Mata Hari (Catalina 36) and Distance (Buchan 37) were charging up from behind as well.

At the finish line, Mata Hari had forged ahead and the T-birds both just barely got by (rats!). Distance, however, managed to collide with both Mata Hari AND the finish line buoy as they crossed so their “finish” did not count and Full Moon took ninth. It may seem demoralizing to start third and finish ninth but Full Moon sailed well for the most part and, to be fair, most of the boats that finished ahead were simply faster boats, especially upwind and with a decent breeze on. Regardless, the sky was cloudless, the beer was ice cold, the setting was fabulous, and the crew was great fun as always. Claims from the Hokey Pokey notwithstanding, that’s what it’s all about!

The Jazz Run

Heading out through the large lock.
Boys in the cockpit in Port Townsend.

King of the Boat!

Full Moon headed north to Port Townsend last Saturday to deliver Ian to the Centrum Jazz Workshop. Younger brother Daniel wanted in on the action, of course, so the boys went by sea while Vickie drove up Sunday to bring Ian’s sax and additional stuff for the workshop.

The planned 8:00 AM start from Lake Union was missed by half an hour Saturday and then the Fremont Bridge operator refused to open until 9:00 even though it wasn’t a week day. By the time we got to the locks, there were a good number of boats waiting. The good news: they opened the large lock to get everybody in. The bad news: it takes a long time to get everybody into the large lock and properly tied up!

The delays meant we’d need nearly perfect wind conditions to enjoy any sailing if we were to arrive in Port Townsend before the Point Hudson Marina office closed. It was a gorgeous sunny day, though, and the trusty Yamaha smoothly pushed Full Moon along at over 6 knots. (Ian the music man had fun trying to figure out all the harmonics of the motor and boat humming in tune.). The GPS told a different story of speed, of course, as tidal currents would be briefly favorable and then not so favorable. At least the flood tide would be slowing as we got to the area of Admiralty Inlet.

The trip was mostly uneventful until the wind began to build out of the north as we got past Point No Point. It was tempting to sail but the wind was right on our nose and we had an adverse current of 1 ½ knots. Sorry boys, no sailing yet! (Sailing and schedules don’t play well together.) Of course, the wind also brought some waves. At first this just meant the occasional bit of spray off the bow but by Bush Point every wave brought a blast of spray. How bad could it get? A detour to Port Ludlow was possible but we were already pretty far north…

The wind built to the mid-20s with gusts of 30 knots and Full Moon began to slam into waves, rattling the rigging like mad, while the boys huddled in the cabin. The boat could take it but would the boys be dying of mal de mer? Ian wasn’t enjoying the ride much but was okay while Daniel was dozing and doing just fine. On we went for a solid hour of bashing until we reached the haven of Point Hudson and there was even 30’ of dock space left at the side-tie dock (first come, first served) so we wouldn’t have to raft up.

After a shower for me and burgers at Nifty Fifties, it was time to head back to the boat to stow gear and lay out the sleeping bags. Daniel fired up his portable DVD player, Ian got his nose in a book and Dad just rested, though sleep would be long in coming for all of us as the wind continued to howl in the rigging and wavelets made gurgling noises against the hull.

Rising fairly early the next morning, it was time for showers and a Goldilocks breakfast. (The first restaurant was big but understaffed and promised a long wait. The second restaurant was small and kind of shabby with people at tables looking like they’d been waiting a while for food. The third restaurant, the Point Hudson Café, was just right – clean, bright and airy, pleasant staff, no waiting and, as it turned out, good food.) After a bit of shopping in the used book store, Vickie arrived in town. We all enjoyed a good lunch at the Public House Grill and then it was time to grab some supplies for the boat, gather Ian’s stuff, and drive him up to Fort Worden for the workshop. Vickie and Daniel then headed back for Seattle by car and I stayed another night in the marina to avoid coming home late in the dark.

A shower, another good breakfast at the Point Hudson Café, prep the boat for single-handing (important stuff all readily at hand, other stuff stowed away), and I was underway by 8:30 AM. A back-eddy brought GPS speeds of over 7 knots across Port Townsend Bay but then the ebb tide hit as I got to the tip of Marrowstone Island and I was down in the low 4 knot range. Another sunny day, though, and the current would stop and then reverse as I went south. The wind was light out of the north and not strong enough to make good time under sail.

As the day went on, the wind got stronger and I soon had a pretty good following sea – enough to surf a lot of waves (max speed on the GPS, 9.3 knots!) but a lot of work at the tiller to keep the boat on course. It was very tempting to sail but I was tired from Saturday and from not sleeping well and I knew it could be a challenge to lower and tie down the sails later by myself if the wind held or got stronger. And the wind did get stronger, though thankfully not gusting to 30!

After a fairly quick trip, I arrived off Shilshole and paused to rig fenders and mooring lines on both sides in preparation for the locks. I didn’t count on a lot of boats waiting at 1:30 PM on a Monday but there were more than enough to fill the small lock at least once. Then the Argosy boat showed up and exercised their priority as commercial traffic. More waiting. Finally, they opened the large lock. The Fremont Bridge would not open for boats between 4 and 6 PM – would I make it in time?

Second boat out of the lock at 3:35, two miles to Fremont, top speed 6.2 knots (with more wake than I like but clearly less than the big power boats) – it was just possible to make the bridge. 3:55 PM and I blew the horn and the bridge answered – they would open! 25 minutes later Full Moon was back in her home slip, journey over and only some clean-up to do. Was it worth two long days of motoring, the pounding of the waves, and the poor sleep as the wind howled through the marina? Saturday evening nine year old Daniel said “This is the best day of my life!!!” Ian couldn’t wait to tell the story of our trip north to his jazz buddies. Yeah, it was worth it!

Freedom Reigns

Don trims as we gain on Freedom.

Tammy gets into the spinnaker take-down!

Full Moon was, finally, right on time at the starting line for the Red Wine, White Wine and the Blues Duck Dodge, a little farther left than ideal but clear of some traffic that appeared bent on fouling each other in the middle of the line. Crew Randy “Double Triple” Olsen, Katie “Cold Beer” Freels, Don “Short Hoist” Caffrey, Tammy “Skinny Dip” Cross, and skipper John “Trouble Maker” Mengedoht made the most of it with a clear lane and only two tacks to the Challenger buoy. Oncoming traffic made hoisting the spinnaker a bit risky plus a Thunderbird was just to leeward and determined to sail a hotter angle so the hoist was delayed for about a quarter of the leg. Once up, though, the Equalizer easily pulled Full Moon ahead of the Thunderbird and it was on to the Freeway buoy.

After nearly a straight shot past Gasworks to the Aurora buoy, the rest of the long 2 ½ lap race became a matchup with the J22 Freedom and a modified dull gray Thunderbird as the fleet spread out. The T-bird eventually pulled ahead but Full Moon mixed it up with Freedom all the way to the finish line with Freedom coming out ahead by mere inches to take 11th place out of some 40 boats.

Meanwhile Shogun, Fortis, and Ignitor all started behind Full Moon and were never a threat, all finishing a full leg or more behind.

Boys Night Out

Strong gusty winds and whitecaps greeted Full Moon crew Art “Double Yellow” Teller, Doug “Megapixel” Schoemaker, Ian “Skirtless” Mengedoht, Daniel “Yee-hah!” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Crazy Ivan” Mengedoht for Duck Dodge No. 8. With the starting line skewed, as usual, to make a narrow slot on starboard tack, things got a bit dicey as boats tacked onto port to make it across but Full Moon emerged unscathed in the top third of the huge fleet. From there it was a straight shot to the Freeway buoy and then another straight shot skimming Gasworks Park to the Aurora buoy.

Deploying the mighty Equalizer spinnaker brought a wild but fast ride down the lake and a smooth take-down at the AGC buoy cemented Full Moon’s gains on that leg. After a short reach to the Challenger buoy it was time for Art to repack the spinnaker down in the cabin while the boat heeled on one side or the other as Full Moon tacked back up the lake - with a couple of round-ups to keep things exciting.

The wind faded a little for the second lap, especially near the northern two buoys, but was otherwise a repeat. Everyone enjoyed the stronger winds and clear blue skies and in the end Full Moon was 12th out of 40 or more boats with all traditional rivals at least a full leg behind.