On The Hard

There was no Duck Dodge this week due to Whidbey Island Race Week so Full Moon had a different kind of adventure, becoming a land dweller in order to receive some fresh bottom paint at the Canal Boatyard. There wasn't that much slime before and the fresh paint is a bit rough from the rollers so she may not be any faster but Full Moon will be ready to race again next week.

Full Moon rising!

Fresh bottom paint!

Splash-down!

Red One Down!

Michael and the rest of the crew sporting their red, white and blue.

Full Moon crew Michael “Not Me” Medina, Katie “Guacamole Sole” Freels, Dave “Other Left” Pulsifer, Judy “Suction Cups” Tiffany, and skipper John “Not Last” Mengedoht enjoyed a good start near the center of the line for the Red, White and Blue Duck Dodge. Very light wind and close proximity to old rival Ignitor made it a challenge to get much speed going until the wind filled in about halfway to the AGC buoy.

The second leg to the Chandler’s buoy was short but downwind and the Equalizer was quickly launched to good effect. The next leg to the Freeway buoy should have then been a nice beam reach but 100 yards past the buoy, the wind filled in and shifted to the northwest. This angle didn’t work for the Equalizer, which proved a handful to get back down with the wind coming from ahead of the boat. In the ensuing chaos, the red (port) spinnaker sheet somehow escaped to plunge to a watery grave. Drat!

The wind continued to clock further to the north and Full Moon actually needed to tack twice to reach the Freeway buoy. The leg back south might have worked for the spinnaker but not without a replacement sheet. Still, the genoa provided relatively decent speed to the AGC buoy.

The rest of the second lap was relatively uneventful, Full Moon finishing somewhere in the middle of the second start fleet. Meanwhile, a great time was had by all and it didn’t rain!

Slow Boat

Seven guys, most a bit north of 200 pounds, are not recommended for speed enhancement on a 2400 pound sailboat but crew Randy “Equalizer” Olsen, Art “Cherry” Teller, Doug “Sabbatical” Schoemaker, Troy “Orange Tux” Charlesworth, Ian “Bow Rider” Mengedoht, Daniel “Tunes” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Mobile Ballast” Mengedoht all turned out to enjoy the sunny weather for the Prom Night Duck Dodge. With very light southwesterly wind and a crowd near the Committee Boat, Full Moon opted for the middle of the start line. The wind favored this approach for a while and then filled in closer to the Westlake shore, giving a big advantage to boats that had tacked over in that direction earlier.

 

Full Moon stayed out of this cluster. Yes, that IS an Olson 30 in second start...

Once around the AGC buoy, the short run to the Chandler’s buoy would have benefitted from a spinnaker but the next leg northbound appeared to be a close reach unsuitable for the Equalizer so the nylon monster stayed in the bag to save the hassle. Speed proved to be pretty decent to the Freeway buoy, Full Moon actually gaining on several boats.

 

Second start from another perspective.

Returning upwind to complete the first lap, Full Moon somehow punched out to leeward of the J24 J Estalt, leaving the supposedly faster J Boat behind. Several boats converged at the AGC buoy and Full Moon was able to pick a path avoiding slower cruisers being lapped. After the short leg to the Chandler’s buoy, Full Moon launched the Equalizer for what was now mostly a beam reach north. This worked well until the wind faded and shifted a few hundred yards short of the Freeway buoy. Back under the genoa, Full Moon rounded and then headed to the finish line, chasing – and nearly catching – a much larger Beneteau.

 

Thundorca also enjoyed having a few extra crew!

Despite the weight penalty and finishing behind both Zephyr and Ignitor (a rare event these days!), Full Moon sailed fairly well and stayed in the top 2/3 of the fleet, actually beating a Hobie 33 and the J24. A bit more breeze would have been nice but it was a gorgeous evening on the water.

The "duck boat" was back, zooming around the lake.

Yo Ho Ho!

Full Moon crew Randy “Tilt Pack” Olsen, Dave “Knot In It” Pulsifer, Kristin “Beer Ear” Gasper, Kevin “Drop Beer” Gasper and skipper John “Artful Dodger” Mengedoht sported the requisite big pirate flag and attempted to take no prisoners on a port tack, pin-end start for the Pirate Night Duck Dodge. Unfortunately, numerous other pirate vessels had the same idea, parlaying for room and keeping the gun ports clear for vessels coming in on starboard tack. Booty intact, Full Moon had a decent start, though ships closer to the middle of the line did a bit better.

Yes, there really was canon fire from this pirate ship!

The fleet converged for a congested rounding at the Freeway buoy and then spread out a bit upwind to reach the Aurora buoy with only a couple of tacks. The Equalizer was launched to good effect, Full Moon gaining on several boats, but a relative giant (Oxo-something or other) cast an equally giant wind shadow to slow things back down. With a conservative but clean drop of the Equalizer, Full Moon ended up third boat on the outside of a pinwheel to round the AGC buoy, which allowed stealthy Selchie to slip inside from behind.

Ahhrrrr, mateys!

The long upwind leg back to the Freeway buoy was relatively uneventful, apart from the occasional cannon blast, as was the leg to the Aurora buoy. The Equalizer was a bit slow going up for the second downwind leg but still very effective. Oxo-something or other was present yet again, having passed by upwind, but this time Full Moon was able to get more lateral separation to easily pass the big boat. Full Moon was also able to get the inside position at the AGC buoy for a tidy rounding before heading back upwind to the finish.

Full Moon (beyond) stays in front of Gift Horse upwind.

In the end, it was another great evening on the water enjoying a nice breeze, friendly fellow-pirates, and no rain. It was also the longest Duck Dodge Day of the year, remaining light until well after Full Moon returned to her dock.

Blow Me Down!

The wind was strong out of the south for the Hip Hop Duck Dodge but the truly dark and threatening skies (and all the rain) were all to the north of Lake Union before the start of the race. Full Moon crew Randy “Good Call” Olsen, Dave “Cabin Boy” Pulsifer, Erin “Downwind” Osberg, Adam “Foam Face” Michalak, and skipper John “Sometimes Size Matters” Mengedoht set up for a starboard tack start near the Committee Boat with a lot of company vying for the favored end of the line. This made for slow going until several boats tacked away in search of clear air.

 

Scary clouds prior to the race.

Full Moon was a bit overpowered in the gusts but not bad in between, making good speed to the AGC buoy. With the monster Equalizer spinnaker set to hoist, chaos was likely in the cards until the decision was made to stick with the genoa for the long downwind run to the Freeway buoy. With speeds frequently above five knots and other boats struggling to control their spinnakers, this proved to be a wise choice.

 

Full Moon didn't want to struggle taking down the Equalizer.

It was about this time that a game of cat and mouse developed with the J24 J Estalt, the speedy J boat slipping ahead only to struggle with one thing or another and slipping behind again. So it was that J Estalt forged ahead on the fast close reach to the Aurora buoy but fell behind on the long upwind leg to start the second lap. Rather than risk sending anybody forward to swap the spinnaker and pole, Full Moon again stayed with the genoa downwind after rounding the AGC buoy. J Estalt must have had spinnaker issues or some other trouble because they never regained the lead.

On the final upwind leg to the finish, Full Moon still made a race of it by just holding off a giant Beneteau 423, finishing somewhere in the middle of the fleet. While Full Moon isn’t ideal for heavy air, it was a lot of fun out there!

Cowboys and Aliens

It was great to see another Santana 525, Flying Burrito, out racing for the Western Night Duck Dodge. Welcome to the Duck Dodge!

Crew Michael “Jib, Jab, Jibe” Medina, Marcelle “Twisted” Van Houten, Beth “Jazz Fan 1” Mountsier, Jim “Jazz Fan 2” Peacey, and skipper John “Wrong Way” Mengedoht cruised the starting line on starboard tack but were thwarted from tacking for a great start by a Star boat to windward and just behind. The resulting reach to the Freeway buoy was not fast enough to be in the top ten boats.

Pulling strings on the first downwind run.

The wind dropped quite a bit on the way to the Aurora buoy but the pole was up before rounding and the Equalizer quickly launched for what started as a beam reach. The fickle wind then made a massive shift for an unplanned jibe. Once sorted, the wind naturally shifted back after only a few minutes. Another jibe, Michael! Regardless, Full Moon did well on the leg to the AGC buoy. Unfortunately, after rounding, the skipper forgot the Chandler’s Cove buoy was in play and Full Moon had to broad reach back. This allowed a white Thunderbird to get by and allowed ancient rival Ignitor to nearly catch up.

Keeping out of the wind shadow.

Once northbound again, Full Moon did well with only a few tacks to reach the Freeway buoy and then the wind generally held to the Aurora buoy. The Equalizer was again smoothly launched but this time the wind shifted and then shut down completely, collapsing the nylon monster around the forestay. The mess was just cleared and the jibe completed when the wind filled back in on the other side, initiating yet another jibe. During all this fun, 34’ Runaway got past toward the Westlake shore. Full Moon gave chase but had to contend with a Catalina trying to create a wind shadow from behind.

An awesome sunset to cap a great evening on the water.

Once around the AGC buoy, the Catalina was left well behind and Full Moon gained a bit on Runaway before rounding the Chandler’s Cove buoy. The final leg was a see-saw battle, Runaway just crossing tacks ahead of Full Moon at the line. With a well spread-out fleet, it was tough to tell the exact finishing order but Full Moon appeared to be 12^th, which was excellent given the competition.

Flash Dance

The wind got very light toward the end, many boats appearing to be sailing in random directions.

Full Moon crew Randy “Old-Timer” Olsen, Kelly “Quick Study” Laleman, Troy “Sore Muscles” Charlesworth, and skipper John “Flash Dance” Mengedoht achieved another decent start for the Star Wars Duck Dodge, staying clear of some kind of fracas near the Committee Boat involving a white Moore 24. The first leg to the Freeway buoy was a tight reach followed by a tighter line toward Gasworks and a couple of tacks in decent breeze to round the Aurora buoy.

The mighty Equalizer was soon launched to good effect, helping to hold off the Catalina 30 Necessary Evil and allowing Full Moon to gain nicely on the speedy Hot Foot 27 Flash Point. Approaching the Chandler’s Cove buoy, Full Moon was able to slip to leeward of Flash Point and round on the inside. The spinnaker pole trapped the jib sheets during the take-down, somewhat negating the nice move at the buoy, but Flash Point must have had difficulties of their own as Full Moon retained a lead nearly all the way to the Freeway buoy.

By this time, the wind had faded a bit, though Full Moon still had good speed following Flash Point to the Aurora buoy. Looking down the lake, there were a LOT of boats stacked up near the Chandler’s Cove buoy so it was time to get the very best out of the Equalizer. Dropping the nylon monster a bit early as the wind faded to nearly zero, Full Moon still managed yet again to round inside Flash Point, both boats barely moving and in a lot of traffic. The final leg was a search for wind, Full Moon finishing about tenth, not far behind Flash Point.

Good Karma

Full Moon went for a nice cruise on Memorial Day, exercising the freshly repaired outboard. While touring Portage Bay, a kayak flipped and Full Moon quickly went to the aid of the hapless paddler. Returning to Lake Union, a small sailboat near Gasworks was making very slow progress with a paddle, no motor on board and their main halyard broken. A tow to the Northlake boat ramp was happily provided and greatly appreciated. Glad I was out there for a cruise!

Back in Action

Full Moon returned to racing action Tuesday (finally!) for Duck Dodge #3. Crew Marcelle “Safety Orange” Van Houten, Allison “Lulu Lemon” Bahe, Michael “Grand Mal” Medina, Dave “Blue Fleck” Pulsifer, and skipper John “4 hour” Mengedoht set up for a port tack start near the pin end but were a bit early and lost some speed while maneuvering to stay behind the starting line. It was still a decent start, followed by a nice tight reach to the Freeway buoy, where a large knot of boats rounded together in tight formation, Full Moon right behind Dreams (Olson 25) and not far behind speedy Selchie (Thunderbird).

Nice crowd at the Freeway mark.

With all the traffic, Full Moon delayed tacking until nearing the fixed green buoy off Gasworks, dodging two large powerboats in the process. Full Moon then sailed fairly far west, crossing tacks just ahead of Selchie, which chose to duck behind. After a quick tack, things looked good for a nice rounding of the Aurora buoy (in traffic again) but a trimaran could not lay the mark and tacked, forcing Full Moon to take a much wider path to keep clear.

Rare shot of Selchie behind (they had a LOT of crew!).

Once around the buoy, the Equalizer was quickly launched to good effect on a nice beam reach. Unfortunately, relative giant Runaway (Norlin 34) was ahead and to windward, making a pass to leeward difficult. Full Moon stayed in the wind, ahead of Selchie, which in turn held off Necessary Evil (Catalina 30). Meanwhile, Full Moon slowly worked east as Runaway faded west, opening up enough of a lateral gap to allow Full Moon to get through the wind shadow. At the same time, Full Moon was gaining on Dreams and managed to squeeze ahead not long before the AGC buoy. Dreams was able to take a better turn at the buoy, though, and lined up just to windward after rounding, slowly pulling back ahead. The final leg was then a straight shot north to the finish line where Full Moon took an excellent eighth.

Late Start

Full Moon missed the first two Duck Dodge races with the normally reliable Yamaha outboard in the shop. (This is a very busy time of year for many marine businesses so it took them awhile to get to my outboard.) It turns out that, while I had checked the idle jets, there was a lot of crud in other parts of the carburetor clogging things up. Some of the crud was apparently in the form of whitish deposits (indicative of corrosive action related to ethanol in the gas). Not good! Worse, the technician thought I might actually need a new carburetor in a couple of years, which would dent the pocketbook by over $400.

I'll be using fuel treatments from here on out - or switching to ethanol-free fuel when I can find it. Others have written extensively on why ethanol from corn is not truly "sustainable," how it reduces fuel economy, and how it can damage engines even in limited amounts. I wasn't sure about this last part but I am now!

Go Faster!

The Race Committee hailed Full Moon before the 5^th Goosebump race to say there was something to pick up. They then realized it was a mistake and one person called out that if we wanted something, we’d need to go faster! And so it was that Full Moon crew Randy “Plankin’” Olsen, Michael “Shoeless” Medina, Marcelle “Hot Buttered” van Houten, Troy “Low Side” Charlesworth and skipper John “Fast Enough” Mengedoht nailed the start and quickly surged into a clear lead. The J24 Beagle briefly threatened on the first leg, as well as 40 foot Stella Blue, but both then faded back as Full Moon played the wind shifts to the AGC buoy.

Michael and Marcelle enjoying being in first place.

With the pole prepared for a jibe set, Full Moon quickly launched the Equalizer to good effect in a gusty breeze. The wind had clocked around from the Southwest to the South, though, calling for a jibe near the middle of the lake. A second jibe was a bit too close to the Freeway buoy and the decision was made to just drop the spinnaker early, which was much better than carrying the spinnaker around the mark!

The third leg was a fast close reach to the Aurora buoy before a straight shot upwind to cross the line to complete the first lap. The J22 Freedom had gained a bit by this point but then lost ground again through the next few tacks upwind.

The Blue Goose sticker for first place!

The second lap was similar to the first apart from a bear-away spinnaker set and single jibe. In the end, Full Moon led the entire way and finished well ahead of second-place Stella Blue, followed by Freedom, which just beat out Necessary Evil (Catalina 30) to take third.

Super Bowl Pregame

Kate and Adam enjoy some Goosebumps.

Lake Union was dead calm on Superbowl Sunday until about 45 minutes before Goosebump Race No. 4 when a light breeze magically appeared out the NW. Full Moon crew Randy “Teacher” Olsen, Adam “Halyards” Michalak, Kate “Groundhog Knot” Adams, and skipper John “Vintage Sails” Mengedoht lined up for a port tack start toward the east end of the line, which worked well apart from being about 20 seconds late to the start. Boats farther west sailed a longer but lower and faster course, leading to a convergence of boats approaching the Freeway buoy.

Flying the ancient orange spinnaker.

After surviving the congestion at the buoy, Full Moon stayed on port tack for a short distance before tacking into a relatively clear lane. The wind shifts heading west worked in Full Moon’s favor, Full Moon crossing just ahead of old rival Zephyr before a final tack to the Aurora buoy. The tack cost a bit of speed, though, and Full Moon rounded even with Zephyr but on the outside.

Full Moon is flying the orange spinnaker in the middle, chasing Zephyr on the far right.

With a reduced crew, the decision had been made to fly the ancient standard spinnaker rather than the oversized Equalizer. This provided Zephyr with the opportunity to pull back ahead. A stuck spinnaker halyard messed up the takedown but Zephyr must have had some issues as well since Full Moon nearly caught up again to start the final leg. Full Moon was pointing higher but Zephyr was moving faster and managed to pass in front and provide a dose of disturbed air. Still, it was clear Zephyr would need one more tack to make the finish line while Full Moon would not. In the end it was extremely close but Zephyr prevailed to take fifth place with Full Moon a very respectable sixth.

Scat and Mouse

Prestart. It was a bit cold but it was nice to have wind.

At the invitation of the Race Committee, Full Moon opted for the second start for Goosebump Race No. 3. Crew Michael “Dayquil” Medina, Kate “North Face 1” Freels, Allison “North Face A” Bahe, Chad “Harley” Harnish, and skipper John “Boom-Boom” Mengedoht enjoyed an excellent start near the middle of the line and were able to lay down some “dirty” air to a cluster of boats close behind, eventually popping free into first place! Speedy Scat got by approaching the AGC buoy and then the chase was on under spinnaker for the long downwind leg.

Kate, John, and Chad hard at work upwind.

Approaching the Freeway buoy, Scat appeared from the west on a “hotter” line and then jibed, running neck and neck with Full Moon – but with the inside line for the buoy. This gave Scat the edge to pull ahead again but it was great fun to be hanging in there with a relatively fast boat. It was a straight shot to the Aurora buoy before turning upwind again to start the second lap. Scat took a course further east while Full Moon favored the western shore, which paid off as Full Moon nearly closed the gap before rounding the AGC buoy.

Michael at his post on the pointy end.

Full Moon held position to the Freeway buoy under spinnaker and for another straight shot to the Aurora buoy. Heading for the finish line, Scat was uncatchable but no boat was seriously challenging Full Moon from behind. Sure enough, Scat scored first with Full Moon second! Necessary Evil (Catalina 30) took third, not too far behind.

The second place sticker goes on the mast!

Unfortunately, it turns out the Race Committee had intended all boats to go through the finish line to complete the first lap, though this was not crystal clear from the sign boards on the Committee Boat. This explained Scat’s course toward the east, which brought them across the line. Necessary Evil, on the other hand, sailed a course similar to Full Moon and did not cross the line. The Race Committee has not chosen to change the results, perhaps because a lot of boats didn’t understand the requirement. So Full Moon is still officially second, but it would have been much better if all boats had sailed the same course. Regardless, win, place, or lose, it was great to be out there!

Sunny Sunday!

Full Moon can't really compete with a Mumm 30!

Full Moon returned to racing action on sunny Sunday for Goosebump Race No. 2. Crew Randy “Fast Pack” Olsen, Chuck “RV” Weldy, Erin “In and Out” Osberg, Alicia “Rookie” Castagno, and skipper John “Old Stories” Mengedoht managed a good start in very light wind but were soon overmatched by most of the first start fleet. Playing the shifts and trying to stay in the limited zones of decent wind, Full Moon still did reasonably well on the upwind leg to the AGC buoy.

Alicia gets her first taste of sailboat racing.

Turning downwind, the mighty Equalizer was launched to good effect as Full Moon found a nice lane of solid breeze up the center of the lake, passing several large boats parked near the Eastlake shore. The T-bird Havoc threatened from behind but was held off to the Freeway buoy where they got past by virtue of Full Moon’s fairly conservative spinnaker drop.

The Equalizer on the first downwind run. Old and tired but still effective!

The breeze filled in a bit for the leg to the Aurora buoy and the next leg south to start the second lap, where speedy Scat finally got past. Unfortunately, the second downwind run was diminished by hoisting the Equalizer sideways, which really doesn’t work well! In the end, Full Moon was either dead last or close to it but it was a gorgeous day and there was no particular expectation to do well in the first start fleet anyway. With only Scat and two T-birds out of our normal competition in first start, Full Moon may well request to try second start next week!

The Equalizer does not do sideways well...

Football vs. Sailing

Full Moon skipped the first Goosebump race, the skipper and crew favoring warm and dry playoff football on TV over a wet afternoon on the water. Given the Seahawk loss, perhaps we should have sailed! On the other hand, with the race committee switching over to Duck Dodge style scoring (top three boats only), there is less motivation to sail in stinky weather as Full Moon has little hope of placing in the top three in any given Goosebump race. Under the previous system, which scored all boats, Full Moon could still do well for the series, having placed second overall a couple of years ago. Not that winning is the only reason to race, of course!