Twice Around

Full Moon crew Randy “Apple Watch” Olsen, Chad “Bleu Chip” Harnish, Adam “Halyards” Michalak, and skipper John “Warm Beer” Mengedoht enjoyed a good start in light breeze near the Committee Boat end of the line for Goosebump Race #2. As expected, the 30’ all-out racer Nefarious and 33’ Anarchy quickly pulled out into a lead while Full Moon was somewhat more evenly matched with 40’ Surt and the Thunderbird Selchie. Rounding the AGC buoy, Selchie was third, Surt fourth, and Full Moon bringing up the rear as only five boats went in first start!

Randy enjoys the weather.

The Equalizer was quickly launched for the long run to the Freeway buoy and, for a while, it looked like Full Moon might overtake Surt and maybe even Selchie but it was not to be. Meanwhile, Anarchy either got their buoys mixed up or had difficulties with their asymmetrical spinnaker but they eventually came roaring back to the Freeway buoy to hold onto second place.

Chad, too!

The third leg to the Aurora buoy was a close reach and Full Moon elected to be conservative and use the genoa rather than gybe the nylon monster and struggle to take it down at that wind angle. The boats ahead gained a bit with spinnakers up, though Surt then lost more than it had gained when their spinnaker flew behind them as they brought it down. 

Surt in the distance.

The rest of the race showed occasional gains and losses but no changes in the order of boats except that speedy Scat from second start got past Full Moon, overcoming a 5 minute head start. It was surprising to see both Scat and a J30 in second start but that just means less competition for Full Moon!

Regarding the race last week, it was actually Surt that was recorded for third place. Meanwhile, there was a lot of Facebook commentary suggesting the race should not count toward the series scores given all the issues. I would certainly agree with tossing the race results if the Race Committee wants to do that.

Speaking of which, the SSYC web site is a bit sparse on the rules, saying only that there are no handicaps or protests. There is no time limit and no reference to the Racing Rules of Sailing, which leaves only the basic navigation rules from the Colregs. This gets me thinking. We racers actually behave as though at least some of the Racing Rules apply because those rules were created in order to have fair competition (as well as to prevent collisions in situations such as mark-roundings where the Colregs are pretty useless). Stuff like not being over the starting line early, not running your engine after the warning signal, not skipping a buoy (“sailing the course”), not using human propulsion (paddling, rowing, sculling, pumping, or rocking), all are part of the Racing Rules. Without those rules in play, all those things are technically legal, not that you won’t be accused of cheating if you don’t follow them. I understand that many sailors, especially beginning racers, are intimidated by the Racing Rules and their supposed complexity – or else offended at the thought of so many rules impinging on the free spirited fun of “beercan” racing. Therefore, I don’t honestly expect the SSYC or the Duck Dodge to adopt the Racing Rules, even an abbreviated version, but I honestly think it would improve the racing if they did. No more confusion about how overlaps apply at mark roundings or whether “overtaking vessels” must keep clear at all times!

Anarchy Rules?

The Goosebump series has been taken over by the Seattle Singles Yacht Club and the first race displayed a few glitches with the new management. The Committee Boat was over half an hour late and, for whatever reason, no course buoys were set apart from the pin end of the start-finish line – which stretched nearly the entire width of Lake Union! The good news was the beautiful sunshine, which offset the cold temperatures and made up a bit for the lack of wind.

Not much wind for the first Goosebumps race.

Following a couple of years of precedent, Full Moon crew Randy “Sippy Cup” Olsen, Michael “Rock n’ Roll” Medina, Marcelle “HBR” Van Houten, and skipper John “Why Not” Mengedoht elected to go in the first start, which raised a few eyebrows on the Race Committee, but with Scat (custom 25’) and Selchie (T-bird) also selecting first start, this is probably appropriate. Positioned comfortably away from the cluster of boats at the Committee Boat but not so far down the line as to make for a longer first leg, Full Moon enjoyed an excellent start, though the Soverel 33 Tipsy Gypsy nailed it, quickly forging out to a lead under spinnaker. Several other boats also deployed spinnakers on the reach south but Full Moon stuck with steady speed with the new genoa, knowing the spinnaker could easily collapse in such light air.

John, Michael, and Randy, working hard on the first leg.

40’ Surt caught up on the outside and Selchie on the inside approaching the AGC buoy when 33’ Anarchy lived up to its name by barging in with no rights whatsoever (under either the racing rules or the Colregs) and then very nearly bashing Full Moon as their stern swung out while turning at the buoy. (Attention skipper: Your boat pivots around the keel, not the rudder!) There was not much we could do other than make as much room as possible but it was a totally unnecessary move on their part and could have easily caused damage to several boats.

Full Moon is in the foreground. Note the collapsed spinnakers behind.

Once around the buoy, Full Moon found a bit of wind coming down the east side of the lake and stayed in it while trying to figure out when to tack toward what should have been an Aurora buoy. A Facebook search showed the Committee had changed the course to AGC, Freeway, Aurora, which made much more sense for port roundings, but there were no buoys to be seen. Typsy Gypsy tacked between the buoys defining the Lake Union “test” course but Anarchy and a small dinghy continued north. Full Moon tacked and then tacked back as the word went out via Facebook to round “the farthest buoy,” which could only mean the fixed Gasworks buoy.

Approaching the Gasworks buoy, speedy Scat and Selchie finally caught up to Full Moon. At this point, Full Moon went west, still following Anarchy in case there really was an Aurora buoy, while the other boats took a more southerly course. Much to our surprise, Typsy Gypsy then reappeared, heading for the Gasworks buoy in an effort to sail the “correct” course. Given the light wind, that had to have been a painful decision!

Full Moon on the final leg with 40' Surt parked in front but to leeward.

Anarchy eventually rounded a virtual buoy (about where an Aurora buoy might sometimes be found) but then ran into a dead zone with no wind at all. Full Moon turned toward the south in an effort to round outside of the west “test” course buoys so as to at least round outside every actual buoy in the north half of the lake! At this point, the Anarchy crew began vigorous rocking the boat, pumping the sails to move forward. Given the chaos thus far, the fading wind, and the low angle of the sun, the Full Moon crew decided to do the same, as did the crew of Quandary (505 dinghy). Astoundingly, the Race Committee then awarded first place to Anarchy, second to Full Moon, and third to Quandary as we all crossed the finish line, despite the very obvious human propulsion!

A new red sticker adorns the mast.

Sail Trial

The new genoa jib flies for the first time!

After waiting a few weeks for a combination of no rain and sufficient wind, the sexy new North Sails jib was finally hoisted Wednesday for a trial run. The new sail has a much lower clew than the old one and did not trim all the way in upwind before the sheets ran into the turning blocks. The forestay has now been tightened up about an inch to reduce rake (with corresponding changes to the shrouds) so we'll have to see if that takes care of things by raising the clew height just slightly. Once dialed in, the new sail should be awesome!

String Theory

Full Moon has been getting by with a 16 year old and very worn-out Halsey Lidgard genoa (which was wonderful when new) but the boat got an early Christmas present on Friday in the form of a brand new genoa from North Sails. The new sail is a gorgeous tri-radial made from laminates with black aramid fibers. A 3DL sail was considered, but the tri-radial should be more durable due to the manufacturing process of the laminate. Other sail-makers were also in the running but North came through with the best value.

Hopefully there will be some decent weather over the holidays for a test run or two!

One reason why not to go with a "string" sail: catastrophic failure!

Bronze Martinis

The final Duck Dodge of summer is always Martini Night aboard Full Moon and the boat was well equipped to create the classic adult beverage (along with some Cokes for the high school boy). Crew Randy “OJ” Olsen, Michael “Morocco Mole” Medina, Dave “Rare Bottle” Pulsifer, and Daniel “Shaker” Mengedoht voted to give third start a try in lieu of second start as usual, if only in order to shorten the racing to one lap. Skipper John “Two Olives” Mengedoht agreed, curious if the influx of ever-faster boats in second start has been mirrored in third start. The Race Committee was fine with this, which was not a surprise.

Pano shot of the Full Moon crew heading for the Chandler's Cove buoy.

Approaching the starting line, it was clear that Full Moon would be early and, rather than reach down the line away from the favored end, a last-minute donut was employed. This was successful at absorbing the extra time but killed a bit too much speed in the light southwest breeze, resulting in a worse than average start. Once moving, though, Full Moon began picking off boats while also gaining distance to windward in hopes of reaching the AGC buoy without tacking. This almost worked but the now very light wind began to shift on approach to the buoy and a quick double tack was needed, Full Moon slipping around the buoy just in front of two other boats.

Boats behind had an enough tougher time making it to the Chandler's buoy.

The second leg was downwind but the wind was so light that spinnakers were not filling so Full Moon stayed with the genoa, heeling the boat with crew weight. This paid off and Full Moon was able to pick off a few more boats while oozing along to the Chandler’s Cove buoy. Watching other boats on the next leg, it was clear the wind was shifting to the northwest so the Equalizer remained in the bag after rounding the buoy. This also paid off well as the wind continued clocking around, resulting in a nearly upwind leg to the Freeway buoy. The final leg to the finish line was a close reach in a slightly stronger breeze and Full Moon managed to stay ahead of any challengers to get the horn for third place and the Bronze Duck.

So, was it appropriate for Full Moon to opt for third start? 40-foot Thundorca and 40-foot Stella Blue, which placed first and second, are third start regulars, despite their size and speed potential. Full Moon never had much hope of beating them, even in such light air. Boats such as Slingshot (J30), Flashpoint (Hotfoot 27), Monomoy (J24), and Freedom (J22) have all raced and placed in third start this year. If those boats are appropriate, then so is Full Moon. But maybe it shouldn’t be appropriate for those boats to be in third start, either. If the Race Committee won’t do more to define the starts, there is no answer for this!

Pretty in Pink

Ignitor with a very special mainsail!

The Pink Boat Regatta Night Duck Dodge featured a lot of pink clothing and decorations, including a fabulous painted mainsail on Ignitor and the usual exuberance aboard Deception. Full Moon crew Randy “Reunion” Olsen, Debra “Quick Draw” Ricard, Sophie “Oh Poo!” Ricard, Marcelle “Boom Chick” Van Houten, Daniel “No Pink” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Strategerlicious” Mengedoht bought a bunch of pink duck stickers in support of breast cancer research and then set up for what should have been a pretty great start until thwarted by Zephyr to windward refusing to yield to Full Moon to leeward, both boats on starboard tack and side by side. (Gary, you’ve done a lot for the beer-can sailing community but that doesn’t give you diplomatic immunity from the Colregs!) Nevertheless, Full Moon had a good first leg to the AGC buoy. The short leg to the Chandler’s Cove buoy was a speedy reach and then it was time to launch the Equalizer for a long downwind run.

 

A drone captured Full Moon dousing the Equalizer on the first lap.

Rather than tax the foredeck crew with a lot of jibes, Full Moon at times sailed a bit “by the lee” and holding the boom in place. Sailing a “hotter” course and jibing would have been a bit faster but Full Moon still maintained enough speed to get past a boat or two. After a clean drop approaching the Freeway buoy, it was a straight shot to the Aurora buoy on a very close reach before heading upwind again to start the second lap.

Debra, Sophie, Marcelle, and Randy enjoying another beautiful evening on the lake.

Apart from 34’ Runaway finally getting past, the leg to the AGC buoy went very well, as did the quick reach to Chandler’s. On the downwind run to the Freeway buoy, Full Moon slowly passed a J22 and Necessary Evil (Catalina 30) while nearly catching a speedy yellow Moore 24. Full Moon never did quite catch the Moore but held off the others on the final two legs to finish about 12^th, quite good considering the competition in second start these days.

It gets dark so early these days!

Watermelon Beer

Heading upwind on the 3rd leg.

The Pajama Night Duck Dodge was pretty windy before the start and Full Moon crew Chuck “Salty Dog” Weldy, Dave “Learning Experience” Pulsifer, Allison “Watermelon Beer” Bahe, Alex “Rookie” Arreola, Daniel “Pac-Man” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Bucket of Ratchets” Mengedoht opted to set things up with the ancient small spinnaker instead of the Equalizer, partly due to lack of experience on the foredeck. Full Moon got a good start on port tack clear of traffic near the buoy end but boats closer to the Committee Boat were still (mostly) able to lay the Freeway buoy without tacking so some of the faster boats got ahead.

Chuck, Dave, and Daniel in the dimming light.

The course then went directly to the AGC buoy, which meant that boats from behind (or later starts) were sailing directly at boats on the second leg, making for some close calls. Full Moon hoisted the spinnaker on the second leg but it wasn’t much faster, if any, than the genoa, given the wind angle. The spinnaker came down nicely at the AGC buoy rather than jibe for the broad reach to the Chandler’s buoy. Once around Chandler’s, it was a nearly straight upwind shot back to the Freeway buoy, with only two short tacks on final approach.

Another fantastic evening on the water.

The spinnaker stayed in the bag for the “downwind” leg, the wind consistently tighter than a beam reach. Two more legs and Full Moon was done, finishing roughly tenth. It was a beautiful evening on the lake, though the sun sets WAY too early! I can’t believe there are only two more Duck Dodge races!

Equalized Again!

Full Moon in prestart maneuvers. Michelle Mathison photo via Facebook.

From a racing point of view, the Mardi Gras Duck Dodge did not start well for Full Moon crew Art “Traffic” Teller, Debra “XX” Ricard, Sophie “Beautiful” Ricard, Chad “Trucker Hat” Harnish, Daniel “Growing” Mengedoht, and skipper John “King” Mengedoht. First, the start timing horns were inconsistent, causing Full Moon to be farther back from the line than intended when the “real” horn sounded. Then, third start traffic (which should have been nowhere near the starting line) continued to blunder across on starboard tack, preventing Full Moon from tacking and crossing the line. The net result was Full Moon starting very nearly last, our worst start in recent memory. But forget all that. The sun was shining, there was a nice northerly breeze, and we were sailing!

Happy campers Sophie and Debra.

We also had a lot of boats to pass… This began early, picking off a couple of boats on a fast close reach to the Freeway buoy and then a few more heading across to the Aurora buoy. The Equalizer was soon launched for a speedy beam reach down the lake, passing a couple more boats, including old rival Ignitor. Full Moon gained rapidly on 30’ Tenacious but also had to defend against a J22 attempting to pass to windward as Full Moon entered the wind shadow from Tenacious. Fortunately, the J22 ended up going to windward of Tenacious and Full Moon eventually punched through the wind shadow to lead both boats to the AGC buoy. As Full Moon was rounding, another boat poked its bow inside Tenacious (without rights, at least from a racing rules point of view) forcing Tenacious to take a very wide rounding. Full Moon, however, made it around cleanly and was soon flying north on a tight reach, leaving the bumper boats behind.

More happy campers, Art and Daniel after the hoist.

Safari, a large (C&C?) boat compared to Full Moon, began to converge from leeward on approach to the Freeway buoy, getting clear ahead just before the buoy. Then, about 2/3 of the way across the lake, it became apparent that the Aurora buoy had moved or was missing. Safari quickly turned south while Full Moon continued looking for a short while. Meanwhile, Ignitor, which was several hundred yards behind, decided the head south while still only halfway across the lake!

Chad before we found his hat. (You had to be there.)

Time for the Equalizer! Full Moon slowly reeled in first Safari and then Ignitor before a clean drop to round the AGC buoy. Then it was hammer down upwind to the finish, staying ahead of both boats and nearly catching yet another before crossing the line. In the end, Full Moon was somewhere in the middle of the fleet, not at all bad considering the start. 

Equalized!

Full Moon crew in the prestart maneuvers.

The weather wasn’t especially tropical for the Tropical Night Duck Dodge but there was no rain and enough wind from the SW to move. Full Moon crew Michael “Pointy End” Medina, Chuck “Geezer” Weldy, Tammy “Takedown” Cross, Kelly “Buried Alive” Laleman, Daniel “Quick Hoist” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Dull End” Mengedoht enjoyed a decent start about a third of the way down the line from Committee Boat and ended up just to leeward and slightly ahead of old rival Ignitor. The “lee bow” position was effective, causing Ignitor to fall behind and then to leeward. A J24 then elected to tack away to avoid a similar fate.

Cruising upwind not long after the start. The black boat is Ignitor.

Unfortunately, boats closer to Committee Boat enjoyed slightly stronger wind and faced a shorter distance to the AGC buoy. Full Moon tacked west for better wind but then had to deal with traffic, ducking a few boats. Nearing the buoy, Ignitor approached from the east, back ahead of Full Moon. After rounding, it was a very short leg to the floating “island” to snag a few free cups of beer. Full Moon then headed toward the Chandlers buoy before remembering it wasn’t part of the course!

After a quick jibe, the Equalizer was brought into play. A J24 and Ignitor were busy battling each other, leaving a nice lane to pass them both to windward. Nearing the Freeway buoy, Full Moon nearly caught Selchie and was not at all far behind speedy Scat! After rounding, Ignitor was working hard to catch back up, but to no avail. On the long leg south, Full Moon stayed in touch with Scat and Selchie but Ignitor managed so slide by approaching the AGC buoy. Full Moon swung past the “island” again right on Selchie’s stern while Ignitor stayed clear, sailing a bit less distance…

Heading for the finish line...

Then it was time to hoist the Equalizer again and pass Ignitor again. Full Moon nearly got past Selchie as well approaching the Freeway buoy but couldn’t quite get by, though Full Moon had the inside line at the buoy. After rounding, Selchie faded north while Full Moon stayed more on the wind in hopes of laying the Aurora buoy without tacking. This worked just fine, Full Moon rounding ahead of Selchie and still ahead of Ignitor and then maintaining the lead to the finish to take eighth. In fairness to Selchie, they had a LOT of people on board, which can’t have helped much with performance!

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Speeeed!

The happy crew prior to the start.

The wind shifted from the NW to N-NE just prior to the start of the Fleet Week Duck Dodge, messing up the starting strategy for Full Moon crew Michael “Tidy-up” Medina, Dave “Big Pull” Pulsifer, Judy “White Pants” Tiffany, Rolf “Takedown Hero” Van Houten, Daniel “Halyards” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Mast Bend” Mengedoht. Hardening up on starboard tack to cross the line, Full Moon was in close company with several boats, Necessary Evil (Catalina 30) eventually rolling out ahead while old rival Ignitor (Martin 29) tacked away somewhat early. A fortuitous header/lift coincided with Full Moon’s tack bringing us nearly to the (new) layline for the Freeway buoy ahead of both Ignitor and Necessary Evil, though behind speedy Scat, Selchie, a J92S, a sexy brand new Seascape 27 (in second start?), a fairly large boat called Tonic, and a couple of other boats.

The second leg to the Aurora buoy fluctuated between a close reach and a broad reach and Full Moon elected to set up the spinnaker for the much longer third leg rather than try and hoist the Equalizer and jibe it at the buoy. Ignitor and Necessary Evil hoisted spinnakers and slowly gained from behind, Ignitor eventually flying into the mark on starboard jibe, her skipper screaming about right of way over boats that had already jibed onto port in order to round the buoy. While the Duck Dodge does not officially embrace the racing rules, most boats respect the 3 boat-length rule at the buoys in order to keep things somewhat orderly, the result being that a lot of boats were suddenly converging amidst lots of yelling. Full Moon, also still on starboard jibe and leeward of Ignitor, had just enough room to squeak by the buoy before quickly launching the Equalizer. (Prior to Ignitor’s arrival, the plan was to harden up to go astern of the port tack boats.) When the dust had settled, Full Moon had pulled away to a considerable lead over all the boats in the cluster at the buoy, flying along on a beam reach in strong breeze. Thanks, Ignitor!

 

Selchie (left) and the Seascape 27 battle on the first lap.

The takedown, always a challenge on a windy beam reach, went very smoothly at the AGC buoy, Full Moon close behind Tonic. Selchie and Scat had also done very well on the long reaching leg, Selchie still a couple of hundred yards ahead of Full Moon and Scat even farther ahead. The wind had clocked even further into the NE for the fourth leg and Full Moon was able to lay the Freeway buoy without tacking. Amazingly, Distance (Buchan 37) from first start was not far ahead despite a five minute head start.

 

It was a gray evening but there was a little glow on the horizon at sunset.

The second lap was mostly a repeat of the first except that there wasn’t much traffic around Full Moon. A J24 tried valiantly to overtake under spinnaker but could not quite get by on the long leg south. Full Moon enjoyed another smooth takedown at the AGC and put the hammer down for the finish line. The J24 still could not catch up and, to our great surprise, Distance was also behind though coming on very fast. Full Moon maneuvered into a lee bow position to try and slow the much bigger boat and this was just enough to finish ahead. In the end, Scat took first, Selchie was third (way to go!), and Full Moon, we think, was seventh, our best finish of the summer. 

Toga, Toga, Toga!

Full Moon crew Michael “Mister” Medina, Marcelle “Missus” Van Houten, Neil “Jib Sheet” Piispanen, Daniel “No Tunes” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Wind Shadow” Mengedoht managed to pull off a port tack start at the Committee Boat for the Toga Night Duck Dodge, ghosting out ahead of the fleet in very light wind. The advantage didn’t last, however, as boats further west received better breeze, Full Moon rounding the Freeway buoy about sixth.

A massive Chinook helicopter buzzed the Duck Dodge!

Heading nearly to the beach at Gasworks was almost but not quite enough to provide a one-tack leg to the Aurora buoy. Once around, the Equalizer was quickly hoisted to good effect, Full Moon moving nicely on a beam reach. The wind favored the middle of the lake, though, and Full Moon was too far west to benefit, allowing Scat and another boat or two to get past.

Full Moon is on the right, having just tacked at Gasworks.

After a relatively smooth drop at the AGC buoy, it was a straight shot north to complete the first lap and round the Freeway buoy. This time, heading for the beach paid off with no tacks required to round the Aurora buoy. The Equalizer again went up quickly and this time Full Moon headed closer to the middle of the lake. Unfortunately, relative giant Mallory Todd (not sure if they were racing?) crossed ahead and then turned parallel, providing a massive wind shadow. Full Moon struggled for half the leg to gain some lateral separation and break free, finally doing so a couple of hundred yards short of the AGC buoy. Meanwhile, well sailed 22 foot Mustache Ride was able to sneak past to leeward.

The final leg was another straight shot to the finish, Full Moon placing around tenth not far behind Mustache Ride. This was pretty decent considering that second start contained an Olson 30, two Hobie 33s, and a J92S, all rating less than 100 in PHRF NW handicapping. 

Red, White and Green

Full Moon crew Randy “4 AM” Olsen, Debra “Trader Joes” Ricard, Erin “Sparkly” Osberg, Troy “Soggy Chute” Charlesworth, Daniel “Theme Music” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Carburetor” Mengedoht set up for what looked like a very promising start near the “pin” end for the Christmas in July Duck Dodge, the buoy being set comparatively far down the course. Unfortunately, a southerly wind shift and stronger breeze toward the west enabled boats starting near the Committee Boat to come out better and Full Moon rounded the AGC buoy about eighth.

Nice weather!

The short leg to Chandler’s was a nice beam reach with the jib, followed by a long broad to beam reach under the Equalizer up the lake to the Freeway buoy. Full Moon then stayed on port tack for a while before tacking south to start the second lap. Inexplicably, old rival Ignitor managed to out point Full Moon upwind to remain ahead (are those new sails?).

Hangin' with Selchie on a beam reach.

Approaching the AGC buoy, there was a fair bit of traffic, including one very slow boat plodding along fairly close to the buoy. After some classic Duck Dodge close-quarters maneuvering, Full Moon emerged for a short run to the Chandler’s buoy before launching the Equalizer again to head north. This worked well for a while until the wind began clocking around to the NW, rendering the spinnaker useless. What was now an upwind takedown proved challenging and the Equalizer took a bath before being hauled back aboard.

Flying with the Equalizer before the wind shift.

The rest of the leg and the final close reach to the finish proved uneventful, Full Moon finishing about 12^th close behind speedy Selchie and, yes, Ignitor. (Those must be new sails!)

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!