Ducked Again!

Daniel scores the prize from the Committee Boat.

Yet another duck joins the flock.

Fading wind made positioning for the start of the “70s Night” Duck Dodge a little trickier than normal but Full Moon crew Art “Humushoe” Teller, Tammy “Wind Whisperer” Cross, Robert “New Again” Leykam, Daniel “i-Pod” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Induced Heel” Mengedoht managed to be more or less in the front row of boats. Joining Full Moon in third start was old rival Shogun. Full Moon initially pulled away from Shogun but as the wind began dying, they found a better path and pulled back in front. Meanwhile, the Santana 20 Sushi had picked up a decent bit of breeze by the Westlake shore and took over the lead before stalling out near the AGC buoy.

Converging boats and boats trying to escape the buoy area under spinnaker made for a morass of barely moving hulls. Full Moon eventually made it around and launched the mighty Equalizer. As the wind had clocked around a bit, the course was much closer to the wind than ideal for a symmetrical spinnaker but the greater sail area was worth the bargain in the very light breeze. Full Moon soon passed Shogun again plus a few others, including some from second start. At this point, it was hard to know exactly what position we were in other than being very far behind Sushi!

After passing a few more boats, Full Moon engaged in a slow-motion battle with a well-sailed Cal 30, rounding the Freeway buoy not far behind them. As the Aurora buoy had been placed about as far northwest as possible, the leg past Gasworks was agonizingly slow, though there was some comic relief from a conversation with a person aboard the Buchan 37 Distance (see the previous post).

Full Moon did get by the Cal before rounding the buoy and then set the Equalizer once again for what was now a downwind reach and run to the finish, still in extremely light breeze. Full Moon managed to pass the San Juan 28 Zephyr from second start and continued to battle the Cal 30, finally pulling ahead for good just yards from the finish line. Nearly two hours after the start, Full Moon finally oozed past the Committee Boat to find that we had managed to pull off third place and the Bronze Duck!

Distance vs. Mata Hari?

It seems more people read this blog than just the Full Moon crew, though apparently not all are happy campers! During the Duck Dodge this week, one of the Distance crew hailed your faithful scribe to express some displeasure with a posting from back in 2009.

I confess I don't have perfect recall of the incident described in my post but Distance and Mata Hari had a side-to-side collision right at the finish line with Distance also hitting the finish line buoy. I implied that Distance was at fault for the collision. I'm reasonably sure both boats were on starboard tack with Distance to leeward, which would mean Distance had right of way and that Mata Hari should have yielded, assuming they had room to turn away. (Score one point for Distance).

However, rules 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 for the Duck Dodge also clearly and repeatedly state "No hitting one-another!" If Distance was sailing to leeward, they would have had the best opportunity to avoid a collision. Thus, I still feel pretty solid about laying some blame on Distance. (Score one point or more for Mata Hari.) There may be more to the story, of course, but from my vantage point, I simply called it the way I saw it. In my book, failure to avoid a collision is worse than failing to yield right of way.

Meanwhile, an attentive reader will notice a little symbol at the end of each posting with some text which typically says “0 comments” right next to it. Clicking the symbol or the text opens a dialog box to add a comment about the posting. I filter all comments before they can show up in the blog so as to avoid all kinds of potential troubles but I welcome any reader to make a comment, especially if they feel wronged by anything I’ve written. If the comment favors the profound over the profane, I will publish it. And if I’ve made a mistake (certainly always possible!), I’ll revise my posting accordingly.

Two for Two!

Daniel, Randy, John, Eileen, and Max enjoy a brief bit of sun.

Daniel shows off the golden prize, along with his new rain gear.

It wasn’t quite so easy this time. On a gray evening with occasional showers and shifty breeze, Full Moon crew Randy “Mini-finger” Olsen, Michael “Almost Wet” Medina, Eileen “Guinness” McHugh, Max “Quick Study” Foley, Daniel “Barking Spider” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Hat Trick” Mengedoht nailed the start near the middle of the line but boats closer to the Committee Boat had a slight advantage. Full Moon was rolled by the Catalina 27 Deception and then mixed it up with Columbia 26 Tuesday, and Ranger 22s Anakena and True Blue through a number of tacks, ending up rounding the AGC buoy in fourth place.

After a short pause to raise the pole, the mighty Equalizer was launched in a building wind. All but Tuesday were soon left behind as the magic nylon pushed Full Moon to hull speed in the puffs. Old rival Fortis and a few others from second start were also passed. Eventually Tuesday also succumbed, only to catch back up as Full Moon dropped the Equalizer a bit early to prepare for a smooth jibe around the Freeway buoy. Tuesday kept their spinnaker up to the last second to poke their bow inside but then had trouble with their jib after the take-down and Full Moon was gone, gone, gone!

Reaching across to the Aurora buoy, Tuesday slowly faded back and no other challengers appeared. Heading back upwind to the finish line, Full Moon pulled even farther ahead to claim the prized Gold Duck by several minutes! Tuesday was second, followed by True Blue for the Bronze Duck.

And so it was two Golds in two tries, or three Golds in a row if you count the Duck Dodge Rum Run last October. If this run continues, the Race Committee may reconsider inviting Full Moon to third start!

Golden Glow

Daniel, Marcelle, Michael, and John zipping along upwind to the Freeway buoy.

"Loose Ends" gives Dad a big hug while holding the coveted Gold Duck!

Last June, the Duck Dodge Race Committee invited Full Moon to switch from second start (“half-fast boats”), where she had raced for many years, to third start (“cruising and slower boats”). This was a tough choice on many fronts, including no longer competing with old rivals, worrying about having an unfair advantage over some truly “slower boats,” and suffering from the image challenge of being classed as a slower boat. Ouch! However, the Committee has been allowing more and more really fast boats into second start, rendering Full Moon essentially uncompetitive. Third start was chosen and Full Moon managed to collect two third-place finishes over the summer and a first in the Rum Run.

And so it was, on yet another gorgeous May evening, that Full Moon crew Randy “Grad Dad” Olsen, Michael “Zeta-Jones” Medina, Marcelle “Overboard” Lynde, Chuck “Zip-Grip” Weldy, Daniel “Loose Ends” Mengedoht, and skipper John “High Gloss” Mengedoht lined up for third start for the first Duck Dodge of 2012. Starting on port tack, Full Moon had to dodge the Merit 25 Incognito coming across on starboard but still managed to be the third boat across the line for an unusually good start (for us). With a good lane and clear air, Full Moon pulled ahead of Incognito to take over first place half way to the Freeway buoy, also overtaking Fortis from second start in the process.

Rounding the Freeway buoy and heading past Gasworks to the Aurora buoy, Full Moon passed still more second starters, including Shogun, Distance and, amazingly, Runner! Heading back south on the long run under spinnaker featured some big wind shifts, necessitating some quick (and somewhat messy) jibes for the mighty Equalizer. Distance caught back up (it is, after all, a 37-footer!) but had issues with their take-down and Full Moon zipped by again just after rounding the AGC buoy.

The final upwind leg to the finish saw no boats threatening from behind and Full Moon cruised on to easily score the coveted gold duck! Was it the fresh bottom paint? Was it the shiny new graphics on the freshly polished topsides? More likely, it was a good start, followed by solid sailing from a veteran, if slightly rusty crew! Regardless, it was great fun and wonderful to be back racing again.

New Vinyl

With new bottom paint and some polish on the hull, the ancient peeling graphics had to go! The new vinyl letters were applied last weekend and are a close match to the originals. Lookin' good, Full Moon!

Splashdown!

On the lift, heading back to the water!

Full Moon returned to the water yesterday afternoon with two new coats of blue bottom paint, a new transducer for the knotmeter/depthsounder, and freshly polished topsides (hull above waterline). The new instrumentation won't be complete until I can infill the bigger hole from the old knotmeter display and install the new one but that's coming soon. Meanwhile, the teak is nearly done with new varnish and I've cut the plywood for a new hatch board - Full Moon will be lookin' good for the first Duck Dodge next Tuesday!

Hauled Out!

Full Moon hangs in the slings, freshly out of her native element.

The old bottom paint was worn through from all the scrubbing over the years.

New electronics are coming soon!

Full Moon was hauled out this morning at the Canal Boatyard for the first time in... a lot of years. She will receive two coats of bottom paint (applied with rollers, unfortunately) plus a spiffy new depth and speed transducer ("smart sensor") for a new Furuno FI-504 display. Since the old instruments are vintage 1978, they don't work reliably and it will be nice to know how fast (or slow) we're really going, not to mention having more than a vague idea of the depth!

Scrub-a-dub!

Tammy wields the toothbrush to get ALL the gunk off!
Not sure why Blogger won't import this photo with
the correct orientation - sorry!

Wax on, wax off...

Post-scrubbing cruise to celebrate a job well done!

Many thanks to Randy “Brown” Olsen, Michael “Green” Medina, Tammy “Toothbrush” Cross, and Daniel “Dinghy” Mengedoht for helping scrub and wax Full Moon on Saturday. The boat looks great – and will look even better after the haul-out this week.

Close Cover!

Tammy enjoys a brief bit of sun.

Daniel bundles up while Dad enjoys the nice breeze.

The Olson is coming!

The final Goosebump race fittingly offered a good breeze and cool temperatures but no rain. Full Moon crew Randy “Dry Buns” Olsen, Michael “Wet Pack” Medina, Tammy “Wrapped Up” Cross, Chuck “The Road” Weldy, Daniel “Hangin’ On” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Stayin’ Alive” Mengedoht lined up for a decent starboard tack start near the Committee Boat but a large pack of boats barged in from the right and Full Moon bailed out to leeward to avoid collisions. A good part of the first leg was then a quest for clear air, though Full Moon did manage to pass a few boats.

After a short reach to the Cove buoy, the mighty Equalizer was launched to good effect to get past a few more. The takedown was a bit messy to round the Freeway buoy but it didn’t cause any loss of speed, other than a spinnaker sheet dragging through the water for awhile. The leg to the Aurora buoy was nearly close-hauled and then it was time to head south to complete the first lap.

Rounding the AGC buoy, the Ranger 26 Runner was not far ahead and, while they had launched their spinnaker for this leg, Full Moon gained under genoa and actually caught up at the Cove buoy. Runner had some challenges with their jibe and Full Moon was able to get out ahead once the Equalizer was launched. Since the Equalizer was originally made for a Ranger 26, the boats were pretty evenly matched on the run/reach to the Freeway buoy.

Despite a little shrimping on the takedown, Full Moon maintained the lead on Runner on the leg to the Aurora buoy but an Olson 30 also joined the hunt. Full Moon would have a tough time holding off both boats to the finish! Full Moon tacked right at the buoy, Runner delayed her tack, and the Olson tacked just to windward of Full Moon’s line. With Full Moon on a good course for the line, Runner’s delayed tack cost them some critical distance but the Olson was soon nipping at Full Moon’s transom. However, Full Moon was able to point just high enough to keep the Olson in dirty air and, try as they might, they could not gain any further. Amazingly, Full Moon even made some gains in the puffs on the speedy 30 footer. In the end, Full Moon was eighth, tying our best finish for the series.

Full Moon ended up placing an excellent sixth overall in the Goosebump series while our good friends on The Black Knight took first. Way to go, Black Knight!

No Rain, Big Gains

The boys are ready for action!

Keeping most of the blue boats behind.

The Race Committee called for two full laps of Lake Union for Goosebump Race No. 5, which looked a bit much as the wind faded at the start. Full Moon crew Art “Push” Teller, Michael “Pull” Medina, Tammy “Bonus?” Cross, Reilly “The Hood” Hearne, Daniel “Minor Injury” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Giant Jib” Mengedoht got a second-row start and struggled for awhile trying to get a clear lane to the AGC buoy. This resulted in temporarily being back in 25^th place, though that wouldn’t last long.

Once around the AGC buoy, the question was whether to hoist the spinnaker for the short run to the Cove buoy. In the end, the Equalizer went up - but just in time to gybe at the buoy. Unfortunately, the quick gybe went awry and a few boats got past while the nylon mess was sorted on the bow. Once up and flying, though, Full Moon returned the favor, making good speed on the close reach to the Freeway buoy.

On the leg to the Aurora buoy, many boats were forced to tack away from Gasworks but Full Moon somehow held a straight line, passing a few more boats. Approaching the buoy, Full Moon was pinned by a blue San Juan 24 until the San Juan finally tacked. It didn’t take long for Full Moon to pass them, though!

Heading back south along the Westlake shore, it became clear that the race was being finished after only one lap. How is it that Full Moon once again missed the course change?!? No matter, falling off onto a reach to the finish only made for more speed. In the end, Full Moon was about 15^th out of around 30 boats, a pretty good comeback. Meanwhile, the threatened rain held off and the hot buttered rums flowed from the magic thermos, fueled by The Kraken. Good stuff! 

Superbowl Driftathon

Rocketing across the start line...

That duck is definitely gaining on The Black Knight.

Michael and Marcelle battle the freezing temperatures.

Marcelle, Sara, and John in dramatic sailing action.

"Low Rider" captures "Cozy" Daniel with the shoe's eye view.

Goosebump Race No. 3 on Superbowl Sunday finally offered up some glorious sunshine but, by the 1:00 start time, the lake was glassy smooth with no tangible signs of wind. Full Moon crew Michael “Low Rider” Medina, Marcelle “Nose Dive” Lynde, Sara “Anchor Aweigh” Skinner, Chuck “Prepared” Weldy, Daniel “Cozy” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Full Batten” Mengedoht positioned the boat pointing more or less toward the AGC buoy and slowly drifted across the start line in company with the entire fleet. In a feat not likely to be repeated any time soon, Full Moon somehow managed to float past The Black Knight for a little while until TBK’s taller mast and sails grabbed a little more “breeze” to pull back ahead.

After nearly 20 minutes, boats closest to the Westlake shore started to move, including a blue T-bird, Dash 34, and a couple of J24s, though there still was no evidence of wind to be seen on the water. With Full Moon too far from the mysterious Westlake breeze, we had to settle for oozing past the boom-box-blasting, techno-beat-loving T-bird Poco Mas and very slowly following The Black Knight to the first buoy.

Staying to the right after rounding to avoid the oncoming traffic allowed room for Poco Mas to sneak inside so Full Moon had to ooze past the white T-bird for a second time. Then, as traffic got a bit thicker, it was necessary to squeeze between the oncoming boats, right of way being tough to apply when boats are barely moving.

After just clearing Distance’s anchor (thanks, Sara!), Full Moon “tacked” toward some breeze slowly filling in from the north. The boats which had received the Westlake boost were, by this time, already in the stronger wind and long gone but Full Moon persevered to hold off one San Juan 24 and to try and pass Orca, which was dead ahead.

Orca swung a little wide around the Freeway buoy and Full Moon soon was in striking distance. The close reach to the finish was exhilarating after all the painful drifting and Full Moon slowly pulled above and past Orca to score what appeared to be a “lucky thirteenth” out of some thirty boats. As it turns out, though, three boats in the Westlake group were over the starting line early – so upgrade that to “terrific tenth!”

Bolero Dance

Goosebump Race No. 3 was on yet another rainy Sunday, though the forecast 15-25 knots winds proved to be more on the order of 5-10 with gusts to 15. Full Moon crew Randy “Layers” Olsen, Tammy “Squishy” Cross, Marcelle” Dribbles” Lynde, and skipper John “Rainman” Mengedoht opted for a port tack-pin end start in hopes of avoiding the inevitable pile-up of boats at the opposite end of the line. Despite having to duck behind a few starboard tack boats, this strategy worked pretty well and Full Moon rounded the AGC buoy about sixth.

Full Moon managed to roll one boat on the reach to the Cove buoy but a blue T-bird got by Full Moon on the inside right at the buoy. Once the mighty Equalizer was launched, though, Full Moon pulled back ahead and ended up mixing it up with relative giants Bolero (40’ +/-) and Surt (42’), neither of which were flying a spinnaker. Full Moon got past both big boats but got passed in turn by a J33 and 30' Tenacious just before the Freeway buoy.

On the tight reach to the Aurora buoy, first Surt and then Bolero roared past as expected but Full Moon managed to stay close to Bolero on the next long beat to start the second lap. On the second downwind run, Full Moon once again got past Bolero to move into seventh place, only to have Bolero return the favor one last time on the leg to the Aurora buoy.

Meanwhile, a red T-bird had been making some gains from behind. On the final leg to the finish, the T-bird tacked toward the Westlake shore, perhaps hoping for a better wind angle. Full Moon stayed toward the middle of the lake but with a close eye in case a tack to cover would be necessary. In the end, the T-bird wasn’t a threat and little Cinc-O-Sink beat the T-bird for ninth behind Full Moon in eighth. Old rival Ignitor finished fifteenth. It was great to beat all the Thunderbirds (there was also a white one - collectively they looked very patriotic!) and, for that matter, all boats under 30'. Congratulations also to our friends on The Black Knight who appeared to take first place!

Ignitor Returns!

Another balmy January day...             Michael Medina Photo

The black 30-footer looked very familiar and, sure enough, Full Moon’s old rival Ignitor appeared for the second Goosebump race, sporting new black topsides to replace the old red paint. Strong and gusty winds were threatening, favoring larger boats, so Full Moon would have to work hard to defeat Ignitor!

Crew Randy “To The Rescue” Olsen, Art “Mr. Kite” Teller, Michael “Kranken” Medina, Chuck “Black Butte” Weldy, and skipper John “Crazy Ivan” Mengedoht risked being overpowered with full sails for the start, planning to make changes on the fly if the wind continued to build. A delayed tack to avoid fouling Tenacious in the prestart maneuvers lead to a second-row start but tacking back to port to cross the line helped gain clear air. After clawing upwind to roll a struggling J24, Full Moon then made good speed to the AGC buoy.

Following a short reaching leg to the Cove buoy, it was time to launch the mighty Equalizer. All went well with the nylon monster until a gybe went awry and, during the effort to reattach the spinnaker pole, Full Moon briefly looked like a giant kite board with the Equalizer soaring skyward. Despite providing some entertainment for the rest of the fleet (especially the 505 dinghy Cinc-O-Sink surfing along nearby), the Equalizer helped Full Moon make some nice gains and Full Moon rounded the Freeway buoy in eighth.

The wind dropped quite a bit for the reach to the Aurora buoy and the final leg to the finish and, while Full Moon didn’t gain much on anybody, nobody could gain from behind, either, including (relative) giant Yankee III or the San Juan 28 Zephyr. In the end Full Moon retained eighth place with Ignitor a few hundred yards back in tenth. Good times in the cold and rain!

True Goosebumps!

Full Moon at the dock before the race.

Michael and Marcelle, after the snow stopped.

Randy looking a bit chilled.

Cap'n John can't feel his toes!

Snow coats the trees on Capitol Hill.

Full Moon crew Randy “Toxic Chocolate” Olsen, Michael “Slushballs” Medina, Marcelle “Hot Stuff” Lynde, and skipper John “Shiver Me Timbers” Mengedoht braved the snow Sunday for Goosebump Race No. 1. Heading out onto Lake Union, visibility was down to perhaps 150 yards as big fat snowflakes kept falling, continually covering the deck, lines, hardware, and sails. The snow lightened up a bit approaching the Committee Boat, though there were no visible signs of wind.

After a sneak snowball attack from our good friends on The Black Knight, Full Moon hoisted sails and tried to figure out where the best place would be for the start. When there was wind at all, it was mostly out of the north with the “pin” (west) end of the line closer to the Aurora buoy, so that was where Full Moon was positioned. This was good, in theory, but a tiny bit more wind filled in toward the other side of the line and boats on that side quickly pulled ahead. Rats!

After a painfully slow first leg, Full Moon rounded the Aurora buoy and headed “downwind” toward the AGC buoy. Hoisting a spinnaker ultimately would have paid off but that isn’t always the case in such light wind and Full Moon went without, choosing to try for more “speed” by sailing a hotter angle with the genoa.

Many crews didn’t read the sailing instructions and rounded both the red navigation buoy near the AGC building as well as the offset red ball buoy. However, what the other crews apparently knew – and Full Moon’s crew did not – was that the Race Committee had changed the course before the start to eliminate the “Cove” buoy at the southeast corner of the lake! Full Moon dutifully sailed the extra distance to round this buoy, losing a number of places in the process. (Note to self: Make sure to sail by the Committee Boat at 10 minutes to the start.) Ultimately, Full Moon was not last but certainly not in the top ten, either, a best guess being about 14^th place. On this day, though, the true challenge was just showing up. Hot Buttered Rum never tasted so good! (Thanks, Marcelle!)

Solid Gold

Early morning with fall colors under the Aurora Bridge. Tammy Cross photo.

Full Moon crew Tammy "Commodore" Cross, Marcelle "Hot Buttered Rum" Lynde, Michael "Sponge Butt" Medina, and skipper John "The Kraken" Mengedoht headed out on the Sound Saturday for the Duck Dodge Rum Run. The voyage out through the Ship Canal went fairly smoothly until Tipsy Gypsy cut in front of all the waiting boats at the locks. Fortunately, Full Moon still made it without having to wait for the next load of boats, though at least one other sailboat wasn’t so lucky.

With a little extra time before the start, Full Moon popped into Shilshole to rig for racing and hit the shore-side restrooms one last time. Heading out to the starting area off the breakwater showed a good-sized fleet of over 60 boats, including many boats that don’t often venture onto Lake Union for regular Duck Dodge races. Observing the lineup, it was clear that some seriously fast boats were going to race in the second start, cementing Full Moon’s place in third start (at least for the Rum Run).

Maneuvering for the start, Full Moon hoped to be about midway down the line on starboard tack but the already light wind faded a bit and Full Moon ended up crossing about a minute late. Rival Runner appeared to nail the start, though one of their crew confided later that they were actually in second start and were just massively late to the line!

Tammy, John, and Marcelle sailing upwind. Michael Medina photo.

Heading upwind to the West Point buoy, many boats stayed closer to shore to try and stay out of the ebb tide, while some headed out in hopes of stronger wind. Full Moon stayed in, but not so close as to risk losing the wind altogether, and focused on having a clear lane. A pesky Catalina tacked right onto “our” wind but a “stealth tack” put Full Moon back into undisturbed wind and allowed us to cross ahead when the boats next came close.

Approaching the buoy, Full Moon was following the San Juan 28 Zephyr in on starboard tack and hoping not to have to tack again as the current pushed us downwind. Two boats came in on port on a tighter line and tacked in front, making it even harder but Full Moon managed to squeak by the buoy with a foot to spare. Launching the mighty Equalizer, the Wavelength 21 Wild Honey ahead was lost to view under the nylon cloud until Full Moon very nearly piled into her stern. A loud hail from her skipper averted disaster, though, as Full Moon quickly turned away.

Full Moon (left), Slingshot (middle), and Fortis (right) under spinnaker.

The long broad reach to the Meadow Point buoy north of Shilshole saw Full Moon slowly reel in first Zephyr and then old rival Fortis (which had a five minute lead from second start). Meanwhile, Runner chose to sail a higher line in towards Shilshole, perhaps planning to gybe back out, but they ran into a zone of much lighter wind and appeared parked for a while.

With a quick hoist of the jib and a fairly clean drop of the spinnaker, Full Moon was around the buoy and off across the Sound for the finish in Port Madison at the northern tip of Bainbridge Island. This leg was all about boat speed as the rhumb line was a tight reach. A few boats chose a lower course in order to fly a spinnaker while Zephyr, Fortis, and Runner chose to sail higher (perhaps planning to fly spinnakers later), but Full Moon had good speed in a straight line to the finish and stayed with that plan.

Meanwhile, the J30 Slingshot and a gray-blue J24 had been slowly gaining on Full Moon, both finally getting past to leeward about 2/3 of the way across the Sound. Zephyr gained a little for a while and then fell back but Runner continued to make slow but steady gains from behind. The final two miles were tense as we really didn’t know which boats were in third start, except, we thought, for Runner. Approaching the finish line, we queried the Committee Boat, “How did we do?!?” The magnificent answer was a toot on the air horn and a single raised (index) finger – Full Moon was first!!!

Thanks for the Duck!

Applying the coveted Gold Duck sticker! Tammy Cross photo.

Full Moon lowered the jib and fired up the iron sail to swing back by the Committee Boat and pick up the highly prized Gold Duck sticker. Then it was time to join the giant raft-up of boats in the sheltered waters of Port Madison. Always a great party, rum and beer were flowing, grills were cooking, and sun-drenched racers, many in costume for Halloween, hopped from boat to boat. A few brave (or drunken) sailors even took a dip in the 50 degree water.

Michael, Marcelle, Tammy, and Cap'n John enjoying the late afternoon sun.

The raft-up of over 40 boats in Port Madison. Tammy Cross photo.

Sunset over the Sound. Tammy Cross photo.

All too soon, it was time to head back to Seattle. Motoring back across the Sound, who should appear but Tipsy Gypsy. It appeared we were fated to share the locks once again. Arriving at the locks, the valiant Committee Boat Dux was first in line, tied to the timber wall past the railroad bridge and waiting for the next opening. Full Moon’s relatively short mast fit under the bridge (which was closed) and we proceeded to tie up behind Dux. Then, incredibly, as the bridge opened, Tipsy Gypsy went ahead of Dux to grab a spot in front of the line! Great rudeness generates a lot of bad karma, though, and, as the lock opened, Tipsy Gypsy had a mooring line stuck on the wall. Several boats, including Dux, Zephyr and Full Moon, motored on ahead before Tipsy Gypsy finally got free to take up the very back end of the lock. Then a slim Thunderbird, which had patiently waited their turn, was ushered ahead of them to squeeze next to Full Moon in the middle of the lock. Tipsy Gypsy’s skipper was clearly not pleased to be last but we rather enjoyed the irony of the situation!