Sailing Reindeer

Jeremy and Kate - always photogenic!

Full Moon crew Michael “Jibe Talkin” Medina, Don “Mis-Tack” Caffrey, Kate “You Do It” Austin, Jeremy “Where’s My Wig” Jones, and skipper John “Falling Antlers” Mengedoht came prepared with antlers and Rudolf noses for the Christmas in July Duck Dodge on yet another sunny, warm Tuesday evening. Full Moon set up for a starboard tack start near the east end of the line but got the timing mixed up when the Race Committee failed to signal the first start and crossed the line a full minute late. This may have been a good thing, though, as there was apparently a collision between the J24 Fat Chance and the J80 Heart Attack and Full Moon was well clear of any of that.

Cap'n John sports wind-blown antlers.

Heading upwind to the Freeway buoy, Full Moon had a good turn of speed in a nice breeze and began to reel in a few boats, rounding the buoy in about 20^th place. It was then a straight shot west on a tight reach to the Aurora buoy. The mighty Equalizer went up smoothly for a port jibe run down the lake but the wind became very light and shifty, slowing progress. Even so, Full Moon still picked off a boat or two and gained a bit on rival Zephyr (San Juan 28) the Thunderbird Selchie plus the speedy Hotfoot 27 Flash Point.

Thundorca makes a nice Committee Boat.

A group of boats converged at the AGC buoy, unfortunately with Full Moon on the outside. The Equalizer came down cleanly and the rounding was smooth and, once clear, Full Moon took off upwind. About 2/3 up the lake, Full Moon crossed tacks with Zephyr but had to duck as Zephyr was on starboard. This was repeated in the opposite fashion at the next crossing and Full Moon pulled ahead for good with a nice line to the Freeway buoy.

Jeremy trims the jib as Full Moon scoots past Gasworks Park.

The leg to the Aurora buoy was again a straight shot on a starboard reach. There was a brief delay hoisting the Equalizer due to some pole issues, then Full Moon took off on what was now a beam reach as the wind had shifted to the northeast. The T-birds Valkyrie and Selchie were battling each other, which allowed Full Moon to make some gains but Full Moon couldn’t get past them to leeward. Meanwhile, the J24 Beagle took a course farther to windward and eventually got past all three boats. Flash Point was also in the thick of things as the boats converged at the AGC buoy. Full Moon was again outside but also just a bit behind the group of boats. This created an opportunity to tack into clear air just past the buoy while the others continued in a tight mass on port tack at roughly 90 degrees to the desired course to the finish!

Selchie and Valkyrie battle on the second lap. Full Moon is out of the picture to the right.

The group eventually broke up and the chase was on with Valkyrie directly behind Full Moon, Flash Point off to the east in clear air, and Selchie and Beagle farther back. Flash Point steadily chipped away at Full Moon’s lead but the others could not make any gains. In the end, Full Moon held on to beat Flash Point by inches to take about tenth place, a great finish given the competition and the late start. 

Damage Report

6 inch gash - ouch!

The damage to Full Moon’s hull from the collision with Distance on July 8 went most of the way, but thankfully not all the way through the fiberglass laminate. Rather than disturb the intact portion any further or open up a larger patch area on the outside, I’ve elected to clean up and fill the gouge with a white epoxy putty filler from the outside and then apply fiberglass reinforcement layers on the inside to make up for the loss of strength.

First layer of epoxy filler.

The good news about the damage is that, apart from a bit of minor scratching, it is confined to one of the red hull stripes. The red paint is old and faded and I won’t get a great color match but I’d rather deal with that than try to match the “white” gelcoat. And if the painted patch stands out too much, I can always repaint the stripes entirely, perhaps the next time I get the boat hauled out.

Pajamarama

Erin, Ian, and Chad enjoy the first reach down the lake under spinnaker.

The Pajama Night Duck Dodge continued our amazing string of hot sunny days combined with a pleasant northerly breeze to cool things off. Full Moon crew Marcelle “Ducky” Lynde, Michael “Beer Management” Medina, Erin “Shorts” Osberg, Chad “Pants” Harnish, Ian “Big Pull” Mengedoht and skipper John “Big Move” Mengedoht went for a conservative starboard tack start near the Committee Boat. The other end of the line was highly advantaged, though, so this proved a poor choice. (The plan was to have been farther down the line at the horn. Oh, well!) Three tacks later, Full Moon rounded the Aurora buoy somewhere in the middle of the fleet and quickly hoisted the Equalizer. This helped considerably as Full Moon caught up to a large group of boats, including our old rival Ignitor, on a long beam reach south down the lake.

Father and Son, post-race, with our spiffy new duck flag (thanks, Marcelle!)

 Unfortunately, catching up is not quite the same as passing and Full Moon ended up just behind the group doing a “pinwheel” rounding of the AGC buoy with no room to go anywhere but to leeward of everyone as they jibed around. Once clear of the traffic, Full Moon did well upwind, gaining back most of what had been lost at the buoy. After rounding the Freeway buoy, Full Moon romped westward to the Aurora buoy, finally passing Ignitor and a few other boats in the process.

 

Another glorious evening on the lake comes to a close.

With another smooth launching of the Equalizer, Full Moon headed south with good speed, picking off a few more boats, including two T-birds. Approaching the AGC buoy, Full Moon was able to get to leeward and inside the T-bird Valkyrie, which was also inside of a few other boats and rival Zephyr. This allowed Full Moon to pass four or five boats in one shot rounding the buoy and be nicely positioned for the upwind leg. After rounding the Freeway buoy, it was a tight reach to the finish line in a good breeze. Zephyr threatened a bit from behind (it is a bigger boat) but could not overcome Full Moon’s lead. In the end, Full Moon was about 15th, ahead of three T-birds and behind two others – a great recovery from the poor start.

Ouch!

Art enjoys his perch in the sun on the first leg. Doug Schoemaker photo.

Full Moon crew Libby “Montana” Hinsley, Randy “Sun Chips” Olsen, Art “The Knife” Teller, Doug “Boom” Schoemaker, and skipper John “Shaken, Not Stirred” Mengedoht came out for yet another stunning warm, sunny evening with a good breeze out of the north. Full Moon went for a conservative start on starboard tack, if a bit early, and ended up too far down the line before tacking at the start. Boats starting closer to the Committee Boat did much better and Full Moon wallowed in bad air for much of the first leg.

New sailor Libby gets the hang of trimming the jib. Doug Schoemaker photo.

After a mildly congested rounding of the Freeway buoy, Full Moon finally found a bit of clear air and made up a little ground crossing the lake to the Aurora buoy. Unfortunately, a large ship emerged from under the Fremont Bridge and Full Moon steered south to stay out of its way. As the ship moved slowly forward, a zone about 30 yards wide was left between the ship and the buoy and Full Moon was able to tack into this gap. All was looking good until encountering the Buchan 37 Distance pointing nearly head-to-wind but using momentum to round the buoy. This caused some tense moments but Full Moon stayed clear and made it around before launching the spinnaker for a fast run down the lake, passing a number of boats.

Ship ahoy! Stay clear! Doug Schoemaker photo.

Distance had fallen quite a bit behind but began to catch up approaching the AGC buoy. They eventually developed an overlap to leeward when Full Moon was about 50 feet from the buoy (from my perspective) but did not hail for room at the buoy or hail for Full Moon to come up to windward or even maneuver further to windward themselves. As a result, Distance’s course did not carry them around the buoy and they jibed just past it. Full Moon, meanwhile, had dropped the spinnaker, rounded the buoy, and also jibed, leaving both boats running parallel on port tack with Full Moon several feet to leeward.

Randy enjoys the ride downwind. Doug Schoemaker photo.

Distance approaches from behind. Doug Schoemaker photo.

What happened next is in dispute. Distance’s skipper apparently believes that I intentionally maneuvered to hit Distance. From my point of view, Distance made an unexpected turn to port (into the wind) and, as the boat pivoted, her stern moved toward Full Moon, the aluminum toe rail on her stern quarter putting a deep gouge in Full Moon’s port side. As Distance began to turn (again, from my point of view), I yelled “Watch your stern!” and my faithful crewman of 19 years, Randy Olsen, moved to fend off. Fortunately, Randy stopped before putting a foot or hand between the boats. Boats can be repaired more easily than humans.

As you may imagine, some yelling then ensued between boats. My boat was damaged and I was not happy about it. (Distance’s toe rail, on the other hand, looked fine.) My crew had seen what had happened and were also upset. We also did not understand how Distance’s crew could think that we were in any way at fault.

[In hindsight, I believe that Distance’s skipper may have been distracted by getting things sorted after their spinnaker takedown and was simply unaware that his boat was turning. Meanwhile, if I were out to cause a collision, turning into Distance would have caused my bow or port side to hit Distance’s starboard side and not her stern quarter. Alternatively, if I had turned away, my stern was behind Distance’s stern and my pivot point is much shorter (due to the boat being 12 feet shorter) and if anything would have hit Distance, I think it would have been my outboard (which would also have required a very radical turn). Beyond that, there would have to be the question of why I would want to initiate a collision. Distance’s skipper has alleged that I am a super-aggressive win-at-all-costs kind of guy. That is not, of course, how I see myself or how my crew views me, either, but let’s just say that was true. What would I stand to gain by purposely hitting another boat?]

Regardless, Full Moon sailed on toward the Freeway buoy, once again putting a considerable lead on Distance. Unfortunately, the wind began to fade approaching the buoy and Distance caught up, her skipper and crew initiating another exchange of words. Shaken by both the collision and the ongoing verbal exchange, I lost track of the buoy and ended up in irons, barely making it by without touching it. Distance sailed on by, her crew laughing at our predicament.

We continued around the rest of the course without incident and finished the race. Other than not being dead last, I have no idea what place we were in. I remain shaken by the collision three days later and have had to consider whether racing in the Duck Dodge is really worth it. I don’t like having damage to the boat I’ve loved and held onto for 28 years and it sure doesn’t feel good having a bunch of people screaming at me and my crew when we haven’t done anything wrong. I know people who have quit because the risk was too much for them or because their boat was damaged in a collision. This season has been the worst I can ever remember for collisions in the Duck Dodge and it is only half over. At the same time, I love sailing and love being out there on the lake with some truly fun and outstanding people.

Moving forward, I wish Mr. Dolan and the crew of Distance all the best. I can hope that, once everyone has calmed down, there might be some room to consider my point of view on the collision but, even if not, we are all sailors enjoying the sport we love and doing our best to have fun out there.

As a reminder, anyone is welcome to comment on my blog posts - just click on the little envelope at the end. I will, of course, block any that are offensive but am happy to post anything constructive - whether I agree with them or not.

Muy Caliente!

Thundorca makes a nice Committee Boat.

The Red, White, and Blue Duck Dodge broke temperature records for July 1 and the north breeze on Lake Union felt wonderful. Full Moon crew Chuck "Duct Tape" Weldy, Michelle "How Hard Could It Be" Mathison, Kelly "Second Hand" Laleman, Christian "Patriotic Cans" Grange, and skipper John "Careful Instructions" Mengedoht lined up for the favored port tack start near the "pin" end of the starting line but had to delay the start a bit to avoid starboard tack boats with right of way. The upwind leg to the Aurora buoy went smoothly, though, and a single tack was all that was needed for a good rounding.

A wall of starboard tack boats getting ready for second start.

The Equalizer was soon up and flying for a very fast beam reach straight down the lake to the AGC buoy. This put Full Moon up in the top ten boats for sure with a fairly large gap to the rest of the fleet. The Equalizer didn't want to come down very fast with the wind beam-on but it was collected into the cockpit, slightly wet, before a slightly chaotic rounding of the AGC buoy. The next leg to the Freeway buoy was another straight shot, just cracked off a bit from beating upwind.

Full Moon (lower left) chases a T-bird and a J24 upwind on the first lap.

Full Moon took a slightly southerly route to the Aurora buoy, which worked out well until getting pinned to leeward of the T-bird Invader. Invader eventually tacked and Full Moon followed after dodging a few boats under spinnaker. The rounding went smoothly for Full Moon but not so much for the boats ahead as the big Beneteau 36S7 Vivace shoved their way inside with no overlap rights. I guess if you are late for first start, you do what you have to do?

Michelle dances for her friends on Invader.

It's a loon, not a duck, but still seemed appropriate...

The second spinnaker reach was slow to get going (hardware challenges!) and it proved difficult to get past the giant wind shadow of the first start boat Penelope to leeward but Full Moon finally popped out in front about 100 yards from the AGC buoy. The takedown went a bit better this time around and Full Moon was off again upwind to the Freeway buoy. Unfortunately, boats returning to the finish line were all in line for head-on collisions so all hands were alert to keep that from happening. Full Moon was able to use the oncoming traffic to advantage to hold off hard-charging Slingshot (J30) until just before the buoy. Then it was around and back into traffic for the finish.

Full Moon rounds the AGC buoy on the final lap.

Full Moon chases Slingshot around the Freeway buoy.

In the end, it appeared Full Moon finished about eighth, though word from an onshore observer was that two T-birds in front of us neglected to round the Freeway buoy on the last time around! Either way, it was a fabulous evening dodging the fleet of drifting power boats, kayaks, and paddle boards and enjoying the breeze. It was also great to beat the very fast Hotfoot 27 Flash Point for the first time this season!

The raft-up was still going strong in fading light...

Light Wind in the Wild West

Full Moon's vote for the Black Duck was this Catalina Canoe.

The Western Night Duck Dodge featured mild to sometimes nonexistent wind out of the southwest along with clearing skies and fairly warm temperatures. Full Moon crew Marcelle “Holy Shoes” Lynde, Dave “New Shoes” Pulsifer, Judy “No Shoes” Tiffany, Michelle “Sporty Shoes” Mathison, Daniel “Blue Shoes” Mengedoht and skipper John “Old Shoes” Mengedoht maneuvered for a fairly decent start near the Committee Boat but still got stuck in bad air from several boats and no good opportunities to tack for clear air. Eventually, things cleared out enough to tack to the west but this still involved ducking several boats on starboard tack. Fortunately, the next tack saw those same boats needing to duck behind Full Moon!

Full Moon flies the Equalizer on the second leg.

With lots of oncoming traffic at the AGC buoy, Full Moon delayed hoisting the mighty Equalizer spinnaker for a short while but then made good use of the nylon monster with a speedy beam reach straight to the Freeway buoy. This included passing a few boats to finally get into the front half of the fleet and leaving boats such as rival Zephyr well behind.

A line of third start boats heading for the finish. It was gorgeous out there!

After a clean drop of the spinnaker, it was another straight shot upwind to the Aurora buoy. The next leg was a fairly close reach back to the Committee Boat. The J24 Beagle was gaining from behind but chose to try and pass to windward between Full Moon and another boat. Full Moon called “leeward!” and attempted to head Beagle up before it was too late but Beagle forged ahead between boats and didn’t even attempt to get the other boat to change course. (Memo to Beagle: In a serious race, that would have cost you a protest or penalty turn – don’t try to pass to windward unless you have room to head up!) Oh, well, it is the Duck Dodge…

Full Moon enjoys the sunset after the race.

After rounding the AGC buoy, the Equalizer was hoisted again and Full Moon pulled back ahead of Beagle while also gaining on speedy Dreams (Olson 25). Unfortunately, the wind was getting lighter heading toward the Freeway buoy. Full Moon caught up to Dreams with some separation on their leeward side but Beagle was able to ride the following wind longer to get around the leeward side of Full Moon. Full Moon rounded the mark just outside of Dreams while Beagle stayed further out. This benefited Beagle for a while as Full Moon suffered in the wind shadow off Dreams and had to fall off a bit toward Gasworks. Up ahead, though, it was clear that the wind was getting ever lighter, especially closest to the north shore of the lake where Beagle was heading.

A good turnout for the post-race raft-up!

Dreams and Full Moon were just south of the dying breeze and, while Dreams looked like they could make the Aurora buoy, Full Moon was going to have to take a hitch to the south. Full Moon waited patiently for a little more breeze before tacking and then tacking back with a perfect line to the buoy. Unfortunately, a trimaran had come to nearly a dead stop right at the buoy! Dreams stayed wide but Full Moon was able to just tack into the slowly enlarging hole between the trimaran and the buoy. The choice to keep south and good timing for the tacks allowed Full Moon to pass five boats on this one leg, including Beagle and the T-birds Valkyrie and Selchie! Full Moon wasn’t quite done, though, and managed to pass one more J24 and hold off Dreams to cross the line in eighth place, a great result for a challenging race.

On Second Thought...

In my previous post, I briefly described a contentious rounding at the Aurora buoy between Full Moon and the T-bird Valkyrie. The course to the buoy was approaching but not quite close-hauled. Full Moon was clear ahead. Valkyrie had been slowly gaining and maneuvering to windward, apparently hoping to gain an inside overlap at the buoy. Full Moon responded by also maneuvering to windward to block the attempt. Upon reaching the zone within 3 boat-lengths of the buoy (my opinion), Full Moon then fell off a bit to lay the mark, confident that Valkyrie could not legally establish an inside overlap.

Valkyrie, however, still was moving slightly faster and maneuvered to create an inside overlap. Believing that Valkyrie had no rights, having established an overlap too late, Full Moon tacked just after reaching the mark. Valkyrie also tacked (they might have been able to duck behind but maybe not) and rounded the buoy without contacting either Full Moon or the buoy. There was a bit of yelling back and forth, though, regarding (A) when the overlap had been established and (B) whether Full Moon had the right to tack.

The Duck Dodge, of course, does not enforce the official Racing Rules as published by the ISAF but many racers voluntarily attempt to follow these rules anyway since they are designed specifically for fair competition and to keep boats from harming each other. I certainly try to follow them, at least as best I understand them, and Valkyrie's crew seemed to be in the same mode.

Anyway, my contention had been along the lines of Rule 18.2 (c) (2) which states "When a boat is required to give mark-room by rule 18.2 (b), if she becomes overlapped inside the boat entitled to mark room, she shall also give that boat room to sail her proper course while they remain overlapped." Full Moon's "proper course" was to tack as soon as possible and, by this rule, Valkyrie would be required to give Full Moon room to do that.

All would be well for Full Moon but for the next part of the rule which states "However, if the boat entitled to mark-room passes head to wind [tacks] or leaves the zone [3 boat-length zone around the buoy], rule 18.2(b) ceases to apply." What this means is that Full Moon could do most anything at all except to tack. In other words, Valkyrie was correct - I did NOT have the right to tack - and I sincerely apologize to them for not understanding that.

What I should have done was head up and force Valkyrie to miss the buoy. That would have been completely fair under the rules and would not have involved tacking. And, if Valkyrie intended to follow the rules, they would have had to fall off and circle back around the buoy (even the Duck Dodge requires that you go around all the buoys!). I had assumed Valkyrie would not dare cut inside and didn't realize they had done so until it was too late. My mistake - but I won't make that one again if I can help it!

I also can't resist a parting shot. The next part of Rule 18.2 is section (d), which states "If there is reasonable doubt that a boat obtained or broke and overlap in time, it shall be presumed that she did not." Translation: If you hope to establish an inside overlap coming from behind, you better make damn sure you do so in time and that the other boat is fully aware of it because the burden of proof is all on you!

T-Bone Pirates

The Seafair Pirates have nothing on the Duck Dodgers!

Full Moon crew Randy “Early Riser” Olsen, Art “Twisted Stick” Teller, Doug “Late Boat” Schoemaker, Eileen “No Shrimpin” McHugh, Daniel “Twizzler” Mengedoht, and skipper John “No Overlap” Mengedoht had a decent start for the Pirate Night Duck Dodge until getting rolled by the much bigger Norlin 34 Runaway. Tacking out of Runaway’s slipstream would have meant ducking too many boats, so Full Moon suffered in bad air for a while. Eventually, things opened up and Full Moon tacked toward the Westlake shore and better breeze, though our ancient rival Ignitor had found even better breeze near the Eastlake shore and very nearly poked out in front.

Meanwhile, toward the middle of the lake, the big and heavy Buchan 37 Distance was cranking along on port tack and apparently oblivious to the Santana 27 Shogun crossing on starboard. The resulting t-bone created that horrific sound nobody likes to hear and we hope that Shogun (and especially all her crew) will be okay.

Full Moon rolls by Runaway under the Mighty Isis.

Full Moon delayed jibing and raising the spinnaker after rounding the AGC buoy to provide a little separation from all the traffic still heading south. Once hoisted, the Mighty Isis (aka the Equalizer) proved its worth downwind, as Full Moon quickly took off and chased down Runaway while also keeping a decent lead on speedy Scat. The Mighty Isis came down smoothly at the Freeway buoy, though it took a while to get things sorted and the jib properly trimmed and somehow the mainsail outhaul got released (!).

Another view. Full Moon is moving pretty fast judging by the bow wave!

Once settled into a groove, it was a straight shot to the Aurora buoy, though Full Moon had to maneuver a bit to hold off the T-Bird Valkyrie. The rounding then got a little ugly as Valkyrie attempted to poke inside without having established an overlap the requisite three boat-lengths out (our opinion and, of course, part of the racing rules but not officially part of the Duck Dodge rules, though many boats follow them anyway). Full Moon tacked just after the buoy, forcing Valkyrie to tack as well, which proved unpopular on the other boat. Apparently, Valkyrie’s skipper had hoped to prevent Full Moon from tacking for a while. Better luck next time! (Not really. Is there a reason they keep an inflatable lamb stuck on their bow?)

Heading back south, Cap’n John very nearly forgot that the course instructions required crossing the finish line at the end of the first lap. The resulting late course change set Ignitor out in front but it was better than ignoring (or forgetting) the rule as happened to Valkyrie, Runaway, and at least two other boats. The Race Committee was actually watching for this, too, and those boats were all disqualified, not that any were in serious contention for a top three finish. Regardless, Full Moon passed Ignitor before reaching the AGC buoy so all was well.

Seaquest snags the Aurora buoy!

The second spinnaker run went very smoothly, as did the takedown at the Freeway buoy. It was another straight shot to the Aurora buoy, too, though a third-start boat named Seaquest had managed to snag the buoy with their rudder and Full Moon had to round both the buoy and the boat! Once around, it was a straight upwind haul to finish seventh (as best we could tell). Scat was next with Ignitor two boats further back and Zephyr another two boats after Ignitor. This makes seven straight races with no rain! (Hope I didn’t just jinx us for next week…)

Lots of boats out enjoying yet another fine Tuesday evening.

Team Spirit

Full Moon in prestart maneuvers. Time to polish that hull!

Full Moon crew Randy “Corona” Olsen, Dave “Scotch” Pulsifer, Judy “Seltzer” Tiffany, and skipper John “Summer Ale” Mengedoht got caught in a tight squeeze between Scat and another boat at the start of the Superbowl/Team Spirit Duck Dodge and were quite literally shoved back into the second row in extremely light breeze. Spotting more wind toward the Eastlake shore, Full Moon tacked away from the direct course to the Freeway buoy. This meant being only a few yards from the start line five minutes later but did eventually pay off fairly well, though a number of boats were still ahead, including arch-rival Zephyr and the T-bird Zoe.

More of the prestart. Not much wind...

The Freeway mark rounding was tight and slow but Full Moon was still in the hunt and only 300 yards or so behind giant Neptune’s Car from the first start (with Full Moon regular Michael Medina aboard). In such light air, a spinnaker can be a liability if it can’t be kept full and Full Moon elected to stick with the jib instead and hold it out to catch any wind. This may or may not have been a wise choice as some boats passed by with spinnakers. Full Moon worked south into a bit more breeze, though, and repassed all the boats that had done well under spinnaker plus a few more. This move also set things up nicely to round the Aurora buoy, coming in on starboard jibe with right of way.

70' Neptune's Car in first start with Michael Medina on board.

The rounding was again crowded with Full Moon on the inside, Scat next but a bit forward, and a good sized pinwheel outside of Scat. Zephyr was somewhere in the middle and, based on the shouting, must have cut inside a boat or two without having rights to do so.

Second start and third start boats mix it up downwind. Full Moon is out of the picture to the west.

Escaping the buoy, Scat was in the perfect lee-bow position and slowly pulled out ahead as Full Moon clawed to windward to gain some separation. Full Moon stayed close to Scat and closed up a bit on speedy Dreams while continuing to climb to windward to maintain clear air in a slightly building breeze. With several boats battling, the windward position paid off as Full Moon passed the Capri 25 Triple Time and Zoe while holding off the big Buchan 37 Distance. Distance then poked their bow between Full Moon and Scat, setting things up well for Full Moon to have the inside position at the AGC buoy.

Another great sunset!

Reaching to the finish line, Full Moon made sure Distance could not get by to windward but could not stop them from dropping down to leeward. A bigger boat with much taller sails, Distance slowly gained to nip Full Moon by just a few feet at the finish line to take 5th with Full Moon an excellent 6th and Scat back in 8th. Zephyr appeared to finish 12th a few minutes later.

Double Trouble

Verity displays some nice duct tape creativity.

The Duct Tape Duck Dodge featured light to non-existent wind out of the southwest and slowly clearing skies. Full Moon crew Michael “Everything is Awesome” Medina, Marcelle “Beautiful Bellevue” Lynde, Tammy “Ridiculous Redmond” Cross, Chuck “Cheez-Its” Weldy, Daniel “Movie Magic” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Vodka!” Mengedoht set up for a decent start near the buoy end of the starting line but a large blue boat named Asystole (which means no cardiac activity) had the same general idea. Unfortunately, they were a bit late tacking for the starting line and in the process they delayed Full Moon as well.

Tammy, Michael, and Daniel enjoying the first upwind leg.

Once moving the right direction, Full Moon found some stronger wind on the eastern side of the lake and put this to good use to get past a few boats, including rival Zephyr. Approaching the AGC buoy, a different Zephyr struggled to make the buoy on starboard tack (and didn’t make it) as Full Moon successfully rounded outside and to windward. Rival Zephyr then elected to skip the buoy altogether rather than swing around outside other boats approaching on starboard tack. This was cheating, of course, for both Zephyrs, but it put them both in front of Full Moon.

Full Moon passes "non-rival" Zephyr as the Equalizer collapses.

After clearing the buoy area, Full Moon hoisted the mighty Equalizer spinnaker but the wind was extremely light and what there was of it was very shifty. Full Moon got past non-rival-Zephyr and then ended up on starboard jibe coming alongside rival-Zephyr on port jibe, both boats going the same direction. Slightly different wind 15 yards apart! Unfortunately, Full Moon eventually had to jibe, which allowed rival-Zephyr to pull back ahead. Incredibly, Zephyr then chose to skip the Freeway buoy rather than deal with going behind a small group of boats working their way around. Full Moon must look terrifying when gaining from behind! 

Heading west in light air - but we're gaining!

Full Moon, of course, rounded properly and then took a southerly route toward the Aurora buoy, seeing more wind that way. This paid off very well as Full Moon picked off several boats, including some J24s and speedy Dreams (Olson 25), before rounding the buoy in a tight cluster of boats. Zephyr was forced to the outside (at least they didn’t cheat this one!) but a J24 trying to sneak around inside had to have a crewman on the bow push off Full Moon’s stern to avoid a rear-ender. (Thanks for the push!)

Concentration apparently pays off...

On the final leg, Full Moon gathered a little speed in the light air but the relative giant Norlin 34 Runaway began to gain from behind. Full Moon squeezed a bit higher to weather, though, and established the classic lee-bow position, slowing Runaway and initiating some good-natured banter between boats. Full Moon then slowly pulled out ahead until there was room to tack. Unfortunately, once separated, Runaway was able to generate a bit more speed to pull back in front on the next tack and hold the lead to the finish – with more close-quarters banter, of course! In the end, Full Moon was an excellent seventh, ahead of all the J24s and T-birds and still happily ahead of the double-cheaters on Zephyr.

Post-race relaxation with a cup of bubbly.

Boobs N' Beads

Sunny skies and good wind brings a good turnout for Mardi Gras Night.

The wind angle and course often favor a port tack start for the Duck Dodge but to do so is risky given the need to avoid traffic approaching on starboard tack. Full Moon crew Art “Humus Soup” Teller, Dave “No Cups?” Pulsifer, Judy “Voodoo Doughnuts” Tiffany, Neil “Slippers” Piispanen, Daniel “Cap’n Crunch” Mengedoht, and skipper John “No Cups!” Mengedoht proved this point on Mardi Gras Night with a port approach and a nearly impenetrable line of starboard tack boats. Two tacks later, Full Moon was wallowing in bad air at the back of the fleet, though perhaps in a better mental state than several others who very nearly collided! The only good news was that Full Moon was far enough west to make the Freeway buoy without tacking.

An unusual sight on the first leg, Fortis ahead of Scat!

This proved very helpful as Full Moon picked off several boats before rounding and several more after a delayed tack and then a straight shot past Gasworks to the Aurora buoy. With a smooth launch of the mighty Equalizer spinnaker, Full Moon took off south to pass yet more boats, including the Buchan 37 Distance and J30 Slingshot, to round the AGC buoy in seventh place!

Art monitors the competition on the second leg past Gasworks.

Repacking the spinnaker and sorting the lines and pole proved challenging on the long upwind leg as the wind had increased to around 15 knots and Full Moon was well heeled-over. As motivation, though, rival Zephyr wasn’t too far ahead and Full Moon was gaining! After rounding the Freeway buoy, Full Moon nearly caught up, crossing just behind before tacking toward the Aurora buoy.

Full Moon (far right) still has a lot of boats to pass on the first run.

Once again, the Equalizer went up smoothly at the Aurora buoy and Full Moon chose a relatively straight course in hopes of passing Zephyr, which had jibed toward the middle of the lake. Unfortunately, the J24 Beagle then decided to try and steal Full Moon’s wind and attempt to pass to windward. Trying and doing are not the same, of course, and Full Moon quickly headed up to pinch off the attack. The good news was that Beagle could not get by, try as they might. The bad news was that the spinnaker battle was allowing Zephyr to cruise back into a more comfortable lead.

Beagle tries to get by. Not happening!

After a slightly shaky rounding of the AGC buoy, Full Moon headed back upwind toward the finish line. Beagle came up quickly from behind but Full Moon adjusted position to provide them with bad air and slow them down until they tacked away. In the end, Full Moon was sixth with Zephyr just ahead in fifth, Beagle seventh, and the big Buchan 37 Distance in eighth. Speedy Scat and Dreams were in the top four and maybe Wizard, the J27. All the J24s, Thunderbirds, and Slingshot were behind, a pretty amazing result given the awful start and the fairly strong wind!

It was a bit chilly but gorgeous out there.