Bronze Holiday

Full Moon crew Michael “Too Short” Medina, Marcelle “That’s Okay” Van Houten, Adam “Skinny Santa” Michalak, Jackie “Texas” Hensy, Daniel “Tunes” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Sorry, Marcelle” Mengedoht hit the start line right on time for the Christmas in July Duck Dodge. A few other boats were either over early or very late for second start… Regardless, Full Moon did well on the first leg until reaching the disturbed air off a much larger boat in front. This allowed a few boats, including the always well-sailed Tuesday, to get or remain ahead at the Freeway buoy.

Tuesday is always fast, despite those patches!

On the second leg, Full Moon struggled a bit to find clear air, though that didn’t prevent the passing of a few stragglers from second start! The Equalizer was launched immediately after rounding the Aurora buoy. A jibe toward the middle of the lake might have been advisable but other traffic made that a difficult option so Full Moon stuck with sailing a deep angle. The wind then varied back and forth between nearly dead downwind and a beam reach on the long leg south. Small gains were made on Tuesday but a cluster of slower boats in the way on approach to the AGC buoy made any hope of a pass impossible.

Cruising past the Committee Boat to collect another duck.

Jibing at the buoy brought another tangle of the pole and the jib sheets, the culprit apparently being a topping lift issue. The good news is that this didn’t cost any positions, the bad news was that Tuesday pulled farther ahead. After two tacks, Full Moon received the horn for third place, Tuesday scoring second and a boat called Baby Girl taking the gold. Meanwhile, it was yet another glorious sunny evening on the lake. This has been a great summer and we still have six more races to enjoy!

Is there room on the mast? The boom is full...

Piece of Eight

Kim and Randy take a selfie.

Full Moon crew Randy “Rerouting” Olsen, Kim “Traffic” Franz, Dave “Costco” Pulsifer, Judy “Vaporizer” Tiffany, Daniel “Hot Rod” Mengedoht, and skipper John “IPA” Mengedoht enjoyed a decent start for the Pirate Night Duck Dodge near the “pin” end of the line. Boats closer to the middle of the line had a slight advantage but Full Moon had fun dicing with some SYC J22s while pulling ahead of a few other boats. Apart from giant (40’!) Stella Blue, Full Moon was near the front of the third start fleet as the boats converged at the Freeway buoy.

Drifting power boats always add to the challenge of Duck Dodge racing.

After rounding, Full Moon headed for Gasworks Park, waiting for a clear lane to develop before tacking. This paid off well, allowing Full Moon to put the J22s and often-speedy Tuesday behind before rounding the Aurora buoy.

It appeared to be an epic post-race raft-up, not to mention another awesome sunset!

After a slight delay, the mighty Equalizer was launched to good advantage on the long reach/run to the AGC buoy. A clean drop was achieved a shade early followed by a tight rounding and then a straight shot upwind to the finish line to take second place and the Silver Duck! Stella Blue took the gold by a substantial margin, not surprisingly, given her size. A few minutes later, Mustache Ride (Choate 22) crossed for the Bronze.

Solid Gold!

Panorama of the crew, featuring Chuck in the middle with special Mardi Gras adornment.

Full Moon absolutely nailed the start for the Mardi Gras Duck Dodge, rolling into a nice lee bow position on Slingshot (J30) at the pin end and clearing all boats on starboard tack to take the lead. After dodging a few drifting power boats, crew Randy “Traffic” Olsen, Michael “New Wheels” Medina, Chuck “Busty” Weldy, Troy “Data Miner” Charlesworth, Daniel “Baby Driver” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Ratchet Block” Mengedoht caught the back of the second start fleet and rounded the Freeway buoy with nary a tack.

It was a gorgeous evening with lots of boats.

Rounding wide to keep clear of traffic paid off with clear air, Full Moon rolling past several more second start boats on a tight reach to the Aurora buoy. With the apparent wind clocking through 90 degree shifts, the long reach/run to the Chander’s Cove buoy involved a lot of trimming but the Equalizer spinnaker kept Full Moon moving well.

Nice sunset, captured by Michelle Mathison from her Facebook post.

The spinnaker pole trapped the jib sheets when it came down, taking a while to sort, but Full Moon didn’t lose too much speed heading back north. Two tacks later, Full Moon crossed the line to take first place! Summer Sled (Harbor 20) was second, about a minute back, followed by Blue Jeans (C&C 27). 

Drifter

The crew, heading out onto the lake.

Lots of boats going nowhere crowd the starting line.

Lake Union was flat calm for the Prom Night Duck Dodge. Full Moon crew Michael “Rocker” Medina, Martha “Pearls” Schoemaker, Doug “It’s You!” Schoemaker, Steve “Sordid Past” Pfeiffer, Daniel “Snarky Puppy” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Why Not?” Mengedoht employed rocking to get to the AGC and Chandler’s Cove buoys before hoisting the spinnaker and motoring in reverse to fill it. Needless to say, we weren’t actually racing and it is questionable whether any boat made it around the course (legally) before dark, though a few appeared to be trying. One of the highlights of the evening was watching two swimmers pulling a blue Thunderbird – and they were moving pretty well!

Motoring in reverse to fill the spinnaker.

The sunset was spectacular.

Jinxed!

Full Moon crew Michael “Gridlock” Medina, Dave “Big Pull” Pulsifer, Christian “Local Brew” Grange, Neil “Dad” Piispanen, Calvin “What Is This For” Piispanen, and skipper John “Low Pole” Mengedoht enjoyed a decent start for the Hippies and Hipsters Duck Dodge. Full Moon held starboard tack nearly to the Westlake shore before tacking into clear air. This paid off pretty well, Full Moon crossing ahead of 40’ Thundorca and several other boats before tacking back to round the Freeway buoy.

Next was a tight reach to the Aurora buoy, the wind getting very light for the last third of the leg. After jibing around the buoy, the Equalizer was quickly launched and Full Moon began to reel in a number of boats, including some stragglers from second start. A slightly early douse before the AGC buoy set up a nice tight rounding, followed by a fast close reach to the Chandler’s Cove buoy.

Returning upwind, it appeared there were still a number of boats in front of Full Moon but it was hard to tell how many. We didn’t see it happen but, somewhere on this leg, the zippy J22 Jinx lost her mast! We didn’t hear any collision so it may have been a hardware failure (shrouds) but the word is nobody got hurt and the crew were able to gather up the mess and get the boat safely back to the dock. Good work, guys, and we hope to see you back on the lake soon!

Once the rain began to clear out, we were treated to a double rainbow!

Meanwhile, Full Moon had her hands full battling some bigger boats from second start, fortunately being able to outpoint them until they tacked away. Approaching the Freeway buoy on port tack, a different pair of bigger boats on starboard tack were converging. A smooth tack brought Full Moon into a perfect “lee bow” position and the two boats tacked away.

The sunset was also spectacular!

The next leg was very similar to the first lap, though the wind was even lighter near the Aurora buoy. Full Moon launched the nylon monster for the southbound leg, passed a few more boats from second start, and began to slowly close the gap on the Capri 25 Tailwind. After a hasty spinnaker douse, Full Moon again hugged the AGC buoy and romped toward the Chandler’s Cove buoy nearly close-hauled. For whatever reason, Tailwind was on a track further to leeward, along with two second start boats (including our old rival Ignitor). Full Moon was able to round the buoy in front of Tailwind and then hold position to the finish line where we were greeted by a toot of the horn – and some rain. Having figured on being fourth place at best, this was a very pleasant surprise, Full Moon actually finishing second behind always-competitive Tuesday (Columbia 26).

No Western Night

With a sick skipper, Full Moon sat out the Duck Dodge Western Night but we should be back next week for Hippies and Hipsters Night. Congratulations to third start winners Tailwind, Chola/Geoff, and Wandering Angus.

Duck Bronzesty

Chad takes a selfie!

Full Moon crew Dave “Tangled” Pulsifer, Judy “Helper” Tiffany, Chad “Sunscreen” Harnish, Daniel “Haircut” Mengedoht and skipper John “Big Move” Mengedoht enjoyed an excellent start in beautiful weather near the “pin” end of the line for the Duck Dodgesty Duck Dodge. Slippery When Wet (Santana 20) held position ahead to and to windward to slow Full Moon’s progress to the Freeway buoy but Full Moon was able to hold off Summer Sled (Harbor 20) and a J22 before rounding.

 

It was gorgeous out there, unusual for early June!

A tack soon after the buoy took Full Moon out of a lot boat traffic (sailing and drifting power boats) and into better breeze crossing the north end of Lake Union. This provided a huge gain, Full Moon slipping into the lead in third start and passing a number of second starts boats as well before rounding the Aurora buoy.

 

Full Moon takes the bronze!

Once launched, the Mighty Isis (aka “Equalizer” spinnaker) helped Full Moon speed south on a romping beam reach to the AGC buoy. Unfortunately, the take-down had some issues and Full Moon spent agonizing minutes on the final upwind leg with the jib flapping uselessly. This allowed a couple of second start boats to slide past as well as eventual winner Jinx and second place Summer Sled. Once Full Moon got going, though, nobody else threatened to pass and Full Moon secured a still-excellent third place finish.

Another duck to add to the mast.

Not Quite Royalty

Full Moon just after the start.

The weather forecasters were a bit off for the Game of Thrones Duck Dodge, a large cloud dumping rain about 6:00 and soaking the boat, not to mention some distant rumblings of thunder. Full Moon crew Randy “Bluetooth” Olsen, Chuck “No Brakes” Weldy, Kristin “Electrocuted” Gasper, Kevin “Amazonia” Gasper, and skipper John “Slow Starter” Mengedoht were a bit late to the starting line, thereby missing a tight cluster of boats trying to clear the Committee Boat. A quick tack toward the Westlake shore soon provided clear and better breeze, allowing Full Moon to pass a number of boats before rounding the AGC buoy.

Chuck, Kristin, John, Randy, and Kevin enjoying the lack of rain.

The wind for the northbound leg was initially very light and from dead astern but soon filled in more from the west, filling the mighty Equalizer for a reasonably zippy reach. This got Full Moon past a few more boats while gaining on a Capri 25 and Duck Dodge veteran Tuesday (Columbia 26). Full Moon finally caught up to the Capri at the Freeway buoy but the Capri had the inside line to round ahead.

Tuesday, Capri 25 and Full Moon doing a mobile phone ad.

A tack to get out of the Capri’s wind shadow paid off well for most of the leg to the Aurora buoy but then the wind faded approaching the buoy, allowing the Capri to just retain their lead. Full Moon then took a hitch to leeward on the final leg in hopes of getting a little separation but the Capri didn’t falter, pulling ahead about 50 feet.

Full Moon approaches the Committee Boat.

Assuming we were well out of contention with the late start, Full Moon didn’t aggressively defend position when a J22 came up from behind. Much to our surprise, the Capri got the horn for second place followed by the J22 in third. Full Moon was all of two boat-lengths out of the top three!

Do or Do Not

Full Moon, comin' through!

The Star Wars Duck Dodge featured ample wind and mostly cloudy skies. At the start, the wind was out of the northwest, setting things up for all boats to easily cross on starboard tack. Full Moon crew Michael “Nibbler” Medina, Marcelle “Buns” van Houten, Katie “Lightsaber” Freels, Matt “Blaster” Allert, Daniel “R2” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Zig Zag” Mengedoht appeared to have a well-timed start but got caught in a boat sandwich squeezing through the line, a few boats to windward being unwilling to alter course per the rules. Once the boats spread out enough for a little clear air, Full Moon was mid-fleet but soon began to reel in a few competitors.

A gravel barge made things interesting for second start boats.

Traffic began to thin out a bit more after rounding the Freeway buoy and a fast romp to the Aurora buoy. The long beam reach in strong breeze to the AGC buoy made a spinnaker an iffy proposition and few boats made the attempt. After a short leg to the Chandler’s Cove buoy, it was back to upwind mode.

Katie, John, and Matt enjoy post-race beverages.

Since the sign boards on the Committee Boat indicated two laps for all starts, Full Moon took the best course for the Freeway buoy instead of crossing the finish line. Approaching the buoy, Full Moon needed a surgical series two quick tacks to just stay ahead of a well-sailed Harbor 20 and stay inside the J30 Slingshot, which was presumably in second start. Unfortunately, on the long southbound leg, both boats got by. Slingshot, though, completely skipped the Chandler’s Cove buoy or we might have returned the favor!

Michael agrees, it wasn't warm out there.

In the end, Full Moon finished somewhere in the top ten boats, though there was a Facebook post suggesting the Race Committee scored third start boats after just one lap! Regardless, it was a blast racing around the lake, Full Moon recording a speed of 7 knots at one point with extended periods going over 6.

Bronze in the Rain

Full Moon through the spyglass.

Full Moon crew Randy “No Spinnaker” Olsen, Adam “Cheap Cider” Michalak, Jackie “Luck Charm” Hensey, and skipper John “New Folds” Mengedoht nailed the third start for the Ugly Sweaters Night Duck Dodge, enjoying first place all the way to the Chandler’s Cove buoy. Unfortunately, the Ranger 33 Chula just managed to get an inside overlap to round the buoy inside and take the lead.

Post-race treats.

Heading back north on a close reach, Full Moon encountered a patch of light wind, allowing Chula to consolidate their lead, Tuesday (Columbia 26) to slip by, and a J22 to catch up. Even old rival Shogun threatened briefly until the wind kicked back in, Full Moon threading past some slower second start boats to maintain third place rounding the Aurora buoy.

Jackie and Adam

With a relatively short leg to the Freeway buoy and variable wind angles, Full Moon elected not to hoist the spinnaker. Tuesday deployed theirs for only a slight gain to hold onto second place. After rounding the buoy, Full Moon slowly gained on Tuesday upwind to the finish but could not make up the distance, still very happy to secure third place.

Getting ready to apply the new duck!

Meanwhile, having presumably spotted an opportunity to score an easy “duck,” 40-foot Thundorca (a third start regular despite her size), switched to first start so at least there were three boats in that start. Full Moon had briefly considered making the same move but opted to stuck to third start to avoid a second lap in the drizzle. As long as the Race Committee does nothing to regulate it, boats are able to freely choose which start they want and first start will remain sparsely populated. This seems nuts to me but it is what it is!

Minimum Tacks

We should have gone in first start. Only two boats, Tipsy Gypsy and Distance, made that choice, leaving behind an unclaimed third place duck for the first Duck Dodge race of 2017. Instead, Full Moon crew Randy “It’s a Job” Olsen, Michael “Temporary Bachelor” Medina, Dave “Spacer” Pulsifer, Judy “Barefoot” Tiffany, Daniel “USC” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Buoy Hugger” Mengedoht requested third start, figuring we may as well join the trend of boats migrating to “slower” starts.

The buoy end of the starting line appeared favored, though it was placed very close to the east shore, and Full Moon opted to approach on starboard tack before tacking to cross the line. Unfortunately, we were a bit late to the line. Worse, we got rolled by a big Catalina 36 to windward and ended up just skirting the docks and houseboats in bad air before tacking for the Freeway buoy. Light air near the buoy then made for a closer rounding than desirable.

Full Moon zipping along under the Equalizer.

Heading west followed back a tack to the north and another to the west brought Full Moon right onto the rhumb line for the Aurora buoy and another close rounding in a bit of traffic. Once around, the mighty Equalizer was hoisted to good effect and Full Moon began reeling in some competitors, especially those who apparently forgot that the course did not include the AGC buoy! The drop went smoothly, followed quickly by a jibe around the Chandler’s Cove buoy.

Full Moon took a “clearing” tack to get to windward of a couple of boats and then another tack for a straight shot to the finish line. At that point, it was hard to tell if a top three finish was in the offing but it was not to be, the top three boats being Jinx, Offline, and Tailwind. Nevertheless, apart from the start, Full Moon sailed well and managed to pass a few boats from second start. More importantly, we all enjoyed a gorgeous early May evening on the lake.

Goosebump Series Results

The series results are in and the Goosebump Race Committee apparently didn't penalize did-not-start (DNS) boats or did-not-finish (DNF) boats quite so much as in past years. Surt still took first place overall, which they certainly earned, while Typsy Gypsy is second despite one DNF and one DNS, and Anarchy is third despite skipping half the races (ouch!). Full Moon placed fourth, followed by Selchie, Distance, and Scat.

This begs the question of how Full Moon might have done in second start, given that we had that choice and that all but one of the first start boats rate considerably faster under PHRF-NW handicapping. Second start was much larger, making for more competition, but first place went to the San Juan 24 Cake or Death - a boat which is well-sailed but typically slower than Full Moon. Similarly, Full Moon frequently beats second-place Necessary Evil and third-place Ignitor in the summer Duck Dodge races.

It is the usual conundrum - sail with faster boats and get beat or sail with slower boats and win. In the end, it doesn't really matter so long as we're having fun!

Wild Ride!

Full Moon crew Randy “Bowrider” Olsen, Adam “Full Sail” Michalak, and skipper John “Spinnaker?” Mengedoht prepared for the final Goosebump race based on the forecast winds of around 10 knots. However, during the 10 minutes prior to the start, the wind quickly increased, requiring an unplanned change to the small “blade” jib. This took a bit of time, resulting in Full Moon being about two minutes late crossing the line, but was well worth it as the wind built into the low 20s, way too much wind for the genoa. Full Moon was still slightly overpowered upwind in the gusts but much more comfortable (and safe) to sail while managing good speed as well.

Full Moon zips along the leg from the Freeway buoy to the Aurora buoy.

Rounding the AGC buoy, Full Moon wasn’t too far behind speedy Scat, which had sailed the first leg under mainsail alone. Scat did hoist what looked like a #2 jib for the downwind leg, helping them to maintain a lead, though Full Moon was topping six knots in the puffs. Full Moon briefly considered hoisting the “small” ancient stock spinnaker as the wind eased a bit but the wind quickly came roaring back and the speed gain would not have been worth the effort of taking the thing back down shorthanded.

Even with a full crew, taking down a spinnaker can be a challenge! This is a Santana 20, Full Moon's little cousin.

The leg from the Freeway buoy to the Aurora buoy was a perfect beam reach with Full Moon hitting a sustained 7+ knots several times. Yee hah! Bashing back upwind, Scat dropped their jib again and the chase was on. Full Moon gained but couldn’t quite catch up, Scat apparently sailing pretty well with just a main.

Randy says "This is fun, right?"

The second downwind leg was similar to the first until Scat inexplicably headed off course to the northeast instead of rounding the Freeway buoy. In the end, Full Moon was happy to place fourth (out of seven boats) behind much larger Typsy Gypsy (33’), Surt (40’) and Distance (37’).

 

Cap'n John likes this stuff!

The series results aren’t officially posted quite yet but, with Typsy Gypsy and Selchie both having a DNF and a DNS each, Full Moon should be second overall with one second, two fourths, and an average finish of about fifth. Congratulations to Surt for taking first overall!

Never Seen That Before!

Scat and Surt before Surt came to an unexpected halt.

Full Moon crew Randy “Tunes” Olsen, Marcelle “Kraken” Van Houten, Adam “Newport” Michalak, Ashley “Muscles” Robinson, and skipper John “Baptiste” Mengedoht enjoyed a gorgeous sunny day with a decent breeze for Goosebump Race No. 5. Opting for a conservative starboard tack start, given the fairly short start line, Full Moon ended up about 30 seconds late, though still in fifth across the line. With wind out of the northwest, it was a straight shot to the Freeway buoy, which was positioned just east of the fixed Gasworks buoy. Three boats ahead then opted to harden their line, heading for Gasworks. Unfortunately, 40’ Surt went a bit too close to shore, coming to a quick halt as they ran aground! Since the crew appeared to be in no danger, Full Moon kept going, moving up to fourth place.

Crusin' on a fast beam reach.

After a couple of tacks, Full Moon rounded the Aurora buoy and soon launched the Equalizer for a thrilling beam reach. Typsy Gypsy had been in the lead but chose a course somewhat close to the Westlake shore. Scat and Selchie found more wind toward the middle of the lake to get by Typsy Gypsy before the AGC buoy while Full Moon was able to gain on all three.

Gaining on Typsy Gypsy...

The leg to the finish line was a straight romp on a tight reach but the Race Committee added a lap so Full Moon continued the chase to the Freeway buoy and on to the Aurora buoy. Under the Equalizer once again, Full Moon gained on Scat and Selchie, who were battling each other, but couldn’t catch up. In the end, Full Moon was fourth, our second-best finish of the series.

Adam and Randy enjoying the sun.

After a very pleasant post-race cruise in the glorious sunshine, Full Moon headed back to the dock. During the usual tidying up, skipper John ventured to the bow to secure a halyard when the boat rocked unexpectedly. With the forward lifelines down in “race” position, there was nothing to grab onto, with the result being in a very wet skipper! Thankfully, the sun was warm and marina manager Steve quickly rustled up a towel and change of clothes. Thanks, Steve!

Pregame Show

The Goosebump Race Committee provided a relatively short, one-lap course for Race No. 4, which was thoughtful given the Superbowl and the fairly light wind out of the southeast. Prior to the start, the wind clocked even more into the east and Full Moon crew Randy “Double Winch” Olsen, Marcelle “Poncho” Van Houten, Michael “HBR” Medina, and skipper John “Low Pole” Mengedoht set up for a port tack start near the starboard end of the line. Unfortunately, Full Moon was a bit late to the line but still third after 40’ Surt and 33’ Typsy Gypsy.

The Bumblebee Boys working hard.

Also unfortunately, the wind proved a bit stronger to the left, allowing the big boats to pull further ahead and for 37’ Distance to catch up and pass. Full Moon did hold off speedy Selchie (26’ Thunderbird) to remain in fourth to the AGC buoy.

Marcelle keeps nice and warm under the poncho.

After rounding, Full Moon held off launching the Equalizer for a while in light of the tight wind angle but then elected to give it a try with a very low pole to stretch the leading edge. This paid off in the puffs with nice bursts of speed but Full Moon could not hold a course to the Freeway buoy and eventually had to give up in favor of the jib. During the takedown, however, the spinnaker was briefly hung up at the top of the mast, creating a very functional air brake. By the time everything was down and cleared up, Selchie had pulled ahead to a comfortable lead.

Foul weather gear is good to have!

Naturally, the short leg from the Freeway buoy to the Aurora buoy would have been perfect for the spinnaker but there was no time to get it set up. In the end, Full Moon was fifth out of five in first start but still a contender for the series since only Surt has also finished each race – at least if the Committee is still counting the crazy first race…