Duck Dodge: a newbie’s perspective
Jul 13 2010 in Currents by Athima Chansanchai
Now I know why they call it Duck Dodge.
Everywhere my head turned last Tuesday night, a boat was headed toward us, veering away at the last minute. One came within an inch of us before it righted itself. Whew! I heard shouts of “Starboard!” and “Watch out!” So many boats on Lake Union, and they were all headed in our direction. The chase was on.
My first Duck Dodge ended with a fifth-place finish out of about 25 boats in the cruising boats class.
We should’ve won first place for our costumes, because it was an ’80s themed night and our crew was dolled up in Risky Business attire, preppy wear and all-out valley girl. We saw one other boat with Madonnas and Miami Vice fans, but not really anyone else on par with our embrace of the theme night!
When I was invited for my first Duck Dodge, I didn’t know quite what to expect. I grew up in Florida, amongst powerboats, so I’m still much more comfortable on them than sailboats. The first time I’d gone sailing, it was on a friend’s boat in Lake Union five years ago, and it was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.
That same feeling overtook me on Tuesday, but I felt very safe, and it was a gorgeous night to be out on the water.
Verity’s skipper, Jeff Lehman, made me feel right at home. I climbed on board the Jeanneau 37, a beautiful and well-maintained boat he’s had for about 10 years.
I couldn’t believe how many boats were on the water — at least 50 in different classes. There were some powerboats that sat right in the middle of everything (not smart) and paddleboarders who were also up and about (again, not smart)!
As a novice who’d never been in a race, I followed orders and stayed out of the way.
We did a lot of tacking, and I learned quickly that I needed to stay on the high side of the boat. Not hard near the wheel, but up near the bow, I had to do the crab and scramble, and make sure the boom didn’t hit me! I ducked a lot. I also noticed a lot of conversation between our bow woman and the skipper, making sure we knew what was in front of us, whether it was other boats, buoys or that big yellow floating duck mark. With such good wind that night, many had their spinnakers out, including us. Lehman has a regular crew that rotates between 8 to 12 people.
Lehman, 53, has been sailing since he was 10 years old. “My parents signed me up for sailing classes at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club (in Miami) almost on the day I was born. That’s how you made sure you could get lessons when you were 10. The people who left the property to the city stipulated that it be used to teach kids how to sail. Brilliant legacy!”
The best he’s done on Verity is silver (2nd place). They’ve also won at least two coveted black ducks, which are delivered to boats and crews doing “crazy stuff.” For instance, they sang “O Canada” to the committee boat on Canada night one year; another year, they were Somali pirates for pirate night. They also volunteer as the committee boat for Duck Dodge early in the season as a way to give back.
Though we didn’t sail away with any ducks that night, I take away another spectacular memory to add to my Seattle years.
Athima Chansanchai is a freelance journalist living in Seattle.
Duck Dodge runs Tuesday nights through Sept. 7. More info available here.
Greg Tait said on December 31, 2010
Great story. My skipper Mark Kunz and I have been sailing the Duck Dodge for 17 years now in the dinghy class and it became my favorite hobbie many many years ago. I will never forget my nervousness on that first race as I too was raised in Florida around the power boat crowd. Setting up the boat hoping not to run a sheet in the wrong way (Mark kept a close eye on that), and then being out on the lake with a good breeze with the boat scooting right along.
It took us a few years, between learning the tactics as well as the boat to earn our first duck but boy was that sweet. At the time we were sailing a boat called a Whip that was 17′ with a 27′ mast, needless to say between a huge sail area and learning curve of the crew (me) we were in the drink a number of times over the years. The Whip has since been retired to a friends cabin on Hood Canal for others to expierience small boat/large sail area sailing. ;- }
Back in 2004 Mark, through a friend of ours Pete (who’s wife used to run the Duck Dodge commitee for many years) bought a 1969 International 505 from Petes brother in San Fransisco. She had been sitting for a # of years but with a little (ok a little more than a little) bit of work and $$$$ she has become a great beer can race dinghy. I believe the 2nd year Mark had her he came up with the name Cinc-O-Sink. It continues to be the thing I look most forward to in the spring is the start of a new Duck Dodge season.
I hope you continue to join us in the coming years and enjoy what a beautiful setting we have for such a fun past time.
Greg
Bill Haimes said on July 15, 2010
Great story. On one Tuesday evening many moons ago I was asked to ply my trade as a compass adjuster on board a 180-ft crabber. Schedules made Tuesday evening the only time available to do the work. Imagine a 180 ft vessel doing circles in the middle of the fleet! I managed to get in one adjustment and then direct the vessel to an area South of the course for the rest. A few words were exchanged on the way through the fleet. By the time we finished, the races were over and an easy run back to Northlake Shipyard.
Marty McOmber said on July 16, 2010
Oh man, Bill, that must have been a nightmare!