Terremoto wins both days of Race to the Straits.
The Sloop Tavern Yacht Club’s “Race to the Straights” is the Pacific Northwest largest shorthanded race of 2012. Nearly 100 boats are challenged by thirty miles of strong currents, ship traffic, variable wind conditions, the use of only two or four hands, and diminished brain capacity, to sail Saturday May 5 from Shilshole to Port Townsend and then on Sunday, May 6 to return from Port Townsend to Shilshole.
The race is unique because each boat has its own start time based on its rating. The slowest boat started before 8:00 a.m., but Terremoto, with a PHRF rating of 39, started at 9:46 a.m. Bill Weinstein drove the boat and Mark Brink fulfilled the critical roles of flying the kite and preparing the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Because Terremoto was one of the last boats to start, Team Moto decided that to win that it needed to adopt a tactical theme: desperate recklessness.
Terremoto had a clean start and avoided boat collisions, a result assisted by there being no other boats in its start. Brink scanned the horizon with his binoculars, picked out the magnified colored specks of the leading boat spinnakers, and mumbled: “We’ve got to really heat up this boat’s speed.” Weinstein immediately (more…)
Terremoto blindly stumbles in dark to finish first in Smith Island Race.
Smith Island is the first race of the 2012 Seattle Yacht Club Tri-Island Series. Smith Island is an 83 mile round trip race from Shilshole to a wreck of an island located at the entrance to Puget Sound off the north end of Whidbey Island. The race presents many challenging conditions including wind, tides, ship traffic, and crew mutinies.
This was Terremoto’s first long distance race under new management. The boat fielded a crew of Canadians and Americans that were divided by a common language. The Canadians were Paul Henderson and Paul Hansen, who will be sailing on Terremoto to Maui, and their close friend and former head of the Vic-Maui race, Greg Harms. The usual suspect Americans, Steve Brockway, Mark Brink, and Bill Weinstein completed the crew. This was the first opportunity for Team Moto to work together on navigation, sail in the dark (literally and figuratively), and learn how devoid of creature comforts Terremoto could be.
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Terremoto Wins First Race Under New Management.
Terremoto is the Spanish or English definition for earthquake, havoc, chaos, or uproar. It also describes the sailboat Terremoto’s new sailing team and owner.
Bill Weinstein, a Bellevue, Washington, Etchells sailor, bought Terremoto at the urging of Mark Brink. Brink, a Northwest sailing legend, is known by many as “Dr. Speed” for his uncanny ability to diagnose and discover a boat’s swiftness. He knew that Terremoto was a Riptide 35, one of two fabled boats designed by Paul Bieker. Bieker helped design the BMW Oracle Racing Trimaran that won the 33rd America’s Cup. “The Riptide 35,” Bieker noted, “was my first design for Jonathan and Libby McKee of Seattle. . . . [Mckee] conceived . . .a high performance racer/cruiser capable of blistering speed on the race course (Jonathan is an Olympic gold medalist in the FD class and a silver medalist in the 49er). [T]he boat also needed to have reasonable accommodations for family cruising with standing headroom, galley and enclosed head. She is capable of being sailed to a large percentage of her potential with a crew of two or three persons.” History.
Terremoto wins Swiftsure Division, places fourth overall in a wild, eventful race.
Terremoto won its Swiftsure Division 2 and finished fourth overall in a wild, eventful race. One boat, Melaque, went aground on a beach, Time Bandit grounded on Race Rocks, and Wasabi lost a man overboard in 30 knot plus winds. No one was hurt, but many boats suffered repeated broaches and wipeouts, broken gear, equipment damage, and shredded sails. Team Moto emerged ruffled and ready for the Vic-Maui Race. The Swiftsure race tracker shows Terremoto's Eight Fold Path to Enlightenment. Swiftsure Race Tracker website,
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