2012 2013 2014 Videos

Welcome to the Team Moto Web Site!

Terremoto was purchased on November 8, 2011, by Bellevue, Washington sailor William S. Weinstein. Terremoto, a custom boat, is known as a Riptide 35. Paul Bieker, the famed naval designer of the Oracle America's Cup program, designed the Riptide 35. Click on his Riptide 35 Particulars for more details about Terremoto!

Bron Miller saves damsels in distress in Race to the Straits

The Race to the Straits is Terremoto’s favorite race. Winners for the past two years, Mark Brink and Bill Weinstein were confident as they crossed the start line in a reverse start at 9:46:26 a.m. Saturday morning, May 3, 2014. Within twenty minutes of the start, however, Mark Brink proclaimed presciently that it was a “small boat” race and through binoculars we could already see that the slow boats that had started nearly two hours earlier were already about to pass the half-way point.

As one “Sailing Anarchy” blog stated: “The early boats benefited from a more westerly breeze and were able to rhumb line it to Double Bluff (for the most part).”Bron Miller, a key member of Team Moto, sailed a great race on Cleo Na Mar, owned by John Phillips, and managed to avoid most of the building storm from the south. While Bron and John finished first ahead of the entire fleet (and claimed the CSR free haul-out), the rest of the fleet was swept up in winds that built to 30 knots.

By the time Terremoto reached the Double Bluff half-way mark it was surrounded by at least twenty overpowered boats in trouble. More than a dozen boats had blown up and/or wrapped their spinnakers around their mast or forestays and one boat had a torn main sail as Terremoto approached the Double Bluff bell. “It doesn’t matter,” Mark Brink yelled above the howling wind. “We can destroy this kite.”

Corinthian Yacht Club recognizes Terremoto as 2013 Boat of the Year

The Corinthian Yacht Club conducted its 2013 award ceremony. Here is their description below:

Awards Ceremony Celebrates Outstanding 2013 Performances

In a crowded Clubhouse on Friday, January 17, 2014, the winners of the Club’s awards for 2013 performances were announced in a moving ceremony by Commodore Brian Watkins, Junior Staff Commodore Bruce Van Deventer and other Club leaders. As they noted, being nominated for an Award is the great honor, and with such outstanding nominees, the voting by the Board was very close for all awards. Congratulations to all nominees and winners. read more...

Terremoto circumnavigates Vancouver Island to win Van Isle 360° Race

In its second major ocean race Terremoto was able to overcome kelp, groundings, and a disqualification to win the two week, ten leg, 580 nautical mile Van Isle 360° Race. After winning six of the ten legs under many different sailing conditions, Terremoto was able to win its very competitive class.

Leg 1

The first day, June 8, 2013, found Terremoto’s team dressed in its new official Zhik inflammatory red team jackets. Wearing the fire engine cardinal fleece proved a continuing embarrassment for several crew members but was helpful in locating smashed teammates at late night bars and on the bow on this drizzly foggy morning in the Nanaimo, Canada inner harbor.

A now veteran team of Mark Brink, Steve Brockway, Bron Miller, Kirk Utter, and Bill Weinstein was convinced that after a year and half of racing together that all the mistakes that could be made had been made. This race would demonstrate new errors, follies, gaffs, and blunders that would stagger but not stop Terremoto. read more...

Terremoto aimlessly rounds San Juan County

Terremoto spent two frozen frustrating days sailing around San Juan County in the November 9 and 10, 2013 “Round the County” Race.

On Saturday the ninth, Terremoto with the complement of Mark and David Brink, Kirk Utter, Bron Miller, Steve Brockway, and Bill Weinstein started from Lydia Shoal in Rosario Strait just east of Orcas Island in Obstruction Pass. The narrow channel created a positive current approaching four knots, which created problems for the 84 boats bunched at the start line. A general recall at the start added to the confusion.

Terremoto, in a formidable class of 20 boats, managed to win its start by riding the current and starting closest to the Committee Boat. Pressed by its faster “sister,” the new Riptide 35 “Long Board,” Terremoto pointed higher and was able to maintain a clear lane and the lead to the northeastern point of Orcas Island. However, the wind continued to lighten and soon following currents became more important than following the missing wind. Boats that hugged the Lummi Island shore to the east were able to avoid the backwater and negative current along the north end of Orcas Island. By early afternoon the fleet had separated as a negative current and a very light wind pushed most of the fleet backwards around Clark, Matia, Sucia, and Patos islands. read more...

Terremoto drifts in Swiftsure from first to second

In a two day marathon race characterized by little wind, kelp, no wind, and more kelp Terremoto snatched defeat from victory not once but three times. Great credit goes to venerable sailor Doug Fryer’s Night Runner for fighting through a difficult race to win a well- deserved victory.

With a veteran crew of Mark and David Brink, Kirk Utter, Steve Brockway, Bron Miller, and Bill Weinstein, the boat won the start by squeezing between the fleet and the Committee boat. As the wind built to Race Rocks, Terremoto was able to fight off many bigger boats and was only overtaken just before the century old Race Rocks Lighthouse. As the winds lightened Terremoto dueled with its new sister Long Board, a new Bieker designed Riptide 35. By evening there was little wind and as darkness settled over the Terremoto the Swiftsure “lightship” was just a few miles distant, Terremoto was significantly leading both Lighthouse Classes 1 and 2.

Unbeknownst to the Terremoto crew, Terremoto had fouled its keel, sail drive, and rudder with a mass of kelp. As part of the crew slept, Kirk Utter and Bron Miller fretted with a boat that barely moved. It took nearly 8 hours to travel barely three miles, and only with early light was the entire crew roused to “floss” the boat of kelp and get it moving. Terremoto had slipped from first to last on a corrected time basis. read more...

Terremoto sails worst race ever, finishes last

Team Moto entered the October 6, 2013 Foul Weather Bluff Race smug, stale, and stupefied after a three month layoff from winning the Van Isle 360 International Yacht Race in June 2013. Team Moto’s Fab 5 of Kirk Utter, Steve Brockway, Mark Brink, Bron Miller, and Bill Weinstein, was joined for the race by David Brink, Maaike Pen, Scylla, and Charybdis.

A light breeze found Terremoto’s class clustered at the start line by the committee boat. Terremoto arrogantly started at the pin end line of the line with a port tack. The intent was to sail “fat” and cross the fleet in more wind. The reality was that the wind died completely with the class sailing slowly at Terremoto on a starboard right-of-of way. Terremoto was forced to tack and then promptly drifted in to the race mark. This caused Terremoto to take two 360 degree turns to exonerate itself and place it in its traditional starting position of dead last.

Still confident in its ability to overcome its own crippling incompetence, Team Moto stayed on a port tack, transferred to the entire team to the leeward rail, and Terremoto, like a an Opti dingy, moved slowly away from the fleet. After roughly 30 minutes, Terremoto was able to tack on to starboard, and was able to finally edge ahead and cross the entire fleet. read more...

Terremoto wins Gran Prix

Terremoto rebounded from sailing its worst race ever two weeks before to win the Seattle Yacht Club Gran Prix on October 26-28, 2013. The Gran Prix is the culmination to a year of sailing in Puget Sound and Western Canada and serves as the de facto annual Puget Sound Sailing Championships.

After a day with no wind, on Saturday, Terremoto led after four windward-leeward buoy races over a tough group of competitors including Denny Vaughn’s Beneteau 40.7, Bravo Zulu, Peter Shorett’s and Zig Burzycki’s Farr 395, Ace, new competitor Teddy Bear, a Davidson 40 sailed by Gray Hawken, very tough competitor White Cloud, a Cookson 12 Meter skippered by Steve Johnson, Shaun Breese’s always aggressive Farr 39, Tachyon, and Korina-Korina, a Joubert-Nivelt 42 owned by Jon and Korina Knudson. The crew was made up of the Fab 5 of Brink, Brockway, Miller, Utter, and Weinstein and the capable addition of David Brink.

The final day ended up with a medium distance race beginning with a short beat north in a building northerly, followed by a long run south to Alki Point, a long beat back to the northern mark, and a short downwind run to the finish line. Terremoto won the first beat north with Teddy Bear and Ace boat lengths behind. The breeze built to gusts of 30 knots and Terremoto was able to accelerate away from the rest of the fleet. It handily rounded the leeward mark well ahead of the fleet but suffered a nerve wracking leg as the Terremoto’s main was reefed. Several of the boats were able to assert their longer hull length to run down Terremoto. Terremoto was able to finish just 7 minutes ahead of Teddy Bear in a two hour plus race. The final race was held in 30 knots plus winds with puffs in the 40s. The entire class retired except for intrepid Admiral Denny Vaughn. His sole finish allowed him to tie Ace for second place. read more...

Terremoto wins Race to the Straits for second year

Terremoto won the 2013 Race to the Straits and became the first boat to win best overall in successive years. The Sloop Tavern Yacht Club’s “Race to the Straights” is the Pacific Northwest largest race of 2013 with 117 registered boats. The race features boats ranging from PHRF ratings of 333 to -91 and from Rangers and J-22s to the Perry Supersled 66 foot Icon. The boats are single or double handed and race from Seattle’s Shilshole Marina to Port Townsend on Saturday and return Sunday from Port Townsend to Seattle.

The race is unique because each boat has its own start time based on its rating. In a reverse start, the slowest boat started at 7:18 a.m. Saturday morning, May 4, 2013. Terremoto, with a PHRF rating of 39, started at 9:46 a.m. Bill Weinstein drove the boat and Mark Brink fulfilled the critical role of tide, current, and moon astrologist and scatologist. Because Terremoto was one of the last boats to start, Team Moto relied on Brink’s unique knowledge and skills to sail and pass through nearly 100 boats.

The race conditions were perfect with 10 to 18 knot winds and unlimited visibility. Terremoto started with Zig Burzycki in his beautiful new Farr 395, Ace, off the Terremoto’s starboard aft quarter. Terremoto was able to sail a higher and faster line on starboard to Kingston and was able to shake the Ace. It then engaged in tacking up the north Kitsap Peninsula Shore and was able to pass several Farr 30s and a J-35. Terremoto crossed to Scatchet Head at the south end of Whidbey Island, and in a choppy rip tide was able to pass many struggling boats as it passed the Double Bluff Buoy to port. read more...

Race To The Straits, 2013.

Video race report of the 2013 Sloop Tavern Yacht Club (STYC) Race To The Straits.

Terremoto “win”ded in Center Sound Series

Terremoto proved that “less is more” by racing three times in the Center Sound Series, finishing only once, and still winning its class. The credit belongs to the wind, or the absence of wind.

The second race of the series, Scatchet Head on March 9, 2013, assembled the crew of Mark Brink, Ken Monaghan, Steve Brockway, Nhoj Henderson, Nate Critz, and Bill Weinstein. Unlike last year’s screamer of a race, which featured gusts to 35 knots, two broaches, and some nice pictures rounding the mark, this year the race was scratched because of no wind.

The March 23, 2013 Three Tree Point Race, showed some promise. After a dismal, boring second race, Nhoj Henderson, Nate Critz, and the Brink brood sensibly jumped ship. The old guard of Brockway, Monaghan, Brink and Weinstein were surprised that another old Brink stalwart, Mike Goldfarb, joined TeamMoto.

The Committee Boat end of the race line was favored and the fleets bunched up at the Boat for the start. Weinstein and Brink positioned the boat perfectly as the boat with a clear lane closest to the Committee boat, but as the picture below shows, Monaghan, Brockway, and Goldfarb looked on chagrined as the boat crossed the line a second before the start. read more...

Terremoto sails twice in to black hole and emerges second in Duwamish Head Race

Terremoto in the 2013 Duwamish Head Race. Left to right: Ken Monaghan, Steve Brockway, David Brink and Bill Weinstein by Jan Anderson.

Terremoto continued its tradition of starting slow and finishing fast in the Duwamish Head Race. Terremoto wallowed off the Des Moines Marina on the morning of January 5, 2013. The wind was a chilly three knots, which died promptly when the start horn bellowed. Terremoto stayed in the same place effortlessly. Last year, Terremoto exhausted itself by making two required penalty turns to stay in the same place..

Astute observation from last year’s parked race start suggested that a new wind would come from the southwest. Terremoto optimistically set its chute for a starboard start, and eventually the wind wheezed from that direction. Weinstein set the boat on a hot angle and Terremoto was able to squeeze itself between a dense mass of Class 1 and 2 big boats.

Steve Brockway and Mark Brink concluded that Terremoto had to sail to wherever the wind was and so Terremoto jibed on to port and headed towards Vashon Island and away from most of the fleet. The Terremoto was rewarded with more pressure and was able to seize a good lane by jibing back on starboard. The crew of David Brink and Ken Monaghan was able to clamber on the deck like sand crabs. They maintained boat balance and Weinstein and Brockway were able to cooperate finally in flying the spinnaker to accelerate the boat speed quickly.

Mark Brink judged the rapidly changing wind shifts well and Terremoto was able to maintain 4 to 5 knots. Terremoto managed to hit a black hole at Three Tree Point and only a series of obscure jokes about dilithium crystals and more warp speed seemed to arouse Terremoto from its doldrums. Boat decibel volume built faster then the wind as a vigorous discussion on picking shifts and avoiding holes occurred.

Weinstein screamed loudest, this time about “the hypotenuse.” Teremoto was able to sail a more direct line to the mark than its “big sisters,” the Bieker designed 44 foot Dark Star and the 40 foot Madrona. Terremoto jibed and the decision finally justified Weinstein wasting a year taking Geometry. Terremoto was able to sail a perfect line past Alki Point. Team Moto responded to rapidly oscillating and building gusts to reach Duwamish Head directly in front of Madrona. read more...

Terremoto wins Winter Vashon Overall for second year

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Angus Brackett shot these pictures of Terremoto flyng it

Angus Brackett shot these pictures of Terremoto flyng it's Number 2 “Oak Harbor Capital” spinnaker as it ran down the big boats in Colvos Passage in the 2012 Winter Vashon Race.

The Winter Vashon Race of December 1, 2012, completed Terremoto’s first year “under new management.” Terremoto went full circle through the Smith Island, Swiftsure, and Vic-Maui races to end up where its started at the tip of a slag heap in Tacoma’s Commencement Bay.

Unlike last year’s dysfunctional and unfamiliar crew, this year’s crew of Bron Miller, Steve Brockway, Bill Weinstein, Ken Monaghan, and Swiss Family Brink (David, Sarah and Mark) were familiar and dysfunctionally experienced. Terramoto was able to avoid in this year’s race hoisting Bron Mlller up the mast at the start line to fly him as a psychic distress pennant.

This successful start positioned the Terremoto on a fast and clear lane heading to shore as the rest of the fleet followed the wind in the opposite direction towards Vashon Island. Terremoto responded by jibing on to port and firmly seizing last place. Weinstein promptly ignored the crew consensus and with calm desperation pointed the bow at the southern tip of Vashon Island. The wind speed built quickly and Terremoto was able to cut across and sail below most of the fleet.

As Terremoto entered Colvos Passage it began a duel with the other bigger and faster boats in the race. The wind speed continued to build but was variable and the crew was engaged in a continuous dialogue involving wind and current. Weinstein was also trying to sail an efficient line to the top mark. Unlike last year where Terremoto was mistaken for a seiner because it routinely dropped its spinnaker in the water while jibing, this year’s race was characterized by a lack of mistakes. Terremoto smoothly jibed twelve times as it moved down the course pursuing the wind shifts and trying to use the tides to its advantage. read more...

Terremoto’s Toliva Shoal victory vanishes in strong currents and weak winds

The Toliva Shoal Race, the third of the four races in the Southern Sound Series, limped to its start on February 9, 2013. A smaller fleet, culled of experienced sailors who knew they should avoid “sailing” the Toliva Shoal race, motored to a picturesque start line in Budd Inlet. Weinstein, who had never sailed the race, had his excitement tempered by Mark Brink, who had motored Terremoto for eight hours the prior day from Seattle to the southern most point in Puget Sound. Brink graciously described the race as “a drifter, a miserable waste of time.” Undeterred by Brink’s accurate prediction, Weinstein naively enjoyed the vista of the state capital dome that dominated the Olympia skyline and the scenic beauty of south Puget Sound.

This sunny outlook was soon swallowed by a cold, grey, and drizzly morning. On cue, the wind failed to appear and the race start was delayed. The faithful crew of Steve Brockway and Ken Monaghan spent the time readying the boat and asking existentially why they were here when they could be there.

When the winds rose to a howling 3 knots the fleet sailed across the line and then stopped. A threatening fog bank hid the course, and the fleet of roughly 80 boats appeared to recoil. Terremoto opportunistically sought out the isolated wind puffs and slowly caught the cruising class that started earlier. Within an hour it had struggled to the front of the fleet and engaged in a protracted tacking duel with the bigger Farr 39 Tachyon and the Aero 38 Kahuna.

All three boats tacked through the central part of Budd Inlet to avail themselves of a weakening ebb tide. The extremely light winds made the current the key element of the race, and soon Velocity Made Good and Speed Over Ground became the dominant conversational theme. read more...

Successful Competitive Sail Boat Racing by Walker Weinstein

This is a picture of my father’s boat, Terremoto, rounding the mark and beating on a close haul upwind. The rest of the fleet, which is sailing downwind to the mark, has their spinnakers up.

I. Introduction

Understanding geometry is a key component of successful competitive sail boat racing. The use of vectors and the continual recalculation of wind angles and the Pythagorean Theory are central geometry concepts used regularly by sail racing tacticians and helmsmen. read more...

Terremoto Rocks Vic-Maui Race.

Terremoto, crewed by Canadians Paul Hansen and Paul Henderson, and Americans Mark Brink and Bill Weinstein, will cross the start-line in Victoria, British Columbia on the morning of July 7, 2012. Racing at least 2,308 miles out of the Straits of Juan De Fuca, and then along the shores of Washington, Oregon, and California, Team Moto will then access the trade winds to fly to the finish in Lahaina, Hawaii at least nine days later. The key to the race is avoiding the Pacific high pressure zone and not succumbing to sleep deprivation and boat privations. See Vic-Maui race of 2012.

Find Terremoto in the Pacific!

Read Terremoto's daily report and boat position in the Pacific at: Vic Maui 2012 Tracking.

Watch Terremoto fly downwind.

Jamie Stewart shot this short video from Sachem, the Swiss Family Buchan Boat. The commentary is provided by Kurt Watkins during the breezy Satchet Head race. Enjoy this short video and comments.

Terremoto experiences seismic changes!

Terremoto recently experienced a rumbling overhaul. Mark Brink removed all the fittings, stripped and refinished the deck, and repaired or replaced all of the fittings. The mainsheet system was redesigned and rebuilt by a collaborative effort of Mark Brink, Paul Bieker, CSR, and Bill Weinstein. Two islands on port and starboard were custom designed and made by Paul Bieker and CSR, and two winches were mounted on those islands. The main sheets were rerouted to better control the main under all conditions. The sailing community, including many of the former boat owners and sailors who have sailed on Terremoto, has been extremely helpful in sharing their experiences and suggesting what can be done to compensate for a green owner and scratch crew that is learning the boat as it is sailed.

Terremoto sails in Blake Island Race.

Jamie Stewart shot this short video from Sachem. He said, "This is about as close to the boat as we got all day." This statement is an exaggeration, as Sachem won on corrected time.

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,

Terremoto started on a port tack aiming at Race Rocks. It crossed in slow motion the fleet in three knots of breeze. The team of Mark and David Brink, Paul Hansen, Paul Henderson, and Bill Weinstein (Team Moto) worked the boat hard to gain boat speed and was fourth through Race Rocks in an outgoing three knot tide.

Team Moto then tacked on to starboard and crossed the Juan De Fuca Straits towards the United States. Halfway across the Straits, a westerly filled in to 18 knots. Team Moto deployed its new #3 sail and learned for the first time that Terremoto could point with speed. Team Moto was able to stay in phase with the wind shifts and passed Cape Flattery on a nice port lift around 9:00 p.m.

On corrected time, Terremoto was winning Swiftsure, but no good deed goes unpunished. The wind died to less than two knots as Terremoto approached the final eight miles to the light ship at Swiftsure Banks. Weinstein, having driven most of the race, got fed up, burrowed into the sail locker, and fell fast asleep.

It took two and a half hours to cover the final eight miles, and in the darkness Team Moto went through another Smith Island experience of kite jibes in very light winds as it inched away from the light ship. In the interim, the three racing sleds, Icon, Braveheart, and Neptune's Car, accessed winds up to 40 knots and managed to finish many hours ahead of the rest of the fleet. Henderson kicked Weinstein awake before 4:00 a.m. to find Brink and Hansen exhausted but triumphant after brilliantly fighting through a very frustrating light air evening. Terremoto tacked towards the Canadian shore.

Hansen and Brink woke up nearly two hours later to a beautiful sunrise with a nice line and a filling breeze. Terremoto was able to separate from the rest of the fleet with the exception of the three rocket sleds, which were far ahead. Team Moto hoisted its new A-2 sail as Terremoto went through Race Rocks. A strong westerly greeted Terremoto, and Terremoto was rewarded with exciting sailing as it repeatedly jibed through Race Rocks. Team Moto then power reached to the finish line.

Swiftsure was an excellent qualifier for the Vic-Maui. Lessons learned included the necessity of obtaining the new Helly Hanson off-shore gear, a new stove, and of having a sufficient supply of Chukar Cherries chocolate covered espresso beans. Team Moto also learned that an emergency strobe light was a useful way of locating Weinstein if he burrowed too deeply into his sail locker sleeping bin.

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.aspx. read 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. read more...