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.

The boat’s prior owners, Scott and Susan Burbank, had achieved line honors with Terremoto in the 2010 Vic-Maui race, and had created a vibrant and arresting website describing Terremoto sailing experiences in their Team-Moto website here. Brink understood Terremoto’s potential, and in a mystically seismic craze cajoled and hectored Weinstein, who has only been sailing for seven years, to buy the boat. As Scott Burbank drolly noted: “we sold Terremoto to a good sailor and a great team.”

After Weinstein bought the boat in early November, like a good owner, he disappeared.  Brink gave the boat a nautical proctologic examination.  “ Although the boat was in relatively good shape,” Brink observed, “there was a lot of work to do to get it ready for the first race in early December, just 25 days away.  It was a challenge getting used to the spars as they looked like moose antlers.”  The boat  only had sails that showed the effects of years of sailing to Hawaii and Alaska. The crew, who was press ganged off the Shilshole waterfront, had never sailed on the boat together.  Two crewman, Bron Miller (hereinafter “Bron”) and David Brink (hereinafter “David”), were veteran sailors from Mark Brink’s Peterson 30 Half Tonner, Lady Bug. Steve Brockway and Weinstein had sailed Etchells together with Brink as part of Newport Shores’ Etchells Fleet 32.  Kirk Utter was invaluable in using his skills as a salesman of remote satellite systems to communicate between the crew and the often cosmic Brink.

The Winter Vashon Race is sponsored by the Tacoma Yacht Club and involves boats from all over Puget Sound circumnavigating  Vashon Island. December 3, 2011 found 85 boats maneuvering in the fog of Commencement Bay.  Brink continued to work feverishly on repairing Terremoto as the first classes started the race.  With ten minutes to Terremoto’s Class C start, Brink yelled “Terremoto” and Utter translated the order to the crew:  “seismic chaos.”  Bron was immediately hoisted up the mast to pull the clevis pin for an unused innerheadstay.    As Weinstein maneuvered the boat into Terremoto’s five minute start sequence, Bronwas still40 feet above the deck, and the jib still rested below deck.

At that point Weintein asked Brink if he intended to race that day. Brink circled the stern and then roared to the crew: “Just do your jobs.”  Utter translated that order as “just do your jobs” and the crew sprung into action.  Terremoto was able to lower Braun and hoist the jib and 43 seconds after all the other Class C boats started, Terremoto limped past the start line.  “Well . . . at least we weren’t over early,” Brockway noted.

The navigation committee of Terremoto -  Brockway, Brink, Utter, and Weinstein – decided that the committee boat, located at the south end of a long start line near the Tacoma Yacht Club breakwater, was favored.  The wind was building from the south-east, and the navigators felt that any wind shifts would be channeled off Commencement Bay.  The wind did begin to build, and seemed to favor those boats which stayed out in the channel as compared to closer in to Vashon Island.

Terremoto pursued two larger boats, Strider and Free Byrd.  It headed off in the general direction of Point Robinson on a close reach. The wind quickly built to between 7 and 8 knots, and then dropped just as suddenly.

Roughly half way to Point Robinson, the wind died completely. The navigation committee assembled on the stern again, and replicated congressional deadlock. It was observed that many of the best sailors in the fleet were heading toward Vashon with the ideal of either closing the geometry to Point Robinson or hoping for lifts off the island. However, Weinstein observed that unpredictable and erratic pressure cells were still coming from the southeast.  A strategic and metaphysical decision was reached for Terremoto to always follow the unpredictable and erratic.

Terremoto separated from the rest of the fleet and headed northeast toward the mainland. In the next hour boats that headed  toward Vashon or were simply closer to Vashon did not fair well. Staying to the east allowed four class B and C boats to escape on a few zephyrs. Terremoto was able to acquire a  south-easterly wind emanating  from Poverty Bay, The four  class B and C boats in this breeze were able to separate from the fleet

As the lead boats approached Point Robinson the wind again lightened. Brink sent his son, David, below to find a patented Brink “Puff Card,” but David did not return and was found sleeping in the bow sail storage locker near the end of the race.

Terremoto continued on a starboard heading almost due east past Point Robinson. Point Robinson became the major separator between the four leaders and the rest of the fleet. While sailing past Point Robinson in a southeaster (maybe more south than east) it was clear the lead boats were sailing on a true easterly close reaching due north on the rum line to the northern mark. Terremoto found itself  in a  southerly breeze  in another tactical transitional moment.

The navigation committee again assembled on the stern. Were we sailing into a corner? Why was the wind so localized?  Why hadn’t David returned with the Puff Card we badly needed to play?  After a heated discussion, we concluded that Terremoto needed to acquire a new breeze.

Bruan and Brockway did a nice job of setting our Welsh GrapeAde colored kite. Terremoto sailed at a very hot angle towards a patch of rough water. It was difficult sailing the boat for the first time in race conditions because the boat tended to accelerate quickly, would generate apparent wind, and then Weinstein would head down too quickly.  Through trial and error, Utter, who was flying the kite, and driver Weinstein, were able to work more smoothly together to keep the boat moving and to slowly build boat speed. It was a very difficult transition north of Point Robinson, but Terremoto was able to continue to separate from the fleet and still keep in touch with the faster and bigger boats in the lead.

The transition was further complicated by a contrasted tide line that extended across the Sound just north of Three Tree Point. The tide had been behind Terremoto and had pushed it at about .8 of a knot, but the new tide line appeared to demonstrate the end of the ebb more than any flood current. The wind died as Terremoto crossed this unfavorable current line. The navigation committee assembled on the stern again.

The committee took turns with the binoculars to scan for wind.  In the interim, Utter and Weinstein were effective in keeping the boat moving while all of the other boats appeared to stop. Sailing at glacial speed, Terremoto was able to close with and then pass Strider, a very well sailed and crewed Nelm 55.Terremoto was now in second place on the race course, but the formidable Free Byrd, a Swan 45, remained far in the lead.

The breeze oscillated considerably, and the wind was very localized. Terremoto jibed at least six times during this period, which appeared to accomplish very little, but kept the foredeck crew of Braun and Brockway active and warm. The jibes were messy as the kite had to be carried around the forestay. After a more few jibes and patiently biding its time, Terremoto was rewarded with a nurturing southerly wind. Team Moto then acquired the top mark. Only one boat, Free Byrd,  stood between Terremoto and that northern mark.  At that point it appeared that the Race Committee made the decision to shorten the finish line due to light wind and make the north end mark the finish.

Terremoto  jibed on what Brink and Weinstein thought was  the lay line to the finish. Assuming that no further jibe was required, geometry suggested that  Terremoto could beat Free Byrd to the finish line. Weinstein and Utter tried hard to stay on the lay line, but the wind continued to lighten and the boat kept falling off. Two jibes more were required to finish, and these jibes cut Terremoto’s boat speed to nothing.  Terremoto faltered and “fell” across the finish line seven minutes but a very short physical distance behind  Free Byrd.

Team Moto was relieved that, ignoring its start, it had sailed its first race cleanly with no boat collisions, protests, or significant errors. The boat clearly had tired sails.  Its main sail system created a Gordian knot every time a roll tack or jib happened.  The boat didn’t point efficiently. A number of important changes need to be evaluated.

The boat also needs to be sailed differently from other boats. When Terremoto becomes connected to the wind, the boat leaps forward while the wind rapidly moves forward as well, allowing the boat to sail deeper. The key is to not sail too deep or respond too rapidly as this tends to stall boat speed.  The crew also needs to practice mark roundings, efficient roll tacking, and numerous other coordinated efforts.  Finally, navigation by committee creates terremoto.

Jim Marta’s Eye Candy was very gracious to allow Weinstein, Braun, Brockway, and David Brink  to jump ship while Brink and Utter could sail directly back to Seattle. Eye Candy’s crew was very kind to allow four of Team Moto to hitch a ride back to Tacoma.  Eye Candy’s cabin was posh compared to Terremoto’s “meat locker.”  It was warm, inviting, had a big screen TV and epicurean home baked goodies, and its crew had at least one piece of eye candy.

Thank you to the Tacoma Yacht Club for a great race. And, oh, Terremoto was stunned to learn that somehow it had come in first overall.