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.

Mark Brink and Kurt Utter gratefully accepted the “pickle dish” at the Seattle Yacht Club Sunday evening after narrowly avoiding being arrested as vagrants. Thank you Seattle Yacht Club, Corinthian Yacht Club, Sloop Tavern, and the many Puget Sound Yacht Clubs for sponsoring so many fine 2013 races.