Van Liew Makes it Four-for-Four

In one of the closest finishes to date in the Velux 5 Oceans Race, American Brad Van Liew and his Eco 60 Le Pingouin extended their streak of leg wins to four. The 43-year-old Southern California native finished just 12.5 hours ahead of Canadian Derek Hatfield’s Active House after a 5,900-mile leg from Punta Del Este to Van Liew’s adopted hometown of Charleston.

"For me, winning this leg is so special," Van Liew said. "If I could have chosen just one leg to win it would have been this one. This is my home port, I am very involved in the maritime community in Charleston and all my friends and family are here. It would have been pretty disappointing to have won the previous leg and not this one. I was very focused and very determined. I feel delirious and exhausted — it was a heck of a leg."

Van Liew is the only American to race around Cape Horn three times, and since winning Class II with straight bullets in the ’02 Around Alone, he’s served as the director of the South Carolina Maritime Museum. Canadian Derek Hatfield pushed Van Liew hard, ultimately becoming the first sailor in the race to take one of the mid-leg time trials from the latter.