Le Pingouin Ready To Launch (Photo Courtesy of Team Lazarus)
Sole US Entry in Velux 5 Oceans Race Takes Huge Step Forward In Round The World Campaign
Solo American sailboat racer Brad Van Liew and his devoted support team can score one victory already in their campaign to win the grueling VELUX 5 OCEANS 2010-2011 race, as today they officially re-launched the completely refitted Eco 60 racing yacht Le Pingouin. The team splashed the boat at Detyens Shipyard and motored down the Cooper River to its new home at Seabreeze Marina on the Charleston Peninsula. “I can’t explain how grateful I am for the amazing support of the marine industry, the Charleston community and my incredible shore team,” said Van Liew, shortly after the mast was lowered into place on the deck of his sleek racing vessel.
Van Liew and his “Lazarus Project” team have spent some six months in a no-expense-spared refit of Le Pingouin, ensuring that the boat is impeccably prepared for the intense singlehanded round-the-world VELUX race. “We’ve redesigned the deck and cabin to suit my sailing style, repainted her with some awesome and eye-catching graphics, and brought every facet – no matter how minute – up to the highest standards possible for an oceangoing racer,” said Van Liew. While the level of attention to detail may seem tedious, Van Liew explains that cutting corners isn’t an option. “This will not only be my home for nine months, but she’s my survival pod, my life raft, and will need to keep me safe for 30,000 miles of wild ocean sailing.” The stripped-out, carbon fiber racing sled is adorned with a determined-looking penguin that will watch over Van Liew, along with the team slogan, “Full Noise or No Noise” to remind Brad to push as hard as he can in his battle for victory over an international fleet.
ECO 60 Le Pingouin Launching (Photo Courtesy of Team Lazarus)
Many Challenges Conquered, Many More To Go
Van Liew said he’s always had faith that his team could get the boat ready, but that “it has been more challenging than I anticipated.” He’s referring not only to the stifling heat and humidity of the summer – one of the hottest on record according to NOAA – during their painstaking rebuild of Le Pingouin, but also to the immense challenge of securing title sponsorship support that has eluded the project thus far. “We’ve relied on friends, family, a devoted group of companies, and a group of individuals, both sailors and nonsailors, that see the importance of ensuring a US entry in the world’s oldest and toughest race of its kind,” said Van Liew. “We remain hopeful that we can enlist more commercial support, but one way or another, we’re going to see this race completed, and it’s all due to the hundreds of people that have thrown themselves into this project.”
Brad Van Liew Onboard Le Pingouin After Launch (Photo Courtesy of Team Lazarus)
Exactly two months away from the start of the VELUX 5 OCEANS 2010-11 race start day, Van Liew feels Le Pingouin will be one of the best prepared race boats on the start line. “Our equipment is the best, our shore team is the best, and we’re ready,” Van Liew said. His team installed a full suite of state-of-the-art B&G autopilots and instrumentation on the 60-foot racer, an integral component of the boat. Samson Ropes throughout the boat are color-coded, and in some cases, custom-designed for specific loads, tensions, and duties. Simrad systems will assist Van Liew with navigation, radar, and traffic avoidance, and complimenting the ultra-high performance systems of the interior is a flawless head-turning Awlgrip paint job on the hull and proactive coatings on the bottom and keel. Gill technical clothing will protect Van Liew from the elements, and his diet will primarily consist of Alpine Aire dehydrated food produced for extreme environments that require light-weight provisions.
Several Charleston based companies have proved invaluable resources to Van Liew and team in getting the race boat ready. Some of these supporters include CMMC Machine, Charleston Rigging and Hardware, charlestonyachting.com, Seabreeze Marina, West Marine, High & Dry Boatworks, and Pierside Boatworks.
When Van Liew finishes the Velux 5 Oceans 2010-11 race, he will become the first American in history to officially finish three solo round-the-world races. He plans to depart on September 5th for the long passage to France for the October start.
The Velux 5 Oceans starts from La Rochelle in France on October 17, 2010 and features five ocean sprints. After heading from La Rochelle, France to Cape Town, South Africa, the race heads across the vast Southern Indian Ocean to Wellington, New Zealand. From there, the racing yachts will head to Salvador, Brazil, then up the Atlantic to Charleston, USA before returning across the ocean to France to the finish.
Brad Van Liew’s entrepreneurial spirit has seen him through successful business endeavors in aviation and sailing. As a professional sailor, Van Liew completed two solo circumnavigations, taking 3rd place as an underdog entrant in the 1998-99 Around Alone race, and claiming victory in the 2002-03 edition of that event aboard Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America. He broke a world record by covering 345 miles in one day aboard his 50-foot monohull. Van Liew has been awarded an array of honors including a US Navy Seamanship Award, Raymarine Communications Award, and Sportsman of the Year from California Yacht Club. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California
Le Pingouin In Slings (Photo Courtesy of Team Lazarus)
Speedboat Crew On Deck
Stan Honey and Crew Of Speedboat Arrive In Bermuda
It was a slow race, with Speedboat making the 635-mile course in just over 59 hours after the start at Newport on Friday. The crew of 25 never reefed the boat. In the light to moderate conditions that prevailed through most of the race, Speedboat was hard pressed by Il Mostro, Rambler, and several boats in the mini-maxi 70-80 foot range over the first third of the course. “We really didn’t get away from them until we were in the Stream,” navigator Stan Honey said after Speedboat tied up at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club’s marina early Monday morning. “Then they gained a lot in the light stuff as we came into the finish.”
At 5 AM EDT the mini-maxi Rán on its blog reported less than 10 knots as she beat to windward toward the buoys guarding Bermuda’s reef. “Titan is downwind from us and is not a threat. Rambler and Beau Geste are upwind and in front as we thought they would. We are still in a strong position although it now looks like Beau Geste is the biggest threat. Just a few more hours to go.”
At 6:30 the blog reported, “As we are approaching the finish slowly but surely, we are all on deck, no more watches, all are on duty for the final stretch. Coffee and tea served on the rail – black only as no more milk powder onboard. Very calm water. Wind speed of 9 knots –
just over – and land in sight.”
Traditional Dark n Stormys Being Prepared At The Dock For Speedboat Crew
Cristabella TP52 Winner Day 1 (Photo by Ian Roman/Audi MedCup)
Three different TP52′s won the first three races of the new 2010 Audi MedCup Circuit season today off Cascais, Portugal, but it is Britain’s much improved Cristabella which leads the TP52 Series. John Bassadone’s Peninsula Petroleum won the practice race for the GP42 Series.
Cristabella, the British flagged TP52 shrugged off any sailing superstitions that it may be unlucky to win a regatta’s practice race when they emerged from a challenging first day of the new 2010 Audi MedCup Circuit season with a very slender lead of just one point over 2008 champions Quantum Racing.
Cristabella, owned by John Cook, skippered by John Cutler and steered by Tim Powell scored a second, eighth and a third from the three races on the bay of Cascais which were contested in moderate wind conditions which were never easy or consistent.
Underlining the strength and depth of the fleet this season, the 2009 Audi MedCup Circuit TP52 Series champions Emirates Team New Zealand could only muster a modest start to their defence, posting a sixth and an 11th before regaining their winning ways, victorious in Race 3 by 49 seconds over Britain’s debutants TeamOrigin.
After the first day of racing of the new it is an easy conclusion to draw that the three teams which are new to the Audi MedCup Circuit, Luna Rossa, TeamOrigin and Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE, have significantly increased the overall standard, even considering that some have had very little sailing time with their boats. Consistency across the three races was difficult and often teams which were among the vanguard of one race would find themselves slugging it out in the lower reaches of the fleet, unable to gain places.
Emirates Team New Zealand, for whom consistently excellent starting was one of the building blocks of their Circuit title last year, made two consecutive sub-standard starts and were unable to fight back through into the top half of the fleet. When they did conspire to get off the start line in better shape, it was a familiar sight as they extended to take their first win of the season in Race 3.
Cristabella’s laconic part Kiwi tactician John Cutler confirmed today that they were happy to take Tuesday’s winning gun for the practice race as much simply because “last year we could scarcely get out of our own way, so anything at all seemed worth taking.” Their 2009 season finished inauspiciously when they damaged their rig in the penultimate race of the season, but with a new keel, rudder, rig, sails, and changes to the crew line up, early indications suggest that the British boat could be contenders this season.
Quantum Racing (USA) won the first race of the season, just passing Cristabella on the second downwind leg. Karol Jablonski (POL) then steered the Russian boat Synergy to win the second race of the day, getting the better of Matador (ARG) who took third.
GP42 Series official training race for Peninsula Petroleum
Being at his first-ever Audi MedCup regatta, it could be argued that owner/driver John Bassadone (GBR) had a stroke of Beginner’s Luck in winning today’s Practice Race in the GP42 Series. After all, this was his first race appearance in his newly-renovated boat Peninsula Petroleum (GBR) (ex-Madrid), even though his team had competed a few weeks ago at the Palma Vela event without him.
But they had a strong start in the 12-14 knot conditions to allow them an early lead in the race, only to get reined in by another owner/driver, Roberto Monti on AIRISESSENTIAL (ITA), who rounded the last top mark in the lead to the finish. But this lead too was not safe, as World Tour match race veteran Paolo Cian (ITA) steering Madrid – Caser Seguros (ESP) just metres astern, drove Monti and team into the corner whilst the remainder of the class gybed away back towards the favored side.
The move cost Monti the race, but he didn’t seem concerned. „This is the start of a long series, we’ll have plenty of chances to get back at Paolo,“ he said with a smile.
Reigning GP42 Series MedCup champion Puerto Calero (ESP) sat at the dock today as team members arrived on site and their final preparations were being made. Skipper Jose Maria Ponce and his young team from Islas Canarias were planning a late day sail to shake out the cobwebs, but he seemed pretty relaxed.
Tomorrow sees the first races of the season for the GP42 Series.
Portugal Trophy, Cascais
TP52 Series
Overall – Day 1
1. Cristabella (GBR), 2+8+3= 13 points
2. Quantum Racing (USA), 1+5+8= 14
3. Matador (ARG), 7+2+5= 14
4. Synergy (RUS), 8+1+6= 15
5. TeamOrigin (GBR), 4+9+2= 15
6. Artemis (SWE), 3+6+7= 16
7. Luna Rossa (ITA), 5+3+9= 17
8. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 6+11+1= 18
9. Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE (FRA/GER), 9+7+4= 20
10. Bigamist 7 (POR), 11+4+11= 26
11. Bribón (ESP), 10+10+10= 30
GP42 Series
Official Training Race
1. Peninsula Petroleum (GBR), 00:59:39
2. Madrid-Caser Seguros (ESP), +00:21
3. Iberdrola (ESP), +00:24
4. AIRISESSENTIAL (ITA), +00:27
5. Puerto Calero (ESP), DNC
