As part of the Lunenburg Wooden Boat Reunion & Regatta the Spirit of Canada Ocean Challenges team will be having their first Open Boat since Derek Hatfield and his Open 60 Spirit of Canada returned from the gruelling VELUX 5 Oceans Single Handed around the world race. Derek and his podium placing race boat will be on hand to personally answer questions about the race and allow people aboard the boat which is located on the Zwicker Wharf along the Lunenburg Waterfront.

The Lunenburg Wooden Boat Reunion & Regatta is a celebration of the history, culture, and proud tradition of wooden boats at this, the first annual event to be held July 23 and 24, 2011. Spectators will witness a race between traditional sloops and schooners in the harbour of this UNESCO World Heritage Site on Saturday July 23rd. The race has been specially designed for public viewing and will include a parade of sail which can be viewed from the Bluenose II wharf starting at 11 A.M. The Nova Scotia Schooner Association; currently celebrating its 50th anniversary will be participating in the event with more than a dozen schooners expected to attend. While the schooners are racing you are invited to visit Derek and the boat from 13.00hr to 16.00hr.

On Sunday afternoon, visitors can stroll the wharves, chat with the skippers, and go aboard several of the vessels during an open house. On Sunday there will be dory races, small sailboat races, and putt putt races prior to the free concert by Lennie Gallant on the Bluenose II wharf. Visitors will be encouraged to explore the entire waterfront and visit active boatyards where dories, rowing shells, and schooners are currently under construction including the 143’ Bluenose II being rebuilt in the former Smith and Rhuland Shipyard. The Picton Castle will be holding an open house, cargo sale, and hand on demonstrations of traditional marine skills on both days between 10 A.M and 5 P.M. The Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, a key sponsor of the event, will open its wharves for dockside viewing of its fleet, including the Saltbank Schooner Theresa E. Connor. The Museum wharf will be the focus of weekend-long festivities including demonstrations by marine artisans of boatbuilding, model making, sail making, wire splicing, casting and rope work. The weekend long event will include a variety of events for the entire family as well as free musical entertainment on both days.

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Canadian sailor Derek Hatfield captured third place in the first ocean sprint of the Velux 5 Oceans event on Saturday.

The Nova Scotia native arrived in Cape Town, South Africa following 33 gruelling days at sea.

Hatfield, the oldest skipper in the fleet at 57-years of age, completed 7,932 nautical miles at an average speed of 9.74 knots in 22 hours and 37 minutes. Problems with his autopilot meant Derek did not sleep inside his boat once during ocean sprint one, just in case something went wrong with the boat’s steering.

 

“All those hard times of the last month are going to disappear pretty quickly now! It’s been a good leg though, not my best ever but I am very happy with third. The first two weeks of the race I found very difficult. I really missed the children and I had a hard time getting motivated. I was still getting to know the boat but I think I know her pretty well now and I have some ideas about how to go quicker on the next leg.”

Ocean sprint one winner Brad Van Liew arrived in Cape Town six days ahead of Derek last Sunday, while second placed Zbigniew ‘Gutek’ Gutkowski arrived on Wednesday.

This was the first of five legs that make up the 30,000 nautical mile round the world race.

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 American ocean racer Brad Van Liew today sailed into Cape Town  to claim victory in the first ocean sprint of the VELUX 5 OCEANS. The 42-year-old from Charleston, South Carolina, blasted across the finish line in Table Bay at 5.51pm local time (3.51pm UTC).

 

 

 

 

 

  While American Brad Van Liew has been revelling in his victory in the first ocean sprint of the

VELUX 5 OCEANS, the rest of the fleet have been making frustratingly slow progress towards Cape Town. Light airs have dogged Zbigniew ‘Gutek’ Gutkowski, Derek Hatfield and Chris Stanmore-Major as they battle their way to the finish line of the 7,400 nautical mile leg whichstarted in La Rochelle on October 17.

Frustration has swept through the fleet, now tantalisingly close to Cape Town. At the last position report at midday UTC second placed Gutek and his Eco 60 yacht
Operon Racing were just 560 nautical miles from the line but in the previous 24 hours covered just 121 nautical miles.

“Right now I have no wind,” the 36-year-old Pole said. “I am sailing very, very slowly.

During the last three days I made less distance than I would normally in 24 hours. The longer I sail the slower I go. I keep looking back for the boys, but I don’t think they will catch me because they won’t have any good wind either.”

He is right – Canadian Derek Hatfield was today experiencing equally frustrating conditions on Active House
Statistics from 12pm UTC position report:

Skipper; distance to finish (nm); distance covered in last 24 hours (nm); average speed in last

24 hours (kts)
Brad Van Liew: finished Nov 14, 28 days, 1 hour, 51 mins

Gutek: 562.3; 523.6; 121.8; 5.1

Derek Hatfield: 1,067.1; 207.2; 8.6

 

 

 

 

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CANADIAN ocean racer Derek Hatfield arrived in VELUX 5 OCEANS home port La Rochelle this morning after sailing more than 3,000 miles solo across the Atlantic. Derek’s arrival marks the end of a two-week voyage from Nova Scotia, Canada, on his Eco 60 Active House.
Derek slipped on to the berth in the Bassin des Chalutiers in the city’s Vieux Port under the cover of darkness shortly after 6.30am. The 57-year-old is the second VELUX 5 OCEANS skipper to arrive in the historic French port ahead of the race start on October 17. American Brad Van Liew arrived on Thursday having sailed 4,000 miles from Charleston, South Carolina. British ocean racer Chris Stanmore-Major is set to arrive in La Rochelle early next week.
The delivery to La Rochelle allowed Derek to put Active House, formerly solo sailor Rich Wilson’s Great America III, through its paces. During the 13-day North Atlantic crossing Active House was battered by storms bringing wind speeds of up to 45 miles per hour.
Derek, who won class three of the VELUX 5 OCEANS (then the Around Alone) in 2003, said: “We were hit by one storm in particular that kicked up really dangerous waves of about 10 metres. It didn’t last for that long but it was really violent. It was another good test for Active House and she performed beautifully.”
Now berthed in the Bassin des Chalutiers, Derek will spend the following weeks leading to the race start making final preparations to Active House on shore as well as taking her for test sails in the Chef de Baie.
“We will now be pretty flat out for the next couple of weeks getting Active House ready for start day,” Derek added. “We have a list of jobs following the delivery and also a new suit of sails coming. It is great to be in La Rochelle. This is the last stage in our pre-race preparation and I’m really looking forward to starting the VELUX 5 OCEANS.”
Recently Derek and his Spirit of Canada team signed a title sponsorship deal with Active House, a global alliance of companies, research institutions and other organisations promoting sustainable buildings. Derek’s Eco 60 has since been branded with the Active House Alliance’s livery on the yacht’s hulls, decks and sails.
The VELUX 5 OCEANS, run by Clipper Ventures PLC, is the longest running solo round the world race, and has 28 years of rich heritage as the BOC Challenge and then the Around Alone. This edition features five ocean sprints over nine months. After heading from La Rochelle to Cape Town, the race will then take in Wellington in New Zealand, Salvador in Brazil and Charleston in the US before returning back across the Atlantic to France. The VELUX 5 OCEANS will start at 4pm on October 17 from La Rochelle.

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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.

 
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.”
 

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

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Sole US Entry in Velux 5 Oceans Race Looks to Boat’s Origins and Professional Design Team for Name, Branding
 
It’s not a comfortable position, but Brad Van Liew has been here before. 
 
Just a few short months away from the start of a world-class sailing race that sends skippers around the globe alone, Van Liew is mentally and physically prepared to win.  He has a stellar racing machine, fine-tuned by the best in the business.  His boat’s electronics package, cameras and communication gear, and renewable energy systems are in place.  His shore support team and family are primed for this – one of the most exciting adventures possible.  Tens of thousands of fans are ready to follow Brad’s adventure online. Yet despite all this, Van Liew is still missing one major piece of the puzzle: A corporate partner to name the boat and brand some 8,000 square feet of space onboard. 
 
“I’ve done this race twice before, and I’ve always had faith that ‘if you build it, they will come,’” Van Liew said.  “It’s financially risky and requires some serious intestinal fortitude, but a project like this doesn’t fit into the standard mold for sports sponsorship in the USA, and it always seems we need to put the ‘canvas’ in front of sponsors for them to understand and appreciate the potential.”
 
Van Liew’s ‘ECO 60′ is one of the fastest of its kind, a high-tech, carbon fiber thoroughbred racing yacht, designed from the ground up for singlehanded, transoceanic racing.  He has christened the boat “Le Pingouin” – a name that harkens back to the boat’s original days, when French solo racer Catherine Chabaud named it after the birds that she would see as she passed remote rocky islets like the Kerguelens in the desolate Southern Ocean.  The yacht has been registered with that name ever since, even when companies like Whirlpool, Tiscali, and Pro-Forms had their names emblazoned on the deck and hull from stem to stern.  Today, a different kind of logo covers the boat’s hull – a fierce, determined penguin set against NASCAR yellow – that signals Brad’s intent to dominate this race as he did in 2002-3 with Tommy Hilfiger. Charleston creative design firm Cre843 developed the original artwork to showcase the vast potential for corporate visuals on the hull, deck and sails.
 
“Our friends at Cre843 did a gorgeous job with the graphics, and like me, the penguin thrives in cold water and does whatever it needs to survive in any weather,” said Van Liew.  “But despite the integrated look, we’ve designed the logo job to be easily removable, leaving a blank canvas for prospective title sponsors to wrap the boat with graphics and logos that best represent their company.”  A big racing boat like this is one of the most innovative and effective mobile billboards there are, and the value comes from the personalization of the sponsor’s brand in the non-stop drama and media exposure over the 9 months of the race, through locations on 5 continents in premium markets around the world. 
 
When asked if he is nervous with the race start looming, Van Liew nodded with a slight grin.  “Balance Bar came aboard just weeks before our start in ’98, while Tommy joined us just a few months before the 2002 race, so we’re unfortunately used to the uncertainty,” he said.  Both partnerships were extremely successful, generating millions in media value and seeing Van Liew on the covers of major national magazines and newspapers, and interviewed via satellite on national TV networks.  Van Liew placed 3rd in class as a rookie in the ’98 event, and dominated his class in the ’02-3 race, setting records for every leg.  He’s confident that 2010 will once again provide a turn-key opportunity for a company that’s ready to think ‘outside the box’ of traditional marketing. 
 
What if Van Liew doesn’t secure a title sponsor before the October start? “I’ll just rely on my amazing team, stalwart supporters, the great sponsors we’ve already partnered with, and the thousands of volunteers and donors that have brought me this far, and we’ll go win another one.”
 
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. Companies supporting Van Liew’s campaign include B&G, Simrad, Gill, Samson, Awlgrip, Harken, High and Dry Boatworks, West Marine, Alpine Aire, Detyens, CMMC Machine, Charleston Rigging, Pierside Boatworks, Seabreeze Marina and many others.

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.  

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The Eco 60 Class of ocean racing yachts today launches its own dedicated website. The new class – which currently makes use of Open 60 yachts launched before 2003 – was created as an ecological, sustainable and affordable ocean racing yacht still capable of blistering speeds and top performance, with a proven track record of reliability and safety.

The Eco 60 Class website – www.eco60.org or www.eco60.net – goes live today with detailed information about the yachts and the background to the class, as well as a section devoted to Eco 60s for sale.
The class is all about allowing enthusiastic sailors with limited funds to make their mark on the world of ocean racing, and will be premiered in the VELUX 5 OCEANS 2010. The Eco 60 Class takes advantage of the large market of third generation Open 60 yachts for sale, effectively recycling them back into the world they were built for – solo ocean racing.

As the ever increasing costs of the new Open 60s puts them beyond the reach of all but the few very big sponsors, there is a need to produce a class that is affordable to more sailors with the spirit of adventure and keep around the world solo sailing accessible. These tried and tested racing machines, proven in the toughest oceans around the world with a pedigree of success, are lying unused. However, their potential remains and can be harnessed as Eco 60s.
Reliable and safe, these racing yachts also come at a fraction of the cost of their newer counterparts, making ocean racing more affordable and accessible.

Race rules will set limitations on the number of sails, the size of shore crews and the extent of refit work permitted in order to further reduce budgets. But it’s not just about money – the Eco 60 Class will also be governed by a framework designed to improve the ecological and environmental impact on the planet. This includes a limit on the use of fossil fuels to encourage sailors to use more sustainable methods such as wind, solar and hydro power.

VELUX 5 OCEANS chairman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston has been a pioneer of the Eco 60 Class after sailing one to glory in the 2007 edition of the VELUX 5 OCEANS. He said: “In ocean racing, to finish first you first have to finish. For my 2006/07 VELUX 5 OCEANS campaign I chose an older boat, strong and well tested. Of seven starters, four of us finished. In the 2008 Vendée Globe, only five out of the twenty one new generation yachts completed the course, compared to six out of the nine ‘Eco 60’ yachts which successfully returned to Les Sables D’Olonne after circumnavigating the planet.”

“The 28-year history of the VELUX 5 OCEANS is peppered with stories of unknown sailors of limited means who emerged to make their mark on ocean racing. Some became famous; others simply achieved their life’s dream of a solo circumnavigation. The Eco 60 Class continues that tradition.”

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Spirit of Canada and Canadian Yachting have worked closely in the past helping to promote Derek Hatfield’s ongoing passion for round the world racing while representing Canada in the 2002 Around Alone Single-handed Yacht Race, the Vendee Globe 2008 and now the 2010 Velux 5 Oceans Challenge (formerly the Around Alone).
Eliabeth Kerr, CY’s Publisher states “As Canada’s only national boating magazine covering both sail and power, Canadian Yachting is the perfect media fit for Spirit of Canada. We welcome the opportunity to work with Team Spirit of Canada to increase awareness, raise funds and support corporate sponsorship involvement. With the addition of Sail-World Canada, we are well-positioned to spread the word around the globe.”
Derek Hatfield responds. “We are very proud to be continuing our partnership with Canadian Yachting magazine as they have been pivotal in the success of Spirit of Canada and our campaigns to race around the world. With the addition of Sail-World Canada, we now have a world class Internet and e-mail portal to reach sailors around the world via instantaneous updates. We are really looking forward to utilizing this fantastic new medium to highlight our partners and to also introduce Sail-World Canada too.
The start of the VELUX 5 Oceans takes place in La Rochelle, France on October 17th, 2010. The around the world course has stopovers in Cape Town, Wellington, Salvador de Bahia, Charleston and then back to La Rochelle in France. Derek is the first official entry in the ECO 60 division of the VELUX 5 Oceans 2010 Round the World Yacht Race.
Canadian Yachting will feature editorial and advertising support for Derek Hatfield and the Spirit of Canada in every issue leading up to and during the race that starts this October in France.

 

It takes tremendous courage, determination and persistence to race around the world alone. Derek is the 126th brave sailor to have ever done it. As perspective, this is fewer than the 400 astronauts who have gone into space or the over 15,000 mountaineers who have reached the summit of Mt. Everest. It is a tremendous accomplishment under normal circumstances, but Derek Hatfield’s story is truly inspiring.

Starting in September 2002 and ending in May of 2003, Derek completed over 28,700 nautical miles in the “Around Alone” Single-handed Yacht Race. Derek built the boat with friends and family and despite major obstacles along the way, was 1 of 10 international competitors and the only Canadian to finish the grueling event. On May 31st 2003, after almost 8 months at sea, Derek arrived in Newport – the finish line – to a hero’s welcome. Hundreds of people came out to pay homage to a man who just wouldn’t quit. Finishing an amazing 1st in fleet and 3rd place overall in Class II; Derek was the fastest 40′ boat throughout the event.

After finishing the Around Alone in 2003 Derek realized that with the tremendous support that he had received before and during the Around Alone he could build an IMOCA Open 60 racing boat and represent Canada once again in the Vendee Globe 2008; a non-stop non-assisted solo race around the planet. Derek wasn’t alone on the boat as he had the support of over 6,000 people on the boat with him. Their names were printed on the hull. After almost 4 years of building and fundraising, Derek started the Vendee Globe and became the first Vendee Globe competitor to fly the Canadian flag. It was an amazing achievement for Derek; it was an amazing achievement for Canada.

On 28th December 2008 after 50 days at sea, Derek was forced to retire from the Vendee Globe 2008 after a large breaking wave rolled the Open 60 Algimouss Spirit of Canada breaking two of the mast spreaders. Unable to complete repairs without outside assistance, Derek was forced to retire from the race and headed for Hobart in Tasmania. Only 11 of the original 30 starters were able to complete the grueling race.

The next challenge will be the VELUX 5 Oceans race, formerly the Around Alone. The start line is in France on October 17th, 2010 and will take the racers around the world via stopovers in Cape Town, Wellington, Salvador de Bahia, Charleston and then back to La Rochelle in France. Derek is the first official entry in the ECO 60 division of the VELUX 5 Oceans 2010 Round the World Yacht Race.

Derek’s other sailing accomplishments include:

Rolex Sailor of the Year 2003;
Gerry Roufs Offshore Sailing Award 2003;
Ontario Sailor of the Year 2003;
3rd Place 2002/3 around Alone;
2nd place 1999 Bermuda One Two;
2nd place 1997 Bermuda One Two;
1st place and Overall Winner of the 1996 Legend Cup Transatlantic Race;
7th place 1996 Europe One Single-handed Transatlantic Race;
1st place 1994 Labatt’s Single-handed Race Series.

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