Active House skipper finishes two days behind leg winner
VETERAN solo sailor Derek Hatfield today described the second ocean sprint of the VELUX 5
OCEANS as the toughest sailing of his life as he arrived in Wellington to clinch the final podium
position. The 58-year-old Canadian sailed his Eco 60 yacht Active House across the finish line
at 3pm local time (0200 UTC), less than 60 hours behind leg two winner and overall race leader
Brad Van Liew.
In the second of five ocean sprints that make up the VELUX 5 OCEANS, Derek, Canada’s top
solo yachtsman, sailed more than 7,500 nautical miles through the Southern Ocean from Cape
Town in South Africa in 32 days and 17 hours.

After a month at sea taking a beating from the relentless Southern Ocean conditions the finish
of ocean sprint two couldn’t come soon enough for Derek, who was running dangerously low on
food supplies onboard Active House. Derek arrived in Wellington with just two bottles of water
left and no more food, having eaten his last freeze-dried meal earlier in the day.
“It’s been a long, difficult and brutal leg and I’m glad to be here,” Derek said as he stepped off
Active House for the first time in over a month. “It was just relentless storms, high pressure
systems, low pressure systems… It’s good to have it over with. This is my third race around the
world and this last leg was the toughest sailing I’ve ever done.”
Derek was reunited on the dock with his children Ben, 2, and Sarah, 6, for the first time since
the VELUX 5 OCEANS started on October 17. “It’s very special to see the kids again,” Derek
said. “They are growing up all the time. I am going to spend the next few days just relaxing with
my family.”

After taking third in ocean sprint one from La Rochelle to Cape Town, Derek promised to push
even harder in the second leg to Wellington – and that’s just what he did from the off, leading
the fleet out of Cape Town and into the Southern Ocean. With positions changing often at the
head of the fleet the leading pack, which included Brad Van Liew and Zbigniew ‘Gutek’
Gutkowski, fought hard for the top spot as they all battled huge winds, raging seas and freezing
temperatures.
After passing through the safety gate south east of Australia, Derek engaged in a bitter duel
with Gutek for second place. At one point Derek and Gutek were separated by just a few
nautical miles. The Pole eventually beat Derek to the finish line by 36 hours after his east coast
route gamble paid off.
“I was a lot more competitive this time,” Derek added. “Gutek and I found ourselves in the same
patch of water, it was great to have such close competition. At one point we were getting so
close I called him in the middle of a storm just to make sure his radar was on. I made one slip
up by tacking too soon about a week ago and that set the scene for the rest of the race with
Gutek just beating me by a day.”
The challenge began in October, www.velux5oceans.com
Ocean sprint two positions at 18h00 UTC:
Skipper / distance to finish (nm) / distance to leader (nm) / distance covered in last 24 hours
(nm) / average speed in last 24 hours (kts)
Brad Van Liew, Le Pingouin: finished January 16, 30 days, nine hours, 49 mins
Zbigniew Gutkowski, Operon Racing: finished January 17, 31 days 8 hours and 27 mins
Derek Hatfield, Active House: finished January 18, 32 Days 17 Hours
Chris Stanmore-Major, Spartan: 766.2/0/244.4/10.2

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Polish skipper gives all in gruelling Southern Ocean leg
POLISH solo sailor Zbigniew Gutkowski crossed the VELUX 5 OCEANS sprint two finish line
after exactly a month at sea to claim second place. In an adrenaline-fuelled race the 36-year-old from Gdansk, known as Gutek, arrived in Wellington, New Zealand, less than 24 hours behind leg winner Brad Van Liew.
Gutek sailed across the finish line on his 60ft Eco 60 yacht Operon Racing at 6.27am local time (5.27pm UTC) as the sun rose over the city before berthing in Queens Wharf at around 8.30pm to the cheers of watching crowds. It brought an end to a gruelling Southern Ocean leg which saw him overcome huge waves and strong winds despite major problems with his autopilot, the electronic system used to steer the boat. During ocean sprint two Gutek sailed 7,753 nautical miles at an average speed of 10.3 knots.
“I’m really happy to be on dry land, alive and in one piece,” Gutek said as he stepped off
Operon Racing. “The boat is also in one piece too which is great considering I have spent more than three weeks with major problems with my autopilot. There is a big difference between the Southern Ocean and the Atlantic. The Southern Ocean is no joke. There are monstrous waves and huge gusts – 50 knots is normal. If you make one mistake you could lose your mast or even your life. For the first time in my life I was scared, and I took a real battering in this leg.”
Ocean sprint two has seen some of the closest racing in the VELUX 5 OCEANS so far with
positions changing frequently as the fleet battled through the huge winds and mountainous seas that characterise the bleak Southern Ocean leg. Gutek held the lead for a number of days over Christmas before being overtaken by Brad. A bold tactical decision to sail up the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island saw Gutek make up hundreds of miles on his race rivals.

Among the crowds waiting to welcome Gutek to Wellington was his wife Eliza and their 11-yearold daughter Zusanna. Gutek added: “I haven’t seen my daughter since I left La Rochelle back in October and just in two months she has changed so much. Seeing Zusanna and my wife again is an absolute pleasure.”

For second place Gutek is awarded ten points which are added to the points he won for taking second in the first ocean sprint from La Rochelle, France, to Cape Town.
Ocean sprint two positions at 18h00 UTC:

Skipper / distance to finish (nm) / distance to leader (nm) / distance covered in last 24 hours
(nm) / average speed in last 24 hours (kts)
Brad Van Liew, Le Pingouin: finished January 16, 30 days, nine hours, 49 mins
Zbigniew Gutkowski, Operon Racing: finished January 17, 31 days 8 hours and 27 mins
Derek Hatfield, Active House: 199.3/ 0 / 208.4 / 8.

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Canadian’s on-the-water battle with Gutek set to go to the wire
 
VETERAN solo sailor Derek Hatfield has vowed to fight tooth and nail to beat rival ocean racer Zbigniew ‘Gutek’ Gutkowski into Wellington in the second sprint of the VELUX 5 OCEANS. The pair have been locked in a bitter Southern Ocean duel for more than three weeks, constantly trading second and third positions and at one point were less than five nautical miles apart.
 
After taking third place in the first sprint of the VELUX 5 OCEANS from La Rochelle to Cape Town, Active House skipper Derek vowed to push even harder in the second sprint through the Southern Ocean from Cape Town to Wellington in New Zealand. And that is just what the 58-year-old has been doing, chasing race leader Brad Van Liew hard while locking horns with Gutek in the battle for second place. With less than a week left at sea, Derek said his fight with his Polish rival could go down to the wire.
 
“It will be interesting to see who gets to Wellington first – the race is about to get even more exciting,” said Derek, who was at the last position report in third place, 28.7 nautical miles behind Gutek. “We seem to be matching each other boat-wise and we’re in the same stretch of water so the weather conditions are similar. I am very competitive and I will fight tooth and nail to beat Gutek because we are so close. That said, one of the great things about the VELUX 5 OCEANS is that you can be fierce competitors on the water and the best of friends off the water.
 
“Of course, I am still keeping an eye on Brad too. He’s about a day and a half ahead of us right now, and although I would never wish any bad luck on anyone, one little breakage and he could be slowed right up. Yacht races are never over until you are across the finish line.”
 
Following the aftermath of the big storm that swept through the fleet last week the VELUX 5 OCEANS skippers have been enjoying more favourable conditions for several days. Their next challenge comes in the form of a high pressure system that is lying in wait for them as they sail south of the Australian island of Tasmania.
 
Derek added: “It will be interesting to see first of all how everyone handles this high pressure system and then which way they are going to round New Zealand to get into Wellington. Brad will be looking over his shoulder to see which way we are lining up to go and we’re looking forward to see which way he’s going to go. It can be a real deciding factor.”
 
Ocean sprint two positions at 00h00 UTC:
 
Skipper / distance to finish (nm) / distance to leader (nm) / distance covered in last 24 hours (nm) / average speed in last 24 hours (kts)
 
Brad Van Liew, Le Pingouin: 1300.7/ 0 / 223.1 / 9.3
Zbigniew Gutkowski, Operon Racing: 1609.8/ 309.1 / 283.5/ 11.8
Derek Hatfield, Active House: 1638.6/ 337.8/ 240.3/ 10
Chris Stanmore-Major, Spartan: 2228.4/ 927.6/ 240.5 / 10

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A New Years posting from the Velux 5 Oceans Skippers

An excerpt from Leader Brad Van Liew’s blogspot:

 ”2011! Wow, are you kidding?? That makes me really middle aged. I thought that would never happen, but bring it on! I have the distinct pleasure of ringing in the New Year in the middle of nowhere with no champagne, no woman to kiss at midnight, no ball dropping and nobody to sing that “old acquaintance be forgot” song that must be sung in unison annually. Instead, I will be pondering the meaning of life in what is forecast to be a moderate Southern Ocean sailing experience with all my Southern Ocean friends.

What will I do for New Year’s 2011?

First, Le Pingouin (LP) and I will have a chat as she has a lot to say about being middle aged. Boats live in dog years.? It is about seven years to one human year so she actually just broke through 60 years old. She also has more circumnavigations under her voluminous brazier than I do. She has done this race twice before and the Vendee globe twice as well, so this is her 5th solo circumnavigation race while it is my 3rd. It is quite amazing to think that she had more than 150,000 miles in global racing mileage before we even started this adventure. The ole girl is still one of the fastest monohulls ever conceived. Combined LP and I have spent more than a year of our lives hanging out down here in the most remote place on Earth. I still feel hardly welcome and am a strong advocate for the “tread lightly and garner safe passage” theory to get through this inhospitable but beautiful place.

Following my chat with LP, I will speak with the animals that constantly escort me along my route. The birds here are fantastic. They seem so fragile as they fly in circles around the boat and flitter about in the wake of LP as we charge along. Regardless of the weather they are always there and seem genuinely interested in why I would be asking for permission to transit their private place on Earth. The flock of birds I constantly encounter represent as many different sizes and shapes as the fleet of aircraft man has built, and they look their part. The Albatross look like B52 bombers with huge glider shaped wings and robust torsos as they fly forever while seemingly never flapping their wings. On the other end of the spectrum are the petrels which are like little compact fighter jets that zip around and jet through the waves, flapping their wings to give them super speed like they are using an afterburner.

Finally on this special transition to 2011, I will speak to the things that I hopefully won’t see. This includes the whales (of which I have only seen one since leaving Cape Town) and the icebergs which harbor so much of our world’s ecosystem in their frigid existence.

The primary message that I will try to convey to this watery world as we enter 2011 is an apology. I’d like to be an “eyes wide open” witness to the impact our human existence has on this place. Maybe I am a lone ambassador of sorts? As I write this I am sailing in 9 degree Celsius water in a place that should have far cooler water temperature. I am sailing deliberately further north than ever before because the Antarctic convergence (ice zone) is hundreds of miles further north than when I first sailed the Southern Ocean in 1998. The birds are far less in numbers than I have ever experienced, and the whales… well, we all know that story. My message will be a hollow New Year’s apology because I need to be honest with my friends down here. There is really nothing being done that will change the tide of globalization and human growth. We can hope that the pioneers of sustainability and green energy will be rewarded for tangible results. We can hope that rather than a typical New Year’s resolution that is a lot of promise and little movement, that maybe the human population of our fragile home will put some action behind the rhetoric.

I don’t pretend to know how much we affect this place through our actions and I am a firm believer that cyclic global temperatures are a natural weather occurrence, so I don’t wish to be tied up in the politics of it all. I just speak of plane facts that we know we can change. The whales are gone because we kill them for food and resources we no longer need. The bird population is off because we kill them with bad fishing practices and by throwing trash in the water that they eat. This planet is 70% covered in water. The life and delicate balance that water provides is the brine from which all known life came. Can you imagine if that balance is upset? Water can take the life away just as easily, and in a much shorter time, than it was given. The oceans provide every ounce of water we drink. If the ice caps were to melt (which they are) the vast majority of the world’s cities will become submerged. The sun and water are the two things that make every weather anomaly occur.

For crying out loud, the human body is something like 80% water isn’t it? We better start taking care of our oceans or they aren’t going to be here to take care of us.

This will be the somber but special New Year’s message I will share with my friends in the Southern Ocean. It will be a very “glass is half full” conclusion, basically stating that mankind is good and wants to continue to exist, and that we will do as a race what we have to do to survive.

Happy New Year’s and may you all take a few minutes to enjoy the beauty of the natural world in 2011.

Cheers,
Brad

Derek Hatfield gives an update on his southern ocean holiday. 

“The Southern Ocean is full of extremes and the last twenty four hours proves it in spades. For the past day, all three of us at the front have been heading SE on strong winds with gusts to 30 kts. Boat speeds have been in the high teens and it has been a neck and neck drag race. About two hours ago I experienced one of the most dramatic transitions in my sailing career. The cloud cover was very low and it was raining; within
2 minutes the wind went from 28 kts to 10 kts and changed directions by 45 degrees. Leaving Active House wallowing in the huge waves undercanvassed. The wind has backed now by a permantent 45 degrees and within an hour the sun had come out. Such exteame weather changes are both humbling and awe inspiring.

Here’s to another year past that hopefully was a good one for each of you. And for 2011, I hope that all of your goals and aspirations come true. Happy New Year to you and your families and friends from Active House and the Spirit of Canada team.

Take Care. Be safe.

Derek

Chris Stanmore-Major reflects on his holiday.

I was throwing a reef in this morning and I suddenly realised that I was doing it right.  I was moving efficiently; things were happening in their proper order and the whole procedure seemed quite tranquil and, dare I say it, professional compared to the frenetic machinations that have normally occurred when I have stepped up to reef in worsening weather previously.  This morning despite 30kts coming on really quite quickly I felt on top of the situation and sure of what I was doing. Even when a reef line became tangled on its self and I had to crawl out to the end of the boom to free it. No problem I thought – I know where I’m going, how to get there and what I have to do once there to remedy the situation. It was exciting but wonderfully uneventful. It was a curious thing to stand there at the mast once it was all done – with the reef in, the boat back on course and all the little problems dealt with swiftly and reflect on the contrast between this and my first reefing experiences in the North Atlantic in October.

I remember I was nervous as hell and felt out of my depth in those early days, ventured forward to the mast each time I had to reef. The boat invariably was headed far too far up wind and she would be bucking and crashing through the waves like a submarine.  With the main still not out far enough she would be sailing on her ear with the lee decks underwater and precious little it seemed for me to hold onto save the winch handle and the sail.  The wind would be howling and the sail totally uninterested in what I wanted it to do. The noise of that huge spectra sail flogging its self silly, the angle of the decks and the knowledge that it was just me in charge of this asylum was enough to make me want to curl up and die. In response I would bellow at myself as I used to do to crew in heavy weather, issuing instructions (to myself), providing a supporting narrative (for myself) and pushing myself to keep going whatever went wrong (and a lot used to go wrong).  I guess in the midst of shouting I was distracted enough not to notice how scared I was. This is not a new technique, I know – I have seen it in use on many boats over the years. This was just my turn and as there was no one to insult but myself, it worked.

I’m not sure exactly when all my dues were paid and I suddenly became a competent Open 60 mast man- probably over Christmas sometime where there was a lot of reef in, reef out action and in the bitter cold I had to stay focused on the task lest it take ages – leaving me cold and wet again. I have adapted things at the mast now to make things easier for myself – I have put marks on everything to provide references and developed a procedure in my head I must follow religiously but as this has happened I  have also adapted continually to the job adjusting my technique in response to the cues given by the boat and making light of the attendant trouble.  Not enough halyard tension? Tonight Chris you’re going away with a broken mast track! Not enough reefline on? My friend you win a chafed reefline! And little by little through perseverance to the task of learning how to reef, not just reefing but standing back and learning how to reef  I have come to a point where I can tick a box in my mind and say,’ yes I can do that’ and move on to something else.

Is it funny for me to be halfway across the Southern Ocean in a solo Open 60 race and admit I have only just mastered something as basic as good reefing practice on the very boat I am trusting my life to? Maybe but bear in mind I am talking about learning ‘best practice’ here not just jogging along problem solving everything as I go.  The only way to really be at home here and fast is for everything to become second nature and slick, not cobbled together and guessed at which is what gets
impossible dreams off the ground but doesn’t win races.

I think we all have these gaps in our knowledge that we step around each day thinking, ‘I must brush up on that one day’. Words we skip in reading as after however many years we still don’t really know what it means, parts of our work that remain mysterious and unknown and in leaving these stones unturned we do ourselves a disservice as I think we can never reach our full potential if we do not continue to adapt ourselves to life’s challenges by constant learning and review.   I hope to forever remain a student constantly looking to improve my understanding both of sailing and the wider world as the joy of finally, by George! Getting it- whatever ‘it’ may be is a pleasure that just doesn’t age.

What is next?  Well, next learning task will be good gybing – you would believe how  cringe worthy that can be when it all goes wrong in 30kts – ah the fun I’ve had, boat on its side and going backwards. Also this evening I have a new question to ponder- why do I know so much about ‘My Fair Lady’?

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With just six days to go to the start of the VELUX 5 OCEANS round the world yacht race, the skippers and race teams are busy in La Rochelle putting the finishing touches to their ECO 60¹s yachts ahead of the race start on Sunday.

The VELUX 5 OCEANS is the oldest single-handed round the world yacht race. Run every 4 years since 1982, the race is the longest and toughest event for any individual in any sport. The race is a series of five high-pressure ocean sprints within a marathon circumnavigation. The 30,000 route is La Rochelle to Cape Town, then onto Wellington, Salvador, South Carolina before finishing in La Rochelle.

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TWO sailors will no longer be racing in the VELUX 5 OCEANS. French skipper Charles Hedrich and British ocean racer Simon Chalk have not fulfilled their obligations to the VELUX 5 OCEANS race management and as a result will not make the start line of the 30,000-mile singlehanded round the world race.
Both sailors did not respect a number of rules laid down by the race management regarding the process of qualifying for the race, known as The Ultimate Solo Challenge. The race management team has therefore been forced to refuse their entries to the race, which starts in La Rochelle, France, on October 17.
Both skippers failed to arrive in La Rochelle by September 26, the cut-off date laid out in the race rules. Ocean rower Chalk, 37, had set out on a qualification passage from Plymouth, UK, earlier this month but returned after several days due to the imminent birth of his second child. He applied to race management for an extension, which was granted, but he has since been unable to resume the passage and subsequently did not arrive in La Rochelle by the cut-off point.
French adventurer Hedrich, 52, announced his participation in the race at a press conference in Paris in July but has not taken the necessary steps to ensure his participation. His yacht Respectons La Terre, famous in the sailing world as La Cigare Rouge, has remained untouched for several months.

Four other VELUX 5 OCEANS racers, Chris Stanmore-Major from Britain, Christophe Bullens from Belgium, Australia’s Garry Golding and Polish sailor Zbigniew ‘Gutek’ Gutkowski, will all arrive in La Rochelle by the end of the week, joining Brad Van Liew (USA) and Derek Hatfield (CAN) who arrived over the weekend. Due to extenuating circumstances the skippers applied to the race team for special dispensation to arrive late, which was granted.

VELUX 5 OCEANS race director David Adams said: “The key priority for the VELUX 5 OCEANS race management is safety. Charles and Simon failed to prove to the race management that they and their yachts are up to the challenge of sailing solo through some of the world’s most hostile environments. Both skippers failed to comply with a number of the rules set out by the race management, leaving us with no choice but to refuse their entries. Our decision does not change in any way our commitment to the rest of the VELUX 5 OCEANS fleet and the race looks set to be a fantastic event for all stakeholders.”
“If it was easy, everyone would do it,” added American ocean racer Brad Van Liew, who has now qualified for his third VELUX 5 OCEANS. “I don’t think anyone expected it to be this difficult to reach the starting line, and the economic times have definitely contributed to the difficulty of getting here, but here we are and there are plenty of competitive entries to make it a great race.”
The decision by race management means the VELUX 5 OCEANS will now go ahead with six international skippers. Throughout the nine months of the race these sailors will be backed by an unparalleled structure of support. More than €1.3 million is being invested in accommodation, logistics and onboard communication ensured by title sponsor VELUX Group and other race partners. The skippers will also compete for a prize fund of €500,000, the largest prize in solo ocean racing.

Each team will be given €3,500 per stopover to assist with accommodation costs. Danish shipping line Maersk Line is providing complimentary marine transportation services to skippers, shipping 18 containers around the world. Furthermore, each yacht will carry a cutting edge communications package including a system of high-tech onboard cameras and powerful SAILOR 250 FleetBroadband satellite broadband connection. Skippers will also be provided with M-Link Voyager video editing and compressing software, as well as a broadband airtime package to facilitate daily multimedia content and the latest weather information.
Through the support of VELUX, the race is investing in excess of €2.6 million to promote the event around the world, communicating across all channels in three languages (English, French and Polish), and engaging some of the leading providers of content for television, photography, press relations and digital applications. With the race village set to open in La Rochelle on October 9, the event will be a fantastic celebration of solo ocean racing.
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 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 VELUX 5 OCEANS today announces the dates of the starts of the five ocean sprints in the 2010/11 edition of the race. The race will start and end in the French port of La Rochelle, in between visiting Cape Town in South Africa, Wellington in New Zealand, Salvador in Brazil and Charleston in the USA.

Ocean Sprint 1: La Rochelle to Cape Town – 7,500 nautical miles
Start date: October 17
The first ocean sprint will see the fleet battle through the notorious Bay of Biscay before pushing hard through the Atlantic and the frustrating calm of the Doldrums to their destination of Cape Town, South Africa, where the two great oceans meet.

Ocean Sprint 2: Cape Town to Wellington – 7,000 nautical miles
Start date: December 12
This ocean sprint sees the race returning to New Zealand for the third time, having previously visited Auckland in 1998 and Tauranga in 2002. New Zealand’s capital city will host the race for the first time and will be the ideal venue for the competitors to recover from the long leg from Cape Town before preparing for the treacherous Southern Ocean Sprint around Cape Horn to Brazil.

Ocean Sprint 3: Wellington to Salvador – 7,400 nautical miles
Start date: February 6
The party spirit will be in the air for the start day of Ocean Sprint 3 – it falls on Waitangi Day, a public holiday commemorating the founding of New Zealand in 1840. This sprint is all about the Southern Ocean: freezing temperatures, mountainous seas and howling winds and the feared Cape Horn. The fleet will have to survive all Mother Earth throws at them before arriving in Brazil for the first time since the inaugural race in 1982. The fleet will arrive just in time for the Salvador Carnival, the biggest in Brazil, the perfect remedy after the hardships of this ocean sprint.

Ocean Sprint 4: Salvador to Charleston – 4,000 nautical miles
Start date: April 10
Another battle with the light, unpredictable airs of the Doldrums and the heavy weather of the North Atlantic face the fleet on ocean sprint four, as they make their way up the coast of South and Central America. Their destination is the historic city of Charleston in South Carolina, welcoming the race into its waters for the third time. The skippers’ departure will coincide with Charleston HarborFest, a four-day maritime festival celebrating the sea, that attracts over 100,000 visitors each year to the Charleston waterfront.

Ocean Sprint 5: Charleston to La Rochelle – 3,600 nautical miles
Start date: May 14
‘Sprint’ really encapsulates what the finale to the VELUX 5 OCEANS will be: an all out adrenaline-fuelled race across the North Atlantic and back into the Bay of Biscay, where La Rochelle will celebrate the unique achievements of the skippers in completing The Ultimate Solo Challenge. They are expected to arrive in La Rochelle in early June 2011 with prize giving on June 11.

The race has been billed as The Ultimate Solo Challenge since 1982 because of the stop-start nature of the high speed racing over the Ocean Sprints, covering the greatest distance and time alone at sea of any race around the world. It is also a truly international ocean race, visiting five continents and offering a worldwide media profile over an eight month period.

VELUX 5 OCEANS race director David Adams said: “With five ocean sprints, the racing itself will be closer with the fleet tightly bunched from each restart. And if a yacht breaks down, there’s a chance to demonstrate the seamanship necessary to get to the next port, repair and restart.

“For sailors, there’s also the strong camaraderie that develops among the skippers and their teams ashore, as well as interacting with locals in each port. For sponsors, there are opportunities for international media, hospitality and promotions in some of the world’s most spectacular harbour cities. For spectators, there are more opportunities to meet the inspirational skippers at the various ports, and to watch the spectacular Sprint starts and finishes, whether ‘live’ or via the media or internet.”

“The VELUX 5 OCEANS race management team is working with our city partners to deliver high quality stopovers for skippers, providing world class services, global media coverage and reducing costs as much as possible across the board.”

The VELUX 5 OCEANS, run by Clipper Ventures PLC, starts from La Rochelle in France on October 17 and features five ocean sprints. 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.

Please visit www.velux5oceans.com

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