VELUX 5 OCEANS RACE – CAPE TOWN STOPOVER
We went out on the Jet Boat to Meet Brad !
American ocean racer Brad Van Liew last Sunday sailed into Cape Town to claim victory in the first ocean sprint of the Velux 5 Oceans.
Under clearblue skies and with a fresh south easterly breeze, the 42-year-old from Charleston, South Carolina, blasted across the finish line in Table Bay at
5.51pm local time (3.51pm UTC) doing 10-12 knots in a 15-knot wind. Brad, a past winner of the Velux 5 Oceans in 2002 and a veteran of two
editions of the race, took 28 days, 1 hour and 51 minutes to race from La Rochelle in France to Cape Town. During ocean sprint one Brad sailed
8,003 nautical miles at an average speed of 11.9 knots. It was a frustrating day for Brad, who was battered by 45-knot winds just early this morning
before becoming becalmed just ten nautical miles from the finish line. Finally the wind filled in and Brad crossed the finish line before berthing at the Victoria andAlfred Waterfront to the cheers of the watching crowds. Despite leading the Velux 5 Oceans fleet for the majority
of the sprint from La Rochelle to Cape Town, it was by no means an easy victory for Brad. He has been chased
hard by rival ocean racer Zbigniew 'Gutek' Gutkowski since day one, the 36-year-old Pole constantly challenging for the lead on Operon Racing.

Brad left La Rochelle feeling ill with flu and it was more than a week at sea before he started to feel better. Le
Pingouin was then knocked flat just days into the leg while travelling at more than 20 knots when the yacht crashgybed
in strong winds. For his win Brad is awarded the maximum score of 12 points. He also takes home the first
place prize of 24,000 Euros.