Oceanracing 2002 - Around Alone

Absender: "Aroundalone"
Datum: 19. Jan 2003 23:37

Brad van Liew - AMERICA'S TOP SOLO SAILOR
When Brad van Liew crossed the finish line in Tauranga last Thursday, he did so within a few hours of Emma Richards on Pindar and Bruce Schwab on Ocean Planet. While itÂ’s true that Richards and Schwab were sailing boats that were compromised with equipment problems, nothing should be taken away from BradÂ’s accomplishment. His Leg 3, and indeed his whole race so far, has been nothing short of a fantastic performance and one that van Liew should be proud of. Now, more than half way around the world, Brad and his team can look back and see how far they have come. It has not all been easy.

Brad und Ehefrau=Managerin
gleichwertige Partner
Photo: Roy Riley/Marinepics

Less than a year ago Brad was toiling in the hot sun at Charleston Boat Works in Charleston, South Carolina. The boat that he had just bought from Mike Garside was one of the fastest 50 foot sailboats in the world, and in itÂ’s former state (with Garside as skipper) had come second in the 1998/99 Around Alone. It was, however, a bit battle-weary and in need of some serious overhauling. Brad, we have discovered, is a meticulous planner and if he was to sail the boat around the world, every single part of the boat would have to be 100% perfect or it was off the boat. Forget that at this stage of the Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America campaign there was no sponsor, and to say funds were short would be a major understatement. Still Brad and a small team slogged away day after day readying the boat for the Around Alone. Back home his wife and manager Meaghan was well pregnant and working the phones hard in search of those elusive sponsorship dollars. It was a tryin g time for all. Brad and Meaghan have been searching for sponsorship dollars for most of the last half decade. ItÂ’s tough work. Trying to sell a dream knowing full well that you could deliver five times the investment, yet getting rejection after rejection is character building stuff. More so if the boat in the yard is eating away at your limited resources and the bulge in your belly is growing by the day. I was privy to some of the struggles Brad and Meaghan were going through and had only huge admiration for their perseverance, but even I wondered if it was ever going to work out for them. Their first sponsor, Dry Creek Vineyards, must also have been wondering the same thing. Still, passion fueled by single-mindedness is a heady tonic and the Mission America campaign kept on keeping on despite the odds and a ticking clock. There were a few pieces of good fortune in their favor. They were starting with a great boat and they knew going into the campaign that it was not going to be easy. Since Brad was already a veteran of the race and had crossed the Atlantic on the boat (with crew), he was exempt from having to do the qualifying sail that all the other skippers were required to do. This bought Brad some time; precious time since the start of the race was looming large. The yard bills were mounting, the sails had been ordered with no real way to pay for them, and Meaghan was getting ever more closer to the time when the baby would make an appearance. Lamaze classes and trip to Babies Â‘R Us were added to an already busy schedule, but nature was taking itÂ’s course and the inevitable was getting close to happening. Then along came another American who created an empire from a dream of his own. Perhaps he saw some of himself in van Liew, but whatever it was Tommy Hilfiger resonated with Brad and Meaghan and saw the marketing opportunity that sponsoring them would offer. Nonetheless it takes courage to back an entrant in a solo race around the world knowing the hidden dangers and knowing full well that an errant container floating mid-Atlantic could scuttle the campaign. But courage is how empires are built and courage is what it takes to sail a boat around the world single-handed. The rest, as they say, is history. Hours after inking the final sponsorship contract, Meaghan went into labor and shortly there after Tate Magellan was born. Instead of being born into a home filled with anxiety and financial uncertainty, Tate arrived just in time to see the Mission America campaign transformed from a struggling Around Alone effort, to one of the most professionally run and visually striking campaign s ever entered in the event. The boat was branded in a way that made it obvious who the sponsor was, and Brad soon forsook his old wardrobe in favor of clothing made by the sponsor. He, Meaghan and even Tate were no longer seen in anything other than Hilfiger clothing. It was an all-American effort ready to take on the world, and take on the world it has. Brad is now more than half way through his second solo circumnavigation. He has made it look easy when at times it has been anything but. With three wins under his belt he can be quietly confident that the top honor is within reach, but three wins only adds to the pressure. There is so much more to lose now and still a long way to sail. The Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America campaign is far from over, but it has already written a compelling chapter in this great event. --- Brian Hancock great.circle@verizon.net