Brad Van Liew has confirmed his entry in the VELUX 5 OCEANS 2010-11 race. Van
Liew's new ocean racing campaign targets the popular and exciting Eco 60
Class, and constitutes the first United States entry in the race. The move
represents a return to the race he famously won in 2003 as the skipper of the
Class II Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America.

"This race has had a massive impact on my life over the past decade," said the
41-year old ocean racer. "During the 1998-99 Around Alone, the predecessor to
the VELUX, my family and I fell in love with Charleston, the start/finish port
of the race. We subsequently made it our new home." Van Liew explained that
with his resounding victory in 2003, "I felt like I'd achieved my goals in
ocean racing, and could spend my time developing the South Carolina Maritime
Foundation, a truly worthy organization." But when VELUX 5 OCEANS organizers
decided to return to Charleston for the 2010-11 race, it ignited a spark in me
that I didn't really expect, and Meaghan and I have decided to focus on
building a campaign to compete in this edition of this epic race."

Van Liew's nascent campaign is currently named "Lazarus" and the American
sailor has targeted the Eco 60 Class from the outset. "The new Class provides
a low-cost platform with true 'green' credentials that appeal to me personally
and will also appeal to potential US sponsors," Van Liew said. "I've quietly
built a team around me over the past few months to secure the necessary
funding and a boat to race competitively and safely, and while there's a huge
amount of work to do over the next twelve months, I'm confident that we can
cross the starting line in La Rochelle to complete this amazing journey." --
Read on: http://www.oceanracing.org/images/release102109final.pdf