Van Liew 'definitely ready' for third solo trip around globe

The boat is ready, the trial runs are over and the bon voyage party has ended. For Brad Van Liew, there is nothing left except the water.

More than 30,000 miles of it, to be exact -- all that stands between him and circumnavigating the globe alone for the third time.

Today, Van Liew sets sails for France on Le Pingouin, his re-fitted Open 60 racing yacht. For most people it would be the trip of a lifetime, but for Van Liew it is merely a commute. Along with a member of his shore crew, his brother-in-law and a volunteer, he will cross the Atlantic to reach the starting line of the Velux 5 Oceans race.

This will be his third solo sailboat race around the world. He is 2-0 in these punishing races, and knows that no American has ever finished three. But he doesn't like to think about the odds.

Van Liew knows he's already beaten them.

"I'm definitely ready to get out there and do some sailing," he said last week, lounging on Le Pingouin after a two-hour sail around the harbor. "It's tough. I wish we had more time and money, but we got the cards we got, and we're going to play them."

In 1998, when the Around Alone was based in Charleston, Van Liew came in as an unknown and, in an older boat, held his own against two Finots, the Ferraris of open ocean sailing. In 2002, he took one of those Finots and won.

In a way, ocean sailing has defined his life, set his course. The Around Alone brought him to Charleston. After several years running the South Carolina Maritime Foundation with his wife, Van Liew decided he'd driven a desk too long. Team Lazarus is his sly reference to his sailing career coming back from the dead. The race now has a new name and a new sponsor, but he is only more experienced.

But this time things will be different. He has two children to leave behind in port, which only raises the stakes -- "it makes it more daunting," Van Liew said.

But all along he's said this is a family adventure. For nearly a year, his wife and kids will get to live in beautiful spots around the world -- France, South Africa, New Zealand -- as they await his return from the unforgiving sea.

"Part of this has always been a family adventure," Van Liew said. "It is an adventure they will never forget."

After an initial run from France to Cape Town, South Africa, the race dives into the Southern Ocean, the mix of water at the bottom of the planet where the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans run together. Unimpeded by land, the waves are often the size of buildings. Is Van Liew ready?

"I'll be mentally prepared when I get there," he said. "The first leg is always a good way to get in the game of sailing again."

While Van Liew is on the water, his wife and partner in this, Meaghan, will run the race from shore, taking their children, 8 and 5, from port to port. They will see him off from France and meet him in Cape Town, and at every other stop.

Right now, it's an overwhelming prospect to Meaghan Van Liew -- many of their belongings are in a container crossing the Atlantic right now -- but she is a veteran of two prior Around Alones; the name changed in 2006 to the Velux5 Oceans race. She knows the drill.

"There's fear, excitement -- all those old familiar feelings," Meaghan Van Liew said. "I'm trying to remember how many times I've waved Brad off the dock to cross an ocean. It has to be in the teens."

He has worries. As yet, the campaign has not picked up a primary sponsor, a corporate support network to defray the cost of the $2 million campaign. But he will not turn back. If you build it, they will come -- it always has worked before. He's put together a top-notch team and boat, and he is nothing if not a proven skipper. If not for the recession, he no doubt already would have a primary sponsor, and may yet.

Although the race sponsors can't play favorites, they are at least glad to have Van Liew in the race. Velux is an international company that makes environmentally friendly skylights and windows, and their American base is South Carolina.

"We hope this introduces sailing to America," said Tim Miller, president of Velux America Inc. "It's a nice rallying point to have a South Carolina captain in the race."

Van Liew credits a lot of support from Charleston, from the sponsors he has secured and his friends and family. They have helped get him to the starting line, but from here on out it is entirely up to him.

That means sailing offshore alone in stretches of more than a month at a time. That means battling the elements, eating a lot of pasta (which you can carry in quantity without weighing down the boat). It means that if something snags on the mast, he climbs up and fixes it. He will sleep in snatches of little more than 20 minutes at a time.

It will be a challenge, but one that is well worth it for the adventure, the experience. Fewer people have sailed around the world alone than have traveled in space. And Van Liew is going for his third orbit.

Next stop: France.

Editor's note: The Post and Courier is following Brad Van Liew's quest to win the Velux 5 Oceans race