New Open 50 record

Blistering pace in the Southern Ocean

41 days after setting sail from Torbay, England on Leg 2 of Around Alone, American class 2 leader Brad Van Liew has upped the Open 50 monohull 24 hour record.

Starting at 0300 GMT on November 23 and running through 0300 GMT on November 24, Van Liew logged 345.03 miles. on his solo journey. This qualifies as the top mileage ever recorded for a 50-foot monohull vessel under sail, solo or crewed. It topples the previous record of 333.6 set by J.P. Mouligne by more than 11 miles during an exhilarating weekend of sailing across the Greenwich Meridian. This hard won accomplishment came after Van Liew kissed the record twice, hitting 333.5 two times during the first leg of Arond Alone.

"It feels awesome to tackle this goal," said Van Liew. "In the spirit of the upcoming college ball games, I have sacked the quarterback, recovered the fumble and I am sprinting to the end zone for a touch down. The finish line is 400 miles away and Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America is 800 miles ahead of the competition. To top it all off, my family is waiting in Cape Town with a grand Thanksgiving feast. Could life be any more perfect?"