After 33 days at sea, Brad van Liew reached the finish line in Tauranga, New Zealand, on Thursday on board his Open 50 "Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America". Just a few hours earlier, the Open 60s "Pindar" (Emma Richards) and "Ocean Planet" (Bruce Schwab) had arrived in the harbour as Class 1 stragglers.
The stage had started with complications for Brad van Liew in Cape Town.
started with complications. Due to problems with the mainsail, he had to sail behind the field right from the start. However, in keeping with the motto "the last will be first", Brad van Liew built up a remarkable lead over the competition over the following 7200 nautical miles from South Africa to New Zealand.
At the time van Liew crossed the finish line, Tim Kent, runner-up in Class 2, was sailing around 1000 nautical miles from Tauranga on "Everest Horizontal". Alan Paris, in fifth and last place on "BTC Velocity", was a further 700 nautical miles behind.
Van Liew can now prepare in peace until the start of the fourth leg on 26 January and use the time advantage for any necessary repairs. Ideal conditions for claiming the fourth stage victory on the 8750 nautical miles to Salvador/Brazil.
Class 2:
1. "Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America" (Brad van Liew)
2. "Everest horizontal" (Tim Kent)
3. "Spirit of Canada" (Derek Hatfield)
4. "Spirit of Yukoh" (Kojiro Shiraishi)
5. "BTC Velocity" (Alan Paris)
Class 1:
1st "Bobst Group-Armor Lux" (Bernard Stamm)
2. "Solidaires" (Thierry Dubois)
3. "Hexagon" (Graham Dalton)
4. "Tiscali" (Simone Bianchetti)
5. "Ocean Planet" (Bruce Schwab)
6. "Pindar" (Emma Richards)
