Derek Hatfield Finishes Second Velux 5 Oceans Sprint Four

Canadian solo sailor Derek Hatfield has finished second in the fourth sprint of the VELUX 5 OCEANS round the world yacht race as he sailed into Charleston, South Carolina.

The 58-year-old sailed into Charleston, South Carolina, after racing more than 5981 nautical miles from Punta del Este in Uruguay. Derek, at the helm of Active House, crossed the finish line in Charleston Harbor at 07.36 am local time following 23 days, 19 hours and 36 minutes at sea, only 15 hours behind the race leader Brad Van Liew.

Derek is a veteran of the 2002 race when it was known the Around Alone and has also taken on the mighty Vendée Globe in 2008, but failed to finish due to boat breakages.

The stage is set for a thrilling finale to the VELUX 5 OCEANS solo round the world yacht race. Derek’s first second-place finish of the event, means he will start the fifth and final leg of the epic 30,000-mile race tied on points with his race rival Zbigniew ‘Gutek’ Gutkowski, giving him a shot at second place overall. Breakages onboard Gutek’s yacht Operon Racing forced him to pull into the Brazilian port of Fortaleza to make repairs, all but cementing fourth position for the Pole.

“After the disaster of ocean sprint three when I expected to finish second and ended up fourth I am so pleased to have got this result,” an exhausted but jubilant Derek said as he stepped off Active House for the first time in more than three weeks.

“The VELUX 5 OCEANS is a long race, so for the first three legs I was concerned with looking after the boat, but for sprint four I knew I wanted to step it up. I’m really looking forward to the final sprint now. I wish Gutek well and hope he gets to Charleston in fine shape and ready to rumble. Chris is also really ramping it up. The last leg is going to be a really great finale to the race.”

Derek steered his 60ft yacht Active House into Charleston, USA, and across the finish line at 0736 EST (1136 UTC) just over 15 hours behind ocean sprint four winner and Charleston resident Brad Van Liew, who sailed into his home port. Throughout the sprint the 58-year-old veteran solo sailor piled the pressure on Brad and in the final few days of the sprint less than 100 miles separated the pair.

Shortly after crossing the finish line in Charleston Harbor Derek was reunited with his fiancé Patianne who helped bring Active House alongside at the city’s Seabreeze Marina. Waiting for him there were his children Sarah, 6, and Ben, 2, as well as his extended family and a host of wellwishers.

During ocean sprint four Derek sailed Active House just shy of 6,000 nautical miles at an average speed of 10.5 knots. He completed the leg in 23 days, 19 hours and 36 minutes.