Brad Van Liew arrived in Punta del Este, Uruguay yesterday, winning the third leg of the Velux Five Oceans Singlehanded Around the World Race.   The remaining three racers, Zbigniew “Gutek” Gutkowski, Derek Hatfield and Chris Stanmore-Major are all within only 50 nautical miles of each other and are expected to arrive in port on  Thursday.

Brad Van Liew Wins Third Leg of Velux 5 Oceans

The race’s latest leg—the third of five—took the solo sailor and his three competitors through the Southern Ocean’s most remote point, more than 2,000 nautical miles from land. The skippers also rounded the infamous Cape Horn, where Van Liew became the only American to race three times around the landmark singlehanded.

“Three legs won and three times round Cape Horn safely—those are two very important facts for me, two massive hurdles,” Van Liew said from the dock. “It’s nice to have a nice point lead now, and it’s nice to be back here in Punta. It’s a fantastic place here and I have missed it.”