Velocity Sailing

Where the team is greater than the sum of its parts….

Team Velocity sailing began in the summer of 2004. Its humble beginnings included Tad Pecorak paddling down Trey Brown’s becalmed Nacra 6.0 catamaran while it drifted on Lake Wheeler. As Trey and Tad have grown, so has Team Velocity sailing and all of its members. We now boast five boats in our fleet, several ground crew members, media relations, and a team manager. We’ve gone from a single campus organization, to a regional and national sailing empire. Below you will read the stories of those of us that are lucky enough to sail under the Team Velocity name:

	Trey Brown – Greenville, South Carolina (TVS 1 Skipper) As one of the founding members of Team Velocity Sailing, Trey is undoubtedly the catalyst of the whole operation. If it weren’t for his drive and passion for sailing, Team Velocity would not be what it is today. He’s is the undisputed paragon of youthful enthusiasm and spirit – accepting and tackling any challenges before him. Trey has also managed to impress the movers and shakers in the catamaran sailing world through his meteoric rise in regatta standings. His communication and business skills have worked well for him and he has networked with some of the biggest names in international multihull sailing. His experience spans the globe, having competed at high-level events such as Rond-Texel, and the St. Thomas Rolex Regatta. Trey just bought his first home outside of Greenville South Carolina but he is usually on the road travelling for business, working for Advanced Technology Services.
	Tad Pecorak – Braselton, Georgia (TVS 2 Manager) Fellow co-founder Tad Pecorak has been the grounding “father figure” of Team Velocity since its inception. As the resident “old fart” of the operation, Tad has provided insight and guidance into the growth and future of Team Velocity. He owns the venerable “Undecided” – The Nacra 20 that has served as the most recognizable Team Velocity vessel in the fleet. Tad began sailing in his youth, learning how to sail lasers on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. His sailing career grew again in college, as he served as Commodore of the NC State University Sailing Club. Tad has sailed in two Tybee 500 races as crew and is looking forward to skippering his first Tybee 500 race this year. Tad lives in his home in Braselton Georgia with his Wife Kate (the official Team Velocity Doctor-in-training), his cat “Hobie” and his Golden Retriever “Tybee” while working out of the house for INC Research.
	Bailey White – Atlanta, Georgia (TVS 1 Crew) While a relative newcomer to Team Velocity, Bailey has demonstrated a depth of experience and knowledge that has been an unmeasurable boon to the team. His past sailing endeavors include sailing on the frigid windswept waters of San Francisco Bay on 505’s, tactician on Melges 24 campaigns and even a TransPac race. Bailey’s fanatical attention to detail and his inceasant thirst for more boatspeed are nothing short of a perfect match for Tad’s calculated decision making. He has truely stepped forward on the team and demonstrated that he is able to make the transition from monohulls to catamarans while bringing with him the “out of the box” ideas that come from the monohull racing world. Bailey is a Senior Partner at Civitium and lives in the bustling metropolis of Buckhead Atlanta.
	Brett Robinson – Norcross, Georgia (TVS 3 Skipper) Brett grew up around Hobie 16′s and 20′s crewing for his father at the age of eight years old.  After taking some time off to devote his time to soccer, Brett and his father bought a Hobie Tiger in 2006 in an effort to get back into competitive catamaran sailing.  His most recent acquisition of Team Velocity Sailing’s newest Nacra 20 has given him a renewed excitement for the sport and for the Tybee 500.  He is currently a senior at Georgia State University, majoring in Philosophy with a concentration in pre-law with the hopes of being admitted to Emory law school.  The water is Brett’s home, enjoying not only sailing, but fishing, surfing, and pitchpoling kayaks in the ocean surf.
	Don Lefenstey – Raleigh, North Carolina (TVS 2 Skipper) Don Lenfestey has been sailing the majority of his life. From the Caribbean seas to the coast of N.C., this young crewman is well versed in all things sailing. He was raised for two years on a sloop in the Caribbean, which he and his parents manned. Don has faced both challenges and victories on the water. From out-of-nowhere squalls to days with no wind, he shows a talent for both problem solving and decision making. As part of the N.C. State Sailing Team, Don has competed in many races and even helped out several times on ground crew. He is a sailing instructor in Raleigh, where he teaches students of all ages. His main focus though is on youth sailing, teaching 4-H and Boys and Girls Club members the basics of sailing. In doing so he hopes to increase the popularity of sailing in the Raleigh Triangle area. Between his abilities on the water and his fun-loving personality, this sailor is a great talent and a force to be reckoned with.
	Alan Friedman – St. Thomas, Virgin Islands (TVS 3 Crew) Alan Friedman is a Puerto Rico native currently residing on St. Thomas. He sailed consistently until his early teens but put the sport on hold when he moved to the states. Upon returning to the Caribbean, he’s been actively crewing mono-hulls and sailed in numerous regattas since 2005. Two years ago he revisited Hobbie 16 sailing and shortly thereafter purchased one. He has been competing (sometimes effectively) in many of the regattas that allow multi-hulls to participate. Most recently Alan competed, in Hiram’s Haul on a Hobie Tiger, as Scott Hubel’s crew and earned a third place finish. He’s fully committed to racing in this year’s Tybee 500 for a number of reasons but mostly for the love of the water and a competitive personality that will not let him snub an opportunity to challenge himself or the other sailors in the race.
	Derek Binkley – Outer Banks, North Carolina (Ground Crew) Growing up on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Derek started watching Worrell 1000s at a very young age. He decided to learn how to sail at a boy scout summer camp in Virginia on Lasers provided by the Naval Academy. The following year, he bought a Hobie 16 as a project. In the spring of 2003, Derek met Tad who convinced him to join the sailing club at North Carolina State University. Derek learned how to race while in the club and eventually joined the race team, sailing against some of the most competitive collegiate teams in the country on 420s and FJs. While Derek will race anything with a sail, his list of boat experience includes many types of dinghies, Laser, Hobie16, Nacra 20, Ultimate 20, Henderson 30. Derek is also a US Sailing certified instructor and teaches adults and juniors how to sail throughout the summer.  Although Derek prefers smaller boats, a highlight of his sailing career was being invited to practice with both BMW Oracle Racing and Team Victory challenge in Valencia, Spain just before the 32nd America’s Cup. Derek was one of Team Velocity’s original ground crew and its star pusher. This will be his fourth Tybee 500 with the team.
	Allison Jones – Charlotte, North Carolina (Ground Operations Manager) Allison Jones grew up in Cornelius, NC. Both of her parents are accomplished sailors, so it was only natural that she too would take up sailing at a young age.  Allison began racing Optimist Dinghies at the age of 9, and progressed later to Lasers and 420s.  She has had many different experiences ranging from the Leiter Cup (junior women’s single-handed champs) to racing in college against many of the top teams in the country.  She also has coached sailing for 6 years. Most of her experience comes on mono-hulls but in the past four years catamaran sailing has become what takes up most of her time.  Currently she races on a Hobie 16, Ultimate 20, and Laser.  This year will be her first Tybee as a Velocity Sailing team member, and she is very excited about working with such a great team.
	James Boicourt – Annapolis, Maryland (Media Relations / Ground Crew Support) Team member James Boicourt grew up sailing on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, spending summers sailing a Cape Dory 32 in Castine Maine. During college he and Tad met and realized that they had attended the same middle school in Maryland. Both of them enjoyed sailing, and at the time Tad was Commodore of the NCSU Sailing Club. From that point on he was slowly dragged into more involvement by good friends and good times with Team Velocity. James provided support as Team Manager during the 2005 and 2006 Tybee 500 for Trey and Tad, and has provided moral support in any way possible since. James currently lives in Annapolis and is helping set up a service department for Bay Yacht Agency, the largest Jeanneau dealership in North America. He spends summers racing on the Chesapeake log canoe Edmee S., and the fall sailing with the schooner Martha White.
	Ryan Boyle – Raleigh, North Carolina (TVS 2 Crew) Ryan was born and raised in New Bern North Carolina. He learned to sail at Camp Don Lee on the Neuse river where he worked for six years as a US Sailing Instructor and led camping trips along the Neuse River, Pamlico Sound, and Cape Lookout National Seashore. He began competitive sailing as a freshman at NC State. While there, he served as NC State Sailing Club Commodore from 2006 to 2008. For the past year, Ryan has been working at a research and development firm called 3TEX as a technician – experimenting in 3-D braiding and weaving of composites for aerospace and marine uses. Ryan is particularly excited about this year’s Tybee 500 because it comes only days after his graduation from NC State.
	Kirk Spicer – Raleigh, North Carolina (TVS 4 Crew) Kirk Spicer is a Sophomore at NC State University majoring in Environmental Engineering. He grew up in Wilmington North Carolina while sailing on the Intracoastal Waterway as well as at Camp Don Lee on the Neuse River. Kirk cut his teeth on Hobie 16’s and 18’s, Sunfish and Flying Scot’s. Currently Kirk is the Fleet Captain at the NC State Sailing Club and a team member on the club’s intercollegiate race team. He takes every opportunity he can to get on a Nacra 20 or F-18 and he looks forward to joining one of the fleets in the future!
	Sam Carter – Raleigh, North Carolina (TVS4 Skipper) Sam Carter is a junior at NC State University, majoring in Aerospace Engineering. Sam grew up sailing his Hobie 14 off Cove Point beach, on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. Racing soon got the best of him, and he captained his local high school racing team for 3 years. During his sophomore year at NC State, Sam was captain of the NC State racing team, and with the help of his team, secured berths at dinghy champs both semesters. In addition to his extensive small boat experience, Sam was first mate and navigator aboard Age of Reason, a Bristol 35.5 that won her class two years in a row during the Governor’s Cup of Maryland. Catamaran racing soon got under Sam’s skin, and with the help of Kirk Spicer, the two bought a N20 and the fun began!