Eight Bells: Liam O’Keefe

Liam O’Keefe

Liam O’Keefe, 21, a sophomore with Brown University, passed away in a tragic accident on May 31, 2024 in Miami, FL.

Liam was a two-time College All-American Open Skipper, a two-time All-New England Open First Team Skipper, and was instrumental in helping Brown win the Leonard M. Fowle Memorial Trophy for the overall top team in college sailing for the 2023-24 season.

He represented Brown at the Open Team Race Nationals in 2023 and 2024 with two top-four finishes, led Brown to the program’s first-ever Match Race National Championship in 2023, and just recently finished fourth place at the Open Fleet Racing National Championship.

As a first-year student, he was named the New England Open Rookie of the Year, the winner of Brown’s Cub Award as the top freshman male student-athlete by SAAC, winner of Brown Sailing’s Brooke Gonzalez Award as the most courageous freshman on the team and was a freshman captain.

During high school, he also spent time as a youth sailing coach, he was a world champion in team racing in the Optimist class, won multiple C420 team racing national championships, finished on the podium at the high school national championships, and had high aspirations of becoming a professional sailor.

Liam believed in living life to the fullest, during a gap year between high school and college, he helped establish a varsity sailing team at the Palmer Trinity School as its first head coach. He later spent three months in Asia learning about Buddhism, elephants, and meditation, furthering his passion for travel and experiencing new cultures.

Liam loved the ocean and had a large group of friends. If he wasn’t sailing or in school, he would likely be found on a boat with friends, wakeboarding, lobstering, exploring or just hanging out at Stiltsville.

A native of Miami, Florida and 2021 graduate of Ransom Everglades High School, O’Keefe is survived by his parents Alison and Douglas O’Keefe, and his siblings Sawyer and Mac.

Source: Brown University, Legacy