Boris Herrmann in the top 5 of the Vendée Globe 2020/21 after collision with fishing trawler
by Holly Cova 28 Jan 2021 12:40 PST
28 January 2021
Boris Herrmann on the damaged bow of Seaexplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco in the Vendée Globe © Martin Keruzoré
He did it! This morning at 10:19 UTC, 11:19 German time, Boris Herrmann sailed across the finish line off Les Sables-d'Olonne after exactly 80 days, 20 hours, 59 minutes and 45 seconds at sea, making him the first German skipper in the history of the Vendée Globe to complete this race. After a total of 28 448 miles sailed, his Seaexplorer-Yacht Club de Monaco finished as the fifth boat in the fleet, 4 hours 34 minutes behind Frenchman Thomas Ruyant.
However, time credits for three skippers as a result of their involvement in the rescue of sailor Kevin Escoffier in the South Atlantic still caused some shifts in the final ranking. Yannick Bestaven overtook Charlie Dalin in the classification after calculated time and is thus the overall winner of the 9th edition of the Vendée Globe.
Despite the unfortunate collision with a fishing trawler last night, just 90 nautical miles from the finish, Boris Herrmann has mastered his non-stop circumnavigation with flying colours, fulfilled his personal dream of a top 5 finish, has taken many thousands of fans virtually on board every day and has eventually made history in the German sailing sport.
After his arrival, Boris said: "I have accomplished the adventure. It's been a long time, more than 20 years, that I've been dreaming of this, it was a childhood dream. The Vendée Globe is something extraordinary. I came here to Les Sables d'Olonne to see several starts of the race. And now it's done! It feels really good to fulfil this dream!
This race was a team effort, the boat preparation, everything around the race, and our mission was also about science and education. It's nice to have all these people here now and to celebrate together. That's the best moment of the race. What happened to me last night was heart-breaking. But in the end, we still finished and in a good position. The damage on the boat is all repairable, there is nothing structural.
The Vendee Globe has for sure changed me. I don't know yet in what way, but it has certainly taught me a lot about trust, trusting in people and the boat, trusting in time, that good things come with time. You have to wait 80 days for the finish and for all these nice emotions."
Long-term friend and co-founder of team Malizia, Pierre Casiraghi, commented: "It is an extraordinary achievement. His handling of the big damage he suffered last night shows what a great sailor Boris is. He had all the qualities you need to do a great race, he did more than that. It's just extraordinary, I am very proud of him."
It could not have been more exciting
Over the last days on the North Atlantic, the skippers gave once more everything they've got, studying their navigation down to the last detail. Close to the Azores, Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée 2), Charlie Dalin (Apivia) and Boris Herrmann opted for an easterly route, while Thomas Ruyant (LinkedOut) and Yannick Bestaven (Maître CoQ IV) sailed further north to take advantage of stronger winds from a low-pressure system. Later, Louis also set course to the north.
In the early hours of the last day of racing, Boris and Charlie finally chose the shorter southern route, past Cape Finisterre and the Spanish north coast, in order to sail from there on one tack in westerly winds to Les Sables-d'Olonne. The tactic worked out for Boris Herrmann, he was safely in third place and had a good chance of an even better placing, until the collision with the fishing trawler just before the finish interrupted his navigation at high speeds. "Overall, Boris sailed a smart race," said Will Harris, co-skipper of Team Malizia, "he has done some round-the-world sailing and his experience helped him a lot in this Vendée Globe. In addition, Boris is the skipper who has covered the most nautical miles on board his IMOCA. He had the ability to get on the podium without ever saying it out loud."
Successful scientific mission
During the circumnavigation, Boris Herrmann collected valuable oceanographic data around the clock with the help of the autonomously operating laboratory on board and forwarded the data to the scientists from the Max Plack Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, Geomar in Kiel and Ifremer in Brest. Among other parameters, CO2 levels, temperature and salinity were measured continuously at the sea surface level over a distance of almost 28,500 nautical miles, so that for the first time the scientific community has access to a extensive data set even from the most remote regions of the earth. Up until now, there was virtually no data from the Southern Ocean. Thus, the scientific mission in the course of the Vendée Globe was a complete success. The measured parameters enable scientists to better understand the effects of climate change on the ocean and at the same time determine how the ocean moderates climate change.
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