In the Hunt, Team Malizia's Boris Herrmann Crosses Equator in the Vendée Globe

Boris Herrmann in the Vendée Globe © Boris Herrmann

Early this Friday morning at 05:44 UTC (06:44 CET), Boris Herrmann was the 14th solo sailor to cross the Equator after 11 days, 17 hours, 42 minutes, and 42 seconds of competition in the iconic round-the-world race. He enterered the Southern Hemisphere 10 hours, 34 minutes, and 27 seconds after the current leader Thomas Ruyant (Vulnerable).

"November 22nd on board Malizia - Seaexplorer", said the German skipper in a voice note sent a few minutes ago. "At 05:44 UTC, we crossed the Equator with the sunrise—or at least with the dawn; the sunrise itself is still about half an hour away. It's been a fantastic night with light winds of 12 to 14 knots. That's fairly moderate and comfortable. Nevertheless, the boat is sailing at around 14 to 16 knots—not quite as fast as some of the leaders up front. I've heard they're experiencing slightly stronger winds. I hope the wind treats us kindly here in the Southern Hemisphere and carries us through smoothly until we leave this side of the world again around mid-January next year at a similar location. We'll be "upside down" here for that long. Warm greetings from onboard to everyone following the race, and all the best! Have a wonderful day!

Unpredictable weather conditions from the start of this edition of the race have resulted in the lead changing hands multiple times within the first two weeks. Heading south may have brought warmer weather conditions, but it hasn't all been plain sailing. For the Team Malizia skipper, positioned behind the front pack of the fleet, navigating light and shifting winds meant progress was frustratingly slow and at times it felt like he was going round in circles. In the advent of such challenging conditions, all he could do was trust his strategy, maintain a level head and a calm mind, and stay optimistic. "I would say I've made progress with my mindset, and I'm very happy about that," he said earlier this week. The offshore sailor's philosophy is to take the race one step at a time, and he has now reached the next milestone: the Equator.

In a video message sent from onboard as he exited the doldrums yesterday afternoon, Boris Herrmann explained his strategy for the upcoming days and week: "As the leaders extend, they are getting better wind earlier, but I can't complain. We got through the doldrums really nicely, and now it's an interesting situation for the next week. We have a nice low coming off from South America on which we ride the South Atlantic until Cape Town, and in record time. Only if I make my polar at 100% or close to 100% though. If I go at 90%, I miss that low. That will be in about five, six days from now, when it would be clear and then I would be losing 1200 miles to those who make it with the low. So a big potential split could happen then in the race, which makes it important to now find some speed, find the wind, and get going."

The Malizia - Seaexplorer skipper went on: "The good side of the story is if I manage to stay with this low, the others can't get much ahead, because ahead the low is a high pressure ridge. So they can't jump a system ahead. But this system we need to get, if it materialises and if the others get it. So, I'm a little bit pushy at the moment with the Code Zero and a bit more wind than usual for that sail, trying to get us going in this lumpy sea. It's slamming, the boat sometimes slows down quite a bit and, I know this from the numerous Transat Jacques Vabre races and other occasions, this is a bit the bouncy, lousy part of the Atlantic. Two days like this normally. And then, you can also have some of the nicest sailing in the next couple of days, with flat sea and a reaching breeze. So, all good onboard so far and I'm in the hunt."

Team Malizia's A Race We Must Win - Climate Action Now! mission is only possible due to the strong and long-lasting commitment from its seven main partners: Schütz, the Yacht Club de Monaco, EFG International, Zurich Group Germany, Kuehne+Nagel, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, and Hapag-Lloyd. These partners band behind Team Malizia to support its campaign, each of them working towards projects in their own field to innovate around climate solutions.