Boris Herrmann Conquers Fear of Heights to successfully repair rigging at sea during Vendée Globe
by Team Malizia 6 Jan 21:18 PST
6 January 2025
Boris Herrmann conquered his fear of heights to repair his rigging 29 meter above the Ocean on Day 57 of the Vendée Globe 2024-25 © Boris Herrmann / Team Malizia
Team Malizia's Boris Herrmann faced one of his greatest fears on Monday when he had to climb the 29-meter high mast of his IMOCA racing yacht to address a critical rigging issue.
As someone afraid of heights, the task was particularly daunting for the German skipper, who had been haunted by a traumatic mast climb during his last Vendée Globe four years previously. Yet, the solo sailor demonstrated remarkable resilience, overcoming his fear to complete the repair 29 meters above the Ocean.
6 January 2025, South Atlantic - "Unfortunately, it looks like the sea state is good enough to do the climb", Boris Herrmann wrote jokingly to his Team Malizia on Monday morning. The German skipper, currently competing in his second Vendée Globe, has often spoken openly about his two greatest challenges during his previous round-the-world solo race: loneliness and climbing the 29-meter mast of his IMOCA racing yacht. This time, Boris Herrmann has been dealing with loneliness remarkably well, and he can now proudly say he has also conquered his fear of heights.
This Sunday, the Malizia - Seaexplorer skipper noticed that a crucial piece of rigging was damaged. The "arbalète" (French word literally meaning crossbow but that doesn't really have a translation) is a retaining line which allows one to modify the anchor point of the boat's backstay position, a part of the rigging that supports the mast. That position is changed to match a fractional headsail setup, meaning that when Boris Herrmann uses certain sails, he is putting tension on the arbalète and relies on it to keep his mast secure.
Team Malizia's Technical director Pifou Dargnies explains: "On IMOCA boats, there are two positions for the backstay. The high backstay position, with the arbalète eased, is used when sailing under a headsail. The second is the hooked backstay position, with tension on the arbalète and used when sailing under staysails like the J1.5, FRO, J2, or J3. The arbalète is operated from the cockpit and hooks into the middle of the mast. It enters the mast at the level of the J2, into a sheave. This sheave has a 90-degree angle, which tends to wear the arbalète quite a lot."
He adds: "This has been a known issue with the standard (one-design) mast since the beginning and during previous races, we noticed that the arbalètes wore out very quickly." Knowing that the arbalètes wouldn't last for a whole round-the-world race, a lot of new versions of the sheaves had been tested, with the most recent version of the one-design piece, standardised for all IMOCA yachts, being introduced last winter.
"Our boat captain Stuart Mclachlan did a lot of work on the mast last winter, as we added reinforcements and fitted these new sheaves. However, after the two transatlantic races, we saw that the issue still wasn't resolved unfortunately", adds Pifou Dargnies. "So, this summer, we polished the sheaves and created arbalètes with double sheathing. There are two layers of sheathing: the core, which is grey, is covered by a first red sheath and then a second black sheath. The advantage of this system is that you can immediately see when the black sheath is damaged because the red underneath becomes visible."
And this Sunday, as he changed his sails from the J2 to J0, Boris Herrmann noticed 10 cm of red flashing near the top of the mast, immediately understanding that the external sheath of the arbalète was damaged. As he notified his team on land, it soon became clear that he would likely have to climb the mast - no matter if he wanted to or not.
"We've been brainstorming multiple solutions and working on it with our rigger Olivier Cusin, Cocoche, and Simon Troel, who supply the one-design backstays, to come up with different ideas", comments Pifou Dargnies. "We considered several options, including completely replacing the backstay, but that seemed too risky, too time-consuming, etc. Instead, we suggested a temporary fix. Using tape and creating a new sheath made from 3Di, the material we use for the sails."
The Team Malizia technical director details: "Even though we obviously cannot discuss weather and strategy with Boris, everyone is well aware that there will be very little port tack sailing under staysail configurations until the finish. So, we are hoping he won't need to use it much. That said, we rather played it safe, knowing that today was probably the only opportunity with sea conditions suitable to make the repair."
This Monday, on Day 57 of the race, Boris Herrmann meticulously prepared all the necessary gear and tools for the climb and repair. Co-skipper Will Harris highlighted the importance of this preparation on today's Malizia Vendée Show: "You really need to make sure that you have everything you need from the start. Boris is doing this solo, and you can't just be going back and forth." Will Harris, who famously dangled off Malizia - Seaexplorer's cracked mast for repairs during The Ocean Race 2022-2023, added insight into the updated equipment on board: "Boris has new climbing gear which he tested before the race and that should make things a bit easier, benefiting from the strength of his legs rather than pulling on his arms and also freeing his arms a bit more to work on the repair."
With the right tools and determination, Boris Herrmann approached the challenging task with a somewhat newfound confidence. "Who knows, maybe it'll be a fun distraction for me!", he joked in a message to his team on Monday morning. However, in a video he sent just before the climb hours later, he could be seen chewing gum to calm his nerves, apologising for it with a tense smile that betrayed his apprehension.
Not long after, the mood shifted. After taking some deep calming breaths and reminding himself of his training the selfies and photos began pouring in, showcasing a well-executed repair and a smiling - although not particularly relaxed-looking Boris Herrmann perched at the top of the mast, high above his now-tiny-looking boat. The images testified to both the success of the climb and another major fear and challenge tackled. Once safely back on deck, the German sent a message to his team: "Thanks for the support, guys. I'm so relieved it went well, and the race can proceed.
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: Hapag-Lloyd, Schütz, the Yacht Club de Monaco, EFG International, Zurich Group Germany, Kuehne+Nagel, and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company. 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.