We spoke to Boris Herrmann shortly before the launch in Saint-Malo, during one of the rare quiet periods since the launch. The tension involved in developing, building and testing his new Imoca was palpable - but so was his pride in this ambitious project.
Boris, how are you doing, so close to your first solo regatta with the new boat?
I'm pretty exhausted right now.
How happy are you with "Malizia - Seaexplorer" so far?
Oh, good. It's a good basis, but still a lot of work.
Can you get them to the point where you can start with a good feeling?
Yes, yes, that's true. But we won't be everywhere we want to be for the Route du Rhum.
But you don't have to worry about the autopilot doing weird things when you go to sleep, do you?
No, not really. But I would have liked to have got further with the development of all the systems.
How much more difficult and complex is it to get a completely new Imoca ready to race compared to four years ago, when you had a tried and tested boat in the old "Malizia"?
It really is a completely different challenge. Last time I had sailed a lot before the Route du Rhum, I knew the boat very well. Now we've only been testing for a good eight weeks and have only had wind once. So we don't really know the boat yet. I miss that.
What have been the toughest conditions you've sailed in so far?
With the Défi Azimut (thefirst race with crew)we had 20 to 25 knots of wind, sometimes even 30 for a short time, so we were able to test out the room sheet and upwind. But we hardly ever had any reaching courses in such conditions. And really never more wind.
Is that the biggest unfinished item on your to-do list?
The list is now closed for me after the last tests before Port-la-Forêt in mid-October. There's not much more we can do before the start.
How do you feel about it - are you relieved that everything is done?
Nope. We've simply run out of time to do anything more. We just have to live with the lack of preparation now.
Have your expectations of the new boat been fulfilled so far?
That's still too early. We really are at the very beginning. We have a very good first impression, but I can't really say yet where we stand compared to the competition.
How are you going to start the race?
It sounds as if the boat is still a kind of surprise egg. Yes, exactly. It's a bit like that. We're still learning. That's why I'm not going into a race so much as a long-distance race, where the most important thing is to finish safely. That would be a nice achievement.
Four years ago, you had a strong race, finished fifth and were even in first place at times. Many French commentators were really excited. How does that seem today, looking back?
Yes, I was still a rookie in the Imoca class. Fifth place was the best possible result I could have hoped for at the time. It was a great relief to have achieved that, but it wasn't a big surprise for me either. I had prepared very well and trained a lot.
Where do you see yourself this time?
Now we have many unknowns in the equation. The field is twice as big. There are seven new Imocas at the start. It's much harder to judge them. But the result really isn't a big priority for me. Like all the other teams with new boats, we'll probably have to learn the ropes first. That's completely normal.
How heavy is the weight on your shoulders to even make it to the finish line?
That's all right. It's a nice ambition. I don't have to finish to qualify for the next Vendée Globe, it's enough to pass the start line and I'll be there in Les Sables-d'Olonne in 2024.
You should be able to manage that - but it won't be enough for you, will it?
Yes, it doesn't depend so much on me. Whether I arrive is 90 to 95 per cent down to the team and how well they manage the boat. I know how to sail. If you give me the old boat, I could tell you roughly where I should end up. But with the new "Malizia", the main question is how well the technical team manages to make her reliable. It's not at the moment.
Where are the other new boats?
I think Paul Meilhat (skipperthe "Biotherm", the ed.)Charal" and "Holcim PRB" are a little further along. I don't know about "Maître Coq", we haven't seen them on the water, but they have a very good team. And "V & B Mayenne" looks very good, they have sailed a lot of training miles. "Initiatives Cœur" is probably not quite at our level yet. But I can only say that from what you see on the jetty, how much they're screwing. You can only really make a reliable statement about the new boats in a year and a half. That was also the case with the previous generation. It simply takes time. It's part of the challenge we're facing.
Alongside the Vendée Globe, the Route du Rhum is the race where everyone wants to shine. Does it also have such great emotional significance for you?
No, not at all. It's not a competition for me this time. And it wasn't last time either. Four years ago it was my first Imoca solo; now it will be my first single-handed regatta with the new boat. I see it more as a kind of rehearsal. The Route du Rhum will clearly be a real race for Charlie Dalin and Thomas Ruyant. They have organised their campaigns so that they can sail for victory with their boats, which are now at their peak. Logically, Charlie has to win, Thomas has to come second - and then you have to see. It could well be that a new boat will finish behind them on the podium. If "Charal" has no problems, she's pretty fast.
How big do you think the chances are that a boat without foils will end up in the top 3?
Zero, I would say! The foils are much bigger now than in 2018, there's no comparison. We get out of the water much earlier. In the Route du Rhum, I'm betting on a very clear victory for Charlie Dalin. He has won all the races this season and is also faster than everyone else in training. In the long-distance Défi Azimut, he was faster single-handed than "11th Hour" with a full crew. He's so good that he can manage sailing manoeuvres more efficiently than we can with a crew. He is simply the best skipper with the best boat at the moment.
Would you be disappointed if Romain Attanasio, who bought the old "Malizia", arrived in Pointe-à-Pitre before you?
I haven't even thought about that yet. Yes, I would be a bit annoyed! But my perspective is definitely longer-term. Incidentally, I do believe that we have a chance of beating older boats. If we find our conditions in training, then the new "Malizia" will sail away. But I'm quite relaxed about it - ambitious, but relaxed. It's about more than the Route du Rhum.
How do you motivate yourself when you know you can't show everything?
That's kind of a paradox. I think I have all the motivation and I'm also ambitious. But I won't be disappointed if it doesn't work out. I can't take the result on my shoulders either. It's 90 per cent dependent on the technical team. And it's as good as we set it up to be. In the end, it's a management task. That's the exciting and complex thing about our sport. In comparison, the Route du Rhum is an exhibition race, just an initial positioning exercise.
I don't feel any pressure from outside, from the sponsors. Of course, I also don't want to take unnecessary risks. I simply try to showcase the work we have done. And I'll be very proud when we arrive with the new ship. My theory is that half of the new boats won't make it to the finish line. The question is whether three or four of them will have to give up. We've seen some signs of this in training. Everyone gives their all at the start, and after half an hour or an hour someone changes course by 90 degrees and is gone because they have to sort something out. We are all so much at the beginning. Getting there is already a huge achievement.
In fact, no one has ever managed to get a new boat to the point after eight weeks of sailing. Everyone said it was impossible. We are the only ones who started on a blank sheet of paper after the Vendée! Others took existing designs or copied an existing design. That's a huge difference. That's 25,000 to 30,000 hours of development time simply lost. "Charal, on the other hand, stands out, it's a completely new ship, very ambitious. But they already had the rough lines ready before the Vendée Globe was launched. You can't compare that with our project. That's why arriving at the Route du Rhum would be truly outstanding, regardless of position. We've already experienced some great moments. We know that: The ship has a good base. We may still have to modify it, re-cut the sails, change the foils. But if things go well now, they will continue to go well.
Is the technical team more stressed than you?
Now in any case. Once the race has started, it is no longer in his hands and he can relax. After the Route du Rhum, however, things will continue straight away. At the moment, we're in a peak phase where everyone is really busy.
What's the plan if you make it to Guadeloupe?
What do you have to do before the Ocean Race? We will have about six weeks to prepare in Alicante before the start. That's enough time to check everything again and do a quick refit. We'll take the boat out of the water and remove the mast, keel and rudder. But we also want to make the best possible use of the return passage from Guadeloupe to gather the remaining experience and test the sails. This will be done by a good team under the leadership of Will Harris. On the first leg, they will be sailing in a kind of race mode against three other Imocas. I won't be on board myself. So we are trying to compensate for the fact that we never really had any wind in the late summer. We have never used certain sails. That's actually absurd.
You first worked with Thomas Theurillat, a mental coach, four years ago. Why did you do this?
Everyone who wants to achieve something in extreme areas tries to utilise and optimise this potential: Entrepreneurs, musicians, artists, athletes. That's almost the norm these days. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time this year. We only spoke twice. Four years ago, I was well prepared for the race. This time, I'm more or less just driving the boat over.
Now you'll be sailing alone, and from mid-January with a crew. Will you have to make any big changes?
No, that happens automatically. We are all professionals, we already work together constantly in preparation. So it doesn't make a big difference. It's most noticeable in the free watch. If you know that the ship is in the hands of the others, you can switch off much more quickly and sleep better. That's why I don't really differentiate between solo and crew sailing.
Does that make it harder for you to compete on your own in Saint-Malo?
I have certainly sailed "Malizia" much more with a crew than single-handed. That's why the Route du Rhum is more difficult than the Ocean Race, yes.
How do you prepare yourself?
The crucial thing will be to fully recharge my batteries after the exhausting summer. I'm going for a swim before the crossing to Saint-Malo.-eek break, and then it's off to the Race Village. The days are numbered and I have to make sure that I concentrate fully on the Route du Rhum.
Will you benefit from the Vendée experience?
I think that's why I had an even more meticulous eye during preparation, and also a higher standard. Last time, I simply lacked the experience. That is now coming into play and will make it easier for me. Of course it would be an advantage to have sailed more. But that's the way it is now.
What do you do when you're in Pointe-à-Pitre?
If I can, go kiting (laughs). Then back very quickly and recover. I take ten days off. We talk a lot about preparation, but the follow-up is just as important. After the Vendée, I didn't have enough time for that. But the questions remain: How do you recover in order to quickly regain energy for the next challenges - and for the family?
This might also interest you:
- Route Du Rhum:Single-handed across the Atlantic, preview of the spectacle on Sunday
- "Malizia Seaexplorer":"After the Route du Rhum, we know exactly where we stand"
- Route du Rhum:"A week of hell" - stormy start for the record fleet
- Boris Herrmann's new Imoca passes its first test
- Boris Herrmann shows his Imoca
- What makes the Imocas class so special
- Virtual tour of Boris Herrmann's new Imoca 60
