Transat Jacques Vabre: On course for the coffee route - Boris and Will at the start

The announcement comes as no surprise a few days after the end of the Ocean Race: Boris Herrmann and his co-skipper Will Harris will tackle the Transat Jacques Vabre side by side. The Hamburg native and the Brit had already competed in this constellation in 2019. At that time, Will Harris, who was honoured with the Hans Horrevoets Rookie Award in the 14th The Ocean Race, had just joined Team Malizia.

The Transat kicks off on 29 October

More than 100 boats in four fleets (Class 40, Ocean Fifty, Imoca, Ultim) are expected on the starting line for the 30th anniversary of the race. The starting signal for the courses of varying lengths from Le Havre in Normandy to Fort-de-France on the French Caribbean island of Martinique will be given on 29 October.

Between their first joint participation in the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2019 - when Herrmann and Harris finished twelfth - and their second start in the autumn, Team Malizia has written many new chapters: Boris Herrmann finished his first Vendée Globe 2020/2021 in fifth place, the team has built and launched its new racing yacht "Malizia - Seaexplorer". The Malizians have just finished their Ocean Race premiere in Genoa with a second stage win in third place on the podium.

Same race, new route

Boris Herrmann and Will Harris are currently enjoying their visit to Monaco with the entire crew and the "Malizia - Seaexplorer". They have transferred their boat there from Genoa after six months of intensive involvement in the Ocean Race. At their home club, the Yacht Club de Monaco, they will celebrate their achievements and experiences in the Ocean Race with friends, families and partners.

Both Boris Herrmann and Will Harris are looking forward to the two-handed event in autumn. "Will and I sailed the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2019, and I'm really looking forward to coming back with him on our new boat 'Malizia - Seaexplorer' and competing in this race again," said Boris Herrmann. "This time it will be a different route: it's not going to Salvador in Brazil, but to Martinique. For the first time, we will meet some of the new Imoca boats that I will be racing against next year at the Vendée Globe."

Will is the best choice as co-skipper for this race" (Boris Herrmann)

For the 42-year-old from Hamburg, the fact that Herrmann wants to sail the Coffee Route with Will Harris again is a logical consequence: "After sailing around the world with Will and him skippering the boat in two legs of the Ocean Race, he is the best choice as co-skipper for this race. I'm really looking forward to doing this with him."

The "Malizia - Seaexplorer" is still less than a year old, but already has more than one lap around the globe under her belt. In the recently completed Ocean Race alone, the boat has completed 37,201 nautical miles. Boris Herrmann and Will Harris will therefore be starting the race with a boat that they know inside out. It has proven to be reliable and powerful in the ocean marathon.

Will Harris has come to stay

Boris Herrmann and Will Harris will also be sailing the boat that holds the 24-hour world record for monohulls with 641.13 nautical miles. For Will Harris, the nomination as co-skipper for the Transat Jacques Vabre is further confirmation of his achievements. He says: "This race is reminiscent of when I joined the team four years ago, when I sailed the Transat Jacques Vabre with Boris in 2019 and became a Malizian. It's been a great journey with the team so far and this race will be fantastic training for Boris ahead of next year's Vendée Globe."

But Herrmann and Harris also want to perform as well as possible in the upcoming challenge. Harris explains: "With everything we have learnt from sailing around the world in the Ocean Race, I believe we can really make a strong contribution. It's going to be a good race where we'll be sailing against a lot of other Imocas. I think we have gained a lot of good experience over the last six months that will give us a good advantage."

Nico "The Brain" Lunven joins Sam Davies on board

And there are more Malizians in the Transat Jacques Vabre. The experienced French navigator Nico "The Brain" Lunven, who once again shone for his team in the final sprint and contributed to the victory on stage seven with good decisions, is contesting the double-handed course with Brit Sam Davies on "Initiatives-Cœur".

Dutch sailor Rosalin Kuiper, who will remain with Team Malizia in the long term, is also hoping to find a place on a boat for the race. Axelle Pillain is working on electronics and performance optimisation within the team. Yann Eliès will continue to train Imoca sailors. Christopher Pratt sails on his Ocean Fifty. On-board reporter Antoine Auriol will continue to work on his documentary film for French television. Until the autumn, the sailors and shore crew of Team Malizia will take a well-deserved summer break, work on refitting the boat and train for the upcoming transatlantic race.

The next generation of German sailing talent takes off

From a German perspective, the Transat Jacques Vabre will feature another exciting duo in the form of Class 40 climbers Melwin Fink and Lennart Burke. The young professionals are contesting the classic for the first time and have set their sights high for their debut ...

Fancy a little déjà vu? Here's a look back at the 2019 Transat Jacques Vabre and co-skippers Boris Herrmann and Will Harris, who were euphoric about the race at the time: