I'm okay. I have accepted the situation with the broken foil. The foil is pulled in a bit and secured with ropes. Of course, it slows me down a lot. I could go a few knots faster if it wasn't wobbling around on the side. But that's the way it is. I can't change it. We have to sail to the finish of the Vendée Globe.
Vendée Globe: the more trouble, the stronger
That's the deal now: to get them to the finish line within the classification. All the way to the finish line. Without outside help. Safe and clean. Then sponge over it and on to the next regatta. I had already said it during the week and I'll take it as a personal win at the Vendée Globe: The more trouble I had, the stronger I felt mentally.
Hopefully all the bad luck for the rest of my Imoca sailing life is over!" Boris Herrmann
In addition, the stress and pressure of the race have been relieved a little. I can't yet say for sure how my arrival date will change due to my first collision, the foil breakage and the consequences. Of course, it will be a little later. Maybe it will be 26 January? And because there were a few questions about the provisions: Yes, that's enough! I have provisions for 80 days.
Of course, I can also see what's happening in the field. At the front, the battle for fourth place between Sam Goodchild and Jérémie Beyou is very exciting. They are also talking to each other and are on good terms. They share the match. I think that energises them. My impression is that Sam is a bit more relaxed than Jérémie. That's why he could come out on top in the end.
Last Vendée Globe Sunday in the warmth
A word about the wind forecasts: there's a lot of talk about the imminent low pressure. But I'll be behind the first big area of low pressure and will only feel its foothills. So that's not a problem for me. But I will get a second low pressure area and also have a bit of wind. We'll have to wait and see how fast I can go - on port and starboard respectively.
The forecast is basically great for me." Boris Herrmann
According to my routings, I still have wind from the right here until tomorrow morning. Then I'll be under the influence of the low. So today is my last day under the influence of the subtropics. Tomorrow I'm expecting cold northerly winds that will slowly shift to the west. Then a cold front moving across. Then after the cold front, south-westerly winds with winds from the left continuing almost to the finish.
I hope that I'll be able to get halfway round with the wind from the left, because the foil will continue to shuffle in the water. We'll have to see how much it brakes then. I've been asked a lot why we didn't saw off the foil. If it was easy, we would probably have done it. But we didn't think it would be that easy and were worried that I would have had to give up half-done and we'd be in a worse situation than we are now.
Small flex in battle with large foil
If I had sawn it off halfway and then perhaps the flex would have broken due to a water splash or overheating... That's borderline for a small cordless flex in terms of the task. And I only have five cutting discs. A diamond disc would probably work quite well. But I would actually need several of them. And they're also small. I can't even reach the depth of the foil with the diameter of the discs.
I would have to cut it twice to create a kind of aisle, work a V into it. That's double the cutting capacity. We believe that we would reach the limits of the equipment. If I've made half a V and can't manage the other half, then we look really stupid. If you remember the foil that Thomas Ruyant sawed off at the last Vendée Globe, he had a large jigsaw with special cutting blades for cutting foils.
We hadn't planned it that way. It's also a very heavy piece of equipment. And huge. Thomas had only cut off the top metre of the tip. The foil is much thinner. Our foil is one of the thickest. If you make it thicker, the foil is more tolerant and doesn't kavit as quickly.
Projects organised until 2030
The events of the last few weeks have not dampened my appetite for the Vendée Globe. I want to go far! But now I'm looking forward to the races that are coming up, especially the Ocean Race Europe, which starts on 10 August in Kiel. I'm looking forward to presenting our team for the European race soon. And I'm also looking forward to a great future with new projects in the coming years.
That's the great thing: I started the Vendée Globe with the mental assurance that all possible projects for the future are already organised. We've organised almost everything up to 203o and will announce it gradually. But that also depends on partners - not so much sponsors as other projects - with whom we are working, who are also still cautious. We'll be able to say more soon.
Looking ahead to the next Vendée Globe in four years' time, the yacht architecture remains exciting. Because the rules remain the same, there won't be as much change in the new boats as there has been recently. We will have to deal with the question: wide or narrow? 'Macif' was a bit wider, boxier. 'Paprec' is a bit narrower.
Two different Vendée Globe top boats
Both 'Macif' and 'Paprec' have travelled the world quickly. Here, two different designs have led to a good result. There is no clear answer yet. Some design development will take place with the sails. In future, we will only have seven sails instead of eight. Otherwise, much will remain the same. Plus optimisations that laymen won't even be able to see from the outside. It remains an exciting field!
Shortly before the storm: Sam Goodchild climbed into the rigging on Saturday to work on the mast. From there, he was able to see his rival Jérémie Beyou and prepare his boat for the expected stormy winds:
THE FOIL BREAK! Review of the breakage of the port foil of "Malizia - Seaexplorer":
