Transat CIC: In a duel with the Queen of Hearts - Boris Herrmann defends third place on course for New York

Boris Herrmann and Samantha Davies fought a thrilling reaching duel on course for New York on the afternoon of 4 May. While at the front of the Imoca field "Paprec Arkéa" skipper Yoann Richomme had extended his lead to a very comfortable 70 nautical miles ahead of Charlie Dalin ("Macif Santé Prévoyance") with a good 700 nautical miles to the finish, Boris Herrmann and "Initiatives Cœur" skipper Sam Davies gave each other no quarter. Their battle for third place is in full swing. At the start of the weekend, both boats were chasing the leading boats, which were somewhat slower at the time, at high speeds along the southern boundary of a huge restricted area well in excess of 20 knots.

Transat CIC: Meilhat drops back after collision

The Frenchman dropped out of the previous three-way battle between Herrmann, Davies and "Biotherm" skipper Paul Meilhat after colliding with an unknown object on Friday and having to take speed out of his boat for safety reasons. The collision damaged the port foil and its slot. As a result, Paul Meilhat had to fight a slight but manageable water ingress. He wants to finish the race under his own steam, but had already dropped back to eleventh place by Saturday afternoon and can hardly intervene in the battle for the podium places.

The top four boats currently represent: four yacht designers, three nationalities, two sailmakers and one destination" (Boris Herrmann)

"The top four boats currently represent: four yacht designers, three nationalities, two sailmakers and one destination," Boris Herrmannn summarised the current scenario at the Transat CIC. Since last Wednesday evening, the Hamburg skipper has increasingly closed the gap to the front of the fleet. His aggressiveness and performance are also remarkable because he had to slow down on the third day to repair his mainsail.

Boris Herrmann, who has always had competitors close to him since the start of the race, continued: "I've enjoyed having someone right next to me most days since the start in South Brittany. First it was Justine Mettraux, now it's Sam Davies. It's really motivating to have boats nearby and see what's going on."

Boris Herrmann deploys measuring buoy

In the meantime, Boris Herrmann has also deployed his measuring buoy. The scientific instrument drifts with the ocean currents and measures data for detailed weather and ocean observations, forecasts and scientific monitoring of climate change. The buoy deployment project, in which several Imoca skippers are participating, is being coordinated by the Imoca class, Meteo France and OceanOPS.

For the last 400 nautical miles on course for New York, the Transat-CIC race management and the skippers expect a further drop in wind, which could be accompanied by increasing fleet compression. Charlie Dalin, who experts believe is struggling with damage on board the "Macif Santé Prévoyance" given his drop back, said: "The possible 'trajectories' are interesting, the management of the weather systems in particular. You have to think twice. We're not just thinking about the next development, but also the one after that and the one after that."

Class 40: "Alla Grande Pirelli" in front

This is exactly what the soloists are doing in the smaller Class 40, where Ambrogio Beccaria has now taken the lead in the hotly contested leading group. The Italian propelled his "Alla Grand Pirelli" towards New York on Saturday afternoon with a 25 nautical mile lead over Ian Lipinski ("Crédit Mutuel"), who had lost the lead. More than the leading Imocas, the best Class 40 sailors will have to reckon with the expanding flat zone before the finish.

Click here for live tracking and the interim results.

The buoy is loose! Boris Herrmann launched his measuring buoy into the Atlantic on 3 May. Its data collection serves scientific purposes: