Vendée Globe: 31 seconds faster - Herrmann advances with Cape Horn passage
Tatjana Pokorny
· 28.12.2024
642 days after crowning Cape Horn for Team Malizia in the Ocean Race on 27 March 2023, Boris Herrmann passed the legendary landmark for the seventh time today on his sixth circumnavigation. This time he did it alone again. The omens were completely different for the soloist than around 21 months ago in the most important team race around the world. Back then, Boris Herrmann and his crew with navigator Nico Lunven and co-skippers Will Harris and Rosalin Kuiper won the race, taking the Cape Horn crown for Team Malizia.
Vendée Globe: from cloudy to bright
Boris Herrmann's current route to Cape Horn was much more difficult on his second solo around the world. He had already lost miles in the opening phase of the Vendée Globe in the doldrums and clouds at the equator. This gap widened considerably later on when sailing in weather windows other than those of the leaders. Even Herrmann's second-fastest time in the fleet from the Cape of Good Hope to Cape Leeuwin did not bring about a decisive turnaround. For the 43-year-old Herrmann, his solo race felt more like a burden than an inspiration at times on the Southern Ocean course, which was often bumpy and difficult to predict for him and his chasing pack.
"The last few days were particularly frustrating, especially last night. The wind was constantly shifting and I had to constantly adjust and sometimes thought: Why am I drifting around like this? Should I have taken the reef out? Then, ten minutes later, I was relieved that I had set the small sails. It spoils your mood," wrote Boris Herrmann in a very frank message shortly before the Cape Horn Passage after a remarkably quiet Vendée Globe Christmas.
Cape Horn Passage with champagne and rum
In his message, Boris Herrmann made no secret of his disappointment at not being able to see Cape Horn, which is so important to him, on this round-the-world trip. He wrote: "I am disheartened because according to my route planning I will pass Cape Horn on 28 December at 9 a.m. UTC (10 a.m. German time), but then it will be night for us and I will be more than 100 miles south of the Cape."
That's what actually happened on 28 December. Boris Herrmann passed Cape Horn on 28 December at 11.51 a.m. German time. However, there was a nice bonus for the "Malizia - Seaexplorer" skipper after some tough days at sea: He managed to pass the longitude of Cape Horn 31 seconds (!) ahead of "Biotherm" skipper Paul Meilhat.
It took Boris Herrmann 47 days, 22 hours, 49 minutes and 30 seconds to complete the section from the start and finish harbour of Les Sables-d'Olonne to Cape Horn. The family man from Hamburg celebrated his seventh Cape Horn passage as fleet seventh with positive energy and a small bottle of champagne from his team. There was a shot of rum for the sea that let him through to Cape Horn.
From loneliness back to civilisation
Boris Herrmann has left the symbolic border between "solitude in the Southern Ocean and the return to civilisation", as the Vendée Globe organisers put it, behind him with renewed courage after what he described as "strange days". Commenting on his Cape Horn passage, Boris Herrmann said: "The real feeling of having crossed a line will come to me a little later tonight. At the moment we are being badly buffeted and badly shaken. There are over 30 knots of wind and a difficult sea state today."
Early on Saturday morning, Boris Herrmann conducted an interview with "Vendée-Live!" presenter Andi Robertson. They both had a good laugh. After a long period of radio silence in the past few days and phases of dejection shortly before his seventh Cape Horn passage, Boris Herrmann appeared more sorted and rested than recently.
Team Malizia's founder and skipper was almost jubilant when asked how many more times he would pass Cape Horn in his life: "I'm sure it won't be the last time. I have my sights set on the next Ocean Race. I also hope to get to this region one day outside of regattas. I'm certainly up for a few more encounters, hopefully. Let's say ten in total." At the end of the answer, both the presenter and a relaxed-looking Boris Herrmann laughed.
Vendée Globe final spurt: Atlantic storms ahead
While Yoann Richomme ("Paprec Arkéa") and Charlie Dalin ("Macif Santé Prévoyance"), who have often stormed away in better weather windows, are fighting their top duel in the Atlantic some 1600 nautical miles ahead of Herrmann's chasing pack and third-placed Seb Simon ("Groupe Dubreuil") also had a lead of 900 nautical miles over Boris Herrmann at the last count, the chasers around Herrmann are now continuing to struggle to clear parts of the mountains of miles they have accumulated.
By midday on 28 December, Boris Herrmann still had around 7,000 Atlantic nautical miles to go - less than 30 per cent of the Vendée Globe route. With Cape Horn in the stern, Boris Herrmann initially expected 24 rather quiet hours, saying: "That's the reward I'm looking forward to. It won't be much more than that, because the prospects for the South Atlantic are very challenging with two strong storms. It won't be a walk in the park."
A whole host of other Vendée Globe soloists would currently subscribe to this formulation. Especially those who are struggling with breakage. On board Clarisse Crémer's "L'occitane en Provence", the on-board computer was so badly damaged by water ingress at the mast cables on 27 December that she can no longer use it for the time being. Instead, she is operating with an iPad and alternative software that is not nearly as powerful as the original set-up.
MacGyvers still very popular at the Vendée Globe
Together with her technical team, Clarisse Crémer is also working feverishly to get back closer to her original standard. At the same time, "Fortinet - Best Western" skipper Romain Attanasio was struggling with a damaged main halyard lock. "I was reefing and the pull line for opening the lock broke off," explained the Frenchman on Saturday morning.
Attansio had to recover the mainsail, then pull himself two metres into the mast and dismantle the lock for repairs. "In the end, I didn't lose too much ground, even though it took three to four hours. I managed the operation, but from now on I can only hook from the outside (editor: from on deck). It's a bit of a hassle, but at least it works!"
"Maître CoQ V" skipper Yannick Bestaven has been struggling with damage to his steering system since Friday evening in heavy seas in five metre waves and almost 30 knots of wind around 450 miles west of Cape Horn. He has a problem with the steering rods that connect the two rudder blades, which are then connected to the hydraulic steering cylinder of the autopilot.
The Vendée Globe title defender must fight
After several hours of work, Bestaven was able to set up a provisional system with the help of rope lashings that allowed him to continue steering his Imoca. The defending Vendée Globe champion continued his journey at reduced speed in eleventh place, a good 200 nautical miles behind Justine Mettraux ("TeamWork - Team Snef"). Bestaven and his team are continuing to examine the possibilities of a better repair to his steering system.
