Vendée Globe: 999 days until the start - Boris Herrmann on the new build

At the start of the week, there were 1000 days to go until the next Vendée Globe race. The eleventh edition of the popular non-stop solo around the world is scheduled to start on 12 November 2008 at 13:02. Long before that, "Malizia 4" will be launched at the end of June and put into her element in Lorient. Five months before that, Team Malizia is currently focussing entirely on the construction of the new Imoca.

Grateful for the opportunity to achieve something great on the Vendée Globe course

Time for her future skipper Boris Herrmann to comment in more detail on the progress, but above all on his expectations. He feels "very privileged that we once again have the chance to build a new racing boat," said the six-time circumnavigator."

The opportunity to try again to improve and achieve something great is something we don't take for granted." Boris Herrmann

It is no secret that a lot of experience from working with the Malizia's predecessors has been incorporated into the new build, nor is it a secret that the new one is to be different. In a press release, Team Malizia reminds us that "the 'Malizia - Seaexplorer' ("Malizia 3") was never conceived as an all-round compromise". Rather, it was "born out of a very specific memory: Boris' first Vendée Globe".

At the Vendée Globe première, Boris Herrmann missed out on a podium place that was already within his grasp only on the last night following a collision with a fishing trawler. The boat at his first Vendée Globe was the second-hand "Seaexplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco", an extremely flat and efficient design that reached top speeds of around 32 knots, but which Herrmann remembers as "brutal and merciless".

Vendée Globe is not the same as Vendée Globe

Launched a year and a half after his first Vendée Globe in the summer of 2022, the "Malizia - Seaexplorer" was subsequently "a very specific design for a very specific vision". Boris Herrmann explains her concept again in retrospect: "Yes, she is the experience of my first Vendée Globe 2020-2021, given the boat at the time, which had a very efficient hull shape with very low resistance but was very shallow."

His memory of the sailing behaviour of the "Malizia - Yacht Club de Monaco" at the Vendée Globe premiere: "So when you hit more swell, you could feel every single wave. That made it really, really difficult to sail the Vendée Globe. I was very stressed because the boat was surfing at 32 knots, sometimes even faster than the new boat because it was so flat. And then you hit the next wave and come to a standstill."

Everything that is not lashed down in the boat flies forwards, including yourself." Boris Herrmann

The fact that there were a lot of waves and plenty of wind in the Southern Ocean at the time added to the stress. Boris Herrmann recalls: "We even had a boat that broke in half and, as I said, tore everything off because it was a really rough Vendée Globe." This première experience had a strong influence on the design of the "Malizia - Seaexplorer", which he helped to design himself. According to Herrmann, it is "now the fastest boat for windy downwind conditions".

Unforgettable: the furious ride in The Ocean Race

At the 2024/2025 Vendée Globe, however, the conditions were rather average, not as intense as in 2020/2021. Herrmann's memories of his second solo around the world: "There was a lot of reaching, which was less helpful. I don't think we were really able to show the strengths of this boat in the last Vendée Globe. But in The Ocean Race we were able to demonstrate the performance of the 'Malizia - Seaexplorer'!"

In a detailed report from Team Malizia and in the new video series "Born to Race", Boris Herrmann reflects on how to measure the success of a boat, saying: "With the previous boat (ed.: "Malizia - Seaexplorer") the start was a bit bumpy, we had technical problems. Then we completed the strong leg in the Southern Ocean in The Ocean Race. We almost felt like we were making sailing history when we flew across the Southern Ocean like never before."

Herrmann and Malizia fans will probably still remember the fabulous ride: at the end of March 2023, "Malizia - Seaexplorer" took part in The Ocean Race on the third Southern Ocean leg. First team to reach Cape Horn and then won the queen's stage. The performance of the crew and boat on this section was impressive. In addition came Two strong second places for "Malizia - Seaexplorer" in the Transat CIC and the New York Vendée 2024.

The newcomer for the Vendée Globe should win the Ocean Race

"I couldn't repeat that at the Vendée Globe," says Boris Herrmann about his second solo around the world in 2024/2025. But if I were to draw a line under a four-year campaign, I would say that 'Malizia 3' was a great success. And it still has great potential to be realised." This task has now been completed the new skipper Francesca Clapcich on the course for her Vendée Globe premiere in 2028/2029.

Meanwhile, Boris Herrmann and Team Malizia are building a new platform for success in ocean racing. "It could be similar with our new boat," muses Herrmann, looking back on previous Imoca campaigns. He knows: "There will always be low points when you have a technical problem. But we shouldn't let that define the campaign."

According to the team, Malizia's new Imoca campaign will follow a similar schedule to the previous one. It will begin with crewed regattas in which the new build will be pushed to its limits and its systems optimised. This regatta experience will feed directly into the preparations for the Vendée Globe.

The best boat for the third Vendée Globe start

Boris Herrmann wants to tackle the race of his life for the third time. To do so, he needs a fully tested, high-performance boat, because his goals are ambitious. Herrmann is also pushing himself, saying: "My goal with this boat is to win The Ocean Race and sail a great Vendée Globe."

We really want to win, with this new boat we are looking for every half kilo we can save. We are pushing everyone!" Boris Herrmann

Herrmann does not believe that the team has changed course, saying: "I wouldn't say that the mentality has really changed between the construction of the 'Malizia 3' and the 'Malizia 4'. We always try to build the best, fastest and most solid boat. There are so many talented people in this environment. We work with different people now, so it's a different process and there are different philosophies and mentalities in some ways. But the overall goal is the same."

"We have designed this new boat to be much lighter. Weight is an important part of the strategy, everything has to be lighter." Boris Herrmann

The 44-year-old explains almost three years before the next Vendée Globe: "There are basically two things we can influence if we want to build a fast racing boat: We can make it more powerful, give it more horsepower or reduce the drag. In certain conditions, 'Malizia - Seaexplorer' had the lowest resistance in the fleet due to her hull shape and low wetted surface area, especially in very light winds."

Will the construction trio be right with the Imoca triplets?

However, you need a boat "that is versatile in all conditions". The new one will be "narrower, more pointed" and have "more aggressive lines", says Boris Herrmann. He continues: "It could have a little more resistance in very wavy, complicated conditions, but overall it should be faster and hopefully better."

In the combined construction trio with TR Racing and Team Banque Populaire, reducing the CO2 footprint in the construction process was also a goal. Herrmann says: "We have teamed up with two other teams, TR Racing and Team Banque Populaire, and are building three almost identical boats. This saves us energy and material costs, but we also reuse our design and share our expertise."

According to Boris Herrmann, the first impression of whether the three teams will be right with their combined design ideas could be revealed after just a quarter of an hour in the water. He says: "After 15 minutes of sailing on the first day, we will have some idea of whether we are satisfied with the boat. And then, after four years, we will take stock and see whether this concept was right."

Starting the season with a lot of confidence and a little worry

He believes he is "less obsessed today than with the last campaign," says Boris Herrmann, "I trust the process much more. I trust our design team and our own Malizia design office much more. I'm less involved in the details and decision-making processes."

I follow the developments, I stay tuned, but I really trust the people." Boris Herrmann

More relaxed about construction, Boris Herrmann is more concerned about other things. "What worries me more is the ecosystem with our competitors. There are a number of teams that are losing their sponsors. I want more teams for The Ocean Race. So that's my only small concern, but in general I'm very confident."

Part 1 of the series "Born to Race" with Boris Herrmann and Team Malizia: