Vendée Globe: All the highlights of the race - taking the world by storm

The race for records is still on. Many skippers are still at sea. But the winners, heroes and their first chasers have long since celebrated their successes, celebrated their arrival and licked their wounds. The tenth anniversary edition of the Vendée Globe has written a record-breaking chapter that will live long in the memory. Boris Herrmann experienced his toughest battle. Caught on the wrong foot early on in the "Pot au Noir" at the equator, he missed the connection that he chased until the end. He had to put up with a series of low blows and demonstrate resilience, fighting spirit and humility. The 10th Vendée Globe was not his race. The fact that he kept fighting at the end of a black series of breakages and lightning strikes, after J2 trouble, unloved mast work, lightning strikes with bad consequences for his on-board electronics and loss of performance from "Malizia - Seaexplorer" and finally a foil breakage, also earned him respect.

It was high-flyer Charlie Dalin who, after his record race and looking at the lead of the top three over the chasing pack, stated: "This huge difference does not reflect the true level of the best Imoca sailors among themselves." The maestro's statement put a few things straight that had been caused by the different weather windows in which the leading sailors had been able to pull away from the middle of the South Atlantic. The chasers often got stuck in the middle, while the leaders were in the lead. The fact that the three podium sailors - Charlie Dalin ("Macif Santé Prévoyance"), Yoann Richomme ("Paprec Arkéa") and Sébastien Simon ("Groupe Dubreuil") finished a week ahead of the next boats was well deserved thanks to their impressive performances. However, they were often spurred on by better conditions than their pursuers were granted. Conditions that may not return so quickly. Dalin's record could stand for a long time.

The Vendée Globe in the detailed protocol

10 November

THE FANS RACE

Ambitious goals, big dreams, respect for the greatest challenge in sailing and a great sense of adventure will accompany the record fleet of 40 challengers and their Imocas from two decades (between 2005 and 2023) to the starting line of the 10th Vendée Globe. The wish of 350,000 fans on site and millions of followers around the world will accompany the daredevils out to the starting line at the canal parade: "Rock around the globe!"

10 November

BORIS HERRMANN REPAIRS

The light wind at the start cannot keep up with the high waves of emotion. Boris Herrmann briefly leads the race half an hour after the start before others pass him. The "Malizia - Seaexplorer" skipper immediately has a technical problem to solve: He has to replace the broken hydraulic cylinder of his autopilot in the first 24 hours and falls back a little.

12 November

SAM GOODCHILD SHINES

In the opening phase, things get rough in the North Atlantic. The background noise on board the Imocas is brutal. Sébastien Simon reports a noise level of almost 100 decibels on board. The field is led by the aggressive "Vulnerable" skipper Sam Goodchild. He will lead the field a total of 24 times on his debut - which is worth third place in this statistical category at the end of the race behind Charlie Dalin and Yoann Richomme.

13 November

LUNVEN RACES OFF

Not the usual suspects in the field, but the level-headed "Holcim - PRB" skipper Nico Lunven is the first to set a new 24-hour record in this Vendée Globe with 546.6 nautical miles. But that's just the overture to the record-breaking race that follows... Co-favourites Yoann Richomme and Charlie Dalin are already battling it out at the front. For Boris Herrmann, it's up and down in the second half of the top ten in sometimes 30 to 40 knots of wind.

15 November

OFF FOR "MONSIEUR EVEREST"

For three days, "V and B - Monbana - Mayenne" skipper Maxime Sorel fought like a lion against his impending retirement. Then, after problems with the mainsail lock and a partially torn ligament, he had to be the first to give up. The shattered dream tastes particularly bitter for the tenth-place finisher of the ninth Vendée Globe, who had also climbed the real Mount Everest in May 2023 after his first "Everest of the Seas": his sponsors had already announced the end of the project before the starting signal. Boris Herrmann lets his fans dream as he climbs to third place.

16 November

JEAN LE CAM BREAKS OUT

After his breakaway off the Canary Islands and an increasingly large split from the fleet, old star Jean leads the field on an extreme easterly route to the equator, while the favourites on course for the equator fall back sharply in lighter winds in the west. Boris Herrmann remains in the top 20, while Charlie Dalin and Yoann Richomme find themselves in the back third of the fleet.

17 November

BURTON SHOCK & WEÖRES ACROBATICS

Louis Burton discovers cracks in the deck of Bureau Vallée at the end of the first week - the beginning of the fearless attacker's agonising end. At the same time, Szabi Weöres has to climb up both the mast and the forestay after a knockdown with a huge hole in the mainsail and the A7 wrapped around the forestay.

18 November

HERRMANN WITHOUT FLUTE-FORTUNE

In trembling winds, Boris Herrmann rushes back to 33rd place on the equatorial course under dark clouds. His boat circles around the 24th parallel north. "It looks like the Doldrums. Wish us luck getting through here," he says in frustration. But Fortuna doesn't embrace him. In his YACHT Sunday blog, Herrmann explains that he "didn't have the best hand" tactically. These days, including further losses on 19 November, will prove to be the "most expensive" of his second Vendée Globe as the race progresses.

19 November

NASTY BIG CLOUDS

Three days before reaching the equator, Boris Herrmann has dropped back to 23rd place, almost 250 nautical miles behind the leader Sam Goodchild, who was furious with his 2019 boat. Herrmann cites "a bit of speed problems in the light winds" and "bad luck with some big clouds" as the reasons.

20 November

FANS BELIEVE IN HERRMANN

A recent survey conducted by the yacht on this day shows that 10 per cent of participants believe that the train has already left the station for Team Malizia's skipper. 18 per cent believe that he can catch up from the Doldrums onwards. 71 per cent think he will catch up again later in the race.

21 November

RUYANT IS FIRST AT THE EQUATOR

"Vulnerable" skipper Thomas Ruyant is the first to reach the equator after 11 days, 7 hours, 8 minutes and 15 seconds. At this point, it is a slow race overall. Eight years earlier, Alex Thomson had already arrived two days earlier with "Hugo Boss". Boris Herrmann takes ten and a half hours longer than Ruyant.

24 November

THE RACE TO THE CAPE TOWN EXPRESS

The front of the fleet has sorted itself out two weeks after the start: Charlie Dalin leads ahead of Thomas Ruyant, Yoann Richomme, Sam Goodchild, Seb Simon and Jérémie Beyou. Boris Herrmann, in thirteenth place, is struggling to keep up with the "Cape Town Express", a perfectly pulling low that allows his fellow riders to gallop rapidly towards the Cape of Good Hope. Herrmann's impression should not be deceptive: "Unfortunately, I am starving at the edge of this system. Now it's another nail-biting ride. There may well be a very large gap between the leaders and my position. Which is a bit of luck for the leaders - and downright bad luck for me."

25 November

RACING TIMES

The front men outdo each other in the "Cape Town Express" speedboat race with average speeds of 23 knots and new 24-hour records. Yoann Richomme's "Paprec Arkéa" now has the best record of 579.86 nautical miles. His comment: "I feel like a small animal surviving in this hull travelling at Mach 12."

27 November

MINUS ONE HEADSAIL

Justine Mettraux loses her J0 headsail in thirteenth place. It is torn and can no longer be repaired. The loss will hurt in the remaining almost 19,000 nautical miles in room sheet and reaching conditions. Boris Herrmann is now 500 nautical miles behind the leaders, who continue to race towards Cape Town with Dalin in the lead.

27 November

THE 24-HOUR RECORD

Sébastien Simon sails in a frenzy, beating the 24-hour record several times in a row with "Groupe Dubreuil" (former ocean race winner "Malamā"). With 615.33 nautical miles (1139.6 km), he sets the final exclamation mark at this Vendée Globe. Boris Herrmann has a "grey feeling". He says he is "slowly falling off the Cape Town Express" and already suspects "a few hundred miles more" on his account in the coming period. He will be proved right.

28 November

CAPE TOWN EXPRESS: PLEASE GET OFF!

Sam Goodchild, defending champion Yannick Bestaven and Paul Meilhat are also increasingly losing touch with the leaders.

29 November

THE FORMIDABLE FOUR

Charlie Dalin is the first to pass the Cape of Good Hope (19 days, 3 hours, 43 minutes, 2 seconds). Together with Thomas Ruyant, Yoann Richomme and Sébastien Simon, he forms the "formidable four". The pacemakers are only 36 nautical miles apart at the first of the three capes. Three of them will be on the podium at the end. Boris Herrmann is caught in the doldrums, losing more than 200 nautical miles in the South Atlantic within 24 hours.

1 December

A PRELIMINARY DECISION

The day is one of the most influential of the entire race, as first Yoann Richomme (1st), Thomas Ruyant (4th) and Jérémie Beyou (5th), then also Nico Lunven (6th), Sam Goodchild (7th) and Yannick Bestaven (8th), six of the top eight decide to flee for safety from a monster low pressure system roaring in from the west, which is expected to bring 50, 60 knots. They open up huge northern loops, Thomas Ruyant up to over the 36th parallel south. Two, however, are going through in the deep south: Charlie Dalin and Seb Simon.

2 December

THE BIG MISSING

On this day four years ago, Seb Simon had to call at Cape Town and retire after a collision with a badly damaged starboard foil. Back then he was fourth. Now he overtakes Yoann Richomme and moves up to second place behind Charlie Dalin. Richomme states: "The level is similar to the last races. Seb Simon has really improved recently. He is the big improvement. Otherwise it's the usual suspects. The big one missing is Boris." He is 1274 nautical miles behind the leaders in 13th place.

4 December

IN DIFFERENT WORLDS

"Paprec Arkéa" skipper Yoann Richomme is 328 nautical miles "behind", but above all 550 nautical miles north of Charlie Dalin in the Indian Ocean: "We are now in two different worlds, each on a different side of the storm." On "Malizia - Seaexplorer", which is sailing 1273 nautical miles behind Dalin in twelfth place, Boris Herrmann has to repair the broken hydraulic adjustment on the port foil case. From now on, he has to fix the rake, the tilt. The Swiss Oliver Heer fears for his Vendée Globe premiere because his machine is under water, but the costly repair is successful.

5 December

OFF FOR "MASTER BUILDER" BURTON

It would have been nice to see what the aggressive third-placed boat in the 9th Vendée Globe would have been capable of in this round. But "Bureau Vallée" skipper Louis Burton had to give up. His creative boatbuilding skills under the most adverse conditions were legendary after the early discovery of cracks in the hull. Now irreparable rig damage has also led to his retirement.

7 December

DÉJA-VU FOR SIMON

For the second time in a row, Sébastien Simon is shocked by a broken foil during a Vendée Globe. The starboard foil broke off at the elbow in a collision. This time, the fleet runner-up behind Charlie Dalin continues to fight on with a 250 nautical mile lead over Yoann Richomme.

8 December

QUARTET WITH THREE LADIES

Justine Mettraux, Boris Herrmann, Sam Davies and Clarisse Crémer in eleventh to 13th place are separated by just 50 nautical miles on race day 28. The Swiss, the German, the Brit and the Frenchwoman form the most international group in the field. They swap places from time to time, but no other boat comes between them between 23 November and 17 December.

9 December

DALIN STORMS CAPE LEEUWIN

First at Cape Leeuwin too: Charlie Dalin speeds past the second of the three capes after a race lasting 29 days, 2 hours, 10 minutes and 58 seconds. Hot on his heels: Seb Simon, Yoann Richomme and Thomas Ruyant. One of the four will not make it onto the podium.

Boris Herrmann will pass Cape Leeuwin in tenth place a good three days after Dalin, but: He masters the passage from the Cape of Good Hope with the second-fastest time in the fleet (10 days, 1 hour, 49 minutes) - a good feeling during the breathless race to catch up and an honour for the Southern Ocean boat "Malizia - Seaexplorer". Only one person was almost three and a half hours faster: Charlie Dalin!

12 December

BLACKOUTS AT DAVIES

"Initiatives - Cœur" skipper Sam Davies has to put up with a series of blackouts and has to replace the lashing for her mainsail head. A co-favourite for one of the top places before the start of the race, she is no match for the top contenders.

13 December

PRELIMINARY DECISION IN THE BATTLE FOR THE PODIUM

"Vulnerable" skipper Thomas Ruyant and his followers Jérémie Beyou, Nico Lunven, Sam Goodchild, Yannick Bestaven and Paul Meilhat are thwarted in the Southern Ocean between Tasmania and New Zealand by a high-pressure barrier that lies in front of them like a wall on a north-south axis - the preliminary decision. Ruyant was the first to suffer, narrowly missing the jump to the other side. "For me, the worst-case scenario has come true," says the co-favourite on Friday the thirteenth. Two days later, he will be 800 nautical miles behind Dalin, who is flying away with Yoann Richomme and Seb Simon, who is still fast on a foil.

16 December

THE FIRST MAST BREAK

Misfortune strikes Pip Hare. The Brit loses part of her rig in the Indian Ocean. "I don't know what happened. 'Medallia' just took off - when she landed, the mast came off the top in two pieces." Pip Hare sets up an emergency rig, sails to Melbourne in Australia and gives a rousing account of her journey on the "Slow Boat". Almost unbelievably, 16 years earlier to the day, her compatriot Mike Golding had broken on "Ecover" during his Vendée Globe. On this day, Szabolcs Weöres also had to retire as the fourth skipper after Sorel, Burton and Hare as a result of his broken port D2 shroud. At the 58th parallel south, the duel between the giants Dalin and Richomme rages, separated by only a handful of nautical miles in the Pacific. Boris Herrmann moves up to ninth place.

18 December

BUG AN BUG

Incredible duel at the other end of the world: after more than 13,500 nautical miles, the two race favourites Charlie Dalin and Yoann Richomme are exactly on a par, spurring each other on along the ice edge between New Zealand and Point Nemo to catch up with Seb Simon, who briefly slipped into the lead north of them. Boris Herrmann moves up to eighth place after a strong race to catch up.

21 December

"MALIZIA - SEAEXPLORER" CAPSIZES

Boris Herrmann is caught in the ice cold at the 53rd parallel in the South Pacific on course for Point Nemo: "Malizia - Seaexplorer" capsizes in diffuse, rough conditions. However, her skipper is able to right her and she sails aft towards Cape Horn. On the same day, there is a humanly beautiful encounter in the loneliest spot in the world: Herrmann has a duel with defending champion Yannick Bestaven, comes out on top and moves up to seventh place.

22 December

WHITE CHRISTMAS TIME

Two days before Christmas Eve, Boris Herrmann experiences what his home port does not: a white Christmas season with snow and hail. With his Ocean Race navigator Nico Lunven on "Holcim - PRB", the next competitor is only 100 nautical miles ahead. 230 nautical miles separate him from fourth-placed Thomas Ruyant. "Place for place"... hopes one Herrmann fan on social media. "The VPLP construction, optimised for the Southern Ocean, once again proves its potential," the organisers said of the German.

24 December

THE CAPE HORN CROWN

Sailing blockbuster on Christmas Eve: bow to bow, the Vendée Globe giants Dalin and Richomme head for the last and most legendary of the three capes. It is Vendée Globe "rookie" Richomme who prevails with a lead of 9 minutes and 30 seconds and celebrates the coup in daylight with a proud view of the rock. Up to this point, the brilliant Frenchman is now the fastest in the fleet after 43 days, 11 hours, 25 minutes and 20 seconds. Boris Herrmann's Christmas wish? "My greatest wish is to see Cape Horn." He will not find fulfilment. The leading trio of Richomme/Dalin/Simon has now pulled so far away with strong weather windows that even fourth-placed Thomas Ruyant is 1500 miles behind the leaders. The battle for the podium has long been decided here - but who will win?

26 December

"JUJU" IN THE TOP TEN

Justine Mettraux celebrates her comeback in the top ten. She overtakes Yannick Bestaven, who is fighting with a blunt sword after the failure of a trap lock and without the no longer usable Code 0.

27 December

SLEEPLESS IN THE SOUTHERN SEA

Boris Herrmann has never sailed so far south before. At the 59th Bereitengrad, he doesn't feel in the Christmas spirit, doesn't even put up the Christmas tree he brought with him and searches for his rhythm.

28 December

CAPE HOORN, THE SEVENTH

Boris Herrmann passes Cape Horn for the seventh time on his sixth circumnavigation. He doesn't even get to see the rock where he won the Ocean Race crown with Team Malizia in 2023 in the distant darkness. Small compensation: he reaches the longitude of Cape Horn 31 seconds ahead of "Biotherm" skipper Paul Meilhat.

29 December

CAPE HOORN PREMIERE FOR "JUJU"

Justine Mettraux passes Cape Horn with her 2018 design "TeamWork - Team Snef" as the only woman in the top ten. She remembers "a rather mild Indian Ocean and a committed Pacific" for her group with Boris Herrmann. At the same time, the German-French Isabelle Joschke is in 18th place, has to invest ten hours in her defective engine and has to lament the breakage of her starboard foil.

30 November

THE DEFENDING CHAMPION GIVES UP

Yannick Bestaven gives up with steering system problems that cannot be repaired at sea. His stopover in Ushuaia sealed his unfortunate retirement. Paul Meilhat catapults himself from tenth to fifth place within five days with good positioning in changeable conditions.

New Year's Eve

DALIN LETS IT RIP

For the 170th time, Charlie Dalin takes the lead in the Vendée Globe classification, which has been updated every four hours since the start. After an epic duel with Richomme along the ice edge and up the Atlantic, he emerges faster from the recent light-winded cat-and-mouse game at the 27th parallel. It is the beginning of Dalin's now almost 5000 nautical miles long victory gala to the finish.

2 January

ICEBERGS IN SIGHT

Iceberg sightings are causing alarm in a group that is still sailing along the Antarctic Exclusion Zone on course for Point Nemo. The zone can no longer be moved if it has already been passed by solo travellers. For the first time since 2008, skippers like Conrad "Crazy Kiwi" Colman see white giants on their course again.

3 January

SETBACK FOR RUYANT

The pre-start co-favourite Tomas Ruyant, who has been in fourth place without interruption since 18 December, is attacked 360 nautical miles off Uruguay by 55 knots of wind as if by a gang of robbers out of nowhere. "Vulnerable" is thrown onto its side. Ruyant experiences 45 to 60 knots of wind for two hours. After that, his tattered J2 is history. And with it the last hopes of perhaps still coming in third place, 1000 nautical miles behind Seb Simon.

5 JANUARY

THE MALIZIA RECORD HOLDS

Boris Herrmann has to repair a broken outhaul, but can rejoice from afar: Charlie Dalin has completed the stretch from Cape Horn to the equator in 12 days and 15 hours. Boris Herrmann was faster four years earlier with 11 days and 18 hours. He retains the record and moves up to seventh place the next day.

7 January

HERRMANN CONQUERS FEAR OF HEIGHTS

A daunting task for Boris Herrmann: he has to repair his "Arbalète" in the mast. This control line turns the backstay into a topmast backstay when it's rigged. When tightened, it pulls the backstay to the height of the forestay on the mast and locks it in place. The Malizia man then sails proudly into the night in seventh place and battles with Thomas Ruyant for sixth place in heavy thunderstorms the following day.

8 January

LIGHTNING STRIKE AT "MALIZIA"

A nearby lightning strike paralyses large parts of the electronics on "Malizia - Seaexplorer". As the most westerly of the fanned-out boats in fourth to tenth place in the volatile South Atlantic arena just under 400 nautical miles east of Salvador de Bahia with greatly reduced equipment, Herrmann found himself in ninth place two days after "the worst day of my life". 24 hours later, he is only 34 nautical miles behind Jérémie Beyou in fourth place.

9 January

CHICKS OFF CAPE HOORN

While Charlie Dalin is already sailing into the final stretch at 1900 nautical miles, Violette Dorange's Cape Horn jubilation is infectious. The "DeVenir" skipper has more than half a million followers on Instagram and is standing by her wife in all sailing positions during her first solo around the world. The experienced swashbuckler Arnaud Boissières respectfully describes the youngest participant at 23 as a member of his "Pacific gang".

10 January

TREND TOWARDS LATCH LOCK BREAKS

Next latch bolt breakage: Yoann Richomme loses his J0. Would it have helped him with a 200 nautical mile gap to the determined Charlie Dalin?

11 January

IN THE MOONLIGHT IN THE MAST

After breaking his halyard lock for the J2 the day before, Boris Herrmann climbs the 29 metre high mast again. He does it bravely and successfully in the moonlight - without fear. A success. For film-maker and television personality Éric Bellion, however, the J2 repair does not hold. One day later, the Frenchman has to call at Port Stanley on the Falkland Islands and give up.

12 January

POSITIVE INTERIM BALANCE

Boris Herrmann is ninth, takes stock in the Boris BLog for YACHT: "I was close to fourth place up to 25 nautical miles. It's not great to drop back in the race." Nevertheless, he rates his performance higher than at the premiere. "As a project, it's also a major achievement with our own shipbuilding, which is proving so successful, and a successful campaign and a very good placing so far." In an interview with race director Hubert Lemonnier, Boris Herrmann says in response to the question of whether he was able to draw any lessons for the next boat from the race: "This time there were a lot of meteorological barriers that tore the field to pieces. The top three are so far away that it can't be explained by boat design alone."

14 January

THE ACCOMPLISHED: CHARLIE DALIN WINS

Charlie Dalin finishes with a fabulous record after 64 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes and 49 seconds.

15 January

RICHOMME FASTER, DALIN MORE EFFECTIVE

"Not bad for someone who has only been sailing Imoca for two years," writes one fan as a comment in the live broadcast of Yoann Richomme's final. Charlie Dalin's equal opponent follows one day after the winner. An interesting comparison of figures: Richomme completed 28,326 nautical miles over ground at an average speed of 17.95 knots. Without Richomme's northern loop in the Indian Ocean, Dalin only needed a total of 27.667 nautical miles, was a tad slower with his average of 17.79 knots, but more effective.

16 January

BLACK SERIES CONTINUES

Shock news from the sea: Boris Herrmann reports the breakage of his port foil as a result of a collision with an "OANI" (unidentified object or animal) at 3.31 a.m. about 750 nautical miles south-west of Cape Verde. The skipper is fine and the boat suffers no further damage. But the Vendée Globe result probably did.

17 January

THE CHILD OF THE VENDÉE GLOBE

Sébastien Simon with "Groupe Dubreuil" also crossed the finish line on a foil only. He crossed the courses he learnt as an opti sailor in his home waters of Les Sables-d'Olonne. The jubilation on his canal trip is huge, he says: "I'm a child of the Vendée Globe. It's a marvellous course. It's my course. I grew up here." Four years after breaking his foil at his Vendée Globe premiere, Simon has played his hand well this time. Sponsor Groupe Dubreuil has already signalled the continuation of the happy partnership. And Simon has promised: "My story with the Vendée Globe is not over until I have won it."

18 January

NO LONGER TOP TEN

Benjamin Dutreux overtakes the wingless Boris Herrmann, but takes no joy from it: "I'm now ahead of Boris. I had the feeling I was shooting at a wounded animal."

19 January

FOURTH PLACE AS CONTESTED AS VICTORY

Sam Goodchild, 35, and Jérémie Beyou, 48, are battling it out for the wooden medal as if for victory. The older Guillaume Verdier design "Vulnerable" (2018) of the younger sailor from Thomas Ruyant's racing team TR Racing and the Sam Manuard design "Charal" from 2022 are separated by just a tenth of a nautical mile shortly before the finish line after 22,430 nautical miles!

20 January

GOODCHILDS MAINSAIL EXPLODES

Sam Goodchild's dream of fourth place bursts with his mainsail in a crash gybe in stormy winds. It's hard to imagine, but Macgyver Goodchild glues, sews and patches his main back together in the days that follow, emptying 14 cartridges of glue in the process.

24 January

GOOD FOURTH PLACE

Jérémie Beyou, 48, was determined to finish on the podium at his fifth Vendée Globe with his new build "Charal" and came fourth, the second-best result of his career after third place eight years ago. The conciliatory echo of the ambitious man: "There are good and not so good fourth places. This is a good fourth place."

FORMIDABLE FIFTH PLACE

No technical setback, not the water ingress and also not the mast-threatening forestay break on the Atlantic way back, could stop the determined man. After finishing third eight years ago, Paul Meilhat, 42, proved that he is one of the best of his generation at his second attempt with his own Biotherm project, a small team, a private loan for new foils and strong positioning in the final sprint with fifth place.

LUCKY SIXTH

Boris Herrmann's Ocean Race navigator Nico "The Brain" Lunven was the only skipper to have only one year to prepare for the Vendée Globe after taking over "Holcim - PRB" at the last minute. After three ocean races in a row, the 42-year-old routing expert and intensive team circumnavigator proved in his solo debut on "Holcim - PRB" with sixth place that he can also do it alone.

25 January

BEATEN CO-FAVOURITE

With "Vulnerable" skipper Thomas Ruyant, 43, one of the big pre-start favourites finishes in seventh place. Between setbacks such as the water ingress in the opening phase, the blackout at the ice edge in the Southern Ocean and the loss of J2 in a heavy 55-knot knockdown in the final Atlantic sprint, the Imoca class leader was able to show his class time and again. The hoped-for podium remains out of reach for the Mini-Transat, Route du Rhum and Transat Jacques Vabre winner and Herrmann ally in Imoca class matters, even at the third attempt after structural damage at the 2016 premiere and foil breakage in 2020.

SWISS SUMMIT STORM

He is followed to the finish line by the first non-French boat in eighth place in the jubilant storm: the Swiss Justine "Juju" Mettraux, 38, establishes a new Vendée Globe women's record with 76 days, 1 hour, 36 minutes and 52 seconds. The only two-time Ocean Race winner took around eleven days off the previous record holder Clarisse Crémer, who finished in eleventh place. The skipper from Lake Geneva is only the fourth woman after Catherine Chabaud, Ellen MacArthur and Samantha Davies to make it into the top ten of a Vendée Globe. Her best weapons: strong roots in an extremely sailing-orientated family with four professionally sailing siblings, experience from three team races around the world, resilient all-rounder, more competitor than adventurer.

TO WHOM THE FUTURE BELONGS

Behind her, Thomas Ruyant's young racing team-mate Sam Goodchild, 35, is an up-and-comer who already had what it takes to achieve more in his first attempt. The mainsail that burst in the Atlantic final prevented the multi-talented British all-rounder with 2019 Imoca from a well-deserved top five finish, and we can expect anything from him in the future.

26/27 January

HISTORICAL NOVELTY

In the storm, Benjamin Dutreux in tenth place and Clarisse Crémer in eleventh place had to fight their way through the raging Bay of Biscay to the finish. Both crossed the line alone at sea and had to call at La Rochelle during the night without assistance because it was impossible to enter the channel to Port Olona. This has never happened before in the history of the Vendée Globe. Ben Dutreux, 34, proved for the second time after ninth place in the previous race as a top ten skipper that he is also part of the extended high-performance circle of Imoca grandees with an older Imoca from 2015. Clarisse Crémer, 35, has shown that she can master stormy times both on land and at sea after many qualification hurdles. Her selfie video at "probably the loneliest Vendée Globe final" on a dark stormy night shows her laughing and crying at the same time. The Parisian, who first discovered sailing as a student, calls her completed second solo around the world an "immense gift".

29 January

"IT'S DONE"

After 80 days, Boris Herrmann has solid ground under his feet again. He embraces his loved ones, enjoys the celebratory parade in the canal to Port Olona and gives his first interviews. With a time of 80 days, 10 hours, 16 minutes and 41 seconds, he beat his own time from his premiere four years earlier by a good four and a half hours. However, Herrmann was unable to achieve his minimum goal of a top ten finish in this second solo round the world. It quickly became clear that he wanted to continue, and the six-time circumnavigator wanted to do it again in four years' time. Before that, new challenges await the only German sailor to have finished two Vendée Globes.