Shortly after his first press conference at See on Tuesday afternoon, Boris Herrmann moved up from 23rd to 20th place in the rankings. It was a small compensation for the agonies of the past days and especially the last night. Even during the interview with the journalists, the five-time circumnavigator from Hamburg was clearly delighted that he was finally making good progress in the increasing winds.
"I've got 24 knots on the Speedo right now," said the "Malizia - Seaexplorer happily. A good nine days after the Vendée Globe start on 10 November, he had previously given open and honest insights into his thoughts. Right at the beginning, Boris Herrmann explained: "I sail as well as I can. I'm doing my best, but I'm a bit unlucky with the clouds. We lost another few miles last night. At least there were five pretty slow hours."
Mentally challenging start to the Vendée Globe
Dealing with the interim position outside the top 20 is challenging. Boris Herrmann said: "But I don't want to be too disappointed either. Of course I'm sad that I've lost a lot of miles and it doesn't look like I'll make up for it so quickly. So mentally, this start in the Vendée is not easy."
When asked what motivates him after such race setbacks, the German skipper, who is one of the favourites in this edition, said: "I have no problem with motivation. There is only one way. The only way is forwards. Giving up is not an option. It would also be rubbish. At the last Vendée Globe, when I almost won, I was 280 miles behind the leader at the same time. Now it's 210 or 220. The Vendée Globe is simply a long thing. That doesn't demotivate me now."
"Malizia - Seaexplorer" was 235 nautical miles behind leader Sam Goodchild at the 3 p.m. update of the Race Tracker on 19 November. On his 35th birthday, the British "Vulnerable" skipper regained the lead from Jean Le Cam, who was sailing around 430 nautical miles to the east of him, and quickly extended it to just under 30 nautical miles.
"A little bit of speed problems"
Where and how did Boris Herrmann pick up the slack? The 43-year-old explains it like this: "The leading pack naturally positioned themselves nicely to the north-west at the weekend. I tried to manoeuvre my way a little further south and was right next to Justine. So on the line of Justine Mettraux, who is now very well positioned. And I don't directly see the tactical mistake. I think I had a bit of a speed problem in the light wind. But I was also just unlucky with one or two clouds."
Boris Herrmann described the reasons for his swollen gap to the front of the field not without self-irony as "accumulated bad luck", saying: "The poor guy is getting poorer..." He described the setbacks in more detail: "If you get caught under one cloud or another, lose ten miles and that happens a few times... I think it was just a bit of bad luck with individual big clouds that you can catch on the right or wrong side."
I am now empty-handed." Boris Herrmann
The result: "I really came away empty-handed. It looked even better 36 hours ago. Now I'm last of all the foiling boats. That's a bit tough, of course. The tracker really shows that - it's going to stay that way for a while."
Boris Herrmann categorised the cloud encounters that were so problematic for him as "bad luck or good luck". This has also been seen in other regattas, for example with Charlie Dalin in the Route du Rhum 2022. He also lost heavily in a cloud. Thomas Ruyant then went on to win the Route du Rhum.
He himself was sitting outside the Vendée Globe at 1 a.m. last night, looking at the sail settings. Then this happened: "Suddenly the sails backed and I sailed into a wind hole in pitch darkness. It was a big cloud. I crashed into it. I didn't see it on the radar either. Not even on the satellite images." He then "fought" until 5 a.m.: "From right to left to catch another breath of wind. That was my night. Not easy, not good for progress."
Around one and a half days to the equator
If you imagine "that the others are travelling at 12 to 15 knots for five hours, that's drastic". He didn't lose quite that much, "but 40 or 50 miles". According to Boris Herrmann, it's part of the game not to drive yourself crazy. Nevertheless, he admitted that as a regatta athlete, big losses also affect him "existentially and physically".
He could only try to switch that off, he said with a smile, and endeavour to "see the beauty of the ocean". And to enjoy being "on a fantastically prepared boat that really has no problems". Boris Herrmann expects to reach the equator next Thursday (21 November). On the way there, he feels "reasonably comfortable on board".
He also said: "Of course I have a certain sadness in me. That resonates somewhere. I would say: 10 per cent, 20 per cent of my emotional level is disappointment and sadness about the sporting situation and the somewhat difficult outlook. But 80 per cent I have a really good mindset on board and I feel really in the flow with the boat."
Flying fish, nasty clouds and three knots of wind from all directions - Boris Herrmann sent this video clip with his assessments on Tuesday morning:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Sam Goodchild! Just in time for his special day on 19 November, the now 35-year-old reclaimed his lead from Jean Le Cam once again:
