The score is only settled at the finish. This old sporting adage should be borne in mind in the current tense battles for position in the Atlantic. There are several centres of tension: at the front and already in the northern hemisphere, "Macif Santé Prévoyance" skipper Charlie Dalin continues to lead the field. However, his stubborn pursuer Yoann Richomme has closed in on him again at the end of the 57th day of racing. The "Paprec Arkéa" skipper was recently able to reduce the gap to under 80 nautical miles and was travelling faster than Dalin.
While Sébastien Simon ("Groupe Dubreuil") continued to confidently defend third place at the 11 o'clock position update on Monday morning with 750 nautical miles to the top and a very comfortable lead of around 1250 nautical miles over Thomas Ruyant ("Vulnerable"), who is now back in fourth place, there is a scramble and high tension far behind him.
Which group is on course for the equator?
A few hundred nautical miles off Rio de Janeiro's Coapacabana, Boris Herrmann has moved up to seventh place. Here, the soloists in fourth to tenth place have spread out like a fan from west to east. While the group around Beyou, Sam Goodchild in sixth place, Herrmann and Justine Mettraux ("TeamWork - Team Snef"), who has moved up to eighth place, are seeking their luck closer to the coast, Paul Meilhat ("Biotherm") and Nico Lunven ("Holcim - PRB"), who initially dropped back to ninth and tenth place, are hoping for a breakthrough up to almost 500 nautical miles further east.
"Vulnerable" skipper Thomas Ruyant remained centred between these two groups. Currently, further shifts are to be expected with every new position update in view of the tussle in very unpredictable, unstable winds off Brazil. "We'll know how it ends at the equator," predicted Boris Herrmann.
Only around 170 nautical miles separated the boats from fourth to tenth place on Monday morning. A look at the unpredictable wind developments in their Brazilian corner of the South Atlantic and the forecasts recently showed that if the high pressure system spreads close to the coast, Nico Lunven and Paul Meilhat could find a bridge on the eastern flank and advance again. The coming days will show whether their long journey will really be worth it.
Navigator trophy: Herrmann's Vendée Globe bet
At the start of race week nine in the morning of 6 January, the group still had around 1600 to 1900 nautical miles to go to the equator. Meanwhile, three chasers were closing in quickly from behind: At speeds of 14 to 16 knots, Benjamin Dutreux ("Guyot Environnement - Water Family"), Clarisse Crémer ("L'Occitane en Provence") and Smantha Davies ("Inititatives - Cœur") were closing in on the top ten. Around 420 nautical miles still separated Ben Dutreux from Nico Lunven.
Boris Herrmann sent his first longer video of the new year on Monday. His forecast after the latest routings: "The weather models see me in the Azores in 15 or 16 days. From there - you can imagine - it's still a few days to get home. My best tip: From here it's still 20, 21 days to the finish. As always, it could take longer. So my guess would be 24 January. That would be 76 days."
Boris Herrmann then called for a bet: "I'd like to know your tip. We'll call it the Navigator Trophy. We'll come up with a great prize and I'll get our team to arrange it. My tip is 24 January at 6 pm UTC (ed.: 7 pm German time). And now it's your turn." Boris Herrmann also surprised his team Malizia with the fun bet, who are now presumably working on a small prediction game.
A big eye and the sheer joy of sailing
Boris Herrmann also explained his visibly bruised right eye: "Last night, the boat jumped through the waves quite a bit. We had heavy swell here for a long time with this big low. Even now, the sea is still not very calm. I've stowed the equipment back and forth. We always do this when the wind changes to adjust the longitudinal trim and the centre of gravity of the boat. I brought bags to the front. Just as I was lifting a bag, the boat took a dive and I hit the bag right in the eye. Fortunately, nothing happened apart from a small scratch."
With a twinkle in his eye, Boris Herrmann then revealed that he had gone on deck naked that morning. Why? Boris Herrmann explained: "Because we are in a zone with ideal temperatures here. It's neither too hot nor too cold. The sea was just the right temperature to wake me up when I got out of my bunk and had to go forward to set the J0. Instead of putting on these slightly damp clothes (editor's note: Herrmann points to his oilskins in the video), I just went as I was."
Boris Herrmann continued cheerfully: "That was a really good wake-up call. The mood is great, the atmosphere is good. The boat and I are doing well. I haven't slept much in the last few days. It's been these ever-changing conditions, the gusts, the swell, the choppy seas... They've made it hard to move well and keep up with Sam Goodchild, who is doing a great job and is really fast."
Vendée Globe challenge for those with a fear of heights
Boris Herrmann has another challenge to overcome in the coming days. He, who suffers from a fear of heights, has to repair the worn control line that holds the backstay in position. To do this, he has to climb up the mast. Although his team has already given him instructions for this, Herrmann asked for further tips on how best to proceed in his latest video.
"The secrets of a naked sailor!" - In his latest video, Boris Herrmann appears more rested and cheerful than he has been for a long time after a long period of restraint and concentration on the competition:
