At 3.41 pm on 30 January, Boris Herrmann set foot on land for the first time since the start of the Vendée Globe on 10 November. The "Malizia - Seaexplorer" skipper received an enthusiastic welcome in Port Olona. In the first flash interview with the French hosts, Boris Herrmann said: "I'm very happy to be back." He had never given up in the face of the many setbacks and had always fought.
It was a very, very intense adventure." Boris Herrmann
Reflecting on their achievement, Team Malizia's skipper said: "There are less than 100 people, I think about 65, who have finished two Vendée Globes. I'm proud of that." In Port Olona, Boris Herrmann enjoyed the jubilant atmosphere the day after his finish, saying in an interview with NDR: "I'm fine. It's great energy here with the long channel through which you enter. 1000 people cheering us on really enthusiastically, writing little posters, banners, flags, lots of German flags, it's great to see how much enthusiasm the race generates here."
Vendée Globe: the lightness afterwards
In the Vendée Globe harbour of Port Olona, Boris Herrmann reacted to the goosebump reception in an interview with NDR: "It's a wonderful moment that really gives you back a bit of lightness. It's not always easy during such an intense adventure." The Vendée Globe runner-up described his race as an "intense life experience that I wouldn't want to miss".
When asked for his own initial summary of his race, Boris Herrmann said: "First of all, thanks to everyone who followed the race so closely. Of course, I get a lot of great energy back during the race. I had a bit of a slow start to the race. That wasn't by choice. It was simply the circumstances."
Dampener at the start, race to catch up in the Indian Ocean
Boris Herrmann explained the not entirely successful start in detail as follows: "There was a big discrepancy on the start line alone, which had an impact on the first two days. The starting line for a race like this is 2.4 kilometres long. And we were stuck on the far left side for two or three hours longer in this stagnant wind, which then started on the right side, which was actually at a disadvantage. Some people had anticipated that well. They got away well."
It was a great fight to the finish." Boris Herrmann
Herrmann, on the other hand, had his first small setback here: "I was already a bit behind at the start. The whole Atlantic was tough. I then came back well in the Indian Ocean - the second-fastest time in the Indian Ocean. Then the Pacific was also okay. Then (I was) a bit within match distance, at least to fourth place. Temporarily, at least briefly, in sixth place ahead of Brazil. And then there was a small series of difficult circumstances: Weather, thunderstorms, storms, sails that tore, a foil that broke and thus an exciting final. I never got bored."
On the podium at Vendée Globe number three?
Asked once again about the dream of a third Vendée Globe participation, which Boris Herrmann had already set his sights on during the race in YACHT's Boris BLog, the six-time circumnavigator told NDR on Thursday: "All good things come in threes. We'll do our best to ensure that we can apply some of the experiences and learnings from this time and hopefully achieve a podium finish."
At the Vendée Globe press conference on Thursday evening, Boris Herrmann added further thoughts: "The comeback is clearly a big dream because it's so addictive and fascinating. I dream of continuing. We'll keep going, that's for sure. And we will try to give it our all with Team Malizia to be back here in four years' time."
The predictions were very scary." Boris Herrmann
When asked about the stormy conditions of his last Vendée Globe days, Boris Herrmann said: "Such conditions are very rare in the life of a sailor. I asked myself whether it was sensible to go in there. Or whether it would be more sensible to go south and wait four days south of the Azores." However, it was also clear that the decision to wait would have been a long wait: "There was a series of two or three lows."
Vendée Globe design: tolerant all-rounder wanted
You ask yourself a lot of questions in the face of such a scenario, said Boris Herrmann, because you don't have much experience. "I had eleven metre waves and 48 knots of wind on the weather files. In reality, I had 64 knots of wind! I couldn't measure the waves, but they were impressive. But it's good that I did it. It gave me the confidence that these boats with smaller sails behave like wine corks, always staying up. I felt very confident after two days."
Looking to the future of Imoca design, Boris Herrmann said that the trend will be towards narrower and even more versatile designs. "It will go to the extremes of a boat that is tolerant. Perhaps a boat that is more demanding, but also more capable in some wind ranges.
Does he think that something will surprise him at a third Vendée Globe? Boris Herrmann smiled for a moment and said: "Every day at a Vendée Globe is different. We are never safe from surprises. Surprises in the classification, in the files, in the details, in the technical area or even the feelings on board. I was pleasantly surprised by myself during this Vendée Globe. And sometimes negatively surprised by my results. But that's the Vendée Globe."
This Vendée Globe taught me a lot about the boat, about myself, about the sport." Boris Herrmann
According to Boris Herrmann, sailing is "a sport where experience counts". The result: "You hope that the further you go, the more you can put this experience into practice. So we just have to keep going." Before that, he is currently happy to have arrived. "I'm looking forward to returning to the world after 80 days of isolation and fully savouring my first day on land in the new year."
Replay! The broadcast of Boris Herrmann's arrival in Les Sables-d'Olonne:
