Vendée Globe: It's not best in the West - Boris Herrmann in the left-wing trap
Tatjana Pokorny
· 15.01.2025
Boris Herrmann is currently struggling in his second Vendée Globe. As the most westerly boat in the group of seven battling for fourth to tenth place, Herrmann has recently had bad luck in his position with winds that have turned unhappily for him. On 15 January, when the Vendée Globe runner-up Yoann Richomme was celebrated in Les Sables-d'Olonne, the "Malizia - Seaexplorer" skipper was tenth and 115 nautical miles behind the "Vulnerable" skipper Thomas Ruyant, who was ahead of him.
Wind shifter to the disadvantage of Boris Herrmann
In the NDR live talk about the Vendée Globe, which was exciting in many respects, Boris Herrmann spoke to presenter Sven Kaulbars and expert Tim Kröger about his current situation: "Things are going a bit slowly here on the wind. The wind has shifted a bit more to the left for me than for my colleague Thomas Ruyant on my right. I don't know exactly why that is..."
According to Herrmann, it felt "a bit unfair, it had been like that all night". Thomas Ruyant, around 100 nautical miles east of Boris Herrmann, was not so affected by the shifting wind and had made faster progress northwards. Boris Herrmann explained in the NDR live programme: "I always drift a bit further west. So not the best mood on board at the moment."
Looking at the tracker displayed during the programme, Boris Herrmann explained when asked how he could still make the turn: "You can see my white lane here on the tracker, which bends to the left. Of course, that's a bend I don't want to take at all. I want to get the bend back so that I can at least drive parallel to the others. There's no intention behind it here. The wind has simply shifted more to the left here. You can't see that in the tracker. You can't see that in the weather models either. At the moment, I'm a bit at a loss as to what the reason is."
At the moment, I'm simply being left behind, mercilessly left behind." Boris Herrmann
Boris Herrmann continued: "I just hope that it will turn back after a certain time and I can at least ride halfway." At the moment, said the Team Malizia founder during his second solo around the world, it feels as if "big wooden beams are being put in my way again". The 43-year-old hoped: "If the wind shifts a little to the right again, then I'll get my turn to the right in the literal sense of the word so that I can stay a little ahead again."
Herrmann struggles, hopes and fights
Herrmann reported strong support and motivation from his team and said combatively: "Even when it feels difficult, as it did today, you don't let anything go. Every metre counts. It's simply in your blood." On the other hand, he had little in his hands at the moment "to be able to fight my way back here".
He slipped into his current position "bit by bit with the various setbacks". With the damage to the J2, he had been heading west for three hours at eight knots. That may not sound like much in absolute miles, but: "Often, when the wind has curved like this over a long, long phase and you're a little further downwind, on the unfavourable side in the west, this kind of disadvantage exponentially increases."
He hesitated for a long time as to whether he should turn round again. In hindsight, says Herrmann, looking at the current situation, you are always smarter. He wants to have a detailed debriefing later to see whether it was a mistake not to turn round. At the same time, Boris Herrmann saw new opportunities on the horizon: "I know that when we pass through the high-pressure zone and are back in the westerly wind climate zone (...), where we will also find the low-pressure areas again - things will happen there again. There could be surprises again."
Vendée Globe tenth place: not a dream result
After Charlie Dalin's canter and record victory yesterday, Boris Herrmann admitted that the current days feel "like the most difficult days of the race" for him: "I have to be honest, yesterday was not an easy day and I think I still need today to simply find my way back into my own race." Boris Herrmann said very honestly in the NDR talk: "Of course I was dreaming of a better result than a tenth place."
Together with my team, we expected more, are a little disappointed and are now looking to see what else we can do." Boris Herrmann
In an overarching interim assessment, Boris Herrmann said in the streamed NDR lunchtime programme: "Overall, it was a surprising Vendée Globe in terms of the weather constellations. That's another way of learning. You need a boat that can go fast in all directions. We perhaps went a little too far in one direction."
During his sixth circumnavigation, Herrmann recalled that the hull lines for "Malizia - Seaexplorer" were drawn up at the beginning of 2021. "That kind of defined the strategy and also our profile of strengths and weaknesses. There's not much that can be changed. Nevertheless, it's a great ship. And I also believe that in the next Vendée Globe it may be able to stand out again in a positive way if the conditions - who knows - perhaps go in a different direction again."
Team Malizia's future has already begun
When asked whether he was already planning another ship, Boris Herrmann replied in the NDR interview: "Our team is working on the development of what can be done in design, and we are continuing to research there. We have our ears and eyes wide open to see: How can we find even more of a ship that travels fast in all directions?"
NDR presenter Sven Kaulbars went on to ask: "I take it from this that it wasn't the last Vendée Globe for you?" Boris Herrmann, who had already set his sights on another Vendée Globe at the end of December in his Boris BLog for YACHT, said: "It is my great wish (...) to do it again. The wish has not died with this difficult Vendée Globe, which is also disappointing in terms of the result."
It still fascinates me." Boris Herrmann
According to Herrmann, the opposite is the case: "Seeing the pictures of Charlie yesterday and finding my inner strength in between, even in the last week, seeing how strong I feel, how I can deal with difficulties and find the resources within me, even when it gets tough, that gives me the motivation to keep going."
Herrmann's Vendée Globe final: 25 January possible
Boris currently expects to arrive in les Sables-d'Olonne around 25 January. However, there is still some leeway in the timing of his arrival, as "we still have to deal with a large area of low pressure". Boris Herrmann expects the depression to occur in the second half of the course from his current position to his destination.
Boris Herrmann said: "With a system like this, small differences in our route - a little further east, a little further west - can ultimately make a big difference to the arrival time." Herrmann was almost looking forward to the changing scenario: "I'm really looking forward to it. It will be exciting again. Changing sails, action, we won't have time to think or be disappointed or sad. Then it's full steam ahead again: a big storm from Cape Finistèrre! We'll have to really push through again."
