Like Samantha Davies, who is sailing 100 nautical miles behind him, Boris Herrmann is expected to finish his second Vendée Globe on Wednesday evening or a little later. These last two days will be tough. There is a storm on the approach to the Bay of Biscay and in the finish area itself. Wave heights of ten metres were recorded on Monday. The Race Village in Les Sables-d'Olonne will remain closed until Tuesday for the time being.
Vendée Globe: Ben Dutreux in the top ten
Benjamin Dutreux ("Guyot Environnement - Water Family") and Clarisse Crémer ("L'Occitane en Provence") crossed the finish line in the most challenging conditions on Sunday afternoon and during the night after a great struggle in the choppy Bay of Biscay. Both were diverted to La Rochelle due to the conditions caused by storm Herminia. Both had to reach the alternative harbour solo after an exhausting final leg, as help at sea and support from the teams were impossible in the whipped-up waters.
In the dark stormy night off Les Sables-d'Olonne, Clarisse Crémer experienced what she described as the "loneliest Vendée Globe final" between tears and laughter, while at the same time being delighted with her performance. Both Vendée Globe tenth-placed Ben Dutreux and Clarisse Crémer in eleventh place will make up for their canal parades and the initially cancelled welcome party in Port Olona as soon as the conditions have calmed down a little.
How Boris Herrmann and Sam Davies will finish the race was still partly unclear on Monday. Their thoughts centred much more on how they could get through the storm as safely as possible and reach the finish line in the next 48 hours or so. The latest forecasts pointed to a slight "calming" of the swell by Wednesday. But when ten-metre waves are two, three or even four metres less high, they still make for a more than challenging final course.
More than 60 knots of wind in the Vendée Globe final
Boris Herrmann reported and showed in pictures and words how it was on Monday. He had already registered gale-force winds of more than 60 knots. The French-based Brit Sam Davies in particular had already throttled back her speed considerably in the previous days and added extra loops to her course in order to let through the majority of the low pressure that had put Benjamin Dutreux and Clarisse Crémer under such heavy pressure in the Bay of Biscay the previous night.
Basile Rochut, weather consultant for the Vendée Globe, explained: "Boris and Samantha were slightly behind them and risked being exposed to even stronger conditions. A very heavy sea and the uncertainty of the conditions made them slow down. They are currently in the Portuguese latitude and are dealing with heavy seas and six to seven metre waves. They can get stronger the closer they get to the line."
Like Boris Herrmann, Samantha Davies has prepared herself for this. The experienced 50-year-old skipper said in a recent video clip: "I have three reefs in my mainsail and try not to sail too fast." The low-pressure system that is affecting her is very intense and moving very slowly," explained Boris Herrmann's co-skipper and weather expert Will Harris. At its southern boundary, this depression can bring waves up to twelve metres high.
We're hoping they can slow down enough to position themselves right behind it so the strongest storm can pass." Will Harris
Until the afternoon, the Vendée Globe organisers maintained their forecast for the arrivals of Boris Herrmann and Sam Davies: "Malizia - Seaexplorer" and "Initiatives - Cœur" are expected to cross the finish line between 29 January (evening) and 30 January (morning). Whether they will have to continue directly to La Rochelle or will be able to enter Port Olona will only be decided at short notice.
Boris Herrmann in the storm final:
Online tonight from 6pm with all the news from Boris Herrmann's storm final - episode 11 of the Malizia Vendée Show with Team Malizia's director Holly Cova, Will Harris and round the world sailor Cole Brauer:
