Vendée Globe: What was, what is, what will be - an interview with Boris Herrmann
Tatjana Pokorny
· 21.03.2025
Boris Herrmann did not fulfil his own hopes and expectations at his second Vendée Globe with twelfth place. He himself had said before the race that he would be disappointed if he finished outside the top ten. He was. The 43-year-old was unable to repeat his two strong second places in the two Transat races at the start of 2024 in the solo race around the world.
Vendée Globe: "Malizia's" Achilles heel hit
An unfortunate mixture of weaknesses at the start and on the start had hit "Malizia - Seaexplorers" Achilles heel too hard in lighter winds. Unlucky clouds in the Atlantic and some enviably good weather windows for the powerful pre-start favourites Charlie Dalin and Yoann Richomme as well as the surprisingly third-placed Sebastien Simon prevented Herrmann from finishing among the top ten players in the tenth Vendée Globe edition.
On his credit side, there were victories over himself in challenging times, victory over his fear of heights during two mast repairs and pride in his own increased mental strength, which he found especially in times of setbacks. The sometimes lead-heavy chapter of Boris Herrmann's second Vendée Globe is now closed, his wounds licked and his sights set on the next big goals.
Team Malizia's last season with the current boat is underway before it is handed over to Francesca Clapcich and her team after the Ocean Race. Boris Herrmann's new major goal is to take part in the Vendée Globe for the third time in 2028/2029, with a number of varied challenges in between, during which the plans will now mature and gradually be realised.
The farewell season with "Malizia Seaexplorer"
The highlights of the new 2025 season with Malizia crews in various constellations - with and without skipper Boris Herrmann - are likely to include the Course du Caps (24 June to 6 July), the Admiral's Cup participation with the team from the Yacht Club de Monaco (17 July to 1 August) and the Ocean Race Europe with the start on 10 August in Kiel.
It will be a breathless year for Boris Herrmann and Team Malizia with an expected total of seven rotating sailors. In addition to Herrmann, two are already known: co-skipper Will Harris and co-skipper Cole Brauer. The other new crew members will follow in the coming weeks and months. The "game of hide and seek" is not due to Team Malizia's communication policy, but to the new team members and their own plans. "We would like to tell you everything straight away, but that doesn't always fit in with the plans of the others," says Boris Herrmann.
The situation is similar with the Imoca new build, which has long been known in the scene but has still not been officially confirmed by the team. While the current "Malizia - Seaexplorer" was built according to the team's own plans in close cooperation between Boris Herrmann and the VPLP design office, the next boat will probably be built in a new constellation.
Third Vendée Globe in sight, new construction plans not yet official
Team Malizia will not reveal more details until April. It is well known in the scene that preparations and planning for the new build have long been underway. It is to be expected that Boris Herrmann will tackle the previously announced Vendée Globe race in 2028/2029 with a new rocket. In between, the Ocean Race Atlantic 2026 and the team circumnavigation The Ocean Race 2027/2028 could be the highlights.
Boris, what remains of your second Vendée Globe?
The desire to get there over the next three or four years, so that I can take part in the next Vendée Globe and be among the front runners. This time I had to find satisfaction beyond the ranking.
How did you manage that?
I'm proud of my own mental game. That was good. Basically, I feel more resilient now, more ready to take on challenges and difficulties.
A positive consequence of your setbacks at the Vendée Globe?
Yes, that's how I see it. I can imagine that you have to go through a setback like that and take that step in order to move forwards again. The Vendée Globe is a race, but it's also a technical and human endeavour, a huge challenge. There are always moments when you think how stupid it was to have decided on this journey.
On the other hand, if the Vendée Globe were easy, many people would do it. So the appeal also lies in the enormity of the task. There are other moments when it feels a bit like being on a drug, crazy. The Vendée Globe is inhuman in some ways. The faster you sail, the more inhuman it becomes. A lot of the romance of offshore sailing just doesn't exist on an Imoca. And yet I wouldn't want to miss this race.
It sounds like a paradox, like a love-hate relationship. Why is the Vendée Globe your great passion if it also entails such torment?
The Vendée Globe is a bit addictive. Yes, that's a paradox. It's a race full of contrasts. Just take the start. Tens of thousands cheer you on, the scenery is so intense. And then a few hours later you're out there alone at sea, completely on your own for months. That's only possible in the Vendée Globe.
On your second solo around the world, the race-deciding setbacks caused you to fall behind in the Atlantic. You never really recovered from this, despite some good chases to catch up in the meantime and high-flying runs to the finish...
I have not implemented it well. The result is seen as too bad. But I was third at the end of the first week, so I was in a really good position. Everything was still possible then. Then came four bad days and that was it. From the outside it looked as if Herrmann had made jibes that led nowhere. But Charlie Dalin did them too...
What made the difference?
For our boat, it was exactly the weak point: this downwind sailing when you're not foiling. And when there's not enough wind. But enough wind for others to start foiling. We call this period pre-foiling. When it's just starting. We had moderate winds in the Atlantic for almost a week, around 13, 14, 15 knots. And if someone is already foiling and you're not, then you're just a few knots slower for a week. Then you'll be cruising around in 130-degree true winds when the others are doing 135 or 138. And that's the whole difference.
Because the small losses add up...
If you do that for ten hours, then you're ten nautical miles further upwind, you stop, you're another ten miles further behind and at the end of the day you've lost maybe 30 nautical miles. Over three days - then you're 100 nautical miles behind. That five-degree difference - that's what makes the difference. Of course, you can still do something about it. On the sails and the weight distribution. And also learn to optimise the set-up even further. Maybe you have to heel it more or trim it backwards. In the Ocean Race we had a spinnaker to solve this problem. Paul Meilhat also had this in the Vendée Globe and sailed through the fleet with it.
Like others, you also had to contend with unfortunate wind windows compared to the front-runners who had pulled away...
Yes, but I wouldn't want to blame it so much on bad luck. That doesn't sound right. In the end, I was within 40 nautical miles of 'Charal' off Brazil, which was the fourth boat to finish. You could have made something of that too, indeed you should have. I didn't realise it well. There was more in it, but it was a bit lacking at that point.
What does the striking lead of the first three boats, which finished many days ahead of the chasing boats, tell you?
The first three didn't just dupe me, but the entire fleet, all naked. The fact that Sebastien Simon was still sailing with a foil at the front also shows the special nature of the weather situation. It caused the skippers in front to pull away even more than they were already doing well.
At the end of the race, you had to weather another heavy storm over several days. Malizia - Seaexplorer" was able to show what she was made of...
Yes, that was good! I weighed things up carefully: Do I go into this storm or not? One of the reasons for this was that you only get an opportunity like this very rarely. It wasn't so important whether I would win or lose something. But it was a great opportunity to learn something about such a storm, to be able to assess it. There were brutal moments when the boat once again shot into the wind. And you kept hearing these rumbling breakers rolling in. Then I had my arm cramped up in the bunk. But on the other hand, the boat worked really well.
You were not satisfied with twelfth place at the finish. But other performances were...
Of course, it was a shame that the performance was worse than the first time. It's easier to overfulfil expectations than to underfulfil them, as I did at my first Vendée Globe. I can still remember my return home after the first race. Our office in Hamburg was full of presents. It took Birte and I a week to work our way through it.
There were wines sent by a mayor from a small town. Sausages from a butcher in Bavaria. Mugs specially designed for our family with cartoon characters and gold plating on the inside, which we later modelled on to make gifts for customers. Someone had sewn me a jacket. It was such a huge hype! I only really realised this after the Vendée Globe because it wasn't as big this time. Understanding and appreciating that again was a wonderful experience.
Comparable to the small victories over yourself in the race now?
There was no mental setback this time. It just didn't work. But issues have been resolved. I had real problems with loneliness in the first race. That was much easier for me now. I found more inner resources and had more resilience, which was also thanks to working with two coaches. That was a mental breakthrough for me.
Does it do you any good?
It now makes it possible for me to look forward to the next time with full motivation and without inhibitions. I'm really up for it.
A new third cycle will begin for Team Malizia this year. What are the team's goals and where will the focus be?
The aim will be to take part in The Ocean Race and the Vendée Globe while further strengthening the team's commitment to climate and sustainability issues. There are many projects in the pipeline. These will become clearer and clearer in the coming weeks and months.
This will happen with a new boat, but your team hasn't said much about it yet...
The big priority for the next Vendée Globe is clear: revenge! Twelfth place was not what we were aiming for. We want to be on the podium in the next race. The current boat is going into new hands. I can't say any more about the new boat just yet. There will be announcements soon and I look forward to sharing them with you. I really feel like attacking.
Then at least theoretically: After all your experience, what would be your most important wish for a new boat?
I want a boat that is really like the others. An absolutely uncompromising boat. But more on that in April.
Before that, there is one more season with the current boat...
No matter what happens: It will always be the most important boat in my life. I received the best compliment for it the evening before the start of the race from Guillaume Verdier (editor: leading Imoca designer, creator of Charlie Dalin's winning yacht "Macif Santé Prévoyance", among others). He said: 'Your boat is the smartest in the fleet. That was the biggest compliment I've ever received for the boat. He said: 'You're so clever, you just do your own thing. And the boat is mega cool. That was nice.
