Vendée Globe: Will the break foil hold out? Boris Herrmann in the Bay of Biscay final
Boris Herrmann and Samantha Davies still had to tame stormy conditions today on their course to the finish of the 10th Vendée Globe in 40 to 50 knots and nine metre high waves. And there is no real calm in sight in the Bay of Biscay on the course to the finish line off Les Sables-d'Olonne. The conditions only calmed down slightly in the evening to around 40 knots.
Will the broken port foil hold?
The race organisers last expected the "Malizia - Seaexplorer" skipper and the "Initiatives - Cœur" skipper to cross the finish line on Wednesday evening between 5 and 7 pm. However, the forecasts still fluctuated and sometimes went into the night. One reason for the uncertainties, in addition to the difficult weather conditions, is the cracked port foil of "Malizia - Seaexplorer".
Boris Herrmann will have to tack the remaining 300 Vendée Globe nautical miles on Tuesday evening on port tack and therefore with the cracked foil more in the water. This harbours greater risks in heavy seas than on previous days and is a cause for caution and concern. Boris Herrmann addressed this in his report from on board (see below). He also recently considered it possible that his finish might not come until the night or Thursday morning after all.
It was therefore not certain in the evening that Team Malizia's skipper from Hamburg and the French-based Brit Sam Davies would be sailing into the last full night of their solo around the world or would have to fight a little longer. It was equally uncertain in the evening whether the "Ligne Tempête" - a compulsory gate that is converted into a finish line in stormy conditions and is further out than the shorter classic finish line of the Vendée Globe - would also be reactivated for Boris Herrmann and Sam Davies.
Vendée Globe final in chaotic seas
Boris Herrmann sent a new video from the sea early on Tuesday evening, in which he went into detail about the conditions in the Bay of Biscay final and the forecasts. His report:
"We're round the corner from Spain, around Cape Finisterre. We are now on the continental shelf in the north-west, where it juts out a little and the water depth is a little shallower. Offshore it's about 4000 or 5000 metres (ed.: water depth), and then this little shelf sticks out here, it's 400 metres deep. I was wondering if that affects the swell, but I can't really say.
The swell is a bit more chaotic now, but that could also be due to the shifting winds or something. In any case, the wind has dropped below 40 knots, so it's now averaging 35 to 37 knots. But then when rain squalls come through - I just had one half an hour ago - the wind has gone back up to 46.
I haven't slept all night." Boris Herrmann
So it's not easy to set really big sails, especially because I don't want to keep the boat speed much higher than 20 knots in the big waves and breakers to avoid the risk of the foil loosening or breaking even more or the lines holding it breaking. That would be pretty dangerous.
Malizia is doing really well. She is a really seaworthy boat." Boris Herrmann
I had a few surfs last night with over 30 knots and pretty crazy conditions. Some waves hit the boat hard and put it on its side. Of course the rudder was vibrating, but the autopilot took care of everything itself and I didn't really have to do much to be honest. I just held on a bit each time and didn't sleep all night.
Like a cork on the Vendée Globe waves
But the boat is great. It floats like a cork on all the choppy waves. And that's probably easier than with a massive cargo ship in this swell. So she's doing really well. She's a really seaworthy boat. It's great to see and to have experienced that.
This went on all night, until a few hours ago, only in the third reef. Then I furled the storm jib for an hour. Now I'm on the J3. In normal racing conditions, we'd probably be on the jib top or the small gennaker, maybe with two reefs and really struggling with the waves and super stressed.
Fortunately, there isn't that much shipping traffic with the strong wind. At least not so many fishing boats - maybe." Boris Herrmann
I'm a bit more relaxed this way because I can't sail the boat hard due to my penalty with the foil. It's more controllable this way, even though I'm in the middle of this strong weather. It's not so easy to monitor shipping traffic with my broken electronics. No radar and AIS has a limited range with an antenna in the stern. That's the big worry, of course. But luckily there isn't that much shipping traffic in the strong winds. At least not that many fishing boats - maybe."
Safely to the Vendée Globe finish line
Boris Herrmann will never forget his last-minute collision with a fishing boat on the last night of his Vendée Globe premiere four years ago. He got off reasonably lightly back then, but the accident cost him his podium place. This time and in the future, "Malizia - Seaexplorer" should finish without any last-minute shocks.
Boris Herrmann's message from the Bay of Biscay:
TV tip: On Wednesday, NDR will once again be streaming its Vendée Globe talk show with presenter Sven Kaulbars and expert Tim Kröger in the Hamburg studio from 1pm. A live broadcast of Boris Herrmann's final is also planned afterwards. An NDR team will be on site. Up-to-date information will be available in our live ticker on 29 January (Wednesday):
