Regatta: Vendée Globe interview: "Top 10 is my goal"

Mr Herrmann, a dream will come true for you on 8 November. Are you looking forward to the start with relief, joy - or tension?

Probably a mixture of all of these. It will also be a great relief from all the hustle and bustle of preparation. I already have the actual start of the race in mind. We've done a lot of training, including starts - a kind of replication of 8 November, a constant repetition of the same pattern. So there is a routine, checklists, clear tasks for everyone in the team. We try to stick to them exactly. The start of the Route du Rhum two years ago went pretty perfectly. That's our "pattern" for the Vendée Globe. I want to be distracted as little as possible by the rest.

You've been a father since the summer. Does that change the way you approach the race?

No. That would mean that you would have missed an opportunity to increase safety beforehand. I haven't thought of anything that I should do differently since my daughter was born. Of course, you can wreck the boat at high speeds, but not yourself. That's why we have all the watertight bulkheads and pumps - an Imoca is practically unsinkable. So normally nothing will happen to us by pushing harder. It's more the worry about the material; it was just as much there before, nothing has really changed. Otherwise I would have to put up with the accusation of being a hasardeur. And none of us skippers are actually like that. If something happens to me, it's not just my wife and daughter who are affected - I'm also putting the people who help me in danger. That's why it's always about sailing responsibly.

How fast is your "Seaexplorer" in comparison?

As expected: Not quite where the new Imocas are, but in such a way that we can compete. In particular, we will definitely be competing with the group around "PRB" and "Initiatives-Cœur" (two older boats that have also been retrofitted with new foils, the ed.). In certain conditions, we can also hold the top boats. However, they start foiling earlier, especially in light winds. We need 2 knots more wind or 10 degrees lower courses to take off. In a small, specific wind window, "Apivia" and co. are travelling at 18 knots and we're only travelling at 13 knots because we're not yet on the foils. That could hurt if we are travelling in such conditions for longer.

How many days will it take the winner to reach the finish line?

Under 70.

Alex Thomson has named 67 days. Realistic?

Completely. 65 days are also possible.

How many days' provisions do you have with you?

For 80 days. If I ration, for example due to technical problems, I can get by with my supply for 100 days.

What do you take with you for your well-being?

Photos of wife and child; they are already hanging below deck. There are a few special treats and, by tradition, a mini bottle of whisky for each cape. Then there are two or three paper books for nostalgia. One is by Prince Albert I about oceanography. He wrote it decades ago about his own adventures; the foreword is by Jacques Cousteau. And for entertainment, I have an iPad with music and videos.

It's your first Vendée Globe, but you've already sailed around the world three times under racing conditions, two non-stop. Will that help you?

Yes, definitely. I've learnt an incredible amount, just by working with a top weather router like Marcel van Triest (on the Jules Verne record attempt on "Idec" in 2016, editor's note). It makes me very confident that I've already travelled around the world three times and others never have. I have nothing to hide.

If everything goes well - what's in it?

I have analysed this very carefully for myself: On paper, we are among the ten fastest ships. It will very much depend on how many of the others drop out. Top 10 is my goal in any case.

This article is part of a large special on the Vendée Globe in YACHT 23/2020, in which you can also read the long version of the interview. The magazine is available at newsagents until 17 November or can be ordered digitally here.