Retour à la Base: 3500 nautical miles solo - Boris Herrmann before the endurance test
Tatjana Pokorny
· 28.11.2023
The final Imoca regatta of the year is the toughest. The Retour à la Base takes 33 Imoca soloists and Vendée Globe candidates back home after completing the Transat Jacques Vabre. 3500 theoretical nautical miles have to be mastered on the course from Fort-de-France to Lorient's sailing cradle La Base. No longer in pairs as in the Transat, but alone. The starting shot will be fired on 30 November at 5 p.m. German time.
Boris Herrmann is looking forward to the "annual summit" in Fort-de-France, said at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon: "I haven't sailed solo yet this year. I'm curious to see where I stand. I feel the hunger for it." The 42-year-old from Hamburg has experienced the end of the year as a transition: first The Ocean Race with crew, then Défi Azimut and Transat Jacques Vabre as a pair with co-skipper Will Harris and now the solo challenge.
The Ocean Race and Transat Jacques Vabre are followed by the solo summit of the year
"If everyone jumps off the boat before the start, I'll be travelling alone for the first time this year," said Boris Herrmann two days before the starting signal on Thursday. 33 skippers will start alone in their boats after the recently completed two-handed race Transat Jacques Vabre. Among them is Munich-born Isabelle Joschke on "Macsf".
I would be disappointed if I didn't make it into the top ten." Boris Herrmann
Herrmann's sporting objective remains after seventh place in the Transat race "I would be disappointed if I didn't finish in the top ten." For him, the most important thing is "to go into the winter with confidence from this race and to be able to sleep well in the winter". He doesn't want to "worry about any problems that suddenly crop up" and is hoping for "a solid race". Even if the result is not essential at this point, Boris Herrmann made it clear: "The further forward I can be, the more motivation it gives me and the whole team for our winter refit and the coming year."
To prevent the fleet from getting too close to the ice regions during the return race in the north, the race organisers of the Retour à La Base have placed two gates in the course. "If the choice of route was completely up to us," says Boris Herrmann, "it could lead very far north into the ice. Most scenarios show that. The westerly winds in the north get stronger and stronger the further north you sail. Which is why this is very often the fastest route." At the same time, the gates offer the possibility of timekeeping for the fleet, so that there can be results even if the course is shortened.
At the moment, it looks like a fast race of just eight or nine days." Boris Herrmann
"The race organisers learnt this in the Vendée Arctic Race 2021 when they had a huge storm at the end. With forecasts of 80 knots of wind and more, the race was no longer safe and had to be cancelled. They weren't quite sure how to score it then." The two virtual lines are close to the Azores and closer to the coast on the way to the finish.
Boris Herrmann expects a rough Atlantic ride
Herrmann's overview of the upcoming route: "The first two or three days we will still have to deal with tropical heat and trade winds. Then it will get colder. We'll experience a transition and then get caught up in one of the low-pressure areas. At the moment, it looks like a fast race of just eight or nine days." This means that the boats could arrive at the finish off Lorient as early as 8 December.
"It will be a relatively windy race with a lot of swell." Boris Herrmann
Regarding the weather, Herrmann said: "In principle, we sail through three climate zones: From the subtropics, where we have the trade winds here, through the horse latitudes - the calm zone - into the westerly wind zone. This is the same climate zone that we have in Hamburg, Germany and northern Europe: Low pressure areas, cold fronts and cold wintry air. This will predominantly characterise our race. So it will be a relatively windy race with a lot of swell. We hope to sail across the Atlantic quite quickly on a room sheet."
According to Herrmann, the initially pleasant and steady trade winds will give the sailors a good chance "to get into the race without having to face a big storm on the first day". The five-time circumnavigator is expecting a rather rough Atlantic ride, especially in the second half of the race, which could well suit his boat if the winds are favourable.
After 400 "freezedried" times in one year with steam cooker in use
Boris Herrmann named Transat winner Thomas Ruyant ("For People"), "Transat runner-up Yoann Richomme ("Peprec Arkéa") and Transat fourth-placed Jérémie Beyou on "Charal" as favourites for the single-handed return race. Boris Herrmann had this to say about his former Ocean Race navigator Nico Lunven and his chances in his first solo race with "Holcim-PRB": "I think he can be very good. He can even win the race."
Boris Herrmann himself is looking forward to "being able to sail a good race with our boat" after intensive preparation. For a small improvement in life on board, he has a steam cooker with him. "Towards the end of the year, I'm now approaching around 400 meals on a freeze-dried basis. So I'm hoping to get some variety into my meal plan," he said with a smile.
Fresh Caribbean fruit as additional motivation
At the same time, the skipper, who has now switched back to solo mode, admitted that he had not yet been able to use the new cooker in the Transat because it was too rough at boat speeds of between 20 and 30 knots. As additional motivation, a shopping trip to Fort-de-France is planned for the day before the start, where the team will buy fresh Caribbean fruit and vegetables for the boss.
The challengers for the Retour à La Base in the video preview
Following a number of cancellations, such as the withdrawal of Phil Sharp, there are now only 33 skippers on the starting list:
Two days before the starting shot - what the soloists say:
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Tatjana Pokorny
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