Retour à La Base: Richomme wins, Herrmann fourth - "Boat can win Vendée Globe"

The battle for the top places at the Transat-Solo Retour à La Base has been decided. Long-term leader Yoann Richomme took the last big prize of the season with his Koch-Conq design "Paprec Arkéa". Richomme's new build from this year took 9 days, 3 minutes and 48 seconds to cross the Atlantic. Jérémie Beyou's "Charal" (2022) crossed the finish line just under six hours later. Another two hours or so later, Sam Goodchild completed the podium with "For the Planet" (2019).

Richomme, Beyou and Goodchild on the podium

Yoann Richomme had savoured his arrival as the winner to the full. He said: "It was incredible to see all those pictures at the finish. So many emotions came up in those three minutes. They show how hard this race was to live. It's such a big moment in your head." When asked if this victory made him the favourite for the Vendée Globe 2024/2025, the 40-year-old, who is known as a perfectionist, replied to the many journalists on site: "It's not me! It's you who make me the favourite. But second and first place in the last two races is good. I'm so proud of the team!"

Jérémie Beyou reached the finish line in a more sober second place. The 47-year-old "tough guy" ended up struggling with his problems at the start. The "Charal" skipper had initially led the Retour à La Base when a series of technical failures cost him the top position. "I lost my VHF antenna, my wind sensor and the Oscar camera - all gone." He had thought about returning to the starting harbour of Fort-de-France on Martinique, but then had to struggle through with repairs at high speed.

Sam Goodchild wins the Imoca Globe series in a permanent third place

For the 34-year-old Sam Goodchild, it was his fifth third place in an Imoca regatta this year. He had achieved most of his remarkable performances with design ace Antoine Koch - and has now also confirmed them in the solo race. The Briton has thus won the Imoca Globe series. Having only been a member of Thomas Ruyant's TR Racing team for a year, Sam Goodchild has made a remarkably fast rise to the top of the Imoca class.

Smiling at the finish, Sam Goodchild said: "You can't say that we're getting tired of always coming third. Even if it is the fifth time this year. We are on a par with the new boats and very experienced skippers. That's reassuring and gives us confidence."

Boris Herrmann in fourth place despite technical problems

Boris Herrmann has a similar view. During the Retour à La Base, the 42-year-old from Hamburg showed that he can fight and show strength in a solo race. Boris Herrmann completed the 4,490.12 nautical mile course from Martinique to Lorient on "Malizia - Seaexplorer" in 9 days, 20 hours, 2 minutes and 41 seconds. He achieved this at an average speed of 19.2 knots.

Boris Herrmann had problems with the alternator and defective cockpit drains in the second half of the fast-paced race across the Atlantic. This set him back on the night of St Nicholas' Day and put him through severe trials. Herrmann had to scoop water out of the cockpit by hand for days while sailing and carrying out repairs.

He was a little more tired than usual at the finish, Herrmann said after his arrival. He had been in the red zone in between with all his technical problems and had then taken many short sleep breaks. He continued: "There was a lot of shipping traffic and strong winds over the last 200 miles. I must have damaged my mainsail because it tore as soon as I arrived. I was lucky that I didn't have the same experience in the Azores as Thomas Ruyant."

I've found my form again after the stressful days" (Boris Herrmann)

Nevertheless, on the last night and the last morning, Herrmann was seen racing towards the destination harbour of Lorient at top speeds of over 25 knots. His impression before crossing the finish line: "The boat is great!" He had "not maxed out" "Malizia - Seaexplorer" due to the technical problems, sailing at around 80 per cent. The problems with the cockpit drains were "due to the high permanent load, due to the permanent slamming under the hull". It was a lot of work for him to keep the boat dry, "because water kept pushing in," says Boris Herrmann.

"That was a bit daft, and somehow also a misconstruction. But apart from that, I found my form again after the stressful days," Herrmann told YACHT online while still at sea. His conclusion shortly before crossing the finish line was highly motivating: "This boat can also win the Vendée Globe. Whether the skipper can do it is for you to judge," said Team Malizia's founder 336 days before the starting signal for his second solo round the world race at the first press conference in Lorient.

Ruyant on course for the finish in slow gear

The fifth in the 2020/2021 Vendée Globe thus confidently threw his gauntlet into the ring of co-favourites. While he was doing this, another great still had around 600 nautical miles to go to the finish: Thomas Ruyant, who had broken the 24-hour world record for soloists on monohull yachts with 539.94 nautical miles in the ongoing solo transat La Retour à La Base, limped towards the finish line in 16th place with technical problems.

In the duel between Damien Seguin on "Groupe Apicil" and the best solo skipper Sam Davies on "Initiatives Cœur" for fifth place behind Boris Herrmann, first the Frenchman and then the Briton were expected to arrive at the finish harbour of Lorient late on Sunday afternoon.

Boris Herrmann's final hours at the Retour à La Base:

The winner of the Retour, Yoann Richomme, crosses the finish line here:

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