Route du Rhum: Praised and qualified: Herrmann on course for the Vendée Globe

20 of the 123 Route du Rhum starters in the eleventh edition of the transatlantic classic from Saint-Malo to Guadeloupe were Imoca skippers. 15 of them came through. With a failure rate of "only" 25 per cent, the high-performance offshore class, which is to form the main field in the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race, was below the average of more than 30 per cent. According to the class association, the fleet delivered a "remarkable show". The fans also enjoyed cheering on the Imoca soloists. Briton Alex Thomson dominated the field, but the winner was Frenchman Paul Meilhat. Thomson and his "Hugo Boss" ran aground shortly before the finish line because the battery in his wristwatch with vibrating alarm clock had stopped working and he had also overslept all the other alarms. This meant that the favourite had involuntarily caused a lot of tension before the jury gave him a 24-hour time penalty, turning Thomson's victory on the water into a third place. Finishing second, Meilhat was declared the winner on his "SMA". Yann Eliès sailed to silver on "Ucar - St. Michel".

With 115 videos from on board, the Imoca skippers made a significant contribution to the media success of the Route du Rhum, which was recognised by the class association as a "very popular festival of international sailing". The class association regretted that five of the 20 Imoca skippers were unable to finish the race. Jérémie Beyou, Sam Davies, Isabelle Joschke, Louis Burton and Yannick Bastaven had to abandon the chase across the pond with breakages. The good news for many Imoca helmsmen, however, was delivered by the association in its balance sheet: 14 skippers cleared the qualification hurdle for the Vendée Globe by completing the Route du Rhum. Among them is Boris Herrmann from Hamburg with his "Malizia 2 - Yacht Club de Monaco". While Alex Thomson had already bought his ticket for the Vendée beforehand, 13 soloists sailed the Rhum to the Vendée start line of the single-handed round-the-world race.

In particular, the class association highlighted the performances of the five most successful Rhum skippers on Imoca yachts, including Boris Herrmann, who finished fifth. Guillaume Evrard, General Delegate of the Class Association and Deputy Regatta Director, said: "Boris was taking part in his first solo transatlantic race on an Imoca. He opted for another option, gave it his all and finished the race just three hours after Vincent Riou. He fought it out with three excellent sailors and is now very well positioned for the Vendée Globe 2020." For the coming year, the Imoca class has announced the Valencia Globe Series, a new double-handed regatta over 1000 nautical miles and a solo regatta over 3000 nautical miles. In November 2019, the Transat Jacques Vabre will be the highlight of the season, with 25 to 30 Imocas expected on the starting line, including seven of the youngest generation.