Transat Jacques Vabre: Thomas steps on the gas, Yoann wants more speed, Boris catches up

Thomas Ruyant and Morgan Lagravière still had 1,400 nautical miles to complete on the Imoca leader "For People" on the evening of the ninth day at sea to the finish harbour of Fort-de-France. However, victory is by no means certain for the current pacemakers in the two-part field. Yoann Richomme and Yann Eliès are not letting up with just under 30 nautical miles to go, nor are the other chasers giving up their fight to climb up the rankings. And even the determined North Mixed is not out of the race yet, according to the competition.

"Teamwork.net" does it the hard way

Whilst Justine Mettraux and Julien Villion are heading for the Caribbean the hard way in the cold north on their "Teamwork.net" and initially dropped back to seventh place in the intermediate classification, Boris Herrmann and Will Harris were able to move up a further two places over the course of the day.

"Malizia - Seaexplorer" was in sixth place on the evening of 15 November. Boris Herrmann summarised once again why his team - like the majority of the Imoca fleet in this 16th Transat Jacques Vabre - had chosen the southern route. And why he does not regret the decision in retrospect.

We are pleased that this speed test here in the south has shown that we can keep up quite well with the other new buildings" (Boris Herrmann)

Boris Herrmann said: "The consideration of the southern route was relatively complex, but in the end it was a majority decision. It was - and still is - much more exciting for us to compete here in the south with the new builds that will also be taking part in the Vendée. And not to sail a solitary race like Justine Mettraux there in the north. Apart from that, we are happy that this speed test here in the south has shown that we can keep up quite well with the other new builds. Even if these are not our favourite tough weather conditions. In this respect, a positive interim result here at sea."

At the same time, Boris Herrmann was impressed by Justine Mettraux and her team: "Huge respect for Justine, for her courage and strength to sail through these tough conditions while we are here in the sunshine in T-shirts. They must be up there hammering the waves in their warmest hats and thickest fleeces."

Two sister ships in the lead

Boris Herrmann's co-skipper Will Harris, like other Imoca skippers, still believed on 15 November that "Teamwork.net" still had a chance of winning: "She saved a few miles in the north, we sail faster in the south. This race will only be decided at the end."

On the same day, "Paprec Arkéa" skipper Yoann Richomme reported that he was delighted to welcome the two Conq-Koch sister ships 1 and 2 (Editor: this refers to the latest 2023 newbuilds "Paprec Arkéa" and "For People") in the Imoca fleet. The two fast sisters really show off their muscles. Richomme also spoke cheerfully about his co-skipper, ex-Malician Yann Eliès, and ventured a prediction about the north-south duel of the divided Imoca fleet.

Yoann Richomme's Transat daily report provides some interesting insights and conclusions:

"We have the two Conq-Koch sister ships in 1st and 2nd place, which is pretty cool. I think Antoine can be pretty proud. The boats are great, but we lack a bit of speed compared to Thomas. Since we left the Canaries behind us, the trade winds have been about the same, 18-22 knots. And we just play with the shifts and a bit with the wind curve around the high pressure area, so every day is a bit the same.

As these boats run on autopilot, every day somehow feels the same. We adjust the autopilot settings, we adjust the sails, we get to know the boat, but we definitely still lack some knowledge to make it as fast as Thomas does. But we are learning every day. It's interesting that Yann tells us what we've learnt at every watch.

You can do what'teamwork' as an option. I would call it torture. You must hate yourself ..." (Yoann Richomme)

The old man (Yann) has just woken up in the middle of the day. He eats muesli out of a plastic bag. He eats like a student. You can eat what'Teamwork' is an option (laughs). I would call it torture. They have to hate themselves, but along the way they are still in a good position to win. Although I doubt they'll make it. We'll see ...

When in doubt, it's in favour of the defendant. But it seems to be very difficult for them to keep up with the pace of the routing. First they show you some really nice spins and fronts, in which theory you're always moving well. But as you saw last night and this morning, they were in a light wind area and were almost stopped in five knots of wind, so there's nowhere to go. I suspect that compared to what they were (in the north) had hoped for, are only making slow progress.

We should be crossing their course in two days' time. Hopefully we'll be ahead of them then" (Yoann Richomme)

It's easier for us in the south. And if things go wrong, we can dive south again. There are still four days to the finish. We should cross their course in two days. Hopefully we'll be ahead of them then.

We always bring work for the team on land. But we have planned ahead, we have a lot of material. The boat builders will be doing some work on the structure. Not much, it's not too wild. About what we expected. We're working with a boat that's pretty much 100 per cent ready to go. We feel really good. We have a great bed. And we even have bedding! That tells you how far we've gone. And the mattress is fantastic. We're in good shape. But we keep taking turns. There's almost always someone in the bunk."

Here the"Malizia Express" in the Transat Jacques Vabre through the night - Boris Herrmann and Will Harris on their life on board and the decisions to come:

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