The past week was not easy for Boris Herrmann - he had to repair major damage three times. On Tuesday morning it was a tear in the leech of his mainsail, which could have quickly spread across the entire width.
With plenty of Sika 291, some webbing, pieces of cloth, Dyneema thread and twelve hours of effort, it was mended - not pretty, but solid. On Tuesday afternoon German time, the 39-year-old was able to get back to full speed.
After temporarily only travelling under jib and dropping back to eleventh place, Herrmann is now back in attack mode. Late in the evening, he logged the second-fastest speed in the leading group. Only 230 nautical miles separate him from fifth place; even a podium place still seems within reach, says his team member and co-skipper Will Harris.
Admittedly, Boris Herrmann had to bite hard. When he answered questions from two dozen journalists in a video conference this afternoon, he initially appeared monosyllabic, almost absent-minded - such is his exhaustion after the stormy ride of the past few days.
It was perhaps the most impressive round of talks at this year's Vendée, which is why we are documenting the answers in full. The man from Hamburg didn't avoid any questions, was open, self-critical - and still determined to "get a few more places".
What Boris Herrmann says about ...
... his amount of sleep in the last 24 hours:
"About two or three hours."
... the origin of the damage to the large:
"We had quite strong winds. Then I tied in the third reef and the sail came up against the shroud and tore at the leech, about 15 centimetres. This means that any load can cause the sail to tear completely. If that had happened, I wouldn't have had enough material to repair it, like the Japanese (Kojiro Shiraishi) has made. I had already used too much material and glue. So that would have been the end of the race. So that was immediately the highest alert level. Fortunately, it wasn't such a major repair, but a structural one that had to be done properly and was also complicated.
If you reef the sail this far, the triangle on the shroud is so wide that the head of the mainsail can slip into it. The problem is actually new because we used to have a much wider top in the main. But we made the head smaller when the headboard tore the rail out of the mast in the Vendée-Arctique race. The new foilers don't need as much surface area in the top anyway, because they only generate drag at high speeds. The sail also twists better if it is narrower at the top; that was North Sails' philosophy.
That's all well and good, but having to tie in a third reef in 40 to 50 knots of wind was my undoing. If I had simply stayed dully downwind or had luffed completely when reefing from the outset, it probably wouldn't have happened, but you're always smarter afterwards. Of course, I've reefed hundreds of times, at 40 knots into the third reef, and I've always got it right, even in the Indian Ocean. I don't know why this has now become my downfall. I suspect that my wind instruments are showing too little, so there was more wind. But the sail is also a bit too light, I realise."
... the repair of the mainsail tear:
"That took a really long time. I started in the storm, up on deck. The boat surfed down a wave every now and then, only under J3 (the small jib). Really rough conditions, up to 45 kilometres of wind. I stuck some cloth on there and then let it harden, quite a long time, so that the Sika sets. It has now dried for a good twelve hours. Takes much longer because of the cold. Now I have to clear away the tools."
It's warmer now, the wind has died down. It's just what you want after Cape Horn: you're heading for blue skies and calm seas - bliss!"
... its prospects in the Atlantic
"I haven't even taken stock of how much I've lost yet. But maybe it's not that important. The important thing now is to sail well and then see what happens. I should still be able to pick up a few places, hopefully(laughs). Anything can still happen. People can drop out; others have problems too.
I'm still grateful for every day that I'm still at sea. You only realise that when you're confronted with damage that can throw you out of the race. Two days ago the problem with the generator, now the big one - you're reminded to be a bit grateful when things continue at all."
... his fifth rounding of Cape Horn:
"That was the most difficult Cape Horn, the least like you want it to be. I've actually seen the Horn all the other times. This time there was a storm, it was grey, I fell behind in the race - it was the least enjoyable experience."
... the feeling that the hardest part is behind you:
"That was totally overshadowed by the damage to the mainsail. If I hadn't been able to repair it, it would have been the end of the race for me. I didn't have that many provisions with me. That's why I didn't even realise that I'd sailed around Cape Horn. I've now been in crisis mode for 24 hours, working at full throttle and only sleeping as much as necessary.
I'm going to tidy up here first, get some sleep, look at the map and then really realise that I'm around Cape Horn. I think that's a big relief. I feel free of pressure at the moment. I think it's just the feeling of happiness that the mainsail is working again."
... the cancelled party at the Cape:
"If you can't see the Cape, then it's not particularly interesting to pour whisky overboard or drink it. So I didn't celebrate the Cape. I can celebrate other things: when I make up a place perhaps, or the equator (pass) or something like that."
... his sporting ambition:
"The Vendée Globe is not just a race - it's also an adventure. And you simply realise that in challenges like yesterday and today, the big one, the storm. Crossing the finish line is not a matter of course. In a race where everyone arrives safely, there is only the sporting aspect. But arriving here is already such a great achievement!
And that is still at the top of my list of priorities. I still want to get the most out of it, I want to sail as well as I can. And I've also been training more in these Atlantic conditions and know the boat better and hope to be able to utilise the potential better and hopefully make up a few places."
... the tactics for the coming days:
"At least at the beginning, the routings are all pointing in the same direction, as is the fleet. So west of the Falkland Islands hasn't been an option for a few days now. There's no big binary decision at the moment."
... the relief of being in the Atlantic:
"The Atlantic is simply a completely different kettle of fish. A weather situation like this with breaking waves, cross seas, 50 knots of wind - hopefully we won't have that again until the finish. I hope we won't have to put in a third reef. Maybe that's wishful thinking, but if things go well, we'll sail home in moderate conditions and maybe avoid a low in the North Atlantic.
Of course we will still have reaching and upwind conditions; it will be tough again over the next ten days. But we're heading north, it's getting warmer, it's a completely different stage mentally. Above all, you're back in civilisation. In a week's time, we'll be close to shipping lanes again. If something happens in the Southern Ocean, it's always 'game over'. In the Atlantic, you can still expect to be rescued."
... Yannick Bestaven's leadership:
"Yannick is a super sailor and his boat is similar to ours, but doesn't have the new, larger foils yet. So I didn't have him on my list at all before the Vendée Globe. That really is a surprise. Of course, it was much easier with the small foils in the Southern Ocean. He could simply push a lot more.
I also imagine: If I had sailed our boat in the old configuration, I could have sailed with fewer doubts. And I got into a bit of a spiral. We also had so many unfavourable conditions, surprisingly. Yannick is now simply showing a very strong side that we haven't seen from him before."
... his desire for sailing, for even more lonely miles:
So right now I'm in high spirits because the mainsail is working again and because, after everything had been called into question, we can carry on. That's what the Vendée Globe is for me: overcoming the biggest challenges and the most difficult obstacles again and again. And it's not a fun activity - but there's something about it.
I don't even ask myself the question (whether he would rather get out if he could). Of course I want to sail home and not fly by plane from Ushuaia. If someone said to me: You'll get ninth place if you stop now, then I'd say: Nope, I'll get a better place and I'd rather keep sailing.
But: It's a damn long time. And the last few days have been so damn hard, unbelievable! I might have answered differently.
... his incentive to shoot videos even in difficult situations
"I sometimes feel lonely and talking to you is good for me. It also helps to process these things. Talking to someone, even if it's just the camera... A lot of stress and pressure and inner distress accumulates. And talking to the camera helps to get rid of that.
It's totally a matter of type. For me, the camera is like a friend that I tell something to. If you see it as a duty and always try to look good and be strong, then at some point I would also put that to one side. I just have a fundamentally different attitude. I don't think about how I'm perceived. I just go for it and don't filter.
Holly (Cova, Boris' team manager); I was feeling so bad the day before yesterday. She said: It's not good if you come across so negatively(laughs). Otherwise, I talk freely from the heart, and that just helps me."
... the chance to fully utilise the potential of the new foils now:
"It would be a great satisfaction because we have put so much work and money into the foils and the conversion and further development of the boat. So far, I haven't felt that we've lived up to this potential. But if it stayed that way, it would be okay.
The whole year of remodelling was really exciting and we have developed the ship in the right direction. And even though the (hoped for) result, I wouldn't regret it. I've already thought about that. Now you just have to see what else is possible. The conditions have to be right. If there's too little wind, it won't foil or if the course is too high upwind. I just have to have a bit of luck.
This Damien Seguin on "Groupe Apicil" - when we sail our training sessions in Brittany, we only see a boat like this for the first two hours after the start and then never again. It's totally crazy how some of the older ships can now achieve really great performances in the Southern Ocean. We were ahead of them in the Atlantic, where we were much faster, so I also hope that things will return to normal on the way back."
... the possibility that this was not his last Vendée:
"I don't know what the future holds. We'll have to talk about it after the finish."
... the question of how much of the success is due to the boat and how much to the sailor:
"It's difficult to say. There is also a reciprocal effect. If you have confidence in your boat or if it's simpler, then you can push it harder and get into a flow, you can realise your potential better. But if you realise that it's difficult to use your boat the way you want to, as I did in the entire Southern Ocean, then I also lose a bit of this self-confidence and routine and confidence. That's when the bumpy way of sailing came into play, where I lost miles from time to time. It's not all bad and black either. But since Christmas I really wanted to hold my own, but then I fell behind Damien, which amazes me the most. It's an absolute interplay between man and machine. I would say it's 50/50."
Jochen Rieker
Herausgeber YACHT
