The race of his life is underway: Boris Herrmann and 32 other skippers started his Vendée Globe premiere this Sunday. Stubborn patches of fog had caused the start to be postponed by an hour and 20 minutes. Even without the non-admitted fans, hundreds of thousands of whom traditionally flocked to the harbour on the start day of previous editions, lined the "Heldenkanal" and turned the start zone into a white foaming "washing machine", there were emotional farewell moments on the dock and on board the Imoca yachts. The most frequently uttered sentence on the morning before the start: "A dream is finally coming true."
Many of the starters had tears in their eyes during the farewell interview on the dock. Behind them all lie two to four years of hard work, hardship and intensive preparation for this ninth edition of the toughest solo ocean marathon the sailing world has to offer. An adventurous 24,296 nautical miles lie ahead of them, which they have to master solo, non-stop and without outside help. Boris Herrmann was cheered on his way across the dock to the "Seaexplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco" by other teams. He thanked them in all directions, walked upright and with a smile visible despite his mask for the final interview and confirmed: "It's an emotional day." Herrmann managed the start himself with very good timing to the line, the right choice of sail and initially good positioning.
The evening before, wife Birte Lorenzen-Herrmann, family, friends and prominent supporters from all over the world sent their best wishes to the 39-year-old at a moving online farewell zoom party before his summit attempt on the "Everest of the seas". Climate activist Greta Thunberg, her father Svante, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Pierre Casiraghi and friend, opponent and race favourite Alex Thomson were among those in attendance. Boris Herrmann sailed Greta Thunberg, her father and a filmmaker across the Atlantic on his Imoca yacht in 2019. Even then, the young Swede secretly left a few messages for her skipper in hidden places on the boat, as she has now revealed to him. Greta Thunberg said: "We wish you good luck. Keep your good spirit. We will be with you in our thoughts throughout the race. We know you can do it. You can do anything. We will send you messages. May the winds be with you!"
Prince Albert II of Monaco, whose environmental foundation "Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation" is emblazoned in large letters on Herrmann's mainsail for the race around the world, is one of Herrmann's fans and sponsors. The Yacht Club de Monaco has supported Herrmann's Malizia team since day one. As the head of the Grimaldi family, the Prince has been President of the regatta-oriented club since 1984. Before the start of the Vendée Globe, he said: "Boris, you have a wonderful team around you. It's a shame that we can't be with you at the start of this great adventure. But our thoughts will be with you the whole time. May the spirit of Malizia be with you all the way and carry you to the finish line - preferably before anyone else." The club's Vice President then wished his good friend Boris Herrmann luck: Pierre Casiraghi founded Team Malizia together with Boris Herrmann, paving the way for the historic first participation of a German skipper in the ultimate sailing test. Casiraghi said to Herrmann on the eve of the race: "What you are doing now is so difficult, so hard, so long. But you can achieve anything. That's a great message for all of us. Your mental strength is inspiring."
Boris Herrmann himself seemed relaxed less than 17 hours before the start the evening before and visibly and audibly enjoyed the encouragement of his friends and fans in the online meeting. After a week of isolation for safety reasons and in times of corona, like all other participants without the opportunity to see friends in Les Sables, the many good wishes gave the young father from Hamburg an important emotional boost on the course. Co-favourite and friend Alex Thomson also left a message for Boris Herrmann at the evening online rendezvous. The Brit, who finally wants to win on his fifth attempt after two tasks and third and second places on "Hugo Boss", said with a smile: "I wish you the best of luck, Boris! The first Vendée Globe is always the hardest. And then all the people who usually cheer us on so fantastically will be missing this year. I wish you success. Only you can't beat me."
When asked about his latest work on the boat, Boris Herrmann explained that he had stuck some motivational stickers in various places. For example, "Smile!", "Clip on!" or "Sail your own race - think!". According to Herrmann, one of the slogans is from his team-mate Pierre Casiraghi: "You're not alone!". Herrmann is accompanied by stick-on photos of his wife Birte, their four-and-a-half-month-old daughter Marie-Louise and the family dog Lilli. And also a small cactus, which the crew got for their skipper shortly before the start of the race - as a representative of the greenery of the mainland, which Herrmann will not set foot on again for around two and a half months. Sailing legend Loïck Peyron also gave him the following advice when talking about the challenges of a round-the-world race: "Boris, you know how to sail across the Atlantic. And then add another day. And another. And another. Take it one day at a time."
At 39, Boris Herrmann belongs to the younger half of the challengers at his first Vendée Globe start; the average age of the 33 participants, including 27 men and six women, is 43. The youngest participant for the second time in a row is 27-year-old Swiss rider Alan Roura with "La Fabrique". He was 23 years old when he completed the round-the-world race for the first time and got hooked. Like Boris Herrmann, he is now the father of a young daughter and says that family life has made him an even better sailor. The oldest participant is Jean Le Cam ("Yes We Cam"), who is 61 years old.
The top favourites for this edition include Alex Thomson ("Hugo Boss"), Jérémie Beyou ("Charal"), Charlie Dalin ("Apivia") and Thomas Ruyant ("LinkedOut"). Never before has a non-Frenchman been able to win France's most important regatta, which in its last edition became the country's number two sporting event behind the football World Cup but ahead of the Tour de France. With nine participating nations, including Isabelle Joschke, a skipper with a German-Austrian father, the 2020/21 race is more international than ever before. Japan's Kojiro Shiraishi is also contributing to this, and his main aim in his second outing with "DMG Mori Global One" after dropping out at the premiere is to finish safely. This desire unites him with everyone in the fleet, even if some of the top skippers would not be entirely satisfied with anything less than victory. The strong Brit Samantha "Sam" Davies ("Initiatives Cœur") and her partner Romain Attanasio ("Pure Best Western") will be the first pair in the race for her third Vendée Globe appearance. She says: "The Vendée Globe has taught me that I can achieve much more than I ever imagined." She is likely to share this realisation with the entire fleet.
In his last Vendée Globe outing, his boat was almost cut in half by a collision and he had to retire. Now Thomas Ruyant is back and is one of the podium candidates for the 9th edition of the solo race around the world. With music by the Graffiti Ghosts and impressive pictures from then and now, he gets his fans in the mood for the upcoming summit attempt
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
