She lives alternately in Lorient and St. Malo, where she is the project manager for the multihull project Défí Voile Solidaires en Peloton and enjoys drawing comics in her spare time, which have long since moved the Vendée Globe world. The latest masterpiece by Astrid van den Hoven (you can find her on Facebook under "Astrid VDH") shows Boris Herrmann in a good position among the leading group. The billd text: "While Charlie and Apivia are making sure Louis is hard at work in the office, Yannick has stolen into the feathers on Maître Coq, Thomas is trying to get back in line on LinkedOut and Damien is leading the race with the hand of a master, La Deutsch quality is exploring all the possibilities with Boris, joining the fleet boss like a prince." Nicely observed.
With third place at the end of the 69th day at sea with an intact boat and strong foils, "Prinz Herrmann" has achieved a position that at least gives him a promising prospect of the throne. Not forgetting the six-hour time credit that he is allowed to deduct from the time he sailed at the finish, which could well play a significant role given the close distances.
On Saturday morning, Charlie Dalin on "Apivia" continued to lead the fast passage of the leading group just west of the Brazilian archipelago of Fernando de Noronha ahead of Louis Burton ("Bureau Vallée 2") and Boris Herrmann's "Seaexplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco". The top three sailed at top speeds of more than 20 knots on course for the equator, which they will cross over the next 24 hours. Herrmann had reduced his deficit to Charlie Dalin to 50 nautical miles. And the 39-year-old is keeping up the pressure. "I'm fine and I'm focussing all my attention on the boat. You know me: I always worry when there's cause for concern. But at the same time, now is the time to utilise the ship's potential. That's what I'm doing. But I won't push it beyond the limit either."
Weather expert Willl Harris explains the current situation in the group of frontrunners and the outlook
Just under 40 nautical miles behind Herrmann, who repeatedly reached speeds of over 22 knots on Saturday around midday, Thomas Ruyant ("LinkedOut") was fighting to catch up with the leading trio. Just like Damien Seguin on "Groupe Apicil" ten nautical miles behind him, who continues to perform brilliantly without foils, while the old "king" Jean Le Cam has now dropped back to ninth place, almost 300 nautical miles behind. Jérémie Beyou's continued race to catch up remains remarkable. He had been chasing the field for nine days after the start due to a breakage and lightning repair, but has now moved up to 14th place. In the meantime, a good 700 nautical miles separate him from the front midfield and its "taillight" Romain Attanasio, who is currently in 13th place about 130 nautical miles behind "Banque Populaire X" skipper Clarisse Crémer since a crash with broken ribs.
The Vendée Globe organisers had already broadcast their daily TV show with a German focus on Friday. Guests included Boris Herrmann's confident team manager Holly Cova, TP52 world champion Harm Müller-Spreer and 49erFX European champion Susann "Sanni" Beucke from the German Sailing Team, who qualified for the Olympic Games last year with helmswoman Tina Lutz and said on behalf of many German sailors and Herrmann fans: "We are extremely proud of you and what you do. You are a great role model. You show all sailors in Germany what is possible if you believe in your dreams."
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
