The Hamburg sailor Boris Herrmann and Will Harris took 7th place in the Transat Jacques Vabre (TJV). The duo arrived in Martinique in the Imoca class on the Malizia on Sunday afternoon (local time). The Frenchmen Thomas Ruyant and Morgan Lagravière secured victory.
The duo had already won the regatta two years ago. For Ruyant it was even the third TJV success in a row at the Imocas. “There were 40 Imocas at the start, which means: sporting competitions at every level. I don’t want to sail in any other class,” said Ruyant, who reached the finish with Lagravière after eleven days, 21 hours, 32 minutes and 21 seconds at sea.
The Frenchmen Yoann Richomme and Yann Eliès came in second. Completing the podium in third place were Briton Sam Goodchild and Antoine Koch from France.
Malizia just a good minute behind Teamwork.Net
Herrmann and Harris fought an exciting duel with Teamwork.Net (Justine Mettraux/Julien Villion) in the last few miles. Malizia was in the lead for a long time, then Mettraux/Villion overtook them and defended their narrow lead until the finish. In the end, they were only 65 seconds ahead of Herrmann and Harris, who needed exactly twelve days, nine hours, one minute and three seconds to complete the regatta.
Mettraux/Villion had opted for a tough storm in the north, while the majority of the fleet headed for the Caribbean on a more southerly Atlantic course in more pleasant trade winds. The extreme decision paid off in the finals in the duel with Team Malizia for sixth place.
“It was an epic finale! We fought neck and neck with three other boats until the end,” said Herrmann. ultimately benefited from their risky assault in the north.
Compass problems after startup
For Herrmann, the Transat was an important positioning with a view to the Vendeé Globe, which starts in just under a year. Then the Hamburger will set sail alone with the Malizia.
Herrmann had already drawn a positive conclusion during the TJV. “We are very satisfied and were able to optimize a few things. We know the boat even better now than after the Ocean Race. Also because of our compass problems.”
Shortly after take-off from Le Havre, France, there were serious data processing problems on board the Malizia, causing the compass and autopilot to fail. In the meantime, a return to land was even under discussion. However, the problems could be resolved. However, Malizia lost a lot of time to the competition.
Nevertheless, the experiences at the TJV are overall “promising for the Vendée Globe,” said Herrmann.
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NDR Info | November 20, 2023 | 14:00 clock
