Boris Herrmann is in a close race with his three pursuers on the Vendée Globe circumnavigation. The Malizia skipper from Hamburg pays great respect to the leader Charlie Dalin.
“Charlie Dalin’s dominance is very impressive, chapeau!” said Herrmann on Tuesday at the video press conference on board his Malizia – Seaexplorer. “The whole leadership group is doing a great Vendée Globe.”
The 43-year-old skipper, who is considered one of the favorites, is currently not one of them. Herrmann was in tenth place on Tuesday evening – around 1,100 nautical miles (a good 2,000 kilometers) behind Dalin.
Mettraux, Crémer and Davies in the neck
Germany’s most famous offshore sailor is currently fighting to defend his top ten position against “his three angels” in the Indian Ocean. Around 15 nautical miles behind Herrmann, the two-time Ocean Race winner Justine Mettraux from Switzerland doesn’t let up. 45 and 47 nautical miles behind Mettraux, the Frenchwoman Clarisse Crémer and the British Samantha Davies are also within striking distance.
An image based on the US series “Three Angels for Charly” from the 1970s has been circulating on social networks about the four-way fight that has been going on for days. The name Charly is crossed out and replaced with Boris.
Herrmann: No big split is to be expected
“It may be that I sail away from them a little bit, but it may also be that we then come together again. It’s something like an accordion,” said Herrmann. This has to do with the changing wind conditions. “I don’t have the feeling at the moment that we can expect a big split.”
“It’s 25 to 30 knots of wind and the sea is choppy. I feel like I’m in a washing machine and I’m trying to adjust the boat so that it doesn’t bang too much!!!”
—Samantha Davies
Foil damage is not a problem
The Hamburger has now completed 40 percent of the race and is still waiting for conditions in which the completely redesigned Malizia can fully demonstrate its strengths. At least the damage to one of the foils on his Malizia no longer causes any problems for Herrmann on the way to Cape Leeuwin on the Australian southwest coast.
Foils
The “foils” attached to the sides of the Imoca racing yachts generate buoyancy and allow the boats to literally “fly” over the water.
The second-placed Frenchman Sébastien Simon has been sailing with a broken starboard foil for days, but is bravely staying in the leading group. “My guess is that Seb won’t make it into the top ten,” predicted Herrmann.
Goal: New Year’s Day at Cape Horn
The Oldenburg native has set his own goals in the single-handed regatta around the world independent of the placement. He hopes to be at Cape Horn on New Year’s Day; this is his “big goal”. Cape Leeuwin, which the leaders have already passed, is a “big milestone” for him.
This topic in the program:
Sports current | 12/10/2024 | 6:17 p.m
