Friday 29th January 2021
"No race to have fun"
Herrmann loses fourth place and doubts
The exertion has left enormous marks: After more than 80 days alone at sea, Boris Herrmann leaves it open whether he can motivate himself again for the Vendée Globe, the toughest sailing regatta in the world. The hamburger ended its premiere in fifth place.
Solo circumnavigator Boris Herrmann finished fifth at his premiere at the Vendée Globe. The hamburger was still from the French Jean Le Cam on his yacht "Yes We Cam!" ousted from fourth place on Thursday evening. The 61-year-old Le Cam crossed the finish line in Les Sables-d'Olonne in eighth place. But thanks to a time credit of 16:15 hours he pushed himself in front of Herrmann. In the final ranking, the two separated after more than 80 days at sea and over 28,000 nautical miles by almost 75 minutes. A possible podium placement prevented a collision with a fishing trawler on Wednesday evening. The race was the ninth edition of the Vendée Globe since 1989/90. It takes place every four years.
Herrmann crossed the finish line as the fifth sailor on his yacht "Seaexplorer – Yacht Club de Monaco" in the morning. A time credit of six hours had allowed the 39-year-old to move up to fourth in the preliminary ranking by the evening. The Frenchman Yannick Bestaven, who arrived third at the destination, also secured victory with a credit of 10:15 hours. All three had received the credits from the race committee for their participation in the rescue mission for the shipwrecked Kevin Escoffier on the night of November 30th to December 1st.
In the meantime, Herrmann has left open to participate again in the Vendée Globe. "It is still too early. It is an ambitious company to aim for the podium," he said after his arrival. "It is no small matter to do the Vendée Globe."
He was the first German to take part in the toughest sailing regatta in the world. "These 80 days were harder than I would have ever imagined," said Herrmann. The loneliness was by far the most difficult thing for him. "I'm not made for being alone. I'm not a loner. I like to have people around me," he said. "The Vendée Globe is not a race to have fun." It was "a human experience, but not always an easy one."
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