Vendée Globe

Yacht Class n°40 (March-April-May 2025)

Boris Herrmann finished twelfth in the Vendée Globe 2024-2025 marked, for the skipper of Malizia – Seaexplorer, by a succession of worries that severely tested his seamanship, his DIY skills and his ability to overcome his fears.

Text: Christophe Varène – Photos: Mark Lloyd, Olivier Blanchet, Jean-Marie Liot, Ricardo Pinto et Boris Hermann.

An ascent of the Atlantic like a nightmare. When he rounded Cape Horn on 28th December, Boris Herrmann no doubt thought that the hardest part was over, that the terrible Southern Ocean, with its storms, rogue waves and the magical spectacle of albatrosses, was behind him and that “home” was at the end of this last – almost – straight line. After just over 47 days of racing, he is in seventh place (31 seconds ahead of Paul Meilhat on Biotherm!) and has shown some fine qualities of speed and perseverance in the Indian. He can aim for a place in the top 5. Alas, the pitfalls are going to follow one another like a train of depressions, confirming the adage adopted by ocean racers: “The Vendée Globe is a pain in the neck each day”.

Hit twice by lightning

On 6th January, Boris had to face one of his greatest fears (the other is dealing with solitude on an 80-day round-the-world voyage): climbing to the top of his 29-metre mast to adjust his backstay. The next day, he describes having spent one of his worst days at sea, enduring repeated storms, thunderclaps, the boat going down several times and being struck twice by lightning! Who says it never strikes in the same place? The onboard electronics went out – no more autopilot, black screens, screeching alarms – but Boris managed to put everything back in order, before noting in his logbook: “The Sea started to bite!”

Broken foil

Crossing the finish line of the Vendée Globe 2024-2025 on 29th January, Boris Herrmann and his IMOCA Malizia – Seaexplorer finished 12th in this extraordinary race. By completing the 24,300-mile course – in theory* – in 80 days 10 hours 16 minutes and 41 seconds, the German sailor improved his race time by around 4 hours compared with the previous edition. But what a tough time it was for the man wearing the colours of the Yacht Club de Monaco (YCM). The problems just kept piling up. Boris had to climb the masthead again to repair the hook on his J2, one of the most frequently used headsails. And two days after his return to the North Atlantic, a collision with an UANI (unidentified object or animal) caused the breakage of his port foil, the load-bearing surface that lifts the boat to accelerate it. With one of her “legs” amputated, Malizia – Seaexplorer lost a large part of her potential and Boris watched his rivals at the front drift away as those behind him made up for lost time day by day. These fortunes at sea are reminiscent of the collision with a trawler which, on the eve of the finish in 2021, deprived Boris of a place on the podium (and perhaps of the top step). A final weather depression, impressive according to the specialists, before the return to Les Sables-d’Olonne where the German skipper, like all the competitors, received a warm welcome from the Sablais public, including his friend Pierre Casiraghi, vice-president of the YCM, who came to congratulate him warmly.

Passion and companionship

A few days after the finish, while Boris had to relearn how to live like a “landlubber” (get back to sleep, put his legs back together…) and Malizia – Seaexplorer returned to Lorient for a long inspection and a copious programme of refresher training, the Team Malizia team gathered around its skipper. Boris congratulated all the “Malizians” on the quality of their work over the last few years, which has enabled him to find solutions to all his problems, and also for their passion and their team spirit and companionship. He also spoke about the road ahead over the next four years, the first stage of which will be participation in the Ocean Race Europe this summer. The adventure continues!

Boris Herrmann actually covered 29,201.1 miles at an average speed of 15.1 knots. 

The Vendée Globe, a race for science

The oceans, the ultimate playground for the Vendée Globe racers, are being undermined by the development of industry, yet they are essential to the health of the planet. Many ocean racers are involved in environmental protection associations, such as Boris Herrmann, who displays the slogan “A race we must win – Climate action now!” on his sails and has taken part in a scientific mission by deploying a buoy off Cape Verde to collect measurements such as atmospheric pressure, water temperature and the strength and direction of currents. He also took an Ocean Pack on board to measure CO₂ and oxygen levels, salinity and seawater temperature throughout the race. Boris, who was already active in this field during the previous edition of the race, has also received the support of Prince Albert II and his Foundation for the Protection of Ecosystems, a partner of the Vendée Globe Foundation. Researchers appreciate the commitment of these sailors, who will be taking scientific instruments to the most remote and inhospitable areas of our oceans. Sport in support of science.