Boris Herrmann on Seaexplorer - YC de Monaco starts the Vendée Globe
by Team Malizia 8 Nov 2020 07:57 PST
8 November 2020
Boris Herrmann, Seaexplorer - YC de Monaco - Vendée Globe © Andreas Lindlahr
Today, on 8th November 2020 at 14:20 CET, after a delayed start due to dense fog and poor visibility, Boris Herrmann became the first German to start the Vendee Globe race on his Monegasque flagged vessel, Seaexplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco.
This infamous race will take Boris on a full lap of the world over 24296 nm and travelling at speeds of up to 70 kph. Boris will be racing against 32 other top-class sailors to compete to be the fastest to circumnavigate the world and finish back in Les Sables D'Olonne, France.
Team founder Pierre Casiraghi said: "This is the culmination of so many years of work! We had our sights set on this race for a long time. It's very exciting. My heart goes out to Boris and I will keep in regular contact with the boat. The whole country will be behind him. It will help to promote the Principality through sport."
It was an excellent race start at the very front of the fleet for Boris, as each skipper is careful to be at the line on time but wary not to cross it too early which would incur a 5-hour time penalty. Boris and his Seaexplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco were joined on the start line by the two tech team boats which, due to COVID-19, were the only vessels allowed to escort him over the start line for this edition of the race. Normally the Vendee Globe welcomes upwards of 350,000 people to physically view the start from the shore and the ocean. After following Boris out towards the ocean for a few miles, the tech team ribs are forced to wave their last goodbyes as Boris is left alone for the next 70+ days of ocean sailing.
As Seaexplorer picks up speed heading for the open ocean, Team Manager Holly Cova comments: "It is a great feeling to see the boat crossing the start line of this outstanding and prestigious race. We all have put a lot of dedication and attention into the preparation as well as optimisation of the boat over the past weeks, months and years. Today was the magic day, everyone had been waiting for. A very special moment for the entire team and a perfect occasion to thank all our partners, in particular, the Yacht Club de Monaco, Kuehne + Nagel, CMA CGM, MSC, Hapag Lloyd and EFG Bank, who all make this race possible."
Boris has already completed three circumnavigations of the world but this is his first Vendee Globe and his first solo circumnavigation. The 39-year-old skipper will be measuring ocean data for the entire journey from his automated onboard laboratory and he will transmit this data live from the boat to the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Geomar and Ifremer. This is the first time a data track of a full continuous loop around the world will have been made and the fact that we can stream the data live off the boat means that scientists are able to receive and analyse the data in almost real-time.
The weather for the start week of the race looks complicated. With the start day being calmer with flat water and 15 knots south/south-east with the wind increasing into the night. The sailors will have to decide when to tack to avoid some low wind areas whilst some boats may decide to stick East on the slower but shorter route. We may see some interesting splits early on.
The weather routings have very staggered finishing times for Boris in this race, so much depends on the conditions, the tactics and the skipper's choices during this long race. The current record is 74 days however, many skippers are guessing that this year will be much faster.
Boris will be updating his fans and team daily from onboard via his social media accounts and RAW feed which is running on the borisherrmannracing.com.