Boris Herrmann, 12th in the 2024 Vendée Globe

For Herrmann it concludes his second back-to-back challenge on the legendary solo non stop race round the world and is his sixth race or record passage round the world. He won the inaugural Global Ocean Challenge (2009) in Class40 then raced the double handed Barcelona World Race (2010) before taking on the Trophée Jules Verne with Frances Joyon (2015-16).

After finishing third on the last The Ocean Race, third on The Transat CIC and second behind Charlie Dalin on the New York-Vendée, all on his robust VPLP designed IMOCA which is designed to do best in the harsh conditions of the Southern Ocean, 12th is a slightly disappointing result for the racer from Hamburg, Germany who until the final few hours was in the frame to win the last Vendée Globe four years ago. Indeed Herrmann said before the start of this race that ‘anything outside the top ten would be a disappointment’ whilst also acknowledging…..“It does not bother me to be spoken about as a favourite. It is correct on paper.”

For a number of reasons he did not do well on the initial descent of the Atlantic, not least in the very light winds, but he was never able to then get up and fight at the forefront of the race. The weather systems were not often on Herrmann’s side.  but the German skipper showed his mettle in the Pacific catching up the best part of 1000 miles to catch up with and race with the main peloton, comfortably inside the top 10. But on the Atlantic climb back to Europe he had successive technical problems which mostly scuppered his chances of breaking into the top 5. After Cape Horn in the South Atlantic he was racing for a long period in sight of Sam Goodchild but the Brit broke away. Herrmann struggled for periods in light winds. But ultimately his hopes of a finish in the top ten were scuppered when his port foil was damaged to the point it had to be secured in place, unusable.

But Herrmann, as ever has shared his race far and wide, enhancing his global fan base, never shirking from the truth whilst always taking time to promote his sustainability initiatives and his messages of eco-responsibility. And as one of the most experienced ocean racers in the fleet he has shown an exceptional level of seamanship to finish the race, not least in the final days of his race when he has had to battle winds of up 65kts and seas of 10 metres whilst targeting the best, safest time to finish amidst a chain of storms.