48 hours until Boris Herrmann starts the Vendee Globe
by Holly Cova 6 Nov 2020 21:36 NZDT
Team Malizia - Vendée Globe © Jean Marie Liot
The run-up to this Vendee Globe race has proved to be the most unusual and difficult to date. At the beginning of the virus outbreak, there was the uncertainty that the race could even start, now we are sure to have a race start, thanks to the hard work of the organisation, but there have been many measures in place to allow this to happen. The participants are fully tested and quarantined a week before the start, their start crew are locked down and there is no access to the boat which has been fully disinfected.
It is an unusual feeling in a race village which would normally be full of life and people. With teams avoiding to be too close to each other, the struggle to see each other over masks and the constant hand sanitising, every team's main goal is to get their skipper over the start line healthy and Corona free.
There is one thing that remains clear, the race and its start brings a glimmer of hope and light to all who follow. A big sporting event starting is a major cause for celebration in these difficult times. Spectators can share in some of the sailors' hardship, the idea of being quarantined on their boats for long periods of time can now be better understood by the public.
The quarantined days before the start have been busy for skipper Boris Herrmann, with constant weather briefings with some of the top weather gurus, running routes virtually with Will Harris or exercising with his lockdown companion Lilli (his King Charles Cavalier dog). Boris has also found time to speak with our partners at Kuehne & Nagel and the Yacht Club de Monaco and he did a virtual presentation including Q&A with 20 French schools this week.
Boris commented: "I feel in exactly the right zone, between relaxation, focus and excitement and in the right mental state. This is thanks to the help of the whole team, especially Pierre who always relaxes me and my mental coach Thomas. We planned well and we have the right agenda and schedule which really allows me to relax and I have a wonderful sea view to prepare mentally. It is actually all working out very well and I am focusing on the weather and partnership topics. I am happy, I could start this evening. I am ready. The team has done an amazing job and I am proud that all boat jobs were completed before we got to the village. There has been no work done on the boat at all. So we met all our deadlines a week early - for a big four-year project this is a huge achievement. That is a successful first part of the race - the race to the start to the Vendee Globe."
The last 48 hours will mostly be spent reviewing the different weather and routing options and saying goodbye to his family via video calls.
Will Harris gives us an insight into the weather for the start and the first week of the race: "It will not be a simple trip down to the equator in terms of the weather. In the last edition of the Vendee Globe in 2016 the fleet had a fantastic, fast and relatively direct route to the South. For the start this Sunday the situation is a lot different with light winds off the Portuguese coast blocking this direct route. It is likely Boris and the fleet will opt for a more Westerly route to avoid this light wind area but in doing so, they must sail extra miles. The whole North Atlantic is in quite an active phase, with several low-pressure systems moving in quickly from the West. With each depression comes a new wind regime which Boris must work hard to optimise his boat setup in order to keep sailing as fast as possible. It will not be an easy few days, but once south of the Canary Islands things will ease up as Boris heads into steady trade winds from the East. Current prediction time to the Equator is 8-9 days."
