After taking second place on the New York Vendée Les Sables d’Olonne solo Transat race, arriving back across the finish line at 1653hrs local time on a breezy, sunny early summer Sunday evening it was a relaxed, relieved German skipper Boris Herrmann who was given a warm, appreciative welcome back into the famous channel.
At the Vendée Globe dock where he was met by race winner Charlie Dalin who had finished 17hrs and 08 minutes earlier, crossing just before midnight, he was greeted by the Vendée VIPS, guests, friends and family and the media.
Before posing for dozens of ‘selfies’ and chatting to many of the race fans of all ages who had come out to greet him, the popular German answered questions.
Most people, it seemed, wanted him to talk about his strategic choice to the far north of the course.
Why did you go north and did it pay off?
We had this front that we needed to escape from and I was not quite sure if there was still a risk that the front could catch us. It was a case of bearing away more to go north to be as far away from the front as possible, and that brought me to a different position for when we made the big strategic choice that I thought the North route would be better for me. And I observed it a little while and asked myself if maybe I needed to review this decision a little bit, but I kept on and a few days later I was in it and I could not change anyway.
Did you doubt that option at all?
I doubted it a little bit at some stage because it just looked crazy on the chart, but scientifically I think it was correct and also when I took the decision it was the shorter route. The route for Charlie looked more direct but it has more zig zags as well and at some stages the routing had me beat Charlie and had me with a much more direct route around the high pressure and not do all these gybes and some models showed the wind just 10 degrees turned but that was enough to have gone on a direct route and I would have gained almost a day.
Do you feel stronger for having succeeded?
I think I really liked to have done a choice on my own. I could of course have just kind of tacked and been behind Charlie and be like 100 miles behind but I think that would have been a less exciting race, for myself included, and I was keen to sail more downwind and experience the north with the transitions. I am happy with my decisions.
Would you have made such a bold choice on the Vendée Globe or was this the race to just try it?
It was for this race to try, maybe in the Vendée you would manage the risk a little bit differently but it is hard to say.
How did these races prepare you for the Vendée Globe, was one more about speed and one strategy, or maybe about confidence?
Both races were great preparation for the Vendée Globe. The race to New York was a lot about being in contact with other boats and so that was good because I could se that my speed was OK most of the time and then on the way back I was very alone in the north which is a feeling you can have sometimes in the Vendée Globe, really alone with no boats around you for 100s of miles and so I could train a little bit, remember this feeling, it is not so easy sometimes and so this was a bit of ‘this is how the Vendée Globe could feel like.
And what condition are the boat and the skipper in?
The boat and skipper are in good condition. We had pretty much no technical problems, almost none, and I am especially that my mainsail held together as it has already done The Ocean Race and three Transatlantic races so it has served very well. No problems?
And what is up next, are you looking forwards to the Vendée Globe and how will you prepare?
I am really looking forwards to the Vendée Globe, with this race we achieved what I was hoping for in having the confidence to move into the summer and have locked down our choices with no doubts, to have made all the right choices, service the boat a little bit and pretty much leave everything as it is.
