Christmas is already very close. In view of the stubborn high pressure area, it remains to be seen whether it will also be a sailing holiday for the sailors at sea. But the 39-year-old skipper of the "Seaexplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco" looks optimistically towards the coming days as fourth in the field. So much so that he greeted Christmas a day early because he'd gotten confused with crossing the date line.
Boris Herrmann von See sent this picture with the words: "Good morning Christmas day!" But that meant he was one day early, which can easily happen when the time zones change …
A chain of lights, a small candle and family photos on clothespins above the on-board computer: This is the Christmas decoration of the German skipper in the current ninth edition of the solo circumnavigation. Herrmann has been at sea non-stop for a good 45 days. Around the 55th parallel, he fights his way through the mild winds in the South Pacific with unusually mild temperatures of ten degrees. The conditions make for a thrilling Christmas thriller, because the question currently arises whether front runner Yannick Bestaven can escape the field on "Maître Coq IV", while most of the pursuers are moving closer together, but only making slow progress.
Boris Herrmann's Christmas decorations below deck: a chain of lights with family photos
Third-placed Thomas Ruyant summed up the situation on the afternoon of December 23rd German time: "The question is whether the high pressure area is fast enough to recapture Yannick." Yannick Bestaven himself glanced in the rear-view mirror and realized that while the runner-up, the "Apivia" skipper Charlie, Dalin was only 90 nautical miles behind, Thomas Ruyant, 182 nautical miles behind, was possibly the greater danger with his north course for him could be: "I'm watching Thomas from the corner of my left eye. He is making good progress and has not slowed down, Charlie on the other hand a little. You should now keep your fingers crossed."
Boris Herrmann's fans do the same for the first German Vendée Globe participant. Herrmann initially lost a few miles on Wednesday afternoon, but defended his fourth place against Benjamin Dutreux on "Omi - Water Family". Looking at the poor prognoses for the festive season, Herrmann knows: "It could be that the boats in front hurry away from us. If Bestaven can cheat his way to the top, then he is fine and can sail a large lead." Boris Herrmann described the danger to himself as a "horror scenario:" I mustn't make a major mistake and park in the doldrums, and the others will all drive past. The end of this story has not yet been written."
Boris Herrmann summarized his last day before Christmas with this video. There was a lot going on at the skipper of the "Seaexplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco" …
Christmas greetings from his wife Birte Herrmann
This year Herrmann's Christmas story takes place around 15,000 kilometers away from Hamburg's home port, far away from his wife Birte and their six-month-old daughter Marie-Louise. He says that he prefers calm to an official storm, but neither has he wished for the upcoming Holy Night to be as quiet as the majority of the competition. His biggest Christmas wish always remains the same: "I hope that nothing more swims in front of my bow until the finish and everything stays intact." Birte Herrmann sent her husband greetings from Kiel, where she will spend the festive season with their daughter at her parents' home: "I wish Boris his own merry Christmas. I hope that on Christmas Day he will especially feel how much we all are thanks to many greetings Sailing with him and feeling close to him. We are emotionally very close to him, even if separated by many nautical miles."
Birte Herrmann with daughter Marie-Louise on the Baltic Sea beach in Kiel. She sends her husband Boris Herrmann a big heart and a Christmas bag full of home feeling in the South Pacific
Herrmann's overall performance remains strong at the start of the second half of the race. He has no worries that the provisions originally planned for 80 days might not be enough in view of the slow circulation: "There is always something left over. That can be stretched if necessary." There is no stretching on Christmas Eve. Herrmann has long since chosen a French stew classic as a feast: there is cassoulet out of the bag and probably hundreds of festive greetings, messages and good wishes from family, friends and sponsors. "I'm really looking forward to that," said Herrmann, "it's a good feeling to know that so many people think of me on land." And although the circumnavigator is traveling solo, he had two curious visitors the day before Christmas: Bottlenose dolphins swam around his boat as if to greet him. Herrmann says that these are the first large marine mammals that he has seen since the start. Herrmann described the scene at sea deep down in the south of the Pacific Ocean, which lives up to its name too much, as enlightened: "I see leaden golden colors on the swirling sea. It is beautiful."
Here you can find the tracker and the intermediate results.
The Finnish "Stark" skipper Ari Huusel as Santa Claus
Note: In an earlier version of this post it was said that the festive season has already started for Boris Herrmann. This is not yet the case in his current time zone. On the contrary: the top group is lagging behind our German times.
