Boris Herrmann and his crew experienced a start to forget in the king's stage of the Ocean Race. First the team loses a sail, then one member discovers a crack in the mast during a demanding repair. That spoils the mood on board enormously.
Boris Herrmann was at odds with fate and the god of the sea, Poseidon. "I'm a bit emotionally shaken and disappointed," said the German skipper on board the severely damaged Malizia Seaexplorer. The crew was now also in a high pressure area in the Southern Ocean. No wind but with massive waves. The urgent repair of the slashed mast was delayed.
The day before, the five sailors who really wanted to attack the king's stage of the legendary Ocean Race had been badly hit. Crew member Rosalin Kuiper climbed the mast after losing the Code Zero sail and documented a nearly 30 centimeter long crack. It was impossible to continue the demanding 12,750 nautical mile route to Itajai in Brazil.
"We thought about returning to Cape Town. That would have been the easier way," said Herrmann, who had to let the competition go. Team Guyot had to make the bitter decision with Berlin's Robert Stanjek due to hull damage on Wednesday. "But we are all now convinced that we should continue," added Herrmann: "It takes even greater mental strength than it already does." The brought up the sworn and "amazingly positive" Malizia crew and so went to repair when the conditions allowed.
It was a difficult operation that had to be carried out high up on the 28 meter high mast, secured. The affected area should be sanded down and reinforced with two carbon patches. This was preceded by the loss of the important headsail. It had suddenly detached itself from the mast and wrapped itself around the keel and hull. The only option left was to cut through the expensive cloth to prevent further damage. At this point, Malizia reckoned with a considerable disadvantage in the choice of sails - but not that more had broken.
Herrmann, who knows repair work in the middle of the ocean from his solo participation in the Vendee Globe, spoke of a "severe setback" for the team, which is traveling with a yacht worth millions and christened in Hamburg last September. Back then, Herrmann raved about a real "beast", which now has problems at the beginning of the Ocean Race. But it should continue on the route along the ice border. "I'll be super proud when we're in the dock in Itajai," said Herrmann.
