Boris Herrmann (born 28 May 1981) is a German yachtsman and author competing mostly in offshore races in the
IMOCA 60
The IMOCA ("Open 60"), is a 60ft development class monohull sailing yacht administered by the International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA). The class pinnacle event are single or two person ocean races, such as the Route du Rhum and th ...
class.
He placed fifth in the
2020/21 Vendée Globe and third in the
2023 The Ocean Race. With the experiences of these races he wrote two books. He is currently preparing his campaign for the
2024/25 Vendée Globe with the
Malizia-Seaexplorer, the first boat developed under his own management.
Together with
Pierre Casiraghi
Pierre Rainier Stefano Casiraghi (born 5 September 1987) is the younger son and youngest of three children of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and her second husband, Stefano Casiraghi. He is the maternal-line grandson of Rainier III, Prince of ...
he founded the sailing team Team Malizia to support his IMOCA 60 campaign. The team belongs to the most professional and financially more competitive teams in the IMOCA 60 class.
Early life
Boris Herrmann was born on 28 May 1981 in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony where he grew up in household enthusiastic towards sailing.
He finished school at the Neues Gymnasium Oldenburg. Next to his activities in sport he studied economics in Bremen with the specialisation on sustainable management.
Sailing career
Start in Mini and 505 dinghy classes (2001-2007)
In 2001 Boris Herrmann was the youngest (and only German) participant in the
Mini Transat
Mini Transat is a solo transatlantic yacht race which typically starts in France and ends in the Caribbean. The race uses small long yachts conforming to the Mini Transat 6.50 class rules which gives considering scope for development More recen ...
race, a
single-handed yacht race across the Atlantic.
He came to finish eleventh which earned him his first larger appearance in the yachting press.
From 1999 onwards he competed in the
505 dinghy class. In 2006 Herrmann finished second in the European Championship
as well as in the German Championship in the
505
Year 505 ( DV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodorus and Sabinianus (or, less frequently, year 1258 '' Ab urb ...
class. He also competed in the
505
Year 505 ( DV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodorus and Sabinianus (or, less frequently, year 1258 '' Ab urb ...
World Championships finishing 17th in 2005,
7th in 2006
and 9th in 2007
in highly competitive 100+ boat fleets.
Class 40 and various offshore sailing projects (2008-2017)
In spring 2008 Herrmann sailed his Class 40 yacht “Beluga Racer” to a second in the
Artemis Transat, the oldest transatlantic regatta for single-handed yachts.
Boris Herrmann won the
Portimão Global Ocean Race, a five leg regatta around the world for Class 40 boats. He and his co-skipper
Felix Oehme
Felix Oehme (born 1981) is a German yachtsman.
Sportive successes
End of 2006, Oehme sailed with a five-man crew over the Atlantic and received the second prize of the Stiftung Hochseesegeln (Foundation for High Seas Sailing) for this performan ...
(the ''Beluga Offshore Sailing Team'') came to win three of the five legs of the race, and left behind the team ''Desafio Cabo de Hornos''. This makes them the first German professional team on a German yacht to win a leg of an international trans-ocean race and the whole race itself.
IMOCA 60 circuit (since 2017)
In 2020/2021 Boris Herrmann was the first German (apart from the Franco-German
Isabelle Joschke) to take part in the prestigious
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
-
Vendée Globe
-->
The Vendée Globe is a single-handed (solo) non-stop round the world yacht race. The race was founded by Philippe Jeantot in 1989, and since 1992 has taken place every four years. It is named after the Département of Vendée, in France, w ...
, which started on 8 November 2020 in front of
Les Sables-d'Olonne
Les Sables-d'Olonne (; French meaning: "The Sands of Olonne"; Poitevin: ''Lés Sablles d'Oloune'') is a seaside town in Western France, on the Atlantic Ocean. A subprefecture of the department of Vendée, Pays de la Loire, it has the administ ...
in the
Vendée
Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442. department in France. He crossed the finish line in 5th place with an elapsed time of 80d 20h 59m 45s. In total Boris Herrmann achieved 5th place between
Jean Le Cam
Jean Le Cam (born 27 April 1959 in Quimper, Finistère) is a French sailor.
In 1981–82, he was a crewmember on Euromarché in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race.
Le Cam was crewman with Éric Tabarly and Michel Desjoyeaux, and won the ...
on 4th and
Thomas Ruyant
Thomas Ruyant (born 24 May 1981) is a French sailor who was born in Dunkirk in the Nord region.
He is an offshore sailor and competed in the 2020–2021 Vendée Globe IMOCA 60 onboard LinkedOut, named after a French employment charity. Ruyant ...
on 6th place. Due to a granted time compensation of 6 hours as part of the rescue of Kevin Escoffier in late November 2020, Boris Herrmann came out with a total regatta time of 80d 14h 59m 45s.
On the 19th June 2022 he launched his new boat
Malizia-Seaexplorer, with which he participated in the
14th edition
14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 and preceding 15.
In relation to the word "four" ( 4), 14 is spelled "fourteen".
In mathematics
* 14 is a composite number.
* 14 is a square pyramidal number.
* 14 is a stella octangula number. ...
of
The Ocean Race
The Ocean Race is a yacht race around the world, held every three or four years since 1973. Originally named the Whitbread Round the World Race after its initiating sponsor, British brewing company Whitbread, in 2001 it became the Volvo Ocean Rac ...
. The ship is constructed for his participation in the
2024/2025 Vendée Globe.
In 2023 Boris Herrmann competed in the
14th edition
14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 and preceding 15.
In relation to the word "four" ( 4), 14 is spelled "fourteen".
In mathematics
* 14 is a composite number.
* 14 is a square pyramidal number.
* 14 is a stella octangula number. ...
of
The Ocean Race
The Ocean Race is a yacht race around the world, held every three or four years since 1973. Originally named the Whitbread Round the World Race after its initiating sponsor, British brewing company Whitbread, in 2001 it became the Volvo Ocean Rac ...
, sailing around the world in the toughest crewed race in the world over with co-skippers Will Harris, Rosalin Kuiper, Nicolas Lunven and Antoine Auriol. The crew passed Cape Horn in first place in leg 3 of the race. During the first leg he injured his foot which led to him skipping the second leg. Herrmann and his crew reached third place overall and second in the in-port-series.
Other activities
On 29 July 2019, it was announced that Boris Herrmann was to sail climate activist
Greta Thunberg
Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (; born 3 January 2003) is a Swedish environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change mitigation.
Thunberg's activism began when she persuaded ...
from
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in mid-late August 2019 on his emission-free racing yacht ''
Malizia II
Gitana 16, her name when launched, is an IMOCA 60 monohull sailing yacht
A sailing yacht (US ship prefixes SY or S/Y), is a leisure craft that uses sails as its primary means of propulsion. A yacht may be a sail or power vessel used for pleas ...
''. They departed on 14 August 2019 and arrived on 28 August the same year.
Sailing Results
Bibliography
* ''Nonstop: Süchtig nach Segeln / Driven by the Sea'', 2021,
* ''Allein zwischen Himmel und Meer'', 2021 together with Andreas Wolfers
* ''Abenteuer Ocean Race'', 2023, together with Andreas Wolfers
* ''My Ocean Challenge – Kurs auf Klimaschutz'', 2023, children's book, together with Birte Lorenzen-Herrmann
References
Sources
Article at Seglermagazin.de Artemis Transat 2008: Boris Herrmann sensationell Zweiter 30. Mai 2008*
ttp://www.spiegel.de/sport/sonst/0,1518,590736,00.html Article at Spiegel Online Deutsche Segler mit historischem Erfolg 16. November 2008Article at Spiegel Online Herrmann und Oehme gewinnen Portimão Global Race 21. Juni 2009Official Website: The Transat - The North Atlantic Alone(English/French)
External links
*
*
1981 births
Living people
German male sailors (sport)
Greta Thunberg
IMOCA 60 class sailors
German Vendee Globe sailors
2020 Vendee Globe sailors
Vendée Globe finishers
Single-handed circumnavigating sailors
Sportspeople from Oldenburg
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