Boris Herrmann latest: The German professional sailor sailed the Route du Rhum single-handed on his new IMOCA yacht \u201cMalizia 4\u201d and finished second in the IMOCA class in Guadeloupe on 12 November. After the Atlantic crossing, The Ocean Race follows from January 2027, then the Vend\u00e9e Globe in 2028 (as at 12 November 2026).<\/p>\n
You can find continually updated positions, gaps and finish times for all classes in the Route du Rhum live standings<\/a>.<\/p>\n Boris Herrmann finished the 2026 Route du Rhum in second place in the IMOCA class. He crossed the finish line off Pointe-\u00e0-Pitre shortly after 4 am local time on 12 November, after 10 days, 20 hours, 8 minutes and 36 seconds at sea. Over the roughly 3,900 nautical miles he averaged 14.9 knots. The class was won by Corentin Horeau on \u201cMACSF\u201d, who arrived a day earlier after being the first to escape the tropical low.<\/p>\n Herrmann, Sam Goodchild (\u201cMACIF \u2013 Sant\u00e9 Pr\u00e9voyance\u201d) and Elodie Bonafous (\u201cAssociation Petits Princes \u2013 Qu\u00e9guiner\u201d) sailed right through an almost stationary tropical depression north of the Caribbean. On its far side they found north-westerly winds and made quick progress, with Herrmann reaching 27 knots at times.<\/p>\n The final miles proved tough once more: the low had disrupted the trade wind, and a large area of calm lay off Guadeloupe. Herrmann nevertheless held on to second place all the way to the finish. On board he had only three minor technical problems, none of them serious.<\/p>\n After the finish, \u201cMalizia 4\u201d will not go back to Lorient but will be delivered straight from Guadeloupe to Alicante. A refit and training for The Ocean Race will follow there.<\/p>\n You can find out how to follow the race all the way to the finish line in our article on the Route du Rhum 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n Boris Herrmann is a German offshore sailor, born on 28 May 1981. He became known in 2020 as the first German to start in the Vend\u00e9e Globe, the non-stop, unassisted solo round-the-world race.<\/p>\n He found his way into offshore sailing through the Mini Transat, a solo race across the Atlantic. Until then, by his own account, he had hardly left northern Germany. He studied business and sustainable management at the University of Bremen.<\/p>\n Herrmann has now sailed around the world six times: as a pair, with a crew and solo. The key milestones:<\/p>\n Herrmann was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Federal Cross of Merit). Since 2024 he has been an ambassador for the German Committee of the UN Ocean Decade.<\/p>\n Team Malizia is Herrmann's own offshore racing team. He founded it in 2016 together with Pierre Casiraghi, Vice President of the Yacht Club de Monaco.<\/p>\n The team includes more than 35 people from 13 countries. The permanent co-skipper is the Briton Will Harris. They are joined by sailors such as Cole Brauer, Justine Mettraux, Julien Villion and Lo\u00efs Berrehar, who come on board depending on the race.<\/p>\n Alongside racing, the team focuses on research: since 2018, a small laboratory on board, the OceanPack, has continuously measured the CO\u2082 content, temperature and salinity of the seawater. The data goes to institutes such as the Max Planck Institute, GEOMAR and the Alfred Wegener Institute. With \u201cMalizia Explorer\u201d, the team also operates its own research sailing vessel, which has set off on expeditions to the Antarctic and Greenland.<\/p>\n Since summer 2026, Boris Herrmann has been sailing \u201cMalizia 4\u201d, a newly built IMOCA. This is the name of the 60-foot racing class in which the Vend\u00e9e Globe and The Ocean Race are also sailed.<\/p>\nThe essentials at a glance<\/h2>\n
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Boris Herrmann latest: situation on 12 November 2026<\/h2>\n
Who is Boris Herrmann?<\/h2>\n
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What is Team Malizia?<\/h2>\n
Which boat does Boris Herrmann sail?<\/h2>\n