The top German sailor Boris Herrmann is struggling with technical problems after strong days in the transatlantic race Retour à La Base. A flood of water on board his yacht “Malizia – Seaexplorer” posed an additional challenge for the Hamburg native.
After a hard night, he also scooped the lake water out of the boat by hand on St. Nicholas Day. On Wednesday, his team reported to Malizia that he needed to recover from the exertion before he could implement a complex repair idea. Herrmann wants to try to defend his fifth place.
Problems with the engine
The problems for Herrmann began on Tuesday evening. The 42-year-old was already among the top five sailors of the 31 soloists when he had difficulty starting the engine. The engines of racing yachts are not used for propulsion during regattas, but rather to generate energy for the systems on board. While Herrmann was working on the engine and consulting with his shore team, he suddenly noticed water entering the cockpit.
The five-time circumnavigator identified the cause as a torn cover on one of two cockpit drains. It no longer ran off there, but came back into the boat. The double problem: the other drain cover had already been torn off in the early stages of the race.
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With both drains now damaged, there was nowhere for the water to flow without the risk of returning. Herrmann therefore first provided the drains with a ring of special glue – and skimmed off the water flowing in over the deck by hand.
