Malizia-Seaexplorer to represent Monaco in Vendée Globe
© Yacht Club Monaco
Prince Albert II, President of the Monaco Yacht Club (YCM), Pierre Casiraghi, Vice-President and founder of Team Malizia, and Bernard d’Alessandri, General Secretary, will be at the start to cheer for Boris Herrmann.
The Vendée Globe 2024 will start on 10 November in Les Sables-d’Olonne. 40 sailors will be competing in the 10th edition of this single-handed, non-stop, unassisted circumnavigation of the globe, over some 24,300 nautical miles, including Boris Herrmann from Germany, a member of the Yacht Club de Monaco.
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The winner of the 2018/2020 IMOCA championship, who finished fifth in the last Vendée Globe, will be aboard his IMOCA Malizia – Seaexplorer decked out in Monaco’s colours. With 270 m2 of fore sail and 550 m2 aft, the 60-footer is ready for the competition. “Ours is the boat that has covered the most miles during the preparation period and competed in the most races, which naturally puts us in the position of favourite. But that doesn’t make a difference to me, I don’t feel under pressure,” says Boris Herrmann.
An environmental dimension
With over half of the fleet involved in a scientific collaboration project, Vendée Globe has strong environmental credentials. The Malizia-Seaexplorer will be fitted with the OceanPack device, which allows water samples to be taken to measure salinity, temperature, oxygen and CO2 content. Other skippers will take a weather buoy that will also measure atmospheric pressure, temperature and surface currents. The aim is to enrich scientific databases in little-travelled areas of the Southern Ocean.
Commenting on the sailing race, Prince Albert II said: “In the wake of Prince Albert I, we are perpetuating the unique relationship between Monaco and the ocean. Through exceptional adventures like the one Boris Herrmann is about to embark on with daring and courage, we are also sharing my Foundation’s message on ocean preservation, stressing the importance of protecting this universal heritage.”
Follow the nautical adventure live
As part of the “Monaco Capital of Advanced Yachting” project, which aims to promote innovation in the yachting industry and encourage young people to take up yachting as a career, an event will be organised every Wednesday from 6 November to follow and encourage Boris Herrmann live. He will need to round the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn during the southern hemisphere summer before heading back up the Atlantic to France.