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Les Sables-d'Olonne (dpa / lno) - circumnavigator Boris Herrmann had to endure a few moments of horror in the Indian Ocean at the Vendée Globe.

A broken mainsail batten and a small crack in the mainsail forced the hamburger to go on a special mission on Saturday night.

Herrmann discovered the break on Friday evening around 11 p.m.

Upon closer inspection, he also found the crack.

Herrmann hastily sawed a spare carbon fiber batten, took down the mainsail and exchanged the battens.

He mended the tear with a special glue and a patch made of canvas.

After the necessary drying process, the 39-year-old was able to pull up the mainsail again and continue his race.

The night shift cost Herrmann a few nautical miles.

But he was able to defend a six-nautical-mile lead over the Franco-German Isabelle Joschke (“MACSF”) and was already faster than the competitor on Saturday afternoon.

Leading French Charlie Dalin (“Apivia”) continues to dominate the fleet ahead of compatriot Thomas Ruyant (“LinkedOut”).

In Fabrice Amedeo from France the sixth participant in the field of the originally 33 boats had to give up the day before due to problems with on-board computer that could not be solved.

This means that the failure rate for this ninth Vendée Globe is 18 percent.

The average of the eight editions so far was 47 percent.

The fastest boats are expected to return from mid-January in the port of departure and arrival at Les Sables-d'Olonne.

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9. Vendée Globe, tracker and intermediate results