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Les Sables-d'Olonne / France (dpa) - Shortly before the end of the Vendée Globe, solo circumnavigator Boris Herrmann may have missed victory due to a collision with a fishing boat.
According to his team, the incident happened on Wednesday evening about 90 nautical miles from the destination Les Sables-d'Olonne.
According to his own statement, the 39-year-old man from Hamburg was uninjured and his yacht “Seaexplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco” was damaged.
Herrmann continued sailing at a reduced speed.
At the time of the accident, he was in third place.
Due to a time credit of six hours, he was considered a contender up until then.
Before the incident, he was expected in the French coastal town after midnight.
When he would arrive was not yet predictable on Wednesday evening.
The French “Apivia” skipper Charlie Dalin was the first to cross the finish line.
The 36-year-old professional sailor and yacht designer finished his solo circumnavigation of the world over 28,267.88 nautical miles in 80 days, 6 hours, 15 minutes and 47 seconds.
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Because of the time credit of Herrmann and the fifth-placed Frenchman Yannick Bestaven with the “Maître Coq IV”, he could not yet feel like the winner.
Bestaven even deducted 10:15 hours from his total sailing time after reaching the finish line, which was estimated to be early Thursday morning.
The reason for the bonus from the race committee was the participation of Herrmann and Bestaven in the rescue mission for the shipwrecked Kevin Escoffier on the night of November 30th to December 1st.
"These are probably the most exciting hours of my life," Herrmann said on the day of the final, with a view to his chances of winning, before the accident happened.
He is the first German sailor to take part in what is arguably the toughest sailing regatta.
His wife Birte Lorenzen-Herrmann, their seven-month-old daughter Malou and family dog Lilly have traveled to France to greet him.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210127-99-198240 / 3
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9. Vendée Globe, tracking, standings and results
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