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Boris Herrmann had overcome the shock of the collision with the fishing boat after a few hours.

But the solo circumnavigator was aware on Thursday morning that the chances of a podium or even victory at the Vendée Globe were gone.

"That was the worst nightmare," said the man from Hamburg about the collision with the trawler on Wednesday evening.

Instead of creating something historical at his Vendée Globe premiere and being the first to break into the victory phalanx of the French at the ninth edition of the race, the 39-year-old only sailed on Thursday morning with his yacht "Seaexplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco" for fourth place.

“I fought like a lion the days before.

Maybe I'll never get that close to a podium again? ”He said.

At reduced speed due to the damage to his boat, Herrmann came closer to the destination in Les Sables-d'Olonne.

The morning was calculated as the arrival time.

"It's pretty heartbreaking, but we'll make it," said Herrmann.

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When he was still on the water, the Frenchman Yannick Bestaven was declared the winner.

The 48-year-old skipper of the “Maître Coq IV” reached the destination 7:43 hours after his compatriot Charlie Dalin (“Apivia”).

But a time credit of 10:15 hours on the total sailing time was enough for him to succeed.

Dalin had crossed the finish line on Wednesday evening.

The 36-year-old finished the race over 28,267.88 nautical miles in 80 days, 6 hours, 15 minutes and 47 seconds.

Louis Burton (“Bureau Vallee 2”) came in second.

"There were real moments of shock"

Herrmann's ominous encounter with the fishing boat happened about 90 nautical miles from the French coastal town.

"I looked up at a huge wall," Herrmann described the anxious moments later.

Among other things, a foresail got caught in the trawler's cranes and one of its foils (wings) broke.

To do this, he heard his boom hammer several times into the side of the other boat.

"It was a real shock," he said.

Fortunately for him, the racing yacht pushed past the other boat, the mast stopped.

Herrmann and the crew of the trawler were not injured in the accident.

At the time of the incident, he was third and also had a chance of victory thanks to a time credit of six hours.

Herrmann and Bestaven had received the credits from the race committee for their participation in the rescue mission for the shipwrecked Kevin Escoffier on the night of November 30th to December 1st.

At first he did not know why Herrmann's well-functioning alarm systems failed until Wednesday evening and did not wake him up in time.

After the first quick repairs, he said, with some composure, that he was sailing towards his destination more slowly.

His wife Birte Lorenzen-Herrmann, their seven-month-old daughter Malou and family dog ​​Lilli were already waiting there.