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Almost 28,000 nautical miles it went smoothly, the "Seaexplorer" glided over the oceans.
No whale, no flotsam, but above all no ship endangered Boris Herrmann, who was on course for victory.
But then, on the eve of the finish line at the Vendée Globe, the inexplicable happened: Herrmann collided with the Spanish fishing trawler “Hermanos Busto”.
The 39-year-old's yacht was badly damaged to starboard, and the chance of victory was gone.
Herrmann sailed towards the finish line in Les Sables-d'Olonne at a snail's pace, which is why he only finished fifth in the end.
He swore that all alarm systems were on, including the Automatic Identification System (AIS).
This security system works via VHF waves and has a range of 20 to 30 nautical miles.
It is considered safer than radar because the radio paths are not obstructed by obstacles such as headlands or islands.
Ships identify each other via AIS.
It is mandatory for large ships in international traffic.
Herrmann let it be known that the fault could lie with the crew of the 30 meter long and eight meter wide ship.
“How could the radar not see this ship?
Sometimes the fishermen don't turn on their AIS, ”he said.
The captain of the "Hermanos Busto" is indignant. It is the Basque fisherman Josu Zaldumbide, the 55-year-old Herrmann vehemently contradicts.
He describes the incident in an interview with the "SZ" as follows: His fishermen had just been handling the rigging, port side.
That means that all headlights were switched on, so the fiery red "Hermanos Busto" was clearly visible.
Herrmann's yacht should not have been on the radar
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But that was irrelevant.
Herrmann had taken one of his short sleep intervals, which generally lasted no longer than 30 minutes.
The ship was on autopilot, the systems would have given him the necessary security.
But it was deceptive.
The situation before the accident can now be imagined as follows: Unlike a trawler, the “Hermanos Busto” does not drag a net behind her, but hardly moves from the spot, maybe half a mile in 30 minutes.
Captain Zaldumbide says he and his crew “did not see Herrmann coming.
Our AIS did not report the sailing boat at any time. "
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Zaldumbide said in the interview that he had also read that Herrmann was pursuing the theory that the “Hermanos Busto” had switched off the AIS: “And he shouldn't say that, damn it!
Our AIS was switched on.
At any time.
I guarantee that.
Firstly, we are obliged to do so; secondly, it is easy to check because: It is recorded automatically.
Not to mention the fact that we have a guard on duty around the clock.
I don't know whether he must have an AIS transmitter or whether it was defective or whether he was asleep ... "
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That is beyond dispute, Herrmann had said he woke up and saw the fishing boat “like a big wall in front of me.
I bumped into it several times, but then I was able to continue. ”Zaldumbide said that he saw a“ bearded man ”who was then“ gone immediately.
It all happened very, very quickly. "
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The captain reported that he wanted to contact Herrmann by radio, called the sea watch and sailed after him.
Without success “He was slower, but too fast for us.
I tried to contact him on the emergency frequency.
I didn't know if it had a leak and if it was full of water.
Judging by its speed, really little has happened.
To be honest: it would have been good if he had contacted me.
We were really worried, ”said Zaldumbide.
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But Herrmann was gone so quickly “that I thought: Is that a smuggler?
I spoke to a friend on the phone and he replied: There's this regatta!
Maybe that's a sailor!
My shipowner then looked it up on the internet, and yes, damn it, he found the regatta that was supposed to end in France on Thursday and the position of this third-place finisher matched our position. "
Zaldumbide was asked whether something should be directed towards Herrmann.
Yes, he replied that he had two messages for him: On the one hand, that Herrmann shouldn't say that the "Hermanos Busto" hadn't switched on her AIS, on the other hand that he was really sorry that Herrmann hadn't won, and he hope he will succeed next time.
"He should let him know when he comes by again," said Zaldumbide, "then we'll all go on deck and applaud - but from a distance."
Source: info.BILD.de