Sailor Boris Herrmann has to give up his participation in the second stage of the Ocean Race after a mishap.
As his team “Malizia” announced, the 41-year-old from Hamburg suffered a severe burn on his foot from boiling water shortly before the end of the first section and had to be treated in the hospital.
"I am very sad that I cannot sail this stage with my team, especially after the success of stage one," said Herrmann, who will be taking a break at sea on medical advice due to the high risk of infection: "I am more motivated than ever, but I don't want to jeopardize my participation in stage three and I also don't want to risk our performance in stage two being impaired." According to "Malizia", Herrmann is "under medical treatment and is recovering well".
Frenchman Yann Elies will replace him on the second stage, while Briton Will Harris will take over the role of Herrmann's skipper.
How Herrmann wants to use the time
Herrmann will now “travel directly to South Africa to be with my wife and daughter to recover and be ready for the challenge of Stage 3 in the Southern Ocean.”
He continued: “I will use the time on shore to work closely with our performance group, analyzing the boat data and preparing the debriefing for the sailors' arrival in Cape Town.
I look forward to welcoming the team to South Africa in a strong position.”
The "Malizia-Seaexplorer" had completed the first stage over 1900 nautical miles (3519 kilometers) from Alicante to Mindelo on Cape Verde in five days, 16 hours, 35 minutes and 21 seconds and thus took third place.
All in all, the five crews that have started have to cover 60,000 kilometers around the world over a period of six months.
The second of seven legs of the 14th Mindelo to Cape Town Ocean Race begins on Wednesday.