“French skipper Charlie Dalin was the first competitor to cross the finish line in the gruelling Vendee Globe round-the-world race on Wednesday and then saw one of his chief rivals for overall victory suffer a heartbreaking collision with a fishing boat. Dalin, on board Apivia, completed the epic race in 80 days, six hours, 15 minutes and 47 seconds, arriving at the French port of Les Sables-d’Olonne shortly after 1935GMT. However, Boris Herrmann (SeaExplorer-Yacht Club de Monaco), who was running in third place but with the advantage of a six-hour time bonus, saw his chances potentially shattered. The German skipper was just 90 miles from home when he was involved in a collision with a fishing boat at around 1950GMT.”

“‘He reports damage to his starboard foil and some other damage but he is unharmed and has secured the boat and is proceeding towards the finish line at reduced speed,’ said race organisers. Herrmann, and France’s Yannick Bestaven (Maitre coq IV), who was in fifth, had been awarded time compensations for their roles in the dramatic rescue of stricken rival Kevin Escoffier off Cape Horn earlier in the race. Hermann has a six-hour bonus while Bestaven has a 10hr 15min compensation. Louis Burton (Bureau Vallee 2), and running second, is expected to finish between 2330-0000GMT. Before news of his accident, Herrmann was scheduled to reach the end towards 0100GMT on Thursday. The winner will eventually be known once Bestaven crosses the line between 0230-0430GMT. Despite the drama of the finish, the homecoming will be a subdued affair with Covid-19 regulations restricting crowd numbers to 300. The 28,000-mile race got under way on November 8 with 33 competitors but only 25 were still running on Wednesday. Harsh weather conditions shattered any hopes that the race winning record time of 74 days and three hours set by Armel Le Cleac’h in 2017 would be broken” – Yahoo News.