In 2001 Boris was the youngest and only German to participate in the Mini Transat race, a singlehanded yacht race across the Atlantic where he finished in eleventh place. In 2006 Herrmann finished second in the European Championship as well as in the German Championship in the 505 class.
In 2008 Herrmann sailed his Class 40 yacht "Beluga Racer" into second place in the Artemis Transat, the oldest transatlantic race for yachts sailed singlehanded. Boris went on to win the Portimão Global Ocean Race, a five-leg round the world race on Class 40 boats. He and his co-skipper Felix Oehme won three of the five legs of the race.
In 2010, he raced in the Barcelona World Race with co-skipper Ryan Breymaier and finished in 5th place. During 2016 Boris crewed on the GC32 Malizia as part of Pierre Casiraghi's team for the GC32 Racing Tour.
The Malizia IMOCA project was founded in 2017 by Pierre Casiraghi and Boris Herrmann with the support of the Yacht Club de Monaco in order to realise a dream of sailing in the Vendee Globe and have Monaco's commitment to the sport realised through this ambition. In August 2017, with the support of The Yacht Club de Monaco, Malizia II was founded and Boris and Pierre sailed her in the Rolex Fastnet Race and bagged the third spot on the podium. In 2018 they competed in the Monaco Globe Series and then Boris went on to compete singlehanded in the Route du Rhum 2018 securing 5th place.
In 2020 Kuehne + Nagel joined the team as a joint title partner and Malizia was renamed as Seaexplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco with major updates to the boat to create a competitive edge.
On November 8, 2020, Boris Herrmann will start the Vendée Globe. Throughout the race, the skipper will have shown his seamanship and his ability to make his boat move quickly without damaging it. His story, so beautiful, however, took a somewhat dramatic turn when, a few hours from the finish, he collided with a fishing boat. He managed to reach Les Sables d'Olonne, with a damaged boat, and thus finished his race in 80 days!
2023: The Ocean Race
Leg 1 - 3rd
Leg 3 - 1st
2022: Route du Rhum - 24th
Défi Azimut (crew) - 3rd
2020-21 : Vendée Globe - 5th (80d 14h 59m 45s - 6h of bonification)
2020 : Défi Azimut - 7th
Vendée-Arctique-Les Sables d'Olonne - 7th
2019 : Rolex Fastnet Race - 7th
Bermudes 1000 Race - 6th
2018 : Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe - 5th
Monaco Globe Series - 7th
2017 : Transat Jacques Vabre - 4th
Rolex Fastnet Race - 3rd
2010 : Barcelona World Race - 5th with Ryan Breymaier
2009 : Portimao Global Ocean Race - Winner (Class 40')
Rolex Fastnet Race - 3rd (Class 40')
2008 : The Artemis Transat - 2nd (Class 40')
Transat Quebec - Saint Malo - 7th
2007 : Mondial 505 - 9th
2006 : Mondial 505 - 7th
EuroCup 505 - 2nd
2005 : EuroCup 505 - Winner
2001 : Transgascogne (Mini 6.50) - 4th
Mini Fastnet - 10th
Mini Transat - 11th