Charlie Dalin
 Dalin in 2023 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Charlie Claude Antoine Dalin |
| Nationality | French |
| Born | 10 May 1984 Harfleur, France |
| Died | 10 June 2026 (aged 42) Quimper, France |
| Sailing career | |
| Sport | Sailing |
| Class | IMOCA 60 |
Charlie Dalin (10 May 1984 – 10 June 2026) was a French offshore sailor. He won the 2024–2025 Vendée Globe which is the pinnacle race held every four years for sailing non-stop around the world. He completed the race with a time of 64 days 19 hours 22 minutes and 49 smashing the previous record by 9 days 8 hours 12 minutes and 57 seconds which also set the monohull around the world sailing record. He completed this race while battling gastrointestinal cancer, taking immunotherapy pills during the race.
Early life
Dalin started sailing dinghies at a young age in the Optimist and 420. After school he moved to England to study for a Naval Architecture degree from the University of Southampton.
Professional career
Dalin started yacht racing, competing on both sides of the Channel, racing the Farr 30 in the Tour de France à la voile, and on the Farr 52s Chernikeeff 2 and Bear of Britain at events such as Cowes Week, the Commodores' Cup and Round the Island Race on the.
In the 2020–2021 Vendée Globe he was the first to finish with a time of 80 days 6 hours 15 minutes and 47 seconds but was classified second due to redress.
Dalin was also IMOCA world champion in 2021 and 2022. In 2023 he launched his new sailing yacht MACIF, an IMOCA 60 monohull.
Distinctions
In 2025 he received a World Sailing World Sailor of the Year Award with fellow Vendee Globe competitor Justine Mettraux winning the female category. Also in 2025, he was awarded Knight of the Legion of Honour in France.
Sailing highlights
| Pos | Year | Race | Class | Boat name | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round the world races | ||||||
| 1 | 2024–25 | 2024–2025 Vendée Globe | IMOCA 60 | Macif (2023) | 64d 16h 22m 49s | |
| 2 | 2020–21 | 2020–2021 Vendée Globe | IMOCA 60 | Apivia (2019) | 80d 06h 15m 47s | |
| Transatlantic Race | ||||||
| 2 | 2022 | Route du Rhum | IMOCA 60 | Apivia (2019) | 11d 19h 38m 11s | |
| 2 | 2021 | Transat Jacques Vabre | IMOCA 60 | Apivia (2019) | with Paul Meilhat | |
| 1 | 2019 | Transat Jacques Vabre | IMOCA 60 | Apivia (2019) | with Yann Elies | |
| DNF | 2016 | Transat AG2R | Figaro 2 | MACIF 2015 | with Yoann Richomme | |
| 3 / 20 | 2015 | Transat Jacques Vabre | IMOCA 60 | Quéguiner – Leucémie Espoir, FRA 029 | 17d 10h 01m with Yann Elies | |
| RET | 2014 | Transat AG2R | Figaro 2 | CERCLE VERT | with Gildas Morvan | |
| 1 | 2012 | Transat AG2R | Figaro 2 | Green Circle | with Gildas Morvan | |
| 2 | 2009 | Mini Transat Race | Mini Transat Pogo 2 | |||
| Other Results | ||||||
| 1 | 2022 | Vendée Arctique | IMOCA 60 | Apivia (2019) | Vendee Qualifier | |
| 1 | 2021 | Defi Azimut | ||||
| 1 | 2021 | Syz Translemanique en Solitaire | ||||
| 8 | 2020 | Défi Azimut | ||||
| 2 | 2020 | Vendée-Arctique-Les Sables d'Olonne | ||||
| 3 | 2018 | La Solitaire Urgo Le Figaro | ||||
| 6 | 2018 | La Solo maitre Coq | ||||
| 1 | 2017 | Douarnenez Fastnet Solo | ||||
| 1 | 2016 | Douarnenez Horta Solo | ||||
| 3 | 2017 | La Solitaire Urgo Le Figaro | Figaro 2 | SKIPPER MACIF 2015 | ||
| 2 | 2016 | La Solitaire du Figaro | Figaro 2 | MACIF 2015 | ||
| 2 | 2015 | Solo Basse Normandie | ||||
| 2 / 9 | 2015 | Rolex Fastnet Race | IMOCA 60 | Quéguiner – Leucémie Espoir, FRA 029 | 03d 01h 28m with Yann Elies | |
| 2 | 2015 | La Solitaire du Figaro | Figaro 2 | |||
| 3 | 2014 | La Solitaire du Figaro | Figaro 2 | |||
| 1 | 2014 | Championnat de France de Course au Large | ||||
| 3 | 2014 | Le Havre All Mer Cup | ||||
| 2 | 2014 | Lorient - Horta Solo | ||||
| 1 | 2013 | Rolex Fastnet Race | Figaro | |||
| 2013 | Tour de France à la Voile | M34 | ||||
| 1 | 2013 | Record SNSM | ||||
| 3 | 2012 | Med-Race | M34 | |||
| 2011 | Solo Basse Normandie | Figaro | ||||
| 2010 | Record SNSM | |||||
| 2 | 2008 | Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race | Sydney 38 | The Goat | Crew | |
| 2008 | Les Sables - Les Açores - Les Sables | Mini Transat Pogo 2 | ||||
| 1 | 2004 | Round The Island Race | Farr 52 | Crew | ||
| 1 | 2004 | RORC Commodore's Cup | Farr 52 | Crew | ||
Death
Dalin died in Quimper, France, at the age of 42, during the night of 10-11 June 2026. He had been battling gastrointestinal cancer for two and a half years. He wrote about his illness in his biography, La Force du destin, published by Gallimard in October 2025, making clear his determination not to let the cancer diagnosis get in the way of his life.
Publications
- Book: La force du destin (The force of destiny)
Media appearances
- Sailing Home (2004) as himself
Notes
- ↑ French pronunciation: [ʃaʁli dalɛ̃]
References
- 1 2 Risen, Clay (12 June 2026). "Charlie Dalin, Who Set a Sailing Record While Battling Cancer, Dies at 42". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
- 1 2 "Charlie DALIN".
- ↑ Sieff, Kevin (10 January 2025). "He was diagnosed with cancer, then won a 24,000-mile sailing race". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
- ↑ "Charlie Dalin Vendee Globe Success". Southampton University southampton.ac.uk. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
- ↑ "Charlie Dalin, record-breaking Vendée Globe winning sailor, has died aged 42". Yachting World. 11 June 2026.
- ↑ Luce, Amandine (26 June 2023). "Elodie Bonafous getting seriously into the Imoca class". Tip & Shaft. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
- ↑ "Justine Mettraux and Charlie Dalin rewarded at the 2025 World Sailing Awards". 5 November 2025.
- ↑ "Offshore sailing loses a giant with the passing of Charlie Dalin". The Ocean Race. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
- ↑ "Détail résultat". Vendée Globe. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
- ↑ "Détail résultat". Fédération Francaise de Voile (in French). Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- ↑ "Runner up Dalin rues his third second place in IMOCA major races". 21 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "FFV Sailors Database".
- ↑ "Map and rankings - Transat Jacques Vabre - Site Officiel". www.transatjacquesvabre.org.
- ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Transat 6.50. 2009 - Charlie Dalin. Mini transat. YouTube.
- ↑ "A first first for Dalin, night finishes | Site officiel de la Vendée Arctique-Les Sables d'Olonne 2022".
- ↑ "A26 Safran, FRA 25". histoiredeshalfs.com (in French). Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- 1 2 "Sailing CV". Archived from the original on 18 August 2009.
- 1 2 Demorand, Stéphane (18 June 2026), "Charlie Dalin, vainqueur du Vendée Globe, est mort des suites d'un cancer à 42 ans" [Charlie Dalin, winner of the Vendée Globe, has died from cancer at the age of 42.], Le Point (in French), Paris, p. 28, retrieved 23 June 2026
- ↑ "Vainqueur du dernier Vendée Globe, Charlie Dalin est mort à 42 ans" [Charlie Dalin, winner of the last Vendée Globe, has died at the age of 42] (in French). L'Équipe. 11 June 2026. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
- ↑ "Vendee Globe winner Dalin dies aged 42". BBC. 11 June 2026.
- ↑ Dalin, Charlie (October 2025). La force du destin [The force of destiny]. Paris: Gallimard. ISBN 978-2-7424-6879-9. OCLC 1545741310.
- ↑ "Sailing Home". IMDB. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
External links
- Charlie Dalin at World Sailing
- Charlie Dalin at the Fédération Française de Voile (in French)
- Charlie Dalin at IMDb
