Thursday’s announcement of the passing of Charlie Dalin, aged 42, following a rare gastrointestinal cancer, prompted an outpouring of sadness and tributes to the winner of the latest Vendée Globe. To retrace his career and character, Sailorz gathered testimonies from sailors who raced alongside and against him, including Yoann Richomme, Paul Meilhat, Yann Eliès, Finistère Offshore Racing Centre director Jeanne Grégoire, and naval architect Guillaume Verdier, who designed both of his Imocas.
Asked about their first memories of Charlie Dalin, all those we spoke to shared anecdotes that reveal much about the character of a man who developed a genuine passion for competition from an early age. “I remember him from our time studying in Southampton (naval architecture). I watched this Frenchman who mixed with the English more than anyone else and already had a strong appetite for top-level racing, to the point that we invited him to sail a few legs of the Tour de France à la Voile with us,” recalls Yoann Richomme.
That passion was matched by a genuine curiosity for racing yachts, leading the Le Havre native, after England, to undertake a series of internships with naval architecture firms and boatyards abroad, notably in Spain, where he first crossed paths with a certain Guillaume Verdier. “At the time, I was designing Hydraplaneur (for Yves Parlier). Part of the boat was being built in Barcelona at a yard where Charlie was either an intern or in his first job. Since we had mutual acquaintances, we chatted for about fifteen minutes and got on brilliantly straight away because we spoke the same language.”
Their paths would temporarily diverge as Charlie Dalin fully committed to offshore racing, first in the Mini Class, where results came quickly: runner-up in Les Sables–Azores–Les Sables in 2008 and second in the production category of the Mini Transat the following year, before making his Figaro debut in 2011. “He arrived on the circuit just after me,” recalls Paul Meilhat. “Those were his Keopsys years” (named after his sponsor at the time). “Like many sailors, he started from the bottom, on projects with no money where you had to make things happen yourself. It’s important to remember those days because people only picture him on major programmes like Macif, but no, he too had to work his way up, fight and struggle in Figaro.”
“Always Giving 200%”
Then still a skipper, Jeanne Grégoire, who later became coach and director of the Finistère Offshore Racing Centre in Port-la-Forêt, where the Norman sailor honed his skills in Figaro, recalls a shared participation in the 2011 Tour de Bretagne: “The image I keep is of him bearing away at the leeward mark before I’d even finished taking down the spinnaker. I thought I was going overboard with it; I was already not quick enough for him!“
She continues: “Once he joined the centre, it quickly became clear that there was not only talent, but above all an incredible work ethic. He was the ideal training partner, always on time for the start line and always giving 200%. There were no days when he was less committed, as happens to all of us from time to time. Very few people reach that level of constant dedication. We knew that sooner or later, the results would come.”
And they did, starting in 2014, when Charlie Dalin began a run of five consecutive podium finishes in La Solitaire du Figaro (three third places and two second places), a feat previously achieved only by Jean Le Cam (1992–1996). “You felt that the Figaro was made for him and for the way he sailed,” says Paul Meilhat, who preceded the Le Havre sailor in the Skipper Macif programme, later joined by Yoann Richomme. “He was incredibly precise and meticulous, constantly studying what others were doing and always questioning his own decisions.”
What ultimately prevented him from claiming the Holy Grail in Figaro? “Perhaps because, in his determination not to overlook any detail, he took very few risks on the water,” replies Meilhat. “On the other hand, in terms of personal commitment, he took plenty. He was always all-in, which allowed him to be the best over a five-year period. He may never have won La Solitaire, but he was French champion several times” [in 2014 and 2016].
“An Obsessive Side”
Like Paul Meilhat, Yoann Richomme battled against Charlie Dalin throughout the 2010s on the Figaro circuit. “In the end, we followed fairly similar paths and shared similar approaches, although our personalities were quite different, which meant we both learned from one another. He pushed me to improve, because he was extremely serious, hardworking, focused and precise, whereas I could sometimes be a bit more relaxed. We knew that whenever we met on the racecourse, the competition would be intense.”
The two men would later meet again in the Imoca class, where Charlie Dalin made his debut in 2015, co-skippering with Yann Eliès in the Transat Jacques Vabre (3rd place). “Our partnership at sea worked very well,” says Eliès. “During our two Transat Jacques Vabre campaigns” (the second in 2019, which they won aboard Apivia), “there were one or two moments when we looked at each other and felt that together we were strong, almost unbeatable. He was very analytical and needed the reassurance of numbers and software, whereas I was almost the opposite, relying heavily on instinct. I think after the 2020–2021 Vendée Globe, he worked on that aspect, allowing emotions and intuition to play a bigger role in his thinking. Before the start of the latest Vendée Globe, he seemed more approachable and more willing to share.”
That did not stop him from having “a slightly obsessive side”, according to Guillaume Verdier, who recalls it with a smile: “I remember times when he would call me while I was driving to an evening event in Auckland. It was morning for him, and I would have to pull over to listen to him talk about the rudders we were designing. You wanted to say: « Charlie, shall we discuss it next time? » But he was persistent; he never let go until he understood. In the end, we used to tease each other about it.”
The 2024 Vendée Globe,
“The Defining Achievement of His Career”
Charlie Dalin himself acknowledged that obsessive streak after finishing his victorious Vendée Globe in January 2025, admitting that he had been consumed for four years by his pursuit of victory following his second-place finish in 2021 behind Yannick Bestaven, despite crossing the line first — Bestaven having benefited from time compensation for assisting in the search for Kevin Escoffier. “In the end, he managed to win in Imoca because he succeeded in putting every piece of the puzzle in place, exactly as he wanted,” observes Paul Meilhat, while Yoann Richomme adds: “For me, his joy in Les Sables-d’Olonne will remain the most powerful image of Charlie, a magical moment and the crowning achievement of his career. When we later learned that he had done it while battling cancer, our admiration only grew.”
For Yann Eliès, “he was on a mission. He may not necessarily have thought it would be his last attempt, but he knew this was one he could not afford to miss. His illness undoubtedly gave him an extra source of strength.” The day before his arrival, Jeanne Grégoire and the Finistère team sailed out to meet him off the Glénan Islands, a moment forever etched in her memory. With emotion in her voice, she recalls another, more recent image: “It was this spring. He had gone back out on his boat (Macif Santé Prévoyance) with Sam (Goodchild, who succeeded him at the helm of the Imoca) and Charlotte (Yven). We were training with the Figaros and went over to say hello… He looked happy.”
“An Exceptionally Precise Sailor, A Style of His Own”
What do our witnesses remember most about the discreet personality of the Vendée Globe winner? “I was fortunate enough to develop an almost intimate relationship with him,” replies Yann Eliès. “Charlie was an extremely private person, not someone who easily shared his feelings, but once you got past the surface, he was wonderful company. He was often torn between his passion, his obsession with doing things properly in his professional life, and his desire to spend enough time with his family. Finding the right balance was never easy.”
For Guillaume Verdier, “Charlie was a very affectionate person. I remember during his first Vendée Globe, when I was in Auckland with Team New Zealand, he called me while passing south of New Zealand simply to say that he was thinking of me.”
What legacy will Charlie Dalin leave behind, having been named both French and International Sailor of the Year in 2025? “That of a great sailor who consistently delivered results year after year,” says Yoann Richomme. “To remain at the very top for as long as he did is exceptionally rare. For that reason alone, he left a profound mark on my generation and on offshore racing as a whole.” Paul Meilhat agrees: “People will probably remember his battle against illness, but I will remember one of the finest sailors we have ever had. Right now, I am working with Élodie Bonafous. When I stepped aboard her boat, the sistership of Macif, I immediately recognised all the ideas Charlie had imagined and understood why everything had been positioned where it was. That’s what Charlie will leave behind: an exceptionally precise sailor, a style of his own.”
Finally, Yann Eliès concludes: “It may not carry the symbolic weight of Eric Tabarly’s Pen Duick yachts, but his two Imocas are the product of his imagination and hard work. And what better symbol, at the moment he leaves us, than to see his boat leading the Vendée Arctique.”
Photo : Olivier Blanchet / Alea
