Eight Bells: Charlie Dalin

French offshore champion Charlie Dalin, winner of the 2025 Vendée Globe, died on June 11, 2026. He was 42 years of age and had been battling a gastrointestinal stromal tumor for just over two and a half years.

Dalin, born near Le Havre, France, was a competitive force in the sailing world for nearly 20 years, blending technical expertise with sharp racing skills. A trained naval architect who graduated from the University of Southampton in 2006, Dalin discovered sailing at the age of six and transformed his childhood passion into a professional career that has spanned over two decades.

His skills as both designer and skipper have defined his career and taken him to the top of the offshore racing scene. One of his first professional roles in the sport was on the design and construction team for the VO70 Ericsson 4, which won the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race and set a 24-hour speed record.

Dalin’s ascent as a sailor began to assert itself in the competitive Figaro Beneteau class, where he secured an incredible five consecutive podium finishes in the Solitaire du Figaro.

Transitioning to the IMOCA circuit, Dalin earned back-to-back wins in the Transat Jacques Vabre (2015 with Yann Eliès, 2019 with Paul Meilhat), a runner-up finish in the 2020 Vendée Globe (first across the line, second after redress), and the IMOCA Globe Series World Championship title, among many other victories and podium finishes.

In 2023, Dalin won the transatlantic leg of The Ocean Race with 11th Hour Racing Team, the eventual overall race winner.

He then launched his new IMOCA boat, MACIF Santé Prévoyance, a Guillaume Verdier-design in which he played a pivotal role from conception to construction. Following strong results in qualifying regattas for the 2024 Vendée Globe, Dalin would make history by shattering the previous Vendée Globe race record by an astonishing nine days with a finishing time of 64 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes, and 49 seconds.

In his book, published after his return from the race, Dalin revealed he had competed in the race while already battling his illness – setting alarms on his phone to take his medication and having a special regimen of freeze-dried food to respect his medical condition.

After the win, he was named Sailor of the Year by the French Sailing Federation and winner of the Magnus Olsson Foundation Prize for his extraordinary impact on the sport of sailing. He also was named 2025 Rolex World Sailor of the Year.

In January 2026, Dalin announced that he would be unable to participate in the Route du Rhum. “Solo offshore sailing is currently forbidden to me,” he wrote in a statement, but he intended to accompany his replacement at the helm of the IMOCA Macif, Sam Goodchild, to “continue writing the story of this boat.”

The progression of his illness meant competitive sailing was no longer an option.

He was a fierce competitor, teased by his peers for only revealing that his boats had been damaged once he had fixed them. He adopted the same reserve when it came to his illness, a cancer he discovered at the end of 2023 and which only his family and closest associates were aware.

Tributes:
“I have been running Seahorse now since 1992, and in my opinion Charlie was the greatest ocean racer of all time bar none. I do not believe that the late Sir Peter Blake would object to me writing that.” – Andrew Hurst, Seahorse editor

“A talent, a competitor, a fighter…a husband, a father, and a friend to many. Charlie was thoughtful. He was aspirational, he set the standard in so many ways. He was matter-of-fact, he was pragmatic, he was consistent and he was strong. Too soon, Charlie, too soon. You’ll continue to inspire, don’t you worry.” – Charlie Enright, US Sailing CEO

“‘Inspirational’ and ‘legend’ are words which can be used too easily in sport, but Charlie was both. He showed determination in the face of unbelievable adversity and a commitment to excellence. And he did this while remaining humble, approachable and wonderfully generous with his time.” – David Graham, World Sailing CEO

Source: The Ocean Race