Offshore hero who became an inspiration for many patients, sailor Charlie Dalin, winner of the 2024/2025 Vendée Globe, died in Quimper on the night of Wednesday to Thursday, at the age of 42 following cancer, his family announced Thursday June 11.
“It is with deep sadness that our family and I announce the death of my husband Charlie Dalin, following a long illness,” wrote his wife Perrine Le Pape in a text. “Tributes will be paid to him in the days to come,” she adds, inviting people to “respect the privacy” of those around the navigator who had been battling a gastrointestinal tumor (GIST) for a little over two and a half years.
Without initially publicizing it, he took the illness aboard his Imoca, with doctors’ authorization and appropriate treatment, during his last major race: the Vendée Globe 2024/2025, a solo round-the-world trip, non-stop and without assistance.
Then he made his cancer public last October, in a book aimed at helping patients, eight months after his victorious arrival in front of a magnificent rising sun in Les Sables-d’Olonne, becoming the record holder for the event (64 days 19 hours 22 minutes).
Since then, he had put his sailing career on hold to spend time with his wife and young son, while participating in the design of the future sailboat for the Macif team, the team with which he scored most of his many victories.
“I miss it”
Dalin, born in Le Havre (Seine-Maritime) but living for years in Concarneau (Finistère) where he became a professional sailor in 2011, dreamed of one day sailing again, a sport discovered by chance as a teenager during a vacation in Crozon (Finistère).
“I miss the races, the starts, this euphoria, this excitement,” he said in mid-December at the Casino de Paris, receiving the title of “Sailor of the Year” with a unanimous vote of the jury, a first in the history of the trophy.
His two resounding exploits in the Vendée Globe – in 2021/2022, Dalin had already been the first to cross the finish line, before being reclassified 2nd thanks to a time bonus granted to his competitor Yannick Bestaven – made him known to the general public, well beyond the French borders.
The prestigious American daily The Washington Post dedicated its front page to him a few months ago, accompanied by a title worthy of his inspiring journey: “Embarking on the race of your life”.
Many victories
On the water, Charlie Dalin’s prowess was not limited to the “Everest of the seas”. In just over fifteen years of career, he has achieved numerous successes such as the Fastnet Race (2021, 2023), the Transat Jacques Vabre (2019), the Transat AG2R (2012) and many other leading races. Double French offshore racing champion (2014, 2016), he also finished on the podium in five Solitaires du Figaro, a formative stage race that he particularly appreciated.
A modest and discreet sailor in private, an educator and willingly talkative about his passion, he had built a reputation on the pontoons as a rigorous, pugnacious and resilient technician. Ill, he chose to continue believing in his dreams: “It doesn’t matter whether it’s a Vendée Globe or tours of the service on foot (at the hospital), the important thing is to have a goal to move forward. »
