Vendée Globe | Dalin cruises to record victory

(Les Sables-d’Olonne) End of suspense? A few hours before the arrival of the 10^e Vendée Globe, Charlie Dalin (Macif) kept the upper hand on Monday evening over his first pursuer Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa): only damage could allow the Varois to catch up.

At the 7 p.m. check-in, there were 113 miles (210 km) left to go for the Norman, before raising his arms to the sky to celebrate his sparkling revenge in the solo round-the-world race in which he finished second in 2021.

At the end of Monday afternoon, the navigator still had a lead of 99 miles over his friend, before his last hours of navigation. To reach Sables-d’Olonne, he went around a windless zone to the north and slowly began to descend along Brittany.

“Ahead of the coast, the wind should be quite light […]. The conditions are unstable, we will have to find the right compromise: for the boat to continue to move forward,” the 40-year-old sailor explained in an audio message at midday.

The light weather must favor Dalin because his rival tore a headsail – of great importance for these light conditions – during his journey up the North Atlantic.

According to the Macif team, Charlie Dalin should arrive Tuesday around 5 a.m. On the organizers’ side, it is estimated that he could cross the line between 5:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., followed at the end of the afternoon by Richomme.

If the line is crossed before 1:02 p.m. (start time on November 10), the race will have been completed in 64 days, almost 10 less than the record established by Armel Le Cléac’h in 2016/2017 (74 days, 3 hours, 35 minutes and 46 seconds).

In the lead for more than 80% of the course, Dalin has no intention of letting go so close to a Grail that he has coveted for 4 years, after finishing second by a whisker during the previous edition.

Resurrected like never before, he has almost won all the other races since and launched a new foil boat in June 2023, even more powerful and versatile than the previous one.

“I don’t think too much about the finish”

“For the moment it’s concentration, continuing to rest, eating well… I’m not thinking too much about the finish,” said the sailor.

In Sables-d’Olonne, everything is ready to welcome the first two boats. The racing village has reopened and residents and enthusiasts are preparing to experience a return to the historic channel after the conclusion of 2021, in the void imposed by the COVID-19 epidemic.

At the time, Yannick Bestaven (Maître CoQ), who arrived later than Dalin, had obtained a time bonus for having participated in the rescue operations of Kevin Escoffier. Dalin had finally given in for less than three short hours.

“This second place was a big frustration. For a long time I would wake up at night, redo the race, the maneuvers, the sail choices to understand where I had let this time go,” the skipper told AFP before departure.

In the event of victory, Charlie Dalin will be joined on the boat by four members of his technical team, but also by his wife and his 7-year-old son, for his first physical contacts after two months at sea.

During the night, the Olonna port, where the Vendée Globe village is located and where the winner will moor, will come to life as the hours go by, while only a few onlookers were walking the pontoons at the end of the day on Monday.

Due to the tide, the winner will be able to use the channel after his victory until 6:45 a.m. Otherwise, he will have to wait until 2 p.m. to meet the crowd gathered on the quays.

The party should last a few days, as more people arrive. Sébastien Simon, in 3^e position, is expected between Thursday and Friday to complete the podium.