Charlie Dalin has just crossed the finish line. He won the Vendée Globe in record time.
French sailor Charlie Dalin (Macif) won the tenth edition of the Vendée Globe by crossing the finish line in Les Sables-d’Olonne (Vendée) on Tuesday January 14, 2025 in the morning after 64 days, 19 hours and 22 minutes of racing in solo around the world, non-stop and without assistance.
He smashes the record
Arriving at sunrise, the skipper of Macif Santé Prévoyance shattered the course record, with a theoretical distance of 45,000 kilometers, held since the 2016-2017 edition by Armel Le Cléac’h (74 days, 3 hours, 35 minutes and 46 seconds).
Charlie Dalin had already had the honor of crossing the line first during the previous edition, in 2021, but was content with second place in the final behind Yannick Bestaven, who had benefited from time compensation for having diverted in order to help another competitor.
-He led the fleet
Born in Le Havre, the 40-year-old sailor repeated that “history with the Vendée Globe [n’était] not finished”dwelling on the two hours and thirty-one minutes behind the winner in 2021. On a new Imoca, launched in June 2023, Charlie Dalin led the fleet for a large part of the race, taking the orders off the coast of Brazil in the descent of the Atlantic then dominating the ranking again for more than two weeks in the South Seas.
Equally risqué
He particularly impressed with his daring bet to anticipate a violent depression in the Indian Ocean at the beginning of December. Having moved into second position at Cape Horn, nine minutes behind Yoann Richomme, the skipper based in Concarneau (Finistère) has regained the lead since December 30, in the ascent of the Atlantic, benefiting in part from the loss, on Friday, of a headsail from his runner-up Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa).
For his part, Charlie Dalin had to repair a sail for 36 hours, in mid-December, near New Zealand before climbing the mast on January 2, for a small technical repair. Since the cruel outcome of the Vendée Globe 2020-2021, the winner of the Transat Jacques-Vabre 2019 had taken second place in this same transat in 2021 and in the Route du Rhum in 2022. He was forced to retire after the departure from the Jacques-Vabre 2023 due to health concerns. Le Havre presented himself on the starting line of the Vendée Globe on November 10, having won the last two preparatory races: the Défi Azimut and the New York Vendée.
