It was at daybreak, after more than 64 days of effort, that he arrived this Tuesday, January 14 in Les Sables-d’Olonne. Second by nothing in 2021, Frenchman Charlie Dalin (Macif) won the 10th Vendée Globe on Tuesday in Sables-d’Olonne, establishing in the process the new reference time for the solo round-the-world race, in 64 days 19 hours 22 minutes and 49 seconds, announced the organizers.
Dalin left Sables-d’Olonne (west) on November 10 and crossed the line at sunrise at 8:24 a.m. (GMT + 1) under the horns of a large procession of boats. He was the leader for a large majority of the course and should be ahead of Paprec Arkéa skipper Yoann Richomme by a good half-day, with whom he had engaged in a fierce duel since passing Cape Horn.
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Joined by his wife and his seven-year-old son once the line was crossed, the Norman finally obtained the Holy Grail of offshore racing that he had coveted for four years, after losing the title by less than three hours during the edition previous.
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A flawless journey
Struck by emotion and worn out by fatigue, the 40-year-old sailor raised his arms to the sky for several minutes before collapsing for a few seconds on the deck of his sailboat. He completed a faultless race around the world, definitively taking the lead on December 31, before a suspenseful journey up the Atlantic, where Richomme held on until the end. But ultimately, the Varois will not have succeeded in making up for a gap of a hundred miles falling behind his friend of twenty years shortly after the equator.
Along the way, Dalin set several navigation records. On board his latest generation foiling sailboat, ultra-fast and very versatile, he notably completed the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) – Cape Leeuwin (Australia) section in just 9 days and 22 hours. And above all, the sailor established a new record in the event, beating by more than nine days that signed by Armel Le Cléac’h during the 2016-2017 edition in 74 days 3 h 35 min.
