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He was only 42 years old. Yet, on the night of Wednesday, June 10, to Thursday, June 11, in Quimper (Brittany), Charlie Dalin passed away. The sailor was not taken by a fierce wind but by a gastrointestinal stromal tumor, a rare form of cancer. Winner of the 2024–2025 Vendée Globe, Charlie Dalin achieved this feat shortly after learning of his cancer and while undergoing treatment. Throughout his sailing career, he won numerous races. Among these prestigious achievements is a victory that binds him forever to Saint-Barthélemy: the one he secured alongside Gildas Morvan during the 2012 Transat AG2R-La Mondiale—the predecessor to the mixed double-handed Transat Paprec— (on the Cercle Vert). At the time, it had been barely a year since Charlie Dalin had joined the Pôle Finistère Course au Large in Port-la-Forêt, where he was making his debut in the Figaro class.
In the sports daily *L’Equipe*, his friend and teammate Gildas Morvan recalls: “It’s very hard to see him go at his age. At the peak of his game. Because right now, he could have won more races. He could have won races again. He was sharp when it came to weather, strategy—everything. He could have been on an Ultim for the next round-the-world race. He’s practically won the Vendée Globe twice. I saw him arrive in Port-la-Forêt (the Finistère training center)—he was a bit of a slacker; he’d just come knocking on the door. Christian Le Pape (the center’s director) told him to come see me: ‘You’re going to learn a lot from him.’ We trained together. Then I saw that he was meticulous in every way. It was great. We were making huge progress. We trained a lot together in Port-la-Forêt. And then, we were really ready to go at the start. On the Transat, he was super precise with everything related to weather routing, wind data, and GRIBs. At one point, I explained to him that his route wasn’t right because the wind direction and strength were off. I told him, “Charlie, you’re getting lost in your charts right now.” We had a good laugh about it. He was smart enough to admit it. And we ended up winning the Transat.”
In Ouest-France, Armel Le Cléac’h, winner of the 2016–2017 Vendée Globe and the 2010 Transat AG2R with Fabien Delahaye, said: “A sailing legend has left us too soon… Charlie, you were an exceptional sailor and man—exceptional for your intelligence, your hard work, and your unwavering determination! You fought until the very end, as always, with dignity.”
Yoann Richomme, runner-up in the 2014 Transat, says: “Our battles on the water, ever since our first races in the Figaro class, led us to that fierce battle in the last Vendée Globe that thrilled us so much! I loved the years we spent together, the good laughs, and that shared desire to always give our very best out on the water.”
As for Michel Desjoyeaux, who won the first edition of the Transat AG2R in 1992 with Jacques Caraës, he told *Ouest-France*: “I’ll remember him as a great guy, an excellent sailor, a formidable competitor—a guy who was always smiling—and who managed to showcase his incredible talent in spectacular fashion during the last Vendée Globe, despite his illness.”
The organizers of the Transat Paprec also responded to the sailor’s passing in a statement: “This Thursday, we share the grief that weighs heavily on our hearts with the entire offshore racing community and all lovers of the sport. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, loved ones, and all those who knew Charlie Dalin. An outstanding skipper and a lifelong competitor, Charlie was above all a passionate lover of ocean racing and the sea—a role model far beyond the realm of sports. In every race, we all witnessed the tenacity and determination he always displayed—qualities that defined him so well.”
On June 11, Charlie Dalin set sail for the open sea. For good. Too soon, too young.
