The final that give a four-year break to the Vendée Globe

On January 12, a slightly windy but long and very cold final night took place on the coast of Brittany. MACIF Santé Prévoyance’s French captain Charlie Dalin made nautical history by becoming the first racer to cross the Vendée Globe final line in the early hours of the morning.

The non-stop, solo race lasted 64 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes and 49 seconds, with Dalin leading for 42 of those days, breaking Armel Le Cléac’h’s record of 74 days, 3 hours by more than nine days. The forty-year old captain, who grew up in Le Havre, also finished second in 2020-2021, this was also the highest result of his own career.

Because Les Sables d’Olonne, the start and finish point of the Vendée Globe, the world’s most prestigious sailing race, is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by a canal and has a pronounced tidal effect, Dalin, who had not set foot on land for over two months, was unable to go ashore after crossing the finish and had to wait until the afternoon on his boat, with which he now seemed to have integrated.

Even the final hours of the Vendée Globe were full of excitement, with an increasing number of participants in the race virtually as well as those watching live on the YouTube channel. The weather and sea conditions, as well as the characteristics of the Bay of Biscay, made the last miles of the race difficult. The boats that set out early in the morning to meet Dalin in the ocean found the MACIF Santé Prévoyance at dusk when the sea was calm. Thanks to this, all the cameras transmitted breathtaking images of the last few miles of this incredible journey. After a few short turns towards the finish line, the tension was over and the Vendée Globe recorded a decisive victory for the tenth time in its four-year hiatus.

That same afternoon, the sea level rose and the actual celebration took place. Charlie Dalin said of his big win: “Today I am the happiest man in the world, for sure. Winning the Vendée Globe… my second Vendée Globe. Last time I only had line honor but no win. I won this time. I have worked with the team for this edition for four years. I built this new boat. I have prepared this boat, developed it, and now it is finished. When I crossed the finish line, I felt things I’ve never felt before. It was definitely the best finish line crossing of my career. I am really happy, really happy, to be back in Les Sables d’Olonne after 66 days of ultra-fast sailing.”