New York Vendée: "Macif" skipper Charlie Dalin wins the New York Vendée in impressive form

The 40-year-old left nothing to be desired in the final 100 miles. With half the wind and an average speed of well over 20 knots, he flew towards the finish line before being celebrated - once again - in this magical place.

It must have felt like satisfaction for the likeable man from Le Havre. Not only did he leave the entire Imoca elite in his wake and show that he is once again a force to be reckoned with after his health-related withdrawal from the Transat Jacques Vabre last autumn. He also emphasised that he will be sailing to victory at the Vendée Globe in November.

First on arrival in Les Sables d'Olonne really means first this time

He had already finished first ship home in Les Sables d'Olonne once before, in January 2021, but back then he only managed second place in the final standings. Yannick Bestaven, on the other hand, triumphed thanks to a time credit for his help in the search for the PRB skipper Kevin Escoffier, who was wrecked in the Southern Ocean. A painful end to an otherwise flawless race around the world, which Charlie Dalin had led for half the time - over 37 days.

This time there is no downgrading. The "Macif" skipper is the undisputed king of this transit. Nobody can dispute his success. Not Boris Herrmann, who tried an interesting northern route, not Yoann Richomme, who won the outward leg, not Thomas Ruyant or Jérémie Beyou, who are also among the fabulous five. And certainly not Yannick Bestaven, who had a regatta to forget. He was in 21st position and still had around 950 nautical miles to go when Charlie Dalin crossed the line in the glare of the headlights.

With a sailed time of 10 days 3 hours 44 minutes and 30 seconds, he unexpectedly remained well above the only previous reference time from 2016, when Jérémie Beyou took 9 days and just under 17 hours for the first edition of the New York Vendée, at that time with a first-generation foiler. Charlie logged a total of 3,733.8 nautical miles over ground with a very good average speed of 15.3 knots, considering the difficult weather conditions.

Why Charlie Dalin's victory at the New York Vendée was so clear-cut

With his latest victory, he not only added another title to his impressive string of successes. Rather, he conjured up a masterstroke on the North Atlantic, which has often been so demanding in recent days due to its capricious nature.

Apart from him, only Boris Herrmann and Nicolas Lunven managed to break away from a trough that brought all the other skippers in the leading group to the brink of despair for days from 1 June onwards. Nico, whose bowsprit broke, as it had during the Transat CIC four weeks earlier, was unable to capitalise on his tactical advantage for long. And Boris, following his instinct, decided to head north. As a result, Charlie Dalin was practically alone from 2 June onwards.

It was the tactically safer position because it allowed him to control the majority of the pursuers. He let Boris Herrmann go to the north, knowing full well that he had chosen the longer route and the higher risk. A coolly calculated move by the "Macif" skipper, who is famous, if not legendary, for his ingenious moves and their consistent implementation.

Not just first, but often invincible. The dominance of Charlie Dalin

Together with Paul Meilhat, he put in one of his absolute best races in the 2021 Fastnet Race, in which the pair truly dominated and were even able to keep up with the Swan 125 "Skorpios" for long stretches. The duo were the only ones who managed to pass two tidal gates at the perfect time and with maximum pushing power in one go far below the French coast; they also caught a favourable wind shift in between. An exceptional navigational and sailing achievement.

You could consider it a rare stroke of luck. But that would be to underestimate Charlie Dalin. The Frenchman, who studied design engineering at Southampton and also excels technically, has repeatedly surprised us with results that leave us speechless.

Similar to the New York Vendée, he excelled in the Guyader Bermudes 1000 Race and the Vendée Arctique 2022, where he won with an almost declassifying lead. His solo at the Défi Azimut on the long distance was also legendary, where he outmanoeuvred several Imocas sailed with crew - an almost unbelievable demonstration of his extra class.

Because he had to miss two transats in the autumn, Charlie only secured his qualification for the Vendée Globe on arrival at the outward race in New York. He finished fourth, actually below his value. Technical glitches had prevented him from showing the full potential of his Verdier design. He has now succeeded in doing so.

The boat is a further development of his old "Apivia", which Clarisse Crémer now sails under the new name "l'Occitane" (in the evening P17). "Macif - Santé Prévoyence" is considered a very fast all-rounder. Charlie has one of the smallest work cockpits; it resembles a prison cell, but offers considerable ergonomic advantages because everything is at hand and always in the same place.

There's no doubt about it: boat and New York Vendée winner Dalin will be high on the bookies' lists at the start of the Vendée Globe in November. He doesn't really like that. In an interview with the online magazine Bateaux in February, Charlie dampened expectations for him: "If there's one race where you can't predict the winner, it's the Vendée."

The current status of the New York Vendée in the following ranks can be found here here!