The bay off Concarneau, the Breton port town in the Finistère department, and the neighbouring commune of La Forêt-Fouesnant became the setting for Charlie Dalin’s farewell on Tuesday evening. At his request, the organisers had organised the memorial service as an open maritime gathering.
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On the water, numerous figures from throughout his career came together: young dinghy sailors, the Figaro and IMOCA classes, the professional offshore sailing community and people from the local area. Numerous volunteers, local organisations and communities supported and organised the memorial service.
One minute of noise instead of a minute’s silence
Dalin’s “MACIF Santé Prévoyance” sailed up the Chenal, the channel leading to the harbour, and took up a central position off Quai Nul. This was followed by the ‘Minute de Bruit’ – a deliberately loud response to the minute’s silence: foghorns, sirens and applause filled the harbour. Thousands of people had gathered for the memorial service.
Coloured smoke flares and water jets from the ‘Abeille Bretagne’, a French deep-sea tug, marked the occasion. The event concluded with flypasts by a French air squadron, which traced the colours of the tricolour across the sky, and a daytime fireworks display from Quai Nul. Earlier, Perrine Le Pape-Dalin, Jean-Luc Denéchau, President of the French Sailing Federation, and Catherine Chabaud had addressed the gathering.
The victory that remained elusive for four years
Charlie Dalin, born on 10 May 1984 in Harfleur and raised in Le Havre, first came into contact with the sea at the age of eight: during a sailing holiday course on the Crozon Peninsula. Although he was the first to cross the finish line in the 2020/21 Vendée Globe, he did not claim victory. Yannick Bestaven was awarded time bonuses for his role in the rescue of Kevin Escoffier and was subsequently declared the winner.
At the 2024/25 Vendée Globe, Dalin left no room for doubt. On 14 January 2025, he crossed the finish line in Les Sables-d’Olonne: after 64 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes and 49 seconds. Armel Le Cléac’h’s previous record was beaten by more than nine days. Dalin was not only the skipper but also a co-designer of his IMOCA. He had studied yacht design and helped design the “MACIF Santé Prévoyance” from the ground up.
The dispute remained private for a long time
Dalin had been diagnosed with cancer in autumn 2023. He did not speak publicly about it during the Vendée Globe. It was not until October 2025 that he went public with his illness and described it, together with the journalist Didier Ravon, in the book *La Force du destin*. On 10 June 2026, Dalin died at the age of 42. His family announced his death the following day.
His ‘MACIF Santé Prévoyance’ project will be continued under Sam Goodchild. The Briton had already set sail in the boat during the Vendée Arctique in June. Dalin’s work as a skipper, designer and relentless innovator remains a benchmark for the next generation of the IMOCA class.
Fabian Boerger
Editor News & Panorama
