Honoring Charlie Dalin, celebrating Tasars, OK Dinghies, Musto Skiff champions, 2026 Bermuda Race
by David Schmidt 16 Jun 19:00 BST
June 16, 2026
Charlie Dalin (FRA) is photographed celebrating with flares after winning the Vendée Globe, on January 14, in Les Sables d'Olonne, France © Jean-Louis Carli / Alea #VG2024
I'm not sure how much—if anything—French President Emmanuel Macron knows about offshore sailing, but he got it right with a post on X (née Twitter) last Thursday when he wrote of the late, great Charlie Dalin: "France salutes an immense sailor, a rare courage, a beacon of light on the open sea." I've spent the last few days with these words in my head, and while I never had the chance to meet or interview Dalin, who passed away last Thursday at the age of 42, his sailing career is the stuff of absolute legend.
Even more impressive, however, was his grit, determination, and competitive spirit, all of which were on full display during the 2024-2025 Vendée Globe Race. He won the race, and only afterward did he reveal, when his book, The Force of Destiny, was published last fall, that he contested the circumnavigation race while fighting gastrointestinal cancer.
For anyone who might be approaching his story fresh today, Dalin, who was born in Harfleur, France, built his name and reputation in the Classe Mini before matriculating to the Figaro class, where he won the 2012 Transat AG2R. He stepped up again to the IMOCA class, where he took third place in the 2015 Transat Jacques Vabre before winning the 2019 TJV (he also picked up second-place finishes in the 2021 TJV and the 2022 Route du Rhum).
Dalin made his around-the-word debut in the 2020-2021 Vendée Globe and, impressively, was the first skipper to cross the finishing line with a time of 80 days, 6 hours, 15 minutes and 47 seconds, however race officials granted redress to skipper Yannick Bestaven, who diverted from his routing to assist in the rescue of skipper Kevin Escoffier, whose boat broke (literally) in half in the Southern Ocean.
The 10 hours and 15 minutes of redress time that was awarded to Bestaven meant that Dalin had to settle for bridesmaid honors, at least for another four years.
Dalin returned to the 2024-2025 Vendée Globe determined to win, despite being diagnosed in 2023 with gastrointestinal cancer. Dalin kept his health status secret, save for his immediate family and his health care providers, and proceeded to deliver a master class in offshore racing.
All told, Dalin commanded the lead for the vast majority of the racetrack, before crossing the finishing line on January 14, 2025 after just 64 days, 16 hours, 22 minutes, and 49 seconds—an improvement on the previous Vendée Globe record (set by skipper Armel Le Cléac'h in the 2016-2017 edition) of 9 days, 8 hours, 12 minutes, and 57 seconds.
Dalin realized his dream, and the sailing world celebrated his victory, and—later—his status as World Sailing's 2025 Rolex World Sailor of the Year
But it wasn't until Dalin's book was published, about 10 months later, that the world learned that Dalin sailed a near-perfect Vendée Globe while self-administering immunotherapy drugs.
Just ponder doing that on flat, stable terrain.
Now imagine doing this in the windswept depths of the Southern Ocean, alone, aboard a wildly powerful foiling IMOCA 60 that you're red-lining around our lonely planet.
Cancer, that insidious scourge, is of course blind to human accomplishment, determination, and excellence (not to mention suffering), and a bad diagnosis got worse. Tragically, Dalin passed away last week in Quimper, France. He is survived by his parents, his wife, and his young son.
Sail-World sends our deepest condolences to Dalin's family, and we remain deeply humbled by the level of commitment to greatness that Dalin exhibited throughout his short life.
In happier news, the sailing world has also seen some great racing unfurl in several highly competitive classes.
The 2026 Tasar World Championships (June 6-12) recently took place on the waters off of the Okuma Private Beach and Resort in Kunigami Village, Okinawa, Japan, and saw 117 boats from six countries compete. After 11 races, Seattle's Dalton and Lindsay Bergan took top honors. They were joined on the winner's podium by fellow Seattleites Jonathan and Libby McKee, who finished in second place, and by Kazuishi Ito and Yasuaki Muragishi, who finished in third place.
"We are absolutely thrilled to have won," said Dalton and Lindsay Bergan in a post-racing communication. "It was a very close contest right to the end, so we were pleased to hold our position in the final race today. We thoroughly enjoyed sailing in Okinawa. We experienced everything from strong winds to very light airs, which certainly kept things interesting! We travelled here with friends from Seattle and have made many new friends during the regatta. The Tasar is a fantastic class, and we truly love being part of it."
Jumping from Asia to Europe, The OK Dinghy World Championship (June 5-12) just concluded off of Skovshoved, Denmark, and saw 203 boats from 15 countries competing. After seven races, Denmark's Johan Schubert took top honors, followed by Belgium's Wannes van Laer, and Great Britain's Matthew Howard.
"Yes, my first time winning an international event like this," said Schubert in an official regatta communication. "It's a big relief, even though I didn't feel a lot of pressure going into it. It was more sort of for the learning, but it's been amazing. The past couple of days have been a bit tense, but extremely relieved after today."
Also in Europe, the ACO Musto Skiff World Championship (June 6-12) was recently contested off of Carnac, France. Thirty-seven boats, hailing from eight countries, competed, but, after 14 races, Great Britain's Robert Richardson took top honors, followed by fellow countrymen Eddie Bridle and Ben Clegg.
And in Italy, the 2026 TP52 World Championship (June 15-20) is taking place this week on the waters off of Porto Cervo, Sardina. Fifteen teams, from 11 nations, are expected to compete at this high-level event.
Finally—and much closer to home—this Friday (June 19) marks the start of the 2026 Newport Bermuda Race, where 147 yachts are expected to start this biennial 636 nautical mile offshore contest.
Sail-World has a candle lit that all teams enjoy safe and fast passages to beautiful Bermuda, and we look forward to hearing the stories after the finishing guns fall silent.
May the four winds blow you safely home.
David Schmidt
Sail-World.com North American Editor