Knowing well that any kind of mishap or accident could still happen, it still took Charlie Dalin some considerable composure to live through the final nervous hours of his race while making a long descent from the Point of Brittany to Les Sables d’Olonne in light airs. Even if the final miles of his course allowed him to sail through his home waters, off Concarneau and the Glenans islands, enjoying a fly by from France’s Marine Nationale, seeing coaches from his race training group, with so much at stake Dalin had to remain cool and focused until his finish gun sounded this morning off Les Sables d’Olonne’s famous Nouch Sud finish line.
The first boats set out to meet the winner at 0500UTC, with the live broadcast starting two hours later, showing Charlie well wrapped up against the cold and MACIF Santé Prévoyance sailing closehauled in light airs on gentle sea in the soft hues of the early morning twilight. Then the camera pans out to breathtaking footage of the giant fleet of brightly lit support boats escorting Charlie on the final few miles of an incredible voyage.
After a couple of final short tacks into the finish, the suspense ends and he crosses the line at 07:24 UTC, taking an emphatic victory in the 10th edition of the Vendée Globe. This was also the instant he could finally release his sheets, welcome his loved ones on board and, above all, finally let the emotions take over. Now he has time for a joyful wait and reunion before going back up the channel, which will take place as the tide rises early in the afternoon. A long day of celebration is in store for the man who is now the fastest sailor ever in the history of the Vendée Globe.
