Highlights of the 2024/25 Vendée Globe solo round the world race

Charlie Dalin, leading the Vendée Globe, is on the cusp of a historic moment. Now less than 130 miles from Les Sables d’Olonne, he is advancing with a mixture of exhilaration and caution. Each manoeuvre is executed with absolute precision, each gust of wind carefully analysed. The weather, mild, although quite unstable, seems to offer him a serene passage to the end of this adventure.

However, he remains focused on every detail, aware that, despite the lead he has, a technical problem could compromise his success. The idea of ​​becoming the first to complete this round the world race non-stop and without assistance inspires in him a contained pride, controlled by a restraint shaped by experience. But the last miles seem interminable to him: the prospect of deliverance amplifies each moment and makes each distance heavier. After 64 days at sea, the end of this journey promises to be unique, combining the culmination of an expected outcome, the accomplishment of an exploit and the melancholy of leaving a stripped-down life, dedicated to the essentials.

Tomorrow, between 5:30 and 9:30, according to the latest estimates, the skipper of MACIF Santé Prévoyance will cross the final frontiers of this event. For this fierce competitor, this moment will represent much more than a sporting victory: a fight with the ocean, his opponents and himself. By completing this challenge, he will remind us that the greatness of a sailor is measured as much in his victories as in his ability to surpass himself, to learn and to dream ever further.

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