And in everyone’s minds, Charlie

As the morning draws to a close, it continues to flutter and flap in the wind, oblivious to the echo of the shrouds and the loudspeakers of the Vendée Arctique. This black flag, hoisted aboard the MACIF Santé Prévoyance, seems to fill the space. And because the sky has also decided to be subdued this morning – low, white and grey – everything seems so dull. The contrast is palpable everywhere: the façades of La Chaume are drab, as are the banners on the jetty, and even the hulls of the boats no longer have their usual lustre. So all that remains is it, that large black sail fluttering and flapping endlessly.

Between restraint and emotion

It was almost the only sound to be heard when the IMOCA MACIF Santé Prévoyance entered the channel at around 7.30 am. Sam Goodchild certainly went through the motions – stepping out to greet the crowd – but the public could clearly see his heart wasn’t in it. Over the past few days, he had fought off his sadness by tilling the wheel, carrying out one manoeuvre after another, and focusing his mind on this machine that Charlie had spent so long shaping. 

Upon returning to land, Sam and the crew of the Vendée Arctique knew they would have to face the emotional turmoil caused by Charlie’s disappearance. On two occasions during an interview looking back on his race, Ambrogio Beccaria, the winner of the 2026 Vendée Arctique, acknowledged that “there are far more serious matters”. Around the channel and on the pontoons, Charlie is everywhere – in the half-finished sentences, the occasionally misty-eyed glances, and the silences too. Time seems to stand still, almost frozen, with the certainty that this passage up the channel, this arrival at the pontoons, would be unlike any other.
 

“Thank you, Charlie”, on their armbands and in their hearts

On the jetties, Sam – so used to facing the sea’s fiercest challenges – holds back his emotions and tries to put into words what cannot be said. He says he is “thinking of Charlie’s family”, speaks of a “very difficult time” and says his “mind is inevitably elsewhere”. Among the members of the MACIF Santé Prévoyance team, there are silent embraces and few words: their presence is enough.

As if to warm hearts a little, the volunteers from Vendée Arctique and the public, who turned out in large numbers this morning, formed a guard of honour leading up to the podium. Loud applause joined the many other gestures of remembrance: the black ‘Merci Charlie’ armbands worn by members of the organising committee and the teams, and the white ribbons handed out to the public. As the morning wore on, other boats arrived, also flying their flags at half-mast. 

Following Ambrogio Beccaria (Allagrande Mapei) and Sam Goodchild (Macif Santé Prévoyance), Violette Dorange (Initiatives-Cœur), Élodie Bonafous (Association Petits Princes – Quéguiner) and Francesca Clapcich (11th Hour Racing) have now moored in turn. They all had a few words to say about Charlie. They also talked about the race, the regatta, the gruelling conditions and the breathtaking finale… In short, they spoke of the competition with enthusiasm and passion. Perhaps there, in the midst of their fresh, first-hand accounts of the battle they’d fought out there, lay the finest tribute of all to Charlie Dalin, that lifelong lover of racing and the open sea.