Globe40 Photo Finish, Golden Globe Prep, and Dalin's Secret Battle
April 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most compelling months in ocean racing. The Globe40 is sprinting toward its finish in Lorient after seven months and 30,000 miles of double-handed racing, the Golden Globe Race entrants are deep in preparation for their September start, and the sailing world is still processing Charlie Dalin's extraordinary Vendée Globe victory — a story that only became more remarkable when the truth came out months after the finish.
Globe40: A Photo Finish in the Atlantic
As of this week, the Globe40's sixth and final leg from Recife to Lorient has produced a race within a race that could hardly be scripted better. Credit Mutuel and Belgium Ocean Racing–Curium are tied on points after more than 30,000 miles of racing, and on the water they are separated by just 2.4 nautical miles somewhere in the Atlantic, both driving hard for the French coast.
Behind the leaders by roughly 180 miles, the remaining seven competitors are bunched within just 112 miles of each other — a remarkably tight cluster after seven months of ocean racing. In the Classic Class40 division, Barco Brasil holds a slim lead over Wilson, the oldest boat in the fleet, which has been the underdog story of the entire race. Free Dom is pressing hard to overtake both, with Whiskey Jack just 35 miles further back.
The Globe40 format — six legs around the world, double-handed, in Class40s — sits in an interesting space between the fully crewed Ocean Race and the solo Vendée Globe. It demands the endurance of a round-the-world event with the intensity of a two-person watch system, and this edition has delivered drama at every stage. First arrivals are expected in Lorient during the second half of this week.
Golden Globe Race 2026: The Last Great Adventure in Sailing
Meanwhile, 24 skippers from 12 countries are deep in preparation for the third edition of the Golden Globe Race, which departs Les Sables d'Olonne on September 6. The GGR remains the purest test in solo ocean racing: no GPS, no autopilot, no satellite phone, no modern electronics. Just a sailor, a production boat designed before 1988, a sextant, and paper charts.
The 2026 fleet includes two women and the first Generation Z entrant in the race's history. Favoured boat designs include the Rustler 36, Biscay 36, Olle Enderlein 32, Cape George 36, and Saltram Saga 36 — all proven bluewater hulls that represent the golden age of production cruiser-racers.
American solo sailor Matt Woodside is already well into his qualifying voyage aboard his OE32 Tipi Haere. Since departing the Pacific Northwest in July 2025, he has sailed to French Polynesia, Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand, and then rounded Cape Horn to reach the Falkland Islands. His approach to the race is characteristically old-school — he has described the experience of being completely offline and disconnected as liberating.
Charlie Dalin: The Story Behind the Vendée Globe Record
No racing roundup in 2026 would be complete without acknowledging the full story of Charlie Dalin's Vendée Globe victory. When Dalin crossed the finish line in January 2025 with a time of 64 days, 19 hours, and 22 minutes — obliterating the previous record by more than nine days — the sailing world celebrated an extraordinary athletic achievement. But the real story only emerged months later.
In autumn 2023, Dalin was diagnosed with a gastrointestinal stromal tumour after a 15-centimetre mass was found in his intestine. He chose to race anyway, stashing immunotherapy pills in his cabin, hoping the medication would shrink the tumour while he was at sea. For 64 days alone in the Southern Ocean, nobody outside his immediate family knew he was racing with cancer.
Six weeks after winning, Dalin underwent surgery to remove part of his intestine, followed by IV-only feeding during recovery. By spring 2025, the disease had returned, requiring further treatment. His autobiography, published in October 2025, laid the full story bare.
Dalin's story transcends sport. It speaks to the kind of determination that ocean racing demands, amplified by a private battle that would have stopped most people from even showing up at the start line. For bluewater sailors of all stripes — racers and cruisers alike — it is a reminder that the sea tests every dimension of who we are, not just our sailing skills.
