SHORT FACTS

Age: 24
Born: Normandy, France
Lived in: UK, France Australia, Thailand, Sweden
Nationality: French
Hobbies: Yacht design and racing

Biography

Charlie Dalin spends every moment of his time on boat design. During the workday, it’s the Ericsson 4: he’s the yard design coordinator. That means he is chief liaison between the boat design team in Valencia, Spain, and the boat builders in Kista, Sweden.

When it’s his own time, Dalin has designs on his own race.

“I’m designing a mini transat yacht which I’ll build after this project and then sail it across the Atlantic,” Dalin says with more than a note of anticipation and thrill in his voice.

Sailing has been his unquestioned passion since the age of six. “I always knew I wanted to go towards offshore racing, yacht design and sailing. It’s my thing,” he says. “I want to understand the dynamic of sailing and why a boat is fast. I knew when I was 16 that I wanted to be a naval architect, so everything I’ve done since then has been towards achieving that goal,” says Dalin.

He graduated as a naval architect from Southampton University and at 24, Dalin already has an impressive sailing resume: he’s worked on Rogers 46-footers, Class 40 in France, and performed wind-tunnel testing for the GBR Challenge for the America’s Cup Team.

For Ericsson Racing Team, Dalin checks in at 7am to receive the latest drawings and instructions from the design team led by Juan Kouyoumdjian. “I take the 2D and 3D drawings and make sure they can use them on the shop floor. I make loads of templates and make sure everything is right in the drawings,” he explains.

“The great thing about working for Ericsson Racing Team is that you are working with top people. They are talented individuals and we’re producing a high quality product, which is the boat,” says Dalin.

The only disadvantage of this project? “I’d like to have more time and actually go sailing on the boat,” he says without even pausing to think.

One of the most memorable moments for him so far during construction of the Ericsson 3 and the Ericsson 4 is seeing the hull emerge from the mold: “When we de-mold the hull, we can actually see what has been heated by the mold all these months. It’s exciting to see the final hull shape and the full boat – it’s always a great moment,” he recalls.

Dalin is continually storing knowledge to apply to his own boat and making his own dream come true. “It will be wonderful to build, design, and race it, so I’ll have an all-around view of my field. It’s going to be great, I’ll learn so much,” he says.