Away from tawdry politics, meltdown neurosis about the state of the world and flim flam celebrities, there is the inspiring and remarkable tale of Charlie Dalin, a French offshore sailor. Having been diagnosed with gastrointestinal cancer, he decided against the odds to compete in and won the Vendée Globe yacht race around the world last year. He took 64 days plus a few hours, beating the previous record by 9 days while taking immunotherapy pills.
It is the world’s toughest solo, non-stop, unassisted round-the-world yacht race, often called the “Everest of the Seas,” rounding the three great capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin, and Cape Horn) and is regarded as a legendary human adventure of endurance. Held every four year, about 40 professional sailors take part with nearly half never finishing, many capsize. One was never found.
Since finishing last year he has since undergone surgery.
Born 10 May 1984 4.50pm Harfleur, France, he was brought up by a single mother who worked as a bus driver and a sales assistant and a local sailing club loaned him a boat.
He has an extraordinarily fixed and enduring chart with an 8th house Sun Venus in Taurus opposition Mars Saturn in Scorpio with Pluto in Scorpio as well. His 12th house Virgo Moon is trine a 4th house Jupiter in Capricorn trine his Venus Sun in an Earth Grand Trine, formed into a Kite by Sun Venus opposition Mars Saturn. Stubborn to the nth degree in terms of hanging on through thick and thin, disciplined and willing to put up with cruel conditions (Mars Saturn).
With Mars in Scorpio as a leading planet off the Grand Trine/Kite he will be competitive/ambitious to an extreme degree and it was evidently coming in second in the previous Vendee which pushed him to compete last year, while suffering the debilitating effects of cancer and its treatment.
His chart also has a focus on Earth with its knack of coping with practicalities.
His Neptune is conjunct his IC so living beside the sea will be his ideal but it is not strong in his chart.
His chart reminded me of Chay Blyth, the Scottish lone round-the-world yachtsman, born 14 May 1940, 4.30am Hawick, Scotland. He was also a Sun Taurus in his case conjunct Uranus with Mercury Saturn also in Taurus, plus Neptune in Virgo in his 6th house and a Capricorn Midheaven.
I met him years ago and quizzed him about his chart, surprised to see so much Taurus and feet-on-the-ground energy, and asked how he coped. What stuck in mind was he said he had ‘no imagination’ which he thought helped with potential risks. He handled whatever happened and got on with it and did not spend time thinking about the worst that could happen.
The post Charlie Dalin – a legendary endurance test first appeared on Astroinform with Marjorie Orr – Star4cast.
