The start of the Tourduf will be given on Monday, August 3 in Roscoff for a race around the tip of Brittany. Each year, a hundred boats come to race for a week around Finistère, in a competitive and friendly spirit. About 600 racers will be present on the water for these 6 Breton stops.
On the program, six stages of coastal courses including a night stage, as well as a half-day of technical courses, for a total of 218 miles covered. A way to measure themselves against each other on different race courses. On land, each evening has its own set of festivities! The crews are welcomed with a concert and a meal in the port.
The route around the tip of Brittany
The fleet will set off on August 3 from Roscoff, now the official starting point for the competition. After a passage to the island of Batz, the first leg will go to Aber Wrac'h. From one Aber to the other, the competitors will zigzag through the Four channel before going up the river to Lanildut.
Third stage, from Lanildut the fleet will join Douarnenez passing by the Pointe de Saint-Mathieu, the Toulinguet passage, the Tas de Pois then the Cap de la Chèvre. "It's a classic stage of the Tour du Finistère, but the coast is so beautiful that we can't do otherwise!" enthuses Loïc Ponceau, from Nautisme en Finistère, in charge of the race organization.
Thursday afternoon, August 6, the night stage will start. Three courses will be launched in order to avoid spreading the arrivals too thinly. After passing the Raz de Sein, the biggest boats will sail around the Glénan islands to meet up with the rest of the fleet at the Cabellou point and then at Concarneau harbor.
The last day of the regatta will be placed under the sign of the banana courses. Competitors will have two rounds to follow before celebrating the arrival of the 30th Tour du Finistère in Port-la-Forêt.
Armagnac in the spotlight
For their anniversary, the Armagnacs have been invited by a sponsor to participate in the Tour du Finistère to build a beautiful fleet of these small boats. All those who will line up on the starting line aboard the small racing boat will have their registration fees refunded.
"This is an opportunity to give a new lease of life to the smaller categories of boats which will see increased competition. We expect at least ten Armagnacs" says the organizer of the event, Nautisme en Finistère.
A female ranking
Regularly, the Tour du Finistère innovates and launches new classifications. In 2015, honor to the women! If the female crews have always been honored, no classification recognized their performance. From now on, there will be a Mixed ranking. It works in the same way as the Youth ranking, launched in 2014 and which had obtained a certain success, with about fifteen boats.
Each crew, composed of at least half women, will race for the general classification, but also for the new trophy.
"This time, we wanted to emphasize the mix of crews, even if the Tour will continue to put 100% female crews on the podium." says the organizer.
