Watch the circuit in video!

The Tour de France à la Voile 2009 takes place from June 25 to July 23, between Dunkerque and La Seyne-sur-Mer. This 32nd edition will benefit from an ambitious schedule according to the same race principles: eleven ports of call, 27 racing days and eight offshore legs. Two of these legs should be especially interesting as they are 180 and 240 miles long and cross the Raz Blanchard, the Four and the Raz de Sein. Such a race should allow the Farr 30 crews to show once again their sailing abilities.

A typical but sporty route
July 25th: the fleet will start from Dunkerque. The northern French port is welcoming the race for the 23rd time with great pleasure. It is actually a proper commitment, since the Tour de France à la Voile and the City Community signed up for the organization of the TFV departure in Dunkerque until 2011.
90 miles further and one night at sea later, the teams should meet in Dieppe to celebrate the TFV 20th stopover on the quay Henri IV.
The 23 Farr 30 will then sail 180 miles from Dieppe to Saint-Cast - Côtes d'Armor to inaugurate a brand new marina called Saint-Cast Port d'Armor.
The next leg will take the fleet to Saint-Quay - Côtes d'Armor. With two ports of call in Côtes d'Armor, the TFV reaffirms its bonds with this nautical area.
Afterwards, the competitors will tackle their longest challenge and sail around Brittany for 240 miles before La Trinité-sur-Mer. The race is going back to the French first sailing city for the first time in 26 years.
The fifth leg will leave la Trinité-sur-Mer to arrive to Talmont-Saint-Hilaire / Port-Bourgenay en Vendée. 90 miles along Vendée coasts, which are now famous for sailing races.
The last stop-over in Atlantique is Royan, where boats will be taken out from the water. This traditional step is also the beginning of a new part of the TFV.

Saint-Cyprien will be the first of the Mediterranean ports of call. 13 miles sailed with the engine on to reach Port-Barcarès.
Port-Barcarès - Marseille should be a proper offshore race for the sailors to enjoy Mediterranean conditions.
Lat but not least, the Farr 30 will sail 40 miles to finally cross the finish line in La Seyne-sur-Mer. By then, we should know the Honda red spinnaker new owner.

This 2009 schedule appears to be equilibrated with a first part focused on the offshore legs while triangles should be of main importance during the second part.

Improvements
In 2009, the Tour de France à la Voile worked on two main rules so as to improve this 32nd edition. One takes into account boats penalized for finishing too late, and another takes into account track changes during the race.
First, doors or compensations have been thought to avoid the delayed boats to loose too many points.
Next, if the track should change during a leg because of the weather or for any other reason, the race direction could decide with the comity and the jury to modify or cancel a leg.