Tour de France á la Voile

While football is reigning the sports media these days and Tour de France is associated with biking, France is glued to another sort of event in summer, one of the most exciting international sailing events: the Tour Voile, the Tour de France under sails. Starting at Dunkerque and finishing at La Seyne sur Mer, professional and amateur teams race each other on one design yachts in an event over 12 stages. And will even be transported by truck from one ocean to the other!

More than 30.000 spectators visit each of the lively race villages built at every venue hosting either a start or a finish of a stage and are offered attractions in more than 100 tents. Sailors come from all areas, there is a category for professionals, one for corinthians and one - yes - for students! They do this kind of things in France! And all of them do something for theirs sponsors and draw a vast following to the event, the official website tourvoile.fr had already 1.2 million page impressions as far back as 2000!

Some 40 yachts of the M34 one design class sail 24 inshore and 10 offshore races. The stages between harbors are all navigational challenges. Through the channel with changing and strong currents and tides, along the Bretagne with it´s rough conditions,  into the harbors of the Biskaya with huge tides. Eventually the 34 foot yachts are loaded on trucks in Royan and transported to Gruissan on the Med - after all it is a tour of all of France. In the Mediterranean there is a very special atmosphere in the race villages, at least if the weather follows the cliché of sunshine and crystal clear waters.

Marinepool is represented in the event by an absolute top team. None less than the overall winner of 2008/2009and 2nd in 2010, Courrier Dunkerque, helmed by Daniel Souben, also favorite for the 2011 crown.

Top ten in 2010:

http://www.tourvoile.fr/en/