The competitors will not sail a direct course back up towards the town of Brest. They will have to negotiate the return crossing of the Bay of Biscay from the inside to leave the first mark to port side in front of the entrance to the Loire, the landing buoy SN1. Sailing back up along the isles of the southern coast of Brittany will leave the sailors the choice open of negotiating Belle-Île from the East or the West, but skippers will have to leave the île de Groix to port side then rejoin the southern point of Finistère off the Eckmühl lighthouse. The 20 nautical miles of the long sail in the bay of Audierne, before the passage of the Raz de Sein, may prove for some, according to the time of passage and the time of the tide, a fast or painfully slow run.

The final part of the 2nd leg will consist of a sail full north in the Irish Sea leaving the turret La Parquette to starboard. The fleet will set a course on Brest harbour with its narrow gulley, which may yet hold surprises in store a few miles from the finish. This leg will be a true sprint in the area of Biscay where the hazards multiply at the end of the course, and no doubt will be a leg full of suspense.