Bruno Trouble on the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series

Text + Video: Thousands of spectators are expected to flock to the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series village Saturday, 14 February to watch final contenders battle it out on Auckland’s challenging Waitemata harbour.

As the inaugural series draws to a close, event organizers are already sizing up the next event based on the huge success of this first-ever series that has brought home New Zealand’s yachting royalty Brad Butterworth, Alinghi; Russell Coutts, BMW Oracle and Dean Barker, Team Emirates New Zealand, joined by their global equivalents Peter Holmberg, Luna Rosa (Italy), Ian Williams, TEAM CHINA and Ben Ainslie, Team Origin (Great Britain).

Series founder and organiser, French sailor Bruno Troublé, who initiated Louis Vuitton Cup competition in 1983, has been the driving force behind the LVPS regatta. A fan and frequent visitor to New Zealand, Troublé described this new regatta by saying:

"There is not so much at stake. No skirts (hiding design secrets), no armed guards, no accreditation, but some bars, music and a lot of fun. Kiwis know about sail racing and they love to party. And it will be right in the middle of summer."

While controversy around the Americas Cup still brews as the legal battle between BMW Oracle and Alinghi still plays out in court, Trouble formed an exciting allegiance with Kiwi sailing mogul, Grant Dalton (title), Team Emirates New Zealand to bring the thrill of international sailing back to Auckland’s Waitemata harbour.

On why the series had been so success Bruno explained:

“Because it’s a simple concept, the economy crises shows that it’s an even better concept now. We worked a lot on details, like branding on the boats. Every team was able to race with their sponsors on the main sail… ”

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