If one considers all that's been said and written about Mr Peyron's paramount role in the making of modern ocean-racing high-performance multihulls, his nomination as new skipper of the mighty Banque Populaire 5 is nothing but a natural, expected, karmic event. And, of course, there is the Cup as well... a catch-up with the man only seems appropriate.

Taking the helm of the 40m trimaran after Pascal Bidégorry's 'departure', the La Baule skipper first has his sights set on the Jules Verne Trophy, an objective the boat's backers were frustrated not to get closer to last winter - considering the monster's potential, demonstrated in 2009 with a 32.94kt average speed on her record-breaking Atlantic crossing.

Groupama 3's benchmark time of 48d 7h around the world is certainly well within reach. Yet it is the nature of the Jules Verne beast to be elusive, with so many variables at play... gear failure being high on the list, as Loïck himself knows all too well. He's moved on since, bagging a victory around the planet with Jean-Pierre Dick in the Barcelona World Race, but the memories of his last Vendée Globe demise are still fresh.

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The final phase of the two-year transition to the ‘TP52 2011’ box rule has resulted in not only new boat designs, but some new thoughts on sail design as well. In previous issues both class manager Rob Weiland and designer Rolf Vrolijk have discussed how the lower overall weight limit, as well as separated keel fin, bulb and rig measurement, have had measurable effects on hull design and performance, with the overall effect being that the latest boats are parametrically closer than ever before.

With the world’s top inshore teams wrestling each other in Audi MedCup competition, this leaves sail design as one of the few remaining variables to explore for a competitive edge. So with this mandate, both North and Quantum have put tremendous effort into getting their latest ideas onto these platforms, with some interesting innovations as a result.

US-based North designer Chris Williams has been working closely with Australian Paul Westlake (aka Flipper) of North Technology to optimise sail shapes, with input from other designers as well, including North Sails Argentina designer Juan Garay. Flipper’s mainsail trimming role on the new Vrolijk-designed Azzurra has supplemented what Williams is seeing as a trimmer with the All4One team.

Also based in the US but a Kiwi by birth, Dave Armitage of the Quantum Sail Design Group has, along with Brett Jones, been responsible for creating the sail shapes that have kept the green team on the podium at virtually every event in recent years. With Andrew Scott taking the lead, Quantum have taken a cutting-edge digital approach to evaluating sail shape in real time using the VSPARS system developed by Dave LePelley at the University of Auckland...

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Below: this year’s Bol D’Or on Lake Geneva went considerably better for the Alinghi team than it did the first time skipper Ernesto Bertarelli attempted the course in a multihull (far right) back in 1994. That year Bertarelli’s Poseidon capsized 200m short of the finish before blowing across the line to salvage third. This year Bertarelli and Alinghi made no mistakes, leading from start to finish to stay just ahead of Michel Desjoyeaux on Foncia and set a new D35 course record

SH: Congratulations on winning the Bol D’Or, it’s the sixth time you’ve come first but this time you had to wait eight years to win again...

Ernesto Bertarelli: Thank you, the last time Alinghi won the Bol d’Or in 2003 we were sailing Le Black, a 41ft Jo Richards and Sébastien Schmidt open multihull. Since then we have been racing our D35 one-design cat.

SH: What was the thinking behind the change in class?

EB: After winning the Bol d’Or three times in a row I decided to withdraw Le Black and, with a small number of local multihull enthusiasts, create a new class of identical 35ft high-performance catamarans. I realised that if we were not going to keep costs under control racing large multihulls on the lake was simply going to disappear.

SH: Was it difficult for you to put aside such a successful boat?

EB: Yes! Le Black was and probably still is the ultimate weapon on the lake! The boat was launched in 2000 as a result of many years of experimentation with the large 40ft multihulls on Lake Geneva. She is a very innovative catamaran with tremendous power yet light and rigid at the same time. We used aerospace materials throughout and the very best high-tech build techniques at Décision SA to build a unique boat.

SH: So why did you retire her!

EB: After winning almost every race for two consecutive seasons I realised my ­mistake! I had outspent the competition and did not have anyone left to race against any more. This is a lesson that I will never ­forget. For racing to be fun in a development class you still need to give as many owners as possible the chance of winning.

SH: Might Le Black race again one day?

To read on simply come and join us TODAY!!!!!
Please take advantage of our latest subscription offer or order a single copy of the September 2011 issue of Seahorse International Sailing

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Below: this year’s Bol D’Or on Lake Geneva went considerably better for the Alinghi team than it did the first time skipper Ernesto Bertarelli attempted the course in a multihull (far right) back in 1994. That year Bertarelli’s Poseidon capsized 200m short of the finish before blowing across the line to salvage third. This year Bertarelli and Alinghi made no mistakes, leading from start to finish to stay just ahead of Michel Desjoyeaux on Foncia and set a new D35 course record