Yachting: 'Bruno's Buoy' on the money

The new viewing-platform buoy will be trialled during the fleet-racing regatta in Malmo starting tonight. Picture / Reuters

Exuberant Frenchman Bruno Trouble could be back in charge of an America's Cup vessel.

The former French skipper, who has been one of the more colourful characters to grace the America's Cup over the past 25 years, has been instructed to oversee the latest innovation in the drive to make the event more visible.

Nicknamed "Bruno's Buoy" - it was Trouble's idea - cup organisers are trialling a concept which allows a handful of photographers and camera people to be stationed on the race course.

Resembling a small, orange, inflatable swimming pool, the buoy doubles as a mark during racing. Not exactly a position for the faint heartened - imagine giant cup yachts coming straight for you.

Trouble will be on the buoy during its trials, which will take place during the fleet-racing regatta in Malmo starting tonight. "I am the skipper of a mark," he laughs.

For the past 10 years Trouble, who was made an honorary officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2003, handled the commercial side of the challenger series and ran the media centre.

This time he is a consultant to Cup Management and is there to ensure Louis Vuitton is getting a return on its investment.

Trouble, pronounced Trew-blay, introduced the glamorous French luggage company to the cup nearly 25 years ago.

When he was skipper of the French team in 1977 and 1980 the challengers were sharing the cost of their series.

So Trouble, a lawyer, approached Louis Vuitton. Now, after 25 years, the cup is part of Vuitton's assets.

"It is part of the legend."

The cup's journey to Europe has signalled the start of a new era. The budget for the event this time is €220 million ($390 million), at least 10 times what it was in Auckland.

But despite that Trouble said there were no guarantees the event would receive better coverage.

"My fear is that sailing will never be rugby or football," Trouble said.

"Sailing is not an easy sport to understand. For sure the New Zealanders, French and English are good at understanding the sport but to countries like Spain, it is totally new.

"That is a big challenge for us, to educate people and make the event easier to understand."

Although he would like to have seen the event held in Marseille, he understands why Valencia was chosen.

"The great asset of Valencia is the weather. We have never missed a racing day. In Auckland we missed 40 per cent of the racing days.

"To make the event more visible on TV ... we cannot afford to delay the regatta."

That is something which worries Trouble should the cup return to Auckland.

"If Valencia is really successful [and] you have to go back to a place where you cannot be sure where the race is going to be [it] is difficult."

Besides his involvement in the cup, Trouble has his own public relations company, Jour-J (D-Day) who were chosen to help promote Paris' bid for the Olympics.

He came up with the idea of displaying all 28 sports on the Champs Elysee, a project he had virtually one night to set up.

"It was a crazy project but fun."

When he is not working, Trouble can be found sailing on his New Zealand-built yacht Wanaka. The boat is in New York and will remain in America for the next couple of years.

After that Trouble wouldn't be averse to the idea of taking it back to New Zealand should the cup return.

"Last time you had a nice [team] but you were missing one tough person like [Sir Peter] Blake. You have that now in Grant Dalton."