Bruno Trouble

Bruno Trouble contributed to the America's Cup as a skipper and as the mastermind of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger selection series.

Bruno visited the New York Yacht Club when he was seventeen while competing in a 505 World Championship in Larchmont, New York. Standing in the model room of the Yacht Club, he was so impressed by the atmosphere and history of the America's Cup that he eventually devoted a significant part of his life to the Cup.

As a Flying Dutchman and Soling champion, Bruno went on to skipper two challenges for the America's Cup led by Baron Marcel Bich. In 1976, Bruno was drafted from the French Olympic sailing team to crew for Bich's 1977 bid for the Cup. He was promoted to skipper of FRANCE 1 during the Challenger Series of 1977. He returned in 1980 to skipper FRANCE III. In 1983, he participated in challenge led by Yves Rousset-Rouard.

With a background in law and public relations, Bruno recognized the opportunity to enhance the importance of the challenger selection series of the Cup. In 1983, he worked to create the Louis Vuitton Cup series, which continued until 2007, to select the Cup challenger. As the America's Cup evolved from an amateur event to a professional one during the 1980s, Bruno shepherded this change by balancing the traditions of the Cup and innovation in commercial sponsorship. He also played a role in organizing the America's Cup Jubilee in Cowes in 2001.

Bruno is the first "impresario" in the Cup's history. He has been the head of press operations, the coordinator for the challenger series, a liaison between syndicates and sponsors, a face for the Cup in Europe, and an agent of change while maintaining the Cup's tradition.