The sails team

Laurent Pagès, manager of the sail programme

"There are a certain number of rules which have changed on the boats since the last edition, particularly as regards the sail inventory. Their number is now limited to seventeen whilst in the 2008-2009 edition, the teams were given free rein on this matter."

"The purpose of the sail programme is to have the best assortment of sails at the start of each stage. My job, among other things, will involve adapting their choices according to the course and the weather forecasts. The interaction between the sailors, the designers and the sail loft enables us, over the course of the race, to develop the sails in our inventory, to reduce their size, to add and remove belly in the sail and to modify the locations of the volumes. It's really the team's job to know how to maintain and repair sails with the aim of making them last, as well as recutting them so they perform better."

"Of the seventeen sails permitted throughout the duration of the Volvo Ocean Race, more than a third will be created after the start. As such we have several cards to play during the race, that we can either keep hold of and renew or use for sails in the process of being developed. With the sail inventory not being fixed, it becomes a major element in developing performance."