Right now, it’s multihull madness. Brace yourselves, the race is about to start.

In this case, I don’t mean the America’s Cup, although like almost everyone else in our business I’m itching for the action to start on Monday.

(The forecast in Valencia is said to be good for a Monday race and, intriguingly, Daily Telegraph sailing correspondent Kate Laven Tweeted yesterday that ‘Alinghi and BMW Oracle crews are said to be crapping themselves about racing these monsters’.)

I mean another race that is about to get the start flag, also between giant multihulls capable of scary top speeds. That’s the tussle between Groupama 3 and Banque Populaire V for the Jules Verne Trophy.

Pascal Bidégorry’s Banque Pop crew are said to be preparing to leave Brest on Sunday, in hot pursuit of Groupama.

That big green speed machine left last week and is up to speed and cantering along ahead of the record south of the Cape Verdes. Franck Cammas’s crew notched up a nice little 565-mile day yesterday.

This is one multihull race with legs at least. The America’s Cup could potentially be over within the week but hopefully this match will keep us going through the cold winter days. Between 40 and 50 of them, fingers crossed.