Retractable Y-shaped foils, adjustable in three dimensions

Inspired by the appendages of the America's Cup foiling monohulls, these Y-shaped foils have a wingspan of over 5 metres. They are designed to generate powerful lift, increase power and offer a wide range of adjustments to optimise flight at every point of sail and in all conditions. Beyond their impressive size, these foils feature many unique innovations.

Revolutionary U-shaped rudders

These are probably the most visually striking innovations on the new Maxi Edmond de Rothschild. To fly high above rough seas while maintaining control, the team wanted very long rudders that would remain in contact with the water. The challenge is that longer rudders tend to flex under load, severely affecting steering and the efficiency of their lifting surfaces. A new geometry was needed to give these appendages maximum stiffness, resist cavitation and ultimately improve control of the boat and make better use of its power. The result is a set of U-shaped rudders over 4 metres long, a metre longer than those on Gitana 17. Their shape, reminiscent of a tripod or an inverted π, is only the visible part of what makes them so distinctive.

A daggerboard optimised to stabilise the boat and limit cavitation

With its wide span, the daggerboard resembles an aircraft tail assembly, with two adjustable flaps: one on the vertical section and the other on the horizontal section, the distinctive “manta-ray wing”. On Gitana 18, the innovation is to position this wing behind the vertical part of the appendage, rather than directly beneath it, to minimise flow disturbance and cavitation.

Rig: adjustable spreaders to control mainsail power while sailing

Gitana 18’s mast is 1.50 metres taller than its predecessor’s. The boom is also shorter, creating a more slender sail plan. The major innovation is a set of spreaders that can be adjusted while sailing to bend the mast fore and aft. Actuated by hydraulic rams, these spreaders can pivot through 35 degrees to adjust the bend in the middle of the mast. This unprecedented system allows the sailor to control mainsail power: adding depth in light winds to take off sooner, or flattening the sail to reduce power at high speed or in strong winds. Adjusting the depth, and therefore the power, of the mainsail can also save a solo sailor time and energy by reducing the need for risky manoeuvres or headsail changes.

Central hull:
an integrated, structural coachroof

The naval architects and Gitana design team wanted an exceptionally stiff, structurally robust platform. This applies both to the floats, which must withstand heavy loads from the foils and rudders, and to the central hull, which is subject to torsion. The enclosed coachroof is integrated into the hull and contributes to its structural strength. Inside, the cockpit brings all sail-handling controls together, with ergonomics shaped by many hours of design and development. The coachroof also stands out for the number and size of its windows. This configuration meets the visibility requirements of the Ultim class rules and gives sailors the best possible view to keep a visual watch.

23.06.2013

Cancellation of the inshore races in Dublin.

par Gitana

This Sunday, the town of Dùn Laoghaire woke up to very overcast skies swept by a 25-knot WNWly breeze with gusts in excess of 35 knots. Ultimately, conditions were deemed too muscly to send the Route des Princes’ fleet out on the water to contest the initially scheduled inshore races. Furthermore Spindrift Racing’s misadventures, which caused her to capsize in yesterday afternoon’s violent, blustery conditions on the very first race, have put paid to the crew’s dreams of securing an overall win in this Routes des Princes. Now, after two consecutive days of storms over the weekend, not a single race has been able to be run on Irish waters. From tomorrow though, the trimarans will be heading offshore again, bound for Plymouth, England.

Yesterday the fleet of MOD70s lost its leader in the provisional ranking. Heading the leaderboard thanks to their victory in the offshore leg between Lisbon and Dublin, Yann Guichard and his men have been forced to withdraw from the competition following the capsize of their trimaran yesterday during the first Irish inshore. This turn of events has reshuffled the cards and promises to re-establish the hierarchy once the fleet get to the finish of the next leg: “Spindrift Racing’s capsize is very bad news. They were a formidable contender for outright victory and their absence over the final two legs will naturally be conspicuous as we’re losing one of the fleet’s reference boats. There are just three MODs now, which isn’t very many, but that certainly doesn’t mean that the competition ends here. During the last offshore leg between Lisbon and Dublin, we had a chance to see just how close the competition was with some very fine sailing by Oman Air throughout the course and a close-contact finish for all the boats. In terms of the scoreboard, we’re a little over the midway point in the race and anything could still happen,” Sébastien Josse admitted. “We’ll really miss the whole of the Spindrift Racing team during the rest of the competition. We hope to see them on the water again very soon in the run-up to the autumn’s Transat Jacques Vabre,” explained Cyril Dardashti, Gitana Team’s general manager.

After yesterday’s emotions, Sébastien Josse and his men had to recompose themselves and calmly prepare for the third offshore leg of this Route des Princes. Originally, a tour of Ireland was on the cards but the weather conditions expected over the next few days didn’t augur well for a favourable time. Indeed Dùn Laoghaire has been swept by strong winds for the past forty-eight hours, but next week light airs are likely to be par for the course around Ireland. In this way, Sylvie Viant, the event’s Race Director, put forward the idea, or more accurately the ideas, for a new course for competitors this morning. In fact, several scenarios and various courses have been studied to guarantee the arrival of the multihulls in Plymouth Sound on Wednesday 26 June. “At the start, we’ll benefit from a NW’ly breeze of between 10 and 15 knots. Soon after that though, we’ll have to negotiate a transition zone with the wind shifting round to the SSW as it eases. This leg will be made up of different episodes and we won’t really know our final course until we approach Eddystone lighthouse (along the South coast of England). Depending on when we pass Eddystone, Race Management may opt to send us towards four different marks of varying distances towards the East,” explained Charles Caudrelier, the onboard navigator. To put it plainly, the quicker the crew of Edmond de Rothschild and their adversaries make headway towards the goal, the longer their course will be to make Plymouth. This translates as a difference of over two hundred nautical miles between the maximum and minimum course.

We’ll be back tomorrow at 1100 hours to follow the departure of the trimaran fleet to Plymouth, England, at which point we will be able to look at the weather for this third leg in greater depth.

Ranking for the Route des Princes (after the jury)

Spindrift Racing (Yann Guichard) / 94 points
Edmond de Rothschild (Sébastien Josse) / 88 points
Musandam – Oman Air (Sidney Gavignet) / 84 points
Virbac Paprec 70 (Jean-Pierre Dick) / 66 points

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