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.

06.12.2012

Tough to get to grips with the Brazilian playing field.

par Gitana

For the first day of competition in Rio, the nine crews were able to compete in six races thanks to some fine sailing conditions. At 1430 local time, as the first start was sounded, around fifteen knots of breeze propelled the one-designs along on a reach at the foot of Sugarloaf Mountain, creating a fabulous spectacle! A feast for the eyes it may have been but it proved to be a strategic headache for the navigators. Indeed Rio’s famous headland, which culminates at nearly 400 metres, certainly disrupts the trajectory of the wind, with its variations in intensity making it hard to read the race zone.

After getting off to a perfect start in today’s racing by scoring a bullet in the first race of the afternoon, Pierre Pennec and his men encountered more difficulty during the following five races, as the skipper explained on his return to the dock: “Conditions were very good today, with glorious sunshine, but the wind oscillated a great deal on the race zone. These variations in the intensity of the air flow made it complicated to read the race zone and were mainly down to the landmass, which surrounds the playing field and Sugarloaf Mountain in particular, as the wind switches from one side to the other fairly randomly. We got off to some good starts, with some effective line approaches, but our choices at the first mark rounding weren’t so appropriate in two of the races.”

“The race zone is shifty and split into two sections. Put simply, there was some established wind of around 15 knots on the start line and then the day’s minimum saw us with between 3 and 4 knots at the first gate. There were some light patches of wind to be avoided and we didn’t always manage to pull that off. We weren’t very lucky today and we made some errors in our choices of tack in certain races. The analysis from this first day is that you mustn’t think twice about taking the outside lane to remain quick and also to go about things more easily perhaps, especially in the mark approaches,” explained Arnaud Psarofaghis, mainsail trimmer aboard the boat.

Tonight Edmond de Rothschild Group is lying in seventh position. It’s certainly rather unfamiliar territory for Pierre Pennec’s crew but in terms of points it isn’t crippling for the next stage of the competition. Topping the leaderboard this evening, the Swiss team Alinghi has racked up thirty-eight points, which equates to nine points better than the French catamaran. That isn’t a massive deficit to make up given that there are still three days of competition to go and a number of races yet to contest in the Extreme Sailing Series: “we’re in a bad position but things got shaken up a great deal for all the teams and this evening our deficit in terms of the leaders remains acceptable. We know that things could very quickly go one way or the other and it’s up to us to reverse the trend tomorrow,” concluded the skipper of Edmond de Rothschild Group.

Tomorrow racing kicks off at 1400 hours local time with another day of stadium races on the cards. As such the Extreme Sailing Series fleet will be sailing on the same race zone as today, along the white sands of Flamengo Beach.

Provisional standing for the Rio Grand Prix (after 6 races)

Alinghi – 38 points
The Wave Muscat – 38 points
Zoulou – 35 points
Oman Air – 31 points
Red Bull Sailing Team – 31 points
SAP Sailing Team – 30 points
Edmond de Rothschild Group – 29 points
GAC Pindar – 19 points
Team Brasil – 19 points

The crew of the Extreme Edmond de Rothschild Group

Pierre Pennec (Skipper / Helmsman), Arnaud Psarofaghis (trimmer and traveller), Hervé Cunningham (headsail trimmer), Bernard Labro (bowman), Romain Petit (trimmer)

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