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.

10.10.2009

The battle of the three is well and truly on.

par Gitana

For the crew of Gitana Extreme – LCF Rothschild Group this first day in Andalusia ends a lot better than the way it started. After three races with mixed results, essentially down to some inconsistent starts, Yann Guichard and his men won the 4th and final race of the day hands down. Tonight they are in fourth position in the provisional ranking, enveloped by their two main rivals for the title, but the deficits are minor once again leaving the game wide open… the expected suspense is very much in evidence!

Though the sun shone throughout this Saturday afternoon, the wind was a little more timid since it oscillated between 2 and 5 knots. The resulting conditions really put the nerves of the ten competing teams to the test: “It’s been a difficult first day for us but I think that was the case for everyone. It’s a complicated and fairly small race zone and the wind conditions we had to deal with were really light, which didn’t make our job today any easier. There is an additional boat in the line-up compared with what we had in Amsterdam and that has made things tighter, especially at the starts. This was evident in the last race, where there was a collision, but fortunately there was little wind”explained Yann Guichard.Unfortunately, it was Mike Golding’s crew that paid the price of a port starboard incident once again, this time during the start of the 4^th race. The collision resulted in the transom of the one design Ecover being damaged. The English team will have to work through the night to make the start line tomorrow at 1500 hours.

The start often dictates the ranking!

“The start is really crucial and our results today are a perfect illustration of that once again. We got off to three poor starts and one superb start in the final race: there’s no secret there. You have to be in the thick of it from the start!” conceded the skipper of Gitana Extreme – LCF Rothschild Group, before explaining the difficulty of this phase, which is so vital when you are out for victory: “As the courses are small, at least ¾ of the fleet strive to set off on port tack in order to have the priority at the first tack. This leads to a large number of crossing tacks prior to the start. Added to that, since there isn’t a lot of water to race on each side of the line, due to the fact that we head off between two sea walls, we very quickly get back in contact with each other. It’s pretty stressful and not always easy to deal with.”

Tomorrow the race zone in Andalusia is set to be livelier as the weather forecasts are announcing ten knots or so of breeze.

Crew of Gitana Extreme – LCF Rothschild Group

Yann Guichard (skipper-helm)

Pierre Pennec (mainsail traveller trimmer, tactics), Christophe Lassegue (headsail trimmer, control of manoeuvres) and Hervé Cunningham (headsail trimmer, control of manoeuvres)

Ranking on the first day (after 4 races)

1/ BT (Nick Moloney) – 31 points

2/ Oman Sail Masirah (Pete Cumming) – 26 points

3/ Holmatro (Mitch Booth) – 26 points

4/ Gitana Extreme- LCF Rothschild Group (Yann GUICHARD) – 24 points

5/ Oman Sail Renaissance (Loïck Peyron) – 24 points

6/ iShares (Shirley Robertson) – 22 points

7/ Luna (Erik Maris) – 22 points

8/ Rumbo Almeria (Fernando Echavarri) – 18 points

9/ Ecover (Mike Golding) – 14 points

10/Groupama 40 (Franck Cammas) – 13 points

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