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.

29.10.2007

A single prologue, but contested as a team.

par Gitana

With the big start just a week away, the “Transat Jacques Vabre – Trophée Laguna” prologues were due to take place at Le Havre this weekend. Saturday saw the 60-foot Imoca class and therefore Gitana Eighty in action, while Gitana 11 and the other Orma 60-foot multihulls were supposed to have been in action on the Sunday. Sensing that poor weather conditions might force the multihulls to remain in harbour, Gitana Team general manager Loïck Peyron, the skipper of Gitana Eighty, brought together a large part of his team to contest this first event.

Beneath low and foggy skies and a light wind of 10 knots, the 60-foot Imoca-class monohulls, with the 40-foot class close behind, came together in the Seine estuary to compete over a course of around eight miles. It amounted to the first big test for the team’s brand-new Gitana Eighty, as its crew for the Transat, Loïck Peyron and Jean Baptiste Le Vaillant, continue with the final adjustments during these “warm-up” sessions.

“What was important on Saturday,” Loïck Peyron explains, “was to share these moments with Lionel Lemonchois and Yann Guichard, the crew of Gitana 11, the other boat being entered in the transat by our owner Benjamin de Rothschild. I also wanted to bring on board some of the technical team who have expended so much time and energy to get this new monohull ready for the start of the race. The days before the start of these big races are always important times and experiencing them together as a team is most important of all.”

At the end of just over an hour’s hotly disputed racing, it was the new boats – of which there are many due to line up at the start of the Transat – that took the lion’s share of the spoils. Gitana Eighty and her expanded crew, meanwhile, finished in 4th position.

On the Sunday morning, following confirmation from Météo France of a warning of south to south-westerly winds blowing 25 to 30 knots in the Channel area, the decision was indeed made to cancel the multihull prologue, so as not to subject the boats and their sailors to any unnecessary risks on the eve of the race.

Crew for the “Transat Jacques Vabre – Trophée Laguna prologue”

Loïck Peyron
Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant
Lionel Lemonchois
Yann Guichard
Jean Le Huérou-Kérisel
Yann Le Govic
Antoine Mermod
William Fabulet
Ludovic Aglaor

IMOCA 60-foot class

1. Safran – Marc Guillemot et Charles Caudrelier
2. Ecover – Mike Golding et Bruno Dubois
3. Foncia – Michel Desjoyeaux et Emmanuel Le Borgne
4. Gitana Eighty – Loïck Peyron et Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant
5. Groupe Bel – Kito de Pavant et Sébastien Col
6. Artémis – Jonny Malbon et Graham Tourell
7. VM Matériaux – Jean Le Cam et Gildas Morvan
8. Cheminées Poujoulat – Bernard Stamm et Tanguy Cariou
…

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