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.

08.05.2003

Cherbourg. Start D – 3.

Three days to go before the liberating starting shot is fired. The boats entered in the 2nd edition of the Challenge Mondial Assistance, including Gitana, are moored up alongside the pontoons of Port Chantereyne in Cherbourg (France – Channel coast). All that is except Foncia, winner of the 1st edition in 2001, as she sustained damage to her mast d…

par Gitana

So 12 multihulls and almost 70 yachtsmen, including 3 women, will be setting out on Sunday 11th May at 15h for a 2734 mile long crewed race, covering three seas (English Channel, Mediterranean, Adriatic) and one Ocean (Atlantic), a race which will last some ten days or so. The yachtsmen will encounter varying weather conditions with “twisted” local characteristics. Nor’easter, Nor’wester, So’wester, Trade, Levanter, Sirocco, Tramontana, Mistral, Levanto and Bora will each come into play for better or for worse for these Formula 1 racing machines.

Lionel Lemonchois, Gitana’s skipper : “One thing is certain, is that it’s not going to be easy. But I’m not apprehensive about the changing weather. Moreover, the in the open sea the boat seems to be more at ease, particularly downwind“. It is likely that the suspense of the event will keep going right through to the end, into the last few miles of Rimini, on the shores of the Adriatic sea, in cineast Federico Fellini’s homeland.

Gitana in the starting blocks

Everything is ready for the Gitana Team. The Grand Prix de Lorient (Atlantic), which was held three weeks ago enabled several points to be validated on the boat’s sails, appendages, and crew cohesion. The new all carbon dagger board made with the latest digital milling technology, should make her easier to helm and improve speed and course-holding performance. This afternoon Gitana had her last pre-start outing to check the finer points of one or two adjustments to the mast and sails.

On form !

Gitana’s six-strong crew is ready. After five months in the yard and optimisation, Lionel Lemonchois, Benjamin de Rothschild, Marc Guessard, Yann Marilley, Olivier Wroczynski and François Denis cannot hide their impatience to get down to the business of racing against the rest of the fleet.

As for strategy, Richard Silvani and Sylvain Mondon from Météo France got to work on a detailed study of the weather and setting out a precise inventory of local phenomena in order to fine tune the choice of course best suited to current knowledge of the trimaran.

Benjamin de Rothschild, owner and crew on board Gitana for all the crewed races of the 2003 season : “In spite of the fact that the boat has only sailed 3 000 miles since she was launched last June, we are beginning to obtain precise information about her speed potential under certain points of sail thanks to data recorded on board with software we developed ourselves. I hope that the innovative options we have wished for Gitana will be confirmed in this 2nd Challenge Mondial Assistance“.

Watch out for the wind

For Sunday’s start, the wind will no doubt be unstable in direction, not exceeding 15/20 knots in speed (28/36 km/h), but should strengthen in the second part of the night. As the fleet comes out of the Channel, conditions will be a little rough, with a breeze which should be veering north-westerly, thus a headwind blowing directly at the competitors, with strong gusts of up to 40 knots (75 km/h). Acrobatic conditions but ones which ought to be favourable for Gitana which appears to be more at ease in a blow at the moment than in light airs.

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