Heritage
Season 26
Types de médias
  • Photos
  • Vidéos
  • Sons
Années
  • 2026
  • 2024
  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2021
  • 2020
  • 2019
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2016
  • 2015
  • 2014
Afficher les résultats (121)
supprimer tous les filtres
  • News
  • Gallery
    •
  • Gitana 18
  • Team
  • Heritage

    • 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.

    1 / 2

    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.

    1 / 2

    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.

    Gitana 18’s daggerboard

    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.

    1 / 2

    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.

    Gitana 18’s coachroof

    07.10.2009

    Everything will be decided in Almeria!.

    The final curtain will fall in the iShares Cup 2009 this coming Monday and the three days of racing in Almeria, from Saturday 10th to Monday 12th October, will serve as Justice of the Peace given the minimal separation between the top three boats and the current impossibility of drawing any conclusions. For this 6th and final event of the champions…

    par Gitana

    The final curtain will fall in the iShares Cup 2009 this coming Monday and the three days of racing in Almeria, from Saturday 10th to Monday 12th October, will serve as Justice of the Peace given the minimal separation between the top three boats and the current impossibility of drawing any conclusions. For this 6th and final event of the championship the tension is at its height and competitors will need nerves of steel to assert their authority. The crew of Gitana Extreme – LCF Rothschild is already on zone to prepare themselves as best they can for this last confrontation.

    Event winners in Venice and Amsterdam, Yann Guichard and his three crew are neck and neck with Pete Cumming’s men, the latter victorious in the other three Grands Prix of the season. However, despite sharing the bulk of the medals this year, Gitana Extreme – LCF Rothschild Group and Oman Sail Masirah won’t be alone in being a pretender to ultimate victory this weekend. Indeed, Loïck Peyron’s crew is waiting in ambush just a point behind the top duo. “It’s extremely motivating to be tied on points with Oman Masirah. This position kick starts the race for the title again and I have to say that, given the deficit we had prior to the event in Amsterdam, it’s pretty remarkable to find ourselves in this situation. It gives the crew of Gitana Extreme – LCF Rothschild Group an even greater incentive to excel ourselves!” admitted Yann Guichard, just hours before setting off for Spain.

    The situation is clear then. In order to take gold in the iShares Cup 2009, there is some particularly tight racing in store for Yann Guichard and his crew. However, these four sailors have already demonstrated that they can handle the pressure and transcend themselves on atypical race zones which are hard to read. Mathematically, the equation appears simple: the men aboard the one design equipped by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild must rank higher than Pete Cumming’s Spanish crew at all costs and only let a single, solitary boat slip in between themselves and Oman Renaissance. One thing for sure though is that they will have to put in a solid performance this weekend and keep a cool head: “We’re specifically targeting the overall ranking but we mustn’t let that stop us from sailing in the same way as we have done thus far” explained the skipper of Gitana Extreme before explaining his view of the event as a whole: “The competition has been fierce throughout the season and the event in Amsterdam showed once again that on a closed race zone, everyone is in with a chance. As such you have to be on the alert all the way to the finish and sail cleanly without making any mistakes to make it to the top of the table and be in with a chance of winning the championship. However, on the iShares Cup playing fields you also have to anticipate and control the elements surrounding the race zone to do well!” The battle plan for the men of Gitana Team is ready, so now all that remains is for them to apply themselves on the waters of Andalusia from this Saturday onwards.

    Not leaving anything to chance, Yann Guichard and Sylvain Mondon – weather adviser for the Gitana Team – have together been examining the weather charts of Southern Spain for several days to determine the general trend for this 6th and final stage of the season: “As far as the weather conditions are concerned, things look to be shaping up for a light thermal breeze, which will pick up over the course of the afternoon. However, it will all depend on exactly where the race zones are because there will be a considerable difference between races contested inside or outside the port of Almeria.”

    Crew of Gitana Extreme – LCF Rothschild Group
    Yann Guichard (skipper-helm)
    Pierre Pennec (mainsail traveller trimmer, tactics), Christophe Lassegue (headsail trimmer, control of manœuvres) and Hervé Cunningham (headsail trimmer, control of manœuvres)

    Ten teams present in Almeria for the final
    BT (Nick Moloney) – Ecover (Mike Golding) – Groupama 40 (Franck Cammas) – Holmatro (Mitch Booth) – iShares (Shirley Robertson) – Luna (Erik Maris) – Oman Sail Masirah (Pete Cumming) – Oman Sail Renaissance (Loïck Peyron)  – Rumba Almeria (Fernando Echavarri) and Gitana Extreme – LCF Rothschild Group (Yann Guichard)

    Provisional championship ranking prior to the 6th and final event
    1/ Oman Sail Masirah – 43 points (4th, 1st, 1st, 1st, 5th)
    2/ Gitana Extreme- LCF Rothschild Group – 43 points (1st, 4th, 2nd, 4th, 1st)
    3/Oman Sail Renaissance – 42 points (3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 2nd, 2nd)
    4/ Groupama 40 – 33 points (5th, 5th, 6th, 3rd, 3rd)
    5/ BT – 23 points (6th, 6th, 4th, 8th, 8th)
    6/ iShares – 22 points (9th, 7th, 5th, 6th, 6th)
    7/ Holmatro – 20 points (8th, 8th, 8th, 7th, 4th)
    8/ Luna – 20 points (7th, 9th, 7th, 5th, 7th)
    9/ BMW Oracle – 18 points (2nd, 2nd, DNC, DNC, DNC, DNC, DNC)
    10/ Ecover – 8 points (10th, 10th, 9th, 10th, 9th)

    Retourner aux articles