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.

11.07.2012

Pitch black in broad daylight.

par Gitana

On this fourth day at sea, the novelty doesn’t come in the hierarchy of the top trio but rather the switch to stealth mode’ by Foncia at the 0700 UTC standing, then by Edmond de Rothschild Group three hours later. Sébastien Josse and Michel Desjoyeaux, whose crews are involved in a hand to hand battle, decided to benefit from the opportunity given by race management, namely to disappear from the position reports for nine hours in a row. In this way, the two boats tailing leader, Spindrift Racing, won’t be visible on the cartography throughout Wednesday.

Stealth mode, explanations

In the sailing instructions, Jacques Caraës, the race director for the Krys Ocean Race, opted to propose a ‘stealth’ mode reported as follows: “Once during the race, any crew competing in the Krys Ocean Race has the opportunity to disappear from the position reports for a maximum duration of 9 hours: from 12 hours after the start to the longitude of the Fastnet.”The first to benefit from this rule, this Wednesday morning, the crew of Michel Desjoyeaux wasn’t making any secret of his intentions: “Our aim is to put a bit of pressure on our direct rival, Edmond de Rothschild Group to push them to make a mistake. The route to Brest may appear straight and as such, switching to stealth mode may seem pointless, but we’ve decided to use our right, because despite everything, our speeds and our courses… still provide some interesting information for our rivals,” admitted Sébastien Col, Foncia’s navigator-tactician, during the noon radio link-up.

Aboard the trimaran fitted out by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild, which has been managing to fend off the attacks of its pursuer since setting out from New York, naturally the response wasn’t long in coming! In turn, three hours later, during the following standing, Sébastien Josse and his men disappeared from the official cartography. The most modern of the Gitana trimarans will again be visible in nine hours’ time, for the 1900 UTC position report. At that point we’ll be able to see if the plan of attack drawn up by the strategists on Foncia has paid off or not.

The leader of the fleet is now just 707.7 miles from the finish this noon. According to the latest routing, the first trimarans should be approaching the Scillies, the compulsory course mark which they must leave to starboard, by Thursday morning. However, an announcement is likely to be made over the course of the afternoon, once race management have made their decision about the course. Indeed, Edmond de Rothschild Group and its adversaries have devoured the North Atlantic and the theoretical 2,950 miles of the course so quickly that the organisers are currently considering an intermediary course. With the Tonnerres de Brest opening their doors on Friday morning, it is hoped that the MOD 70s won’t get to the maritime festival too early… Indeed Race Director Jacques Caraës has some onshore imperatives to satisfy too, whilst also offering a solution which is acceptable on a competitive and maritime level. In fact the sailors are tired by their crossing due to the windy, testing conditions that they’ve encountered along the course and the fatigue is very evident in the voices from the sea. This is especially true given that the conditions for making landfall on the continental shelf are forecast to be boisterous with 25 knots of breeze and big seas.

Aboard Musandam – Oman Sail, the crew has been able to reach virtually the same speeds as the top three trimarans, despite its port foil damage, which occurred on the second night of racing. Indeed, after discussions with the architects of the one-design and the class’ shore team, Sidney Gavignet’s men have replaced the broken foil with the one that is still intact, but usually situated on the starboard float (the trimarans are equipped with two symmetrical appendages on the floats). To make the operation possible, the appendage in perfect condition was inserted ‘head down’ into the damaged foil casing. It is an ingenious system which is enabling Musandam – Oman Sail to get back into the race, even though it’ll be difficult to make up the miles lost in relation to the leaders, barring incident, between now and Brest.

Standing on Wednesday 11 July at 1000 UTC

Spindrift Racing – 707.7 miles from the finish
Edmond de Rothschild Group – Stealth mode
Foncia – Stealth mode
Musandam – Oman Sail 209.5 miles from the leader
Race for Water – 456.3 miles from the leader

The crew of Edmond de Rothschild Group

Sébastien Josse (skipper, helmsman)

Antoine Koch (navigator – helmsman)

Christophe Espagnon (trimmer – helmsman)

David Boileau (trimmer – helmsman)

Thomas Rouxel (trimmer – helmsman)

Florent Chastel (bowman)

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