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.

03.07.2009

Tomorrow is another day!.

This first day of racing at Hyères has been marked by the domination of the Oman Sail Masirah catamaran. Pete Cumming scored four bullets in the six races run today. For the crew of Gitana Extreme – LCF Rothschild Group, the start-up proved to be a little trickier and this evening Yann Guichard and his men are in 6th position in the provisional ran…

par Gitana

First fact of the day: the expected wind of around 20 knots was less strong than forecast. Indeed, the W to SW’ly breeze was shy initially and it rarely exceeded 7 knots during the first race. Following that the wind gradually filled in over the course of the afternoon but never reached more than 15 knots. This was nevertheless sufficient to provide some great battles on the Var region’s race zone.

Aboard Gitana Extreme – LCF Rothschild Group it won’t be a day to go down in the history books. During the opening race, despite a good start at the committee boat, Yann Guichard’s men missed a course mark. Quickly realising their mistake, they were forced to perform a 360° turn in order to be able to make the mark and leave it to port as planned. Following on from that, there were problems with unfurling the gennaker, some hesitant manœuvres and above all some less pertinent starts than usual. The misadventures of the day confirm, if need be, that in the iShares Cup races, you really have to pay the price for any mistakes: “Not easy. There was a little more wind than in Venice and the crews are beginning to work well together, which naturally means that the level is picking up. We didn’t get off to very good starts today, the upshot of which meant we were in the thick of the chasing group and that’s always more difficult. With wind conditions being lighter there was a lot of contact and we had our fair share of penalties (the crew have to perform a 360° when the judges on the water observe an error)” analysed Yann, before admitting to a slight deficit in terms of speed due to the boat’s characteristic trim: “The wind was lighter than forecast and as we opted for a breezy set-up this penalised us in terms of speed.”

It is worth remembering though that the crew of Gitana Extreme isn’t exactly the same as in Venice, as Hervé Cunningham has been replaced as headsail trimmer by Simeon Tienpont, a young Dutch sailor. This change, which the whole team has perfectly adapted to, does however call for the official language aboard to be English.

True to form, Yann Guichard was lucid about the errors committed by his crew today, but he certainly isn’t discouraged by this difficult introduction: “There are still a lot of races ahead and the analysis of the racing today will enable us to iron out the issues we had. Tomorrow is another day. We’re going to start out from scratch and set off all the keener tomorrow!”

Direct decision

In the iShares Cup, the judges responsible for ensuring the race rules are respected are on the water: it’s what you call a direct decision. During a protest resulting from a collision or refusal of priority, they have to decide in an instant which boat is responsible. Today, the judges certainly had their work cut out…

Crew of Gitana Extreme – LCF Rothschild Group

Yann Guichard (skipper-helm)

Pierre Pennec (mainsail traveller trimmer, tactics),

Christophe Lassegue (headsail trimmer, control of manœuvres)

Simeon Tienpont (headsail trimmer, control of manœuvres)

Ranking on the first day (after 6 races)

1/ Oman Sail Masirah (Pete Cumming) – 55 points

2/ BT (Nick Moloney) – 46 points

3/ Oman Sail Renaissance (Loïck Peyron) – 45 points

4/ Groupama 40 (Franck Cammas) – 38 points

5/ Bmw Oracle (James Spithill) – 37 points

6/ Gitana Extreme- LCF Rothschild Group (Yann GUICHARD) – 31 points

7/ iShares – Shirley Robertson – 30 points

8/ Holmatro (Carolijn Brouwer) – 21 points

9/ Luna (Erik Maris) – 17 points

10/ Ecover – Mike Golding – 10 points

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