Gitana Team has unveiled of the 32m long, 23m wide Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, which has been under construction for more than a year and a half, in Palais de Tokyo. The new model is scheduled to be launched in July. 

(Photos: Gitana - Maxi Edmond de Rothschild)

It includes the review of the general concept that focuses on the singularities of the platform, highlighting the forms and architectural biases. Sebastien Josse and his team aim to develop a flying maxi-trimaran.

A new chapter in the history of offshore racing is very likely being written. Who could have wagered just ten years ago that a 32-metre long and 23-metre wide multihull would be capable of flying around the world driven by just one skipper? And yet, this is the gamble accepted by Ariane and Benjamin de Rothschild and the members of Gitana Team, their offshore racing stable founded in 2000.

This ‘Ultime’, which has fully adopted a long-term approach with the team involved in extensive research and development on the Multi70 Edmond de Rothschild since 2014. Designed by naval architect Guillaume Verdier and his team in collaboration with the Gitana design office, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild will be part Archimedean boat (submerged hull), part flying craft.

Beyond her majestic platform, which is an imposing sight from the first visit to the Multiplast yard in Vannes, the boat features purposeful planing hulls beneath the waterline that are both aggressive and innovative and a far cry from those used on the current fleet of oceanic multihulls. 

She will be equipped with the latest architectural and technical advances in terms of appendages, with T-foil rudders and L-shaped foils, which Gitana Team does not intend to unveil prior to the boat’s launch.

With everything geared towards flight, a great deal of care has gone into the aerodynamics of the platform. The forms of the beams in particular testify to this, as does the integration of the living space/cockpit between the two beams.

The broad outline of the sports programme for the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild has been established for the next three seasons. Christened Gitana 17 has been developed and built with the focus on solo sailing, though she will also be the ideal boat for crewed races as well as the major records.

The first official competition for the Maxi will take place this November for the double-handed transatlantic race – the Transat Jacques Vabre between Le Havre and Salvador de Bahia, in Brazil. 

For this trial run, Sébastien Josse will be accompanied by the navigator Thomas Rouxel. Hailing from the Figaro network of excellence, the Breton sailor is one of the members of the sailing team on the Edmond de Rothschild craft and boasts a wealth of offshore experience that includes a Volvo Ocean Race and a Jules Verne Trophy. The Route du Rhum 2018 and a solo round the world in the autumn of 2019 will round off this programme.

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