Since 1876, the name Gitana has appeared regularly in yachting’s most exclusive circles, associated with boats that challenge convention. This lineage is inseparable from the Rothschild family and began with Gitanawas a steel steamer commissioned by Baroness Julie de Rothschild at a time when sailing ships still ruled the seas. Now, the newest member of this legendary fleet, the Gitana 18, continues the tradition of innovation further than ever before.
Years before the trimaran was launched in February, Baroness Ariane de Rothschild was determined to continue her family’s sailing legacy with a vessel capable of testing the outer limits of offshore multihull sailing. The result is a 105-foot-long hydrofoil yacht designed to – quite literally – fly across the high seas.
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Its predecessor, the Gitana 17, launched in 2017, was a hybrid that combined traditional trimaran sailing with hydrofoil sailing, rising from the sea before returning to the hull and rising again. After winning 10 grueling races, the boat proved it can survive in offshore conditions, not just calm waters or shorter races like the America’s Cup or SailGP. Still, the Baroness believes this is only part of the solution and she has been deeply involved in the development of the project.
The new project is ambitious and large-scale, requiring a total of 200 people, 50,000 hours of research and 200,000 man-hours of construction. This effort reflects the spirit of the Gitana team, which was founded by the Baroness and her late husband, Benjamin de Rothschild, shortly after their marriage in 2000. Benjamin de Rothschild was an excellent sailor, just like his father Edmond, and the yacht is named after him. Max Edmond de Rothschildas it was officially named, knew multihulls offered the best hope for offshore racing and purchased a dozen of them before his death in 2021. However, Gitana 18 is on another level. “We’ve moved from pure competition to research,” Baroness said, noting that Gitana 18 requires a team of engineers. Proving this radical new technology still means “betting on the ship.”
The trimaran, designed by Gitana’s in-house design office in collaboration with Guillaume Verdier and built by Brittany-based CDK Technologies, was unveiled in December. Rob Report Attend. Its broad skeletal profile is defined by Y-shaped airfoils, each carrying a more than 16-foot-wide wing designed to maximize lift while minimizing drag. The U-shaped rudder and central T-wing work together to stabilize the platform under extreme loads.
According to Captain Charles Caudrelier, these systems allow the Gitana 18 to hover above waves approaching 10 feet while maintaining an average speed of 40 knots while maintaining minimal contact with the hull. He believes the vessel has greater stability and could exceed the Gitana 17’s top speed of 51 knots. The first opportunity to test this theory came in April, when the yacht made its debut during a five-day Mediterranean offshore event from France to Greece.
Max Edmond Rothschild – Frank Camas / Charles Caudelier – Transat Jacques Vabre 2021
Aesthetics haven’t been ignored either. The striking livery of the Gitana 18 was created by French artists Florian and Michaël Quistrebert in collaboration with the Palais de Tokyo. Spanning over 21,500 square feet, its graphics draw on symbolism associated with the five branches of the family, with stylized mermaid images representing Ariana’s four daughters printed on the massive sail.
During the unveiling, Baroness stressed that honoring the team’s legacy requires more than just respect. It calls for “disrupting today and seeing how far you can improve technology,” she said. She added that the competition “is a proof of concept,” even if a return on investment takes months or even years as engineers refine untested components for the harsh realities of high-seas sailing. When the balance is finally struck, the Gitana 18 may not only redefine what boats can do at sea, but also how far the sport itself is willing to go.
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