On July 17th of this year, the Gitana team was launching the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild in Vannes, a giant 32-metre trimaran, the precursor of a series of flying ocean-going trimarans. For this purpose, she is equipped with the largest foils ever built to date with their 8 metres of development. 20 months of construction will have been necessary to launch this carbon giant.
After reaching her home port of Lorient, to be mast stepped and equipped with the latest installations - adjustment of the rigging, adjustments to the wardrobe, powering up of the entire electrical system, validation of the electronics - the multihull has since pulled her first tack. It was from Keroman's technical base that Sébastien Josse (accompanied by Thomas Rouxel, his team-mate in the Transat Jacques Vabre and members of the Gitana Team) discovered his trimaran and proceeded to fine-tune it. A running-in phase and an accelerated learning process with the aim of racing the Transat Jacques Vabre, which will start on 5 November 2017.
First impressions of Sébastien Josse
On July 28, 2017, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild was therefore making his first tacks in the company of the owners of Gitana Team -Ariane and Benjamin de Rothschild. It was an opportunity to discover her behaviour at sea, as Sébastien Josse confided " The sensations are very good and our first outings always make us want to see more! After our first five navigations, we can say that the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild meets our specifications perfectly. It's a steep, safe boat ? it feels like he can really handle ? and powerful. So far we've had rather mediocre conditions to test it, but you can feel right away that there are a lot of reserves underfoot, which is very positive. We're all looking forward to sailing in strong winds and seas, but first things first. The "summer" conditions allow us to take the measure of the Maxi little by little, to familiarise ourselves with its reactions and behaviour. For the moment, we've done some crewed outings, but in the next few days we'll be switching to "double" mode. A month after the launch, we are halfway between the discovery phase of this giant, fresh from the yard, and our preparation phase for the Jacques Vabre with Thomas (Rouxel, editor's note). The timing is great and the whole team has worked hard to make sure we are on time. It's still too early to make a real assessment, we'll have to wait for the Jacques Vabre and the precious miles of an Atlantic crossing on the race course for that, but it's certain that it has great potential, which we'll discover as we go along."
To maximise their preparation, the two skippers are going to increase the number of training outings offshore. In fact, they are due to complete a qualification course, which will be the opportunity for a long loop of 2,000 nautical miles in the coming days.
A flying trimaran
The latest Gitana, whose design was entrusted to the architect Guillaume Verdier, is the first of a new generation of large 2-in-1 ocean-going trimarans. Units at the crossroads between an archimedean sailboat and a flying unit.
"The flight? It's clearly not the primary objective of the first navigations, as there's already a lot to be done in getting to grips with the machine. But from now on, everything is in place on board to make full use of our systems. The few outings we've been able to carry out since the launch don't enable us to master the exercise, but what we can already say today is that there's no doubt that the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild will fly! Afterwards, knowing in what configuration it will be possible and above all will prove to be efficient in terms of performance... patience!" concluded the skipper Gitana.
The Transat Jacques Vabre to discover the boat's potential
The Maxi Edmond de Rothschild will be one of the three Ultimate entered in the 13th edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre. Sébastien Josse will be supported by Thomas Rouxel and will be up against Prince de Bretagne (Lemonchois - Stamm) and Sodebo Ultim' (Coville - Nélias). The skipper of Gitana has a great deal of experience of the race as he won the 2013 edition with Charles Caudrelier aboard the Multi70 Edmond de Rothschild when the final destination was Itajaí in southern Brazil.
