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After its first few runs and tests of the new Y-shaped foils, Gitana 18 is changing up its training ground. The Maxi Edmond de Rothschild is beginning to sail offshore and extend its training sessions. In the sixth episode of ?Flying Offshore,? released on August 31, 2026, the Gitana Team offers a behind-the-scenes look at this new phase. And behind the images of the Ultim in flight lies a less spectacular reality: there is still much to learn before Charles Caudrelier finds himself alone on board for the 2026 Route du Rhum.
Three nights at sea to start working differently
A few hours out on the water is enough to test a setting. Three and a half days at sea are enough to start getting to know a boat.
That's one of the lessons from this new video. Gitana 18 has just completed a voyage that included three nights at sea. The point isn't just to rack up miles.
On a long six-hour upwind leg, the team has enough time to adjust a setting, observe its effect, revert to the previous setting, and try another configuration. In contrast, a one-hour sail quickly limits the number of useful trials.
For a brand-new Ultim whose appendages have just been modified, this duration is important. The design team has data covering a longer period, and the crew is beginning to identify how the boat responds in conditions that are less standardized than during the test runs.
And the sensations experienced on board remain essential. Digital models can define a theoretical configuration, but they do not fully replicate what sailors feel when the boat accelerates, lifts off, or becomes unstable.
The two Y-shaped foils are changing the test schedule
The summer of 2026 was not a smooth ride for Gitana Team. The two foils were not delivered at the same time. The team first sailed with a single foil, then used the initial test runs to make modifications to the second one before continuing their comparisons.
The consequence was obvious: with only one foil operational, the trimaran handled very differently from one tack to the next. Charles Caudrelier even explains that during some summer voyages, up to 70 percent of the time was spent on the tack without a foil.
The problem wasn't just about speed. To properly calibrate the data from the instruments?particularly the wind measurement?the technicians need reference points on both tacks. The arrival of the second foil therefore cleared the way for some of the work on the electronics and data.
Gitana 18 can now be studied along with its two appendages and begin to move beyond this phase of asymmetry.
Flap and rake: a sign that Gitana 18 is entering the fine-tuning phase
A specific vocabulary cue helps indicate how far along the program is. At the start of testing, the team is still trying to determine the general position of the foil. When discussions begin to focus on a few degrees of flap or rake, the level of analysis changes.
The flap refers to the movable part that allows one to adjust the hydrodynamic characteristics of the foil. The rake corresponds to its longitudinal angle of attack. Changing these parameters affects the lift generated by the foil and, consequently, the trim and behavior of the trimaran.
Sébastien Sainson, director of the Gitana Team design office, believes that certain phases of the voyage are now focused on performance testing. Others are still devoted to exploration, simply because the boat has not yet encountered all the conditions necessary to explore its full operating range.
This mix reflects the project's early stages. Gitana 18 is beginning to be fine-tuned in some areas, while major questions remain unanswered in others.
Foils involve mechanics, hydraulics, electronics, and composites
The appendices are also among the most interesting parts of the video for understanding the complexity of the new Ultim.
According to Sébastien Sainson, about 90% of the team's energy is then focused on the foils.
It?s no longer just about large composite parts. The Gitana 18?s appendages combine composite structures, hydraulics, and electronics. A modification therefore involves several disciplines and can tie up a significant portion of the team.
Every change must therefore answer a fairly pragmatic question: How much time will the change take, and what benefit does the team hope to gain from it?
This approach becomes all the more important as the schedule tightens. A part can always be refined. But every day spent in the workshop is also a day during which Charles Caudrelier isn't learning how to sail his boat at sea.
With just a few weeks to go before the Rhum, should we make changes or just sail on?
This is probably the main dilemma of this preparatory phase.
Gitana Team continues to discover new opportunities for improvement with every outing. A new configuration yields new data, which in turn sparks new ideas and sometimes new problems.
But the Route du Rhum sets a deadline by which the search must end.
Sébastien Sainson explains it clearly: the team sometimes has to be willing to sacrifice some of the technical work to give Charles Caudrelier more time to navigate.
Because the skipper will soon have to do on his own what several people are still doing during the trials.
On board an Ultim, this transition is no small matter. Maneuvers take longer when sailing solo and require greater foresight. The skipper must also have a thorough understanding of the boat?s behavior to know when to push, when to change the configuration, and when to ease the strain on the hull.
Reliability is becoming just as important as speed
Charles Caudrelier, incidentally, makes no secret of the main weakness in his preparation: the number of miles he has sailed.
He acknowledges that he won't yet be fully familiar with his boat at the start and himself identifies reliability as one of the unknowns of the project.
The 2026 Route du Rhum could become the longest voyage Gitana 18 has ever undertaken. However, the stresses placed on a sailing Ultim are considerable, and some of these stresses can only truly be discovered while sailing.
The tests thus reveal stresses or damage that were not necessarily anticipated by the calculations. It is then necessary to repair, modify, return to sea, and verify.
Gitana Team has the experience gained with the Gitana 17, so it isn't starting from scratch. But the new appendages add more interfaces, movements, and parameters to monitor.
Charles Caudrelier must now convert the Ultim into a solo racing boat
The video again shows a ship being fully operated by a crew, with engineers and technicians on board to monitor its performance.
The Route du Rhum will be exactly the opposite.
Charles Caudrelier will find himself alone, responsible for maneuvering, adjusting, and maintaining a trimaran he has only been sailing for a few months. The skipper does not seem concerned about the solo voyage itself. Instead, he emphasizes the need to anticipate each maneuver more carefully.
The unknowns regarding the boat?s performance also remain. Gitana Team has not pitted its new boat against the leading Ultim competitors under conditions that would allow for a reliable ranking. While Gitana 18 was being built and fine-tuned, the other teams continued to develop their boats.
