Gitana 17 is back on the waters of the Morbihan

With six months to go until the Route du Rhum, the undisputed sporting objective for 2018, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild was relaunched this Monday 7 May in Lorient, Brittany. Following a winter refit geared around optimisation, which mainly focused on making the platform and the existing systems reliable as well as repairing the appendages damaged during the Transat Jacques Vabre, the latest addition to the Gitana fleet is back on the waters of the Morbihan once more. 

Crédit : E Allaire

Ultime / Sodebo Ultim’ wins Transat Jacques Vabre in record time as Doldrums come alive

Having match raced each other down the Atlantic after leaving Le Havre last Sunday, Thomas Colville and Jean-Luc Nélias struck a blow for experience by holding off Sébastien Josse and Thomas Rouxel on their newly-launched Maxi Edmond de Rothschild to win the 13th edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre.

Crédit : JM Liot (More pics, here)

Coville and Josse heading for record-breaking photo finish in Salvador de Bahia tomorrow

After 4,350 miles descending the Atlantic from Le Havre to Salvador de Bahia, the 13th edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre could come down to a photo finish between the older warhorse, Sodebo Ultim’, and the young stallion, Maxi Edmond de Rothschild.

Crédit : JL Nelias

Vidéo / The first flight, "The Maxi Edmond de Rothschild is safe and stable"

A few weeks ago, on 17 July, the day of her launch in Vannes, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild joined the Gitana Team. She is leading the way in a new generation of large flying offshore trimarans and her debut flights were eagerly anticipated ...

Crédit : B Stichelbaut / Gitana SA

Ultime / A highly charged day for Gitana Team (Images)

Suspended from the crane, the carbon bird packs quite a punch. This emotional moment has been eagerly awaited by all those who have worked on her, not to mention those working in the background, in the big push to take offshore sailing into a whole new era. At 08:30 GMT this Monday, the first oceanic trimaran designed to fly offshore was launched in Vannes, south-west Brittany, under the proud gaze of her owners, Ariane and Benjamin de Rothschild, her designers and builders, and of course the whole of Gitana Team supporting skipper Sébastien Josse. 

Crédit : Y Zedda

Maxi / The Maxi Edmond de Rothschild is unveiled

This Thursday 30 March, the Gitana Team invited the press to the Palais de Tokyo museum in Paris to mark the official launch of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, a giant' measuring 32 metres long and 23 metres wide, which is undergoing her final few months in the yard after a build process spanning over a year and a half. The launch of this new Gitana craft is scheduled for this July. 

Crédit : Y Zedda / Gitana SA

Multi70 / Giovanni Soldini prepares for upcoming racing season with Maserati Multi70

Maserati Multi70 is back on the water at the team’s base at Lorient in Brittany. Looking absolutely pristine, the futuristic trimaran, which stretches 21.2m in length and 16.8m in the beam, is primed for the new ocean challenges Giovanni Soldini has planned for her and his crew. 

Crédit : G Soldini

Ultime / Gitana Team launches the construction of a maxi-multihull

Monday 11 May, at the Multiplast yard, it was the day chosen by Gitana Team to set its compass to the future. Cyril Dardashti, the team’s General Manager, accompanied by the skipper Sébastien Josse and the entire Gitana design office, revealed the stable’s programme for the next five years, notably announcing the launch of the construction of a new generation maxi-multihull.

credit : Y Zedda / Gitana SA

Multi70 / "Our idea has been to try to get an oceanic trimaran flying offshore" for Gitana XV

In refit since her return from the West Indies back in December, the Multi70 Edmond de Rothschild left the cosy atmosphere of her technical base in Lorient this Wednesday morning to return to the liquid element. 

Credit : Y Zedda / Gitana SA (More pics, here)

MOD70 / MARSEILLE to host French stop on the 2012 MOD70 European Tour

Marseille will host the MOD70 fleet from 23rd to 30th of September on the only French stop over during the MOD70 European Tour. The world’s leading skippers and their exciting new generation of one-design trimarans will be based from the natural sailing arena of Roucas Blanc concurrent with one of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour events.

The fleet of MOD70s will have raced to Marseille from Cascais in Portugal and will be set to race on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th in front of the famed corniche of Marseille, as the prelude to their final event of the Tour which will finish in Italy. Under the constraints of one design racing Stève Ravussin, Michel Desjoyeaux, Sébastien Josse, Sidney Gavignet and Yann Guichard and their star studded crews will therefore race on equal terms against each other on the highly competitive inshore races that will comprise city races and speed matches.

Extreme Sailing Series / Mike Golding : " It is great to be at the top at the end of today "

Mike Golding’s Ecover Sailing Team have managed to hold on to the top spot at the Extreme Sailing Series™ Kiel event going into the penultimate day tomorrow (Saturday, 28th August). Two 1st places, a 4th and a 5th in the fleet racing plus a win in the match racing gave them 67 points: “It is great to be at the top at the end of today – a nice birthday present!” said Mike who is 50 today. “The reality is that we still look behind us and see the same boats finishing at the top of the fleet so it is very, very close… We keep hoping that one of the other boats at the top will have a really disastrous race but there is none of that.”

© Paul Wyeth/ OC Events

Extreme40 / The Stage Is Set For UK Round Of Extreme Sailing Series

With just two days to go before the start of the UK round of the 2010 Extreme Sailing Series at Cowes Week, Official Timekeeper, OMEGA, has announced it will present a Seamaster Planet Ocean Watch to the winning skipper: an added incentive to the nine teams battling it out on the Solent from 31 August – 5 July.

© Vincent Curutchet/ DPPI/ OC Events

The regular eight boat fleet entered into the 2010 circuit has been augmented by top French sailor Roland Jourdain, who has joined the UK event with his team Veolia Environnement. Jourdain, a two times IMOCA World Champion, hasn’t raced on multihulls since he won the Formula 40 World Championship in 1989, the boat made famous by another James Bond actor, Pierce Brosnan, in the Thomas Crowne Affair.

Express SNSM Record for Gitana 11

The first maxi-multihull to take the start of the SNSM Record, Gitana 11 has set a reference time across the 360 mile course proposed for the 6th edition of what has become a seasonal classic. Yann Guichard and his six crew completed the two return legs between Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantic) and Sainte Marine (South Finistère) in a time of 19 hours 39 minutes and 58 seconds. A fantastic way for the 77 foot giant to celebrate her first official outing!

Crédit : B.Bouvry / Record SNSM