Ultim racing supertrimaran Gitana 18 hits water in France

The Gitana 18 is the boat’s given name, while the trimaran’s racing name is Maxi Edmond de Rothschild 

The project was initiated in January 2024 by Ariane de Rothschild, owner of the Gitana 17, which has already covered nearly 200,000 nautical miles all over the world and won 10 out of 16 races. However, the successful boat was sold, because Ariane, the widow of financial magnate and passionate yachtsman Benjamin de Rothschild, wanted more. 

To create the new record-breaking yacht, she invited the top-notch professionals: head of Gitana’s design office, Sébastien Sainson, teamed up with Guillaume Verdier, one of the most famous IMOCA and America's Cup yacht designers. The boat’s monumental livery was created by Florian and Michaël Quistrebert, in collaboration with the Palais de Tokyo. The renowned racer and future skipper of the new yacht, Charles Caudrelier, made a significant contribution to the design process, too. 

Construction on the Gitana 18 was kept under wraps, so when the three-headed “beast” was finally unveiled in Lorient, Brittany, it didn’t take everybody long to understand that it was a next-generation vessel indeed. 

Her dimensions of 32х23 m are impressive, and the shape resembles an aircraft. At the same time, the designers refer to their creation as “a polymorphic creature, which provides an opportunity to adjust, deploy and retract a plethora of mobile elements”. And the elements have been upgraded considerably, too.

Instead of L-shaped hydro foils conventional for modern oceanic trimarans, the new boat features retractable Y-shaped foils equipped with a wing spanning over 5 m. The central ‘wing’ has not been revealed yet, but is said to be a sculptural 3 metres of metal.  

However, the most radical innovation is the rudders of A-framed design that have never been seen before. Unlike conventional rudders that turn themselves, the Gitana 18 features double chords that are fixed, while the direction is controlled by the flaps at the trailing edge.

The canting mast made by Southern Spars has spreaders to modify the power of the mainsail, which is particularly important when the boat is taking off, as well as in squally weather. It is the first time this kind of solution has been realized on this scale. 

Thanks to all the innovations, the expected increase in speed is 10-15%, while the top speed potential is expected to exceed 55 knots. 

The skipper of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild Gitana 18, Charles Caudrelier, is confident that the trimaran will be capable of flying above the waves: “With this new boat, we hope to achieve as close to perfect flight as possible. Ideally, we’ll be able to fly very high without ever touching the waves. We hope to be able to fly in 3 m waves and reach an average sailing speed bordering on 40 knots”. 

In the nearest few months, the first event for the Gitana 18 will be the 2026 Route du Rhum, which is scheduled to start on 1 November 2026, after which skipper Caudrelier will go on solo around the world, and then crewed for Jules Verne Trophy.