“The best car at the start”: before the Route du Rhum, Charles Caudrelier is betting on Gitana 18, a state-of-the-art maxi-trimaran

In a week, Sunday November 1st, 115 skippers will set off from Saint-Malo towards Guadeloupe for the 13th edition of the Route du Rhum. Among them, the Ultims, these flying maxi-trimarans capable of reaching 100 km/h. In this category, the race for technology is raging. This year, Charles Caudrelier, title holder, will set off aboard Gitana 18, a boat launched on February 14, built in three years for 18 million euros. On paper, it's the fastest in the world. But we still have to prove it on the Atlantic...

Its silhouette is more streamlined, its shells more aerodynamic. But it's when you enter the cockpit that you really see the first improvements. “A major difference is that in the cockpit of Gitana 17, the skipper could not stand up. Over 50 days around the world, it’s a bit complicated for the body,” explains Alice Duvivier.

A naval engineer, she designed this cocoon of around ten square meters, out of the 600 that make up the boat. A space where things flash everywhere. “We have about forty buttons and screens. There are lots of colors, there are lots of numbers going in all directions. The sailor, at first glance, must be able to see what is important for navigation,” she explains.

"Highest average speed"

Facing the cockpit stands the mast. New: it is no longer a rigid post, but a rod whose curvature can be controlled. And then, there are these immense wings to port and starboard, the famous foils, which make the boat fly. Small revolution: they are Y-shaped, with two branches.

All of this has one goal: to go faster, explains Sébastien Sainson, director of the design office. “Unlike Formula 1 where we are perhaps looking for the top speed. We are going to say: really, we want the fastest car. There, we are looking for the highest average speed.”

“The idea of ​​this new boat is to fly higher, a little, and more stable in rough seas.”

Sébastien Sainson

at franceinfo

At least in theory. Because after the first weeks of navigation, the first problems appeared. The boat therefore had to return to the shipyard, under the supervision of Pierre Tissier, the technical director. “We realized, on a wing tip of one of the foils, that there was a small bubble being created, we call it ventilation. For example, we are going to work on the wing tip so that it is as slender, as thin as possible, or to avoid this kind of small phenomena which, cumulatively on all the appendages, end up slowing down the machine,” he explains.

Setbacks which obviously complicate the task of the skipper, Charles Caudrelier. "I know that my boat will not be as ready as last time. But we knew that we could make mistakes and that we would have things to correct. And there is more to gain from making the boat progress than from making the sailor progress, even if obviously we prefer to train as much as possible. But you have to have the best car at the start. That's what's important."

On this state-of-the-art boat, the Gitana team has filed six patents.