Maxi Edmond de Rothschild: Update four months from Route du Rhum start

The Atlantic Ocean off the port of Lorient is witness to two exciting foiling projects.

La Roche-Possay Race Team is working up the first AC75 to sail in French waters ahead of the 2027 America's Cup. Also, sea trialling is the radical foiling Ultim 105ft trimaran, Gitana 18, aimed at becoming the fastest trans-oceanic race yacht in the world.

Within the Gitana Team, the weeks are flying by at a steady pace. Since the launch of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild on 14 February, the team has been getting to know their new flying maxi-trimaran — and with it, a host of new, sometimes entirely unprecedented, challenges.

The first task was to install the imposing and innovative foils that define Gitana 18, then validate and test all onboard systems, starting with the electronics and autopilot. The schedule is particularly tight, with the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe looming next autumn. Even so, there's no question of rushing through these technical milestones: they are the very first in the boat's life, and they will prove decisive throughout her career.

This post-build fine-tuning phase calls for real agility — both in managing the schedule and in balancing work ashore with test sailing. The Gitana Team's extensive experience, and the mutual trust shared by every member, are essential assets for the weeks ahead. "We're all fully mobilised, with both our short-term and long-term goals firmly in mind. The whole team is giving everything so that Charles can line up at St Malo with as many cards in hand as possible," says Cyril Dardashti, the team's Managing Director, offering a first progress report at the halfway point of preparations for the Rhum.

For Julien Villion and Erwan Israël, crew members on Gitana 18 and part of the five-arrow team's performance unit, this period is as intense as it is exciting. Virtual projections are finally taking shape on the water, and Gitana 18 is delivering her first lessons. The back-and-forth between the numbers gathered ashore and those recorded at sea remains a daily routine — but alongside this world of data now sits the sailors' own feel for the boat, enriching the model with every return from sailing.

Test sails are essential to understand the radical boat, the first breakages, the first adjustments, the first flights in a breeze.

This video released by the team has some great above and below video of this remarkable boat, now in sea-trial and in four months will be on the start line will be on the start line of her first major solo transatlantic race - the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe — just nine months after her launch.

The commentary with this video is in French, click captions at the bottom of the screen and select "English" to get a translation.