While remaining in charge of the Gitana Team, Loïck Peyron will be skipper of the new Gitana Eighty from the end of this month. The skipper’s main goal is the 2008 Vendée Globe, which starts on 9th November 2008 from Les Sables d’Olonne.
Gitana: a name, which is full of history. It was in homage to his father, Baron Edmond, who would have been eighty this year, that Baron Benjamin de Rothschild decided to name the new boat, which is about to join the Gitana fleet, Gitana Eighty. Designed by Farr Yacht Design and under construction at the Southern Ocean Marine boatyard in New Zealand since last winter, Gitana Eighty will sail for the first time at the end of July 2008. Having arrived in Europe on 6th July, she will have to wait a few days before entering her homeport of la Trinité sur Mer. The self-righting test will then be carried out, and the boat taken out of the water for some final checks. Once relaunched, and with her mast stepped, which is due to take place around 25th July, Gitana Eighty wll then be ready for her first sail.
The Gitana Team monohull is one of the latest Farr designs and sistership to Jean-Pierre Dick’s Virbac Paprec. Apart from a large number of innovations concerning her interior fittings, Gitana Eighty also benefits from a hull, the shape of which can be modified using a trim tab. This is located right at the stern of the monohull by the rudders. It enables the boat’s balance lengthwise to be adjusted to adapt it to the wind, sea conditions and point of sail. Another important new feature: the sliders, two sliding panels between the mast and the rear section. They offer aerodynamic gains, reducing the amount of water in the cockpit and thus making it more comfortable for the skipper allowing him to trim the sails more precisely and more often. This improvement in work conditions finally enables the yachtsman to maintain his well being and physical condition.
It will be an exciting time for Loïck Peyron rediscovering the monohull, when he sails her in a few days time, having spent so much time working on her with his team. He cannot hide his enthusiasm and a certain degree of excitement: “With a few hours to go before the boat arrives, it is a bit like being a new Dad in the maternity unit, waiting to see a newborn child. Just like a baby, a boat takes 9 months to make and then there is the long period of learning to walk. I can’t wait to see her heeled over in the wind with her sails up as she takes her first steps in la Trinité sur Mer Bay. It will also be the moment to share her with the whole of the Gitana team, which has worked so hard on the project.”
Can you tell us what the Vendée Globe represents for a sailor with such a huge list of successes as yours?
“I have been lucky enough for the past two decades to be part of some of the new developments in sailing. Lining up for the start of almost all the new races, like the La Baule-Dakar, Quebec-St Malo, the coffee routes, the Clairefontaine Trophies, The Race… and the Vendée Globe. It may seem strange, but I am not interested in adding another line to my list of achievements, but rather managing a project, which is as complex as this one. When you start out with a blank sheet with the aim of crossing the finishing line two years later, that requires permanent commitment, while offering some great times. The first edition of the Vendée Globe in 1989 was the pioneering one, with a series of epic sea stories. It was hugely exciting and the memory is still with me today. I feel that the next edition is going to be exceptional as the standard of the skippers and the boats taking part looks like being so high.”
Technical specifications / Gitana Eighty.
Architect: Farr Yacht Design (USA)
Boatyard: Southern Ocean Marine (New Zealand)
Length: 18.28 m (60 foot)
Beam: 5.80 m
Draught: 4.50 m
Weight: 8.7 t
Mast height: 29 m
Maximum sail surface: 600 m2
Build time: 26,500 man-hours
The Gitana Team monohull is one of the latest Farr designs and sistership to Jean-Pierre Dick’s Virbac Paprec. Apart from a large number of innovations concerning her interior fittings, Gitana Eighty also benefits from a hull, the shape of which can be modified using a trim tab. This is located right at the stern of the monohull by the rudders. It enables the boat’s balance lengthwise to be adjusted to adapt it to the wind, sea conditions and point of sail. Another important new feature: the sliders, two sliding panels between the mast and the rear section. They offer aerodynamic gains, reducing the amount of water in the cockpit and thus making it more comfortable for the skipper allowing him to trim the sails more precisely and more often. This improvement in work conditions finally enables the yachtsman to maintain his well being and physical condition.
It will be an exciting time for Loïck Peyron rediscovering the monohull, when he sails her in a few days time, having spent so much time working on her with his team. He cannot hide his enthusiasm and a certain degree of excitement: “With a few hours to go before the boat arrives, it is a bit like being a new Dad in the maternity unit, waiting to see a newborn child. Just like a baby, a boat takes 9 months to make and then there is the long period of learning to walk. I can’t wait to see her heeled over in the wind with her sails up as she takes her first steps in la Trinité sur Mer Bay. It will also be the moment to share her with the whole of the Gitana team, which has worked so hard on the project.”
Can you tell us what the Vendée Globe represents for a sailor with such a huge list of successes as yours?
“I have been lucky enough for the past two decades to be part of some of the new developments in sailing. Lining up for the start of almost all the new races, like the La Baule-Dakar, Quebec-St Malo, the coffee routes, the Clairefontaine Trophies, The Race… and the Vendée Globe. It may seem strange, but I am not interested in adding another line to my list of achievements, but rather managing a project, which is as complex as this one. When you start out with a blank sheet with the aim of crossing the finishing line two years later, that requires permanent commitment, while offering some great times. The first edition of the Vendée Globe in 1989 was the pioneering one, with a series of epic sea stories. It was hugely exciting and the memory is still with me today. I feel that the next edition is going to be exceptional as the standard of the skippers and the boats taking part looks like being so high.”
Technical specifications / Gitana Eighty.
Architect: Farr Yacht Design (USA)
Boatyard: Southern Ocean Marine (New Zealand)
Length: 18.28 m (60 foot)
Beam: 5.80 m
Draught: 4.50 m
Weight: 8.7 t
Mast height: 29 m
Maximum sail surface: 600 m2
Build time: 26,500 man-hours
