THE SCI-FI TRI

THE NEWEST FOILING ULTIM TRIMARAN IS A MELTING POT OF CRAZY IDEAS THAT COULD POTENTIALLY FLY AT 55 KNOTS.

- 

Lorient is the Hollywood of ocean racing. Like the movie factory of Los Angeles, the Brittany port is a seemingly single-purpose town that draws dreamers. And just as Hollywood is La La Land, so Lorient attracts some of the most outlandish projects in sailing.

The La Ter river is dotted with small yachts bobbing on moorings, awaiting gentle adventures in the tiny creeks and sandy beaches of southern Morbihan. But the estuary's north shore is different. This is home to the concrete wonderland of La Base, a former U-boat submarine base that is today's epicentre of ocean racing. A walk around the pontoons here is a chance to window-shop the most extreme offshore technology.

Gitana's team base is in prime position, a nearly 2,000m² boat shed with Bond-lair-esque rolling walls to shutter its secrets. Since 2022 the work inside has been kept closed and confidential, but in early December the base was thrown open to unveil Gitana 18, the newest 100ft foiling trimaran.

A PASSION FOR SAILING

Gitana is the racing stable of the Rothschild family, a banking dynasty synonymous with generational wealth on an epic scale. Their passion for sailing has equally been handed down, and Gitana 18 marks 150 years of the family's deep involvement in yachting, currently spearheaded by matriarch Ariane de Rothschild.

This history shapes the fundamental reason for building a new boat. Unlike most corporate sponsorships, Gitana 18 is not built to score column inches. She is not even entirely built to win. Gitana 17, the previous Ultim launched in 2017 and the first giant tri to take flight, has basically already won most things.