Fiche technique
Skipper : Loïck Peyron
Co-skipper : Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant
Architects: Farr Yacht Design (USA)
Constructor: Southern Ocean Marine (New Zealand)
No. of sails: 80
First launched: July 2007
Overall length: 20 m
Hull length: 18.28 m (60 feet)
Width: 5.80 m
Clearage: 30.50 m
Draught: 4.50 m
Weight: 8.7 t
Structure: Nomex-carbon sandwich
Rudders: carbon
Mast height: 29 m
Maximum sail area: 600 m2
Construction time: 26,500 hours
The Gitana Team fleet has been swelled in 2007 by the arrival of a 60-foot monohull (Imoca class). And it is Loïck Peyron, the team's general manager, who has been given the honour of helming Gitana Eighty, this new unit owned by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild.
Designed by Farr Yacht Design and put together at New Zealand's Southern Ocean Marine boatyard during the winter of 2006-2007, Gitana Eighty's arrival marks the return of a monohull to the Gitana fleet.
The Gitana name is steeped in history, and it is by way of homage to his father, Baron Edmond, who would have turned 80 in 2007, that Baron Benjamin de Rothschild decided to christen this new boat Gitana Eighty.
Courtesy of its cutting-edge design, this new monuhull is ideal for its prime objective: solo sailing.
True to his reputation, Loïck Peyron has presented his owner with a boat benefiting from some major technical innovations:
A satellite within the vessel was imagined, designed and then made a reality. Positioned on a track, it allows the half a ton of equipment (sails, food, safety gear) to be slid along with every change of tack or when gybing without any special effort.
Gitana Eighty also benefits from a variable-geometry hull bottom, known as a trim tab. Situated on the monohull's extreme stern, it facilitates the regulation of the boat's fore-and-aft trim and its adaptation to sea and wind conditions or the vessel's speed.
The final important innovation is the sliders, a pair of panels which slide between the mast and the rear platform. They permit aerodynamic savings and reduce the amount of water entering the cockpit, thereby offering the skipper increased comfort and allowing the latter to adjust his sails more often and more precisely. This ergonomic optimisation helps him conserve his energy and maintain his physical condition.
