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The history of the Gitana fleet is a story of a passion for watersports, to which each generation of the family has successively made its mark in respect of a shared exactingness.
United in the destiny of the Franco-Swiss branch of the Rothschild family, the story of Gitana began in 1876 on the shores of Lake Geneva, and has continued ever since.
In 1876, Baroness Adolphe de Rothschild initiated a passion which has already lasted a hundred years. A woman of character who was nicknamed ‘Gitane', Baroness de Rothschild placed an order for the first Gitana: a 24 metre steam-driven schooner, with which she became the fastest ‘Yachting Lady' on water the world over, by breaking the speed record: 20.5 knots, or nearly 38km/hr. Twenty four years later, at the helm of Gitana II, she outclassed her previous record and reached 26.034 knots or 48 km/hr, on Lake Geneva once again.
From then on, save a few exceptions, the Rothschild boats have always gone by the name of Gitana. It was the grand age of Yachting: sailing then developed from watersports to the ‘Art of living'.
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It was Baron Edmond de Rothschild who, in the 60s, definitively transformed the family's taste for boats into a passion for sailing. His favourite yachts are monohulls. From Gitana III to Gitana VIII, his boats have taken part in some highly prestigious races, whether it be the Giraglia in the Mediterranean or the Fastnet in the North Atlantic, for which the record has been held by Gitana IV for 19 years.
Though Baron Edmond de Rothschild is passionate about these large boats where teamwork takes on another dimension, it was he who was responsible for creating the A class back in 1984, now known as the Maxi, his taste also extending to the 6mJI. It was these veritable jewels of elegance and speed upon which Baron Benjamin de Rothschild was to offer his father the World Cup in 1986.
Like his grandparents, Baron Benjamin de Rothschild wanted the history of the Gitana fleet to last, but in his own manner. Passionate about speed and thrilling sensations, he is continuing the adventure in the multihull and created the Gitana Team in 2000.
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