IMOCA 60 Gitana Flies Where “Sailors become Heroes”

Photogrpher Thierry Martinez Photographe reveals New IMOCA 60 of Team Gitana at Full Test.

A new boat designed to compete in the IMOCA World Championship -where Ocean Masters go for the Glory is stirring up the media.

On September 3 Sail World reported on the first water trails of the IMOCA 60 of Edmond de Rothschild. The monohull took to its first sea trial in rough conditions with winds speeding up to 30 knots and swell waves rising up to 3 meters. In the test the new IMOCA 60 did not just sail, it flew. IMOCA organization described the sea tests as “Poetry in Motion”.

Just off Lorient France the IMOCA 60 of Team GITANA broke news just 10 days later the boat was completed. The construction took over 11 months.

“Joint sailors Se´bastien Josse and Charles Caudrelier...sea-trialled the Mono 60 Edmond de Rothschild in winds in excess of 30kts, on the Atlantic Ocean. It was the first real test for the twin-foiled monohull, which carries a side hydrofoil, which is designed to partially lift the hull clear of the water, reducing drag and giving faster speeds,” Sail World explained just how the new IMOCA 60 flies.

IMOCA boats must pass certain regulations to compete in the World Championship and all its Legs. Legs of the IMOCA World Championship are known for being tough, specially the Transatlantic and the Barcelona Around the World Regatta.

The new IMOCA 60 of GITANA is not just fast but extremely stable in hard conditions. Even more the design reveals how boat designers are pushing the boundary on innovations. The IMOCA 60 of Gitana is simply a water monster, a water-hydrodynamic knife that cuts through rough seas like butter. It constantly moves forward even when impacted by side waves. When wind speed picked up during the test the team dropped the mainsail down to half, diminishing sail surface dramatically. One would think the boat would sail in stress mode but actually it just kept gaining speed. The way the keel side moves as the boat braces sideways is impressive.

Are you familiar with that moment when you are sure that thanks to high winds and rough waters the boat will lose control and could even capsize? That moment when your hand goes for the main sail rope to release it putting and end to the nightmare to come? Well the GITANA IMOCA 60 takes that limiting moment and pushes out of sight. When it should capsize it moves forward and becomes more stable, when it should lose control it simply flies.

Stabilizers, sail secrets, balances and a whole new bag of new tricks. This is the future of IMOCA pushing forward.

“60-foot monohulls are among the fastest modern racing monohulls. Built using composite materials, they are designed to be as light as possible while at the same time being solid enough to withstand the worst conditions you can find when racing on the open seas,” IMOCA explains.

The organization goes historical and assures that the coming out of new, ever more incredible IMOCA 60s is part of the Spirit of the organization. The Open 60 monohull was born in 1986 and have since then been adapting and evolving. Hulls, sails, computers and communication, wider sterns and safety adjustments were made since then throughout the decades.

“Since 2000, in order to be able to line up at the start of a race, boats must prove their ability to right themselves without any external assistance and prove they are watertight inside and are extremely buoyant when they capsize or suffer an ingress of water,” the IMOCA organizers warn.

And their warning should not be unheard. They assure that the IMOCA World Championship is where “Sailors become Heroes”. Throughout an entire year the best sailors in the World “test their will, skills, endurance, their art and their limits on IMOCA 60 racing yachts in legendary solo and double-handed races under the harshest conditions – across oceans and round the globe – with dramatic passages around the most famous capes,”

“Over 1000 people have climbed Everest, over 500 have been into space…but less than 100 have ever sailed single-handed non-stop around the world,” IMOCA assures.

Legs of the IMOCA World Championship include the Vendee Globe, Fastnet Race -recently completed, Route du Rhum, Transat Jacques Vabre, and the Barcelona World Race.

Ocean Life News in Brief

Ocean Level Increase Dropping Oceans Floor: International Press reported on December 5 on the findings of new research which assures that due to ocean level increase the ocean floor is sinking. The study published online in Geophysical Research Levels used mathematical equations to accurately measure the Ocean's floor impact driven by the increased of water volume weight. Using data from 1993 to 2014 researchers found that ocean level increase is causing the Ocean floor to drop globally by the milimeters. Ocean Dead Zones Up By Four: On January 8 New York Daily reported that Ocean Dead Zones have quadrupled.Researchers warned in a new study that oxygen-starved ocean dead zones, where animals and plants are struggling to survive, have increased fourfold and it may not be reversible. The new study was published in the Journal Science. The increase of Dead Zones was linked to climate change. La Niña´s Polar Wave Hitting Hard the US -Freezing Oceans: International Press reported on the Polar Wave hitting hard the US. The event is linked by experts to the influence of La Niña. “For the past couple of weeks, parts of North America have been chilling down to record temperatures, with massive snowfall and icy cold conditions putting life at a standstill for many,” media reported. The US East Coast has been particularly badly hit with the likes of Boston down to Philadelphia reaching bone-chilling lows of near 0°F , with icy winds making it feel closer to around -10°F to -20°F. Officially 18 were dead and 100 million affected. Government of Bali Declares a Garbage Emergency: On January 5 Ocean Conservancy reported on a New Waste Management Emergency in Bali. Massive amounts of ocean debri are affecting the island. The situation has reached its peak as the Government of Bali declared a “Garbage Emergency”. Clean up works have began. “Ivory Coast Village Swallowed by Ocean Increase,” Aljazeera Reports: On January 8 Al Jazeera reported that ocean increase levels are affecting infrastructure in the Ivory Coast. “Rising tides and more frequent, devastating storms are slowly destroying what is left of Lahou-Kpanda, the offshoot of what was once a major colonial town near the mouth of the Bandama River, the longest river in Ivory Coast,” Al Jazeera reported. Arctic Ocean Radioactive Levels on the Rise: IFL Science reported on January 3 on the findings of new report which assures that radioactive levels in the Arctic Ocean are on the rise. “Concentrations of radioactive radium-228 in the Arctic Ocean increased between 2007 and 2015,” the report reads. While levels have not yet reached a mark of concern the trend is worries experts. Lauren Kipp of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution addressed the issue. New World Wide Ocean Turtle Study Says 90% of Plastic Pollution Cases Result in Death: Earth Sky Org reported on January 7 that hundreds of marine turtles die every year after getting tangled in trash in oceans and on beaches. A research published in the journal Endangered Species Research took on a World-Wide Survey covering the major oceans where turtles live. They discovered that 91 % of the entangled turtles were found dead. They also suffered serious wounds from entanglement, leading to maiming, amputation or choking. Double Whirlpools Discovered for First Time: December 4 Press reported that Double Eddies have been registered for the first time in History. Tangled up Double Eddies can travel great distances affecting ecology significantly. Eddies are a natural part of the ocean environment but double whirlpools had only been theorized by mathematicians.