Friday 22 March 2013

Gitana team update, MOD70 Edmond de Rothschild and 77' Maxi trimaran Gitana XI

From the following article on the Gitana Team website:
 
 
The winter break is well and truly over and the pontoons of the Keroman submarine base, home to Gitana Team, are a hive of activity. A week on from the launch of the 70’ trimaran Edmond de Rothschild, Sébastien Josse and his crew were able to make the most of the perfect conditions to go for their first sea trials of the year: a few tacks offshore of Lorient to fire up the machine before the long weeks of training that lie ahead. These sea trials were also an opportunity for the 2013 version of the crew to get together. Indeed, though some of the crew did a lot of sailing together last season, Gitana Team is also welcoming some new faces aboard the trimarans fitted out by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild.

Despite being on the cusp of spring, it was a chilly atmosphere aboard Edmond de Rothschild yesterday for the first sea trials of the year: “Since the launch, the shore crew, joined by a group of sailors, has been finalising preparation of the boat on the dock. On the boat’s exit from the yard, there were still a few elements to be adjusted before heading out to sea. These operations can’t be done in the shed, as they require the trimaran to have her mast stepped. Such tasks include bending on the sails, rig tensioning and setting up the electronics and hydraulics. On Tuesday, everything was in place to enable us to cast off for a few hours. It was a bit chilly for our first sea trial but the wind conditions were really perfect in terms of wind, with 15-20 knots of breeze set to ease. We got the chance to see the boat’s entire range and we’ll be able to step things up a gear from the end of next week. We crossed tacks with Oman Sail offshore of Groix, whilst Virbac Paprec, which has joined the fleet this season, is now tied up just a few metres away from us,” said a delighted Sébastien Josse, satisfied that the sporting season has begun.
 
read more here

No comments:

Post a Comment