Ariane de Rothschild is a strong woman - and owner of the Gitana racing team, which she founded with her husband Benjamin de Rothschild in 2000. Together, the couple has led the team into the new multihull era for over two decades. He as a technically skilled and experienced regatta sailor, she as a sailing enthusiast and manager. Since his death following a heart attack in 2021, Ariane de Rothschild has led the project, which has just presented the world's most modern Ultim trimaran for the first time at the team headquarters in Lorients La Base: "Gitana 18".
Ariane, you founded the Gitana racing stable 25 years ago with your husband Benjamin de Rothschild. Were you already running it together back then?
I would really say that it was a partnership, albeit one with different roles. Benjamin grew up sailing. He was known to be a keen sailor. He just knew a lot, a lot about sailing. His whole life was dedicated to sailing and regattas, which he took part in himself. When we founded the Gitana team in 2000, the partnership between us was that he had a vision but needed someone to manage things. And sometimes someone to bring the dreamer back to a more structured reality...
So you paid attention to the budget. Were and are there cost limits for a new-build development like "Gitana 18"?
I think there always has to be a balance. Do I set boundaries? I'm convinced that you have to set boundaries, because I don't believe in projects without boundaries. That's important because when we started, it wasn't limitless, but it was pretty limitless because teams always tend to ask for more and more. At one point I said, 'This just isn't working. So I said: 'Let's manage it as a more structured team and as a real project, not just a passion. So there was a balance of management and passion that really need to work together.
What is the budget for "Gitana 18"?
I don't like talking about the budget. I would say that we are roughly in line with the previous budget (editor's note: this refers to the budget for "Gitana 17". The 33-metre-long predecessor maxi-trimaran was launched by the team in 2017), maybe a little more, but not significantly. As I've already said, there are no projects without limits for me. That wouldn't be in line with my values.
What might have changed as a result of your sole leadership?
I think when you have as much experience with boats as Benjamin, there is also a risk of going too far. My husband had very clear ideas about how the boat should be built, what should and shouldn't be added. He was far more technically competent than I was. But when you have a designer like Guillaume Verdier and all the engineers around him, there comes a time when you have to stop touching these things because otherwise the project simply won't progress.
Or you distort the original project so much that you lose the course. At a certain point, you can no longer interfere. I manage the project more. At some point during the creation of 'Gitana 17', I told the team to speed up the construction process in such a way that Benjamin doesn't intervene all the time, because I think we're really moving into high technology.
It's always about the right mix of equilibrium and speed. The questions are always: how do you lift, how do you stabilise and how do you maintain an average speed that is solid?" Ariane de Rothschild
Have you ever wondered whether you should build another boat after "Gitana 17" or stop at this point?
Of course. I could have done that after 'Gitana 17' by telling myself that it was a challenge won, a confirmation of the concept that we had won so many regattas. But I didn't actually do that. During the long discussions with the team, it was exciting to see how all the knowledge, all the data we had gathered over the last eight years could be translated into another boat. I think there is a good parallel to what happened in Formula 1 car racing.
This refers to what?
There are great similarities: the technological revolution in cars and speed since the 1950s is fascinating, because what was developed in Formula 1 later flowed into high-speed cars or cars in general. I think that what we do with this boat will eventually flow into general knowledge. All this thinking about foils or stabilising the boat.
Because for us, that's the real challenge: we know that it's not necessarily the fastest way to sail to rise really far out of the water. So here, too, it's about finding the right balance for a constant flight without crashing again and again. We would have had to keep changing and modifying 'Gitana 17' to achieve this. That is the reason why we opted for a very different boat.
To achieve what?
And to move forward. We have entered a new era, not just in sailing, but in maritime transport as a whole: you see large cargo ships testing with sails and foils. I very much hope that the kind of technology we are developing will ultimately prove useful for maritime transport in general.
What does "Gitana 18" stand for in your eyes?
The search for the right balance between past, present and future. The fundamental question is: how can this prestigious family with its very long history be brought into the 21st century? It's about finding the right balance.
It's not about simply repeating what has been done in the past, but about reinventing a long-standing tradition." Ariane de Rothschild
That doesn't mean, by the way, that one of my daughters might not one day decide to go back to a small monohull and say she doesn't want this. The interesting thing is to see how each generation reinvents or adds something to a very long tradition without, I repeat myself, just mindlessly reproducing what was done before.
Can "Gitana 18" be seen as an ambassador for French boatbuilding?
I think it really is a French excellence. At a time when there is a strong anti-Europeanism, I find it sad that people generally say that Europe is finished. If we look at this boat, it represents the best that can be done in Europe and in France in particular, because I'm not sure you can find this level of technology and engineering anywhere else. Maybe in New Zealand in the America's Cup. We really are talking about the best of the best you can have.
Do you see yourself as a patron saint in this context?
No, I don't really like that term. I really like breaking new ground. That doesn't really suit a patroness (laughs). As a banker, I like to take risks. Calculated risks, not crazy ones, of course. Again, the essential thing is the balance between the history of this family, what I'm doing today, where I want to take it and the energy that I spread within my teams or in general.
In this respect, I think the Gitana team is also a fantastic example for my bankers. When I tell them what we do, when I tell them it's about teamwork, innovation and competition, it's like they can feel it, touch it. It goes very far beyond the simple "I like sailing or I don't like it".
I think it's a real inspiration for many people who work with me and say, 'Wow, this is a very important project'." Ariane de Rothschild
What was the biggest risk the team faced in the development of "Gitana 18"?
"If I compare 'Gitana 17' with 'Gitana 18', I was much more worried when planning 'Gitana 17' because we were really trying to understand flying with the boat. We hadn't really realised before that we were going to go from the water to the air. It was something that had never been done before.
There were already smaller flying boats, but they were designed for specific conditions. The step from semi-flying to real flying over the seas was a bigger concern because we really put flying to the test. We actually moved from the water to the air. Now, however - with all the knowledge we've gathered and after the intensive studies - it's already fully integrated. Now we mainly have to test the details such as the rudders.
"Gitana 18" is visually dedicated to your four daughters. Their faces are shown together with a wave of artists on hull and sails in an abstract way, like frescoes of more than 4000 dots. No coincidence...
I don't believe in coincidences in life. I think things happen for a reason. Next year we will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of Gitana, a saga founded by a woman (editor's note: 'La Gitana' was launched in 1876. The steamship was commissioned by Julie de Rothschild). At the time, it was quite unusual for a woman to decide to build fast boats.
And I find it very interesting that the brothers Florian and Michael Quistrebert (ed.: creators of the "Gitana 18" look, which was created in collaboration with Palais Tokyo) naturally turned to women to realise their artwork on the boat. Because I had said that my future is my four daughters. Yesterday I told the team that boats are female. It's a she, not a he.
The artwork that adorns 'Gitana 18' is therefore a fantastic reminder of the first woman to establish this tradition in sailing, a tribute to this first woman 150 years ago and at the same time to the future, which is represented by my four daughters. This is a way of combining the past and future of such a long history. Click here for the 3D animation of the new "Maxi Edmond de Rothschild", or "Gitana 18" for short.
Will we see female sailors on board the "Gitana 18"?
That is possible. If you want to draw a parallel with the financial world, we are really trying to get women to rise to the highest levels. The difficulty is that there are not many women who really want to do that. And I can understand that, because racing a trimaran of this size at full speed across the oceans around the world is incredibly physically tough. Unfortunately, there aren't many women in the world of sailing who can and want to do that.
However, I also see that a new generation is establishing itself, which is not very numerous but has some super talented women. So let's hope..." Ariane de Rothschild
Until then, Charles Caudrelier is the skipper of "Gitana 18". How do you see him?
I think Charles is super talented. And I think he has an incredible ability: He is a very humble person. This is not so easy to find because many great athletes are not always humble. When you challenge yourself and rebuild a boat, you also start a new thought process. We have to be humble in the process. This is especially true for the skipper, because their contribution is very, very valuable. Because he feels the boat.
You can't just base it on maths and numbers. He uses the boat. There's a parallel: do you know what made Michael Schumacher such a great driver? Why Ferrari won with him? Yes, they had an incredible manager in Jean Todt. But Michael was an incredible athlete because he always gave such outstanding feedback. He was an incredibly humble person. And at the same time he contributed to car development. I think Charles has a very similar mindset.
Will you be sailing on "Gitana 18" yourself?
I will climb up and down from time to time. But again: this requires a serious amount of physical strength. Or, rather, stamina. Because when you're travelling at more than 40 knots, it's super, super hard. I get on and off the boat, then say: 'OK, I'll be back tomorrow (laughs)'.
How do you like the feeling of flying such a boat, which you have already experienced on "Gitana 17"?
It's an incredible feeling! Before the boat rises out of the water, which was especially true for 'Gitana 17', it has to develop the power to do so. You can hear that in the rushing water. When it then rises and flies, there are no more noises. This feeling of silence is unique, truly incredible. It is a beautiful feeling.
The day of the first presentation of "Gitana 18" on 3 December was a milestone in the history of the racing team. Ariane de Rothschild and her team showed how far they have already come with "Gitana 18" before the boat goes into the water in January:
