Grand Soleil 43 (Carkeek)
Cantiere del Pardo · Botín & Carkeek · 2005
Updated
The Grand Soleil 43 (Carkeek) is a 12.95 m displacement racing yacht designed by Botín & Carkeek and built by Cantiere del Pardo, first launched in 2005. It races in Class B. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 40% of the designs it races against.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 40% of the boats it races against.
56th of 92 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 183 starts across 40 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
12.95 m
42′ 6″
Beam
3.92 m
Draft
2.38 m
Displacement
9.7 t
Sail area
98 m²
On the podium
Where a Grand Soleil 43 (Carkeek) finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
20%
of 183 starts by 16 boats
Wins
10%
Read from 183 starts by 16 boats between 2013 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Grand Soleil 43 (Carkeek) was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2026- ORC World Championship2026
- Campionato Invernale 2025/2026 XXXVI Edizione2026
Skagen Offshore Race2026
North Sea Regatta2026
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
17%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
16%
of these races end on the podium
Level across both. Plenty of designs fall away once the course gets long — a light hull that thrives round the cans can struggle through a night at sea. This one does not.
Who she races against
The designs a Grand Soleil 43 (Carkeek) actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the Grand Soleil 43 (Carkeek) has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
5.83
38°
Beam reach
9.09
90°
Broad reach
10.04
135°
Downwind VMG
8.32
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
It is an upwind boat first. Windward-leeward courses give it more of what it is good at than a coastal race does.
Where it gains
Its best ground is to windward once it pipes up, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short on a broad reach in a strong breeze, giving away time it never gets back. That is a displacement hull working to its designed speed.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a Grand Soleil 43 (Carkeek)
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.70 | 5.12 | 5.64 | 5.83 |
| 52° | 5.65 | 7.44 | 7.95 | 8.14 |
| 60° | 5.96 | 7.66 | 8.15 | 8.37 |
| 75° | 6.18 | 7.82 | 8.39 | 8.77 |
| 90° | 6.21 | 7.95 | 8.54 | 9.09 |
| 110° | 6.04 | 8.07 | 8.91 | 9.64 |
| 120° | 5.88 | 7.95 | 8.89 | 10.05 |
| 135° | 5.26 | 7.51 | 8.55 | 10.04 |
| 150° | 4.39 | 6.65 | 8.07 | 9.31 |
| Run VMG | 3.80 | 5.77 | 7.13 | 8.32 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 760 kg.
Rigging
Grand Soleil 43 (Carkeek) rig and sail dimensions
A Grand Soleil 43 (Carkeek) carries 16.25 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.65 m boom, a forestay 16.71 m above the deck and a 5.50 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 23 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 105 to 184 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.
Other designs under the same name
The name has been carried by more than one design. They are different boats.