Grand Soleil 72
Cantiere del Pardo · Matteo Polli · 2024
Updated
The Grand Soleil 72 is a 22.00 m planing racing yacht designed by Matteo Polli and built by Cantiere del Pardo, first launched in 2024. It races in Maxi.
Length
22.00 m
72′ 2″
Beam
6.20 m
Draft
4.07 m
Displacement
31.6 t
Sail area
290 m²
On the podium
Where a Grand Soleil 72 finishes when she goes racing.
0
Wins
0
Seconds
0
Thirds
1
Starts
Not enough races yet for a percentage — these are the counts so far. We keep collecting results, so this will fill in.
Read from 1 start by 1 boat between 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Grand Soleil 72 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2026
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
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Not enough data yet: no races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: 1 race over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Grand Soleil 72 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Met too few times for a figure:
Grand Soleil 40 (Carkeek) (1 meeting), Dehler 39 (Judel/Vrolijk) (1 meeting), Comet 41 (2 meetings), First 34.7 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 46.3 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 39 (Jézéquel) (1 meeting), IMX 40 (1 meeting), First 40.7 (2 meetings), Hanse 400 (1 meeting), Elan 400 (1 meeting), Dufour 405 (1 meeting), Swan 55 (Frers) (1 meeting), Azuree 33 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 37 (Carkeek) (1 meeting), Akilaria 950 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) (1 meeting), X-402 (1 meeting), Dufour 40 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 42 (Lostuzzi) (1 meeting), First 45 (Briand) (1 meeting), Genesi 43 (1 meeting), Dufour 44 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 44 (Polli) (1 meeting), Rimar 36 (1 meeting), Pogo 36 (1 meeting), First 30 (Kouyoumdjian) (1 meeting), Archambault 40 (1 meeting)
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
7.75
38°
Beam reach
12.62
90°
Broad reach
14.01
135°
Downwind VMG
10.76
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.
This is a light-air boat. Early-season racing and morning breezes play to its strengths; once it pipes up the fleet comes back to it.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on a reach in the light stuff, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage to windward as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short running deep in a strong breeze, giving away time it never gets back. That is a hull that wants to get up and go, and needs pressure to do it.
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 1.8 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 72
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 4.75 | 6.66 | 7.33 | 7.75 |
| 52° | 7.42 | 9.80 | 10.54 | 10.95 |
| 60° | 8.08 | 10.21 | 10.90 | 11.34 |
| 75° | 8.75 | 10.63 | 11.36 | 12.00 |
| 90° | 8.82 | 10.88 | 11.69 | 12.62 |
| 110° | 8.23 | 10.70 | 11.95 | 13.56 |
| 120° | 7.66 | 10.51 | 11.95 | 13.74 |
| 135° | 6.62 | 9.75 | 11.42 | 14.01 |
| 150° | 5.50 | 8.40 | 10.45 | 12.40 |
| Run VMG | 4.76 | 7.28 | 9.07 | 10.76 |
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 1430 kg.
Rigging
Grand Soleil 72 rig and sail dimensions
A Grand Soleil 72 carries 29.05 m of mainsail hoist on a 9.90 m boom, a forestay 29.00 m above the deck and a 9.40 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 2 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails