Grand Surprise
Archambault · Joubert/Nivelt · 2000
Updated
The Grand Surprise is a 9.55 m planing racing yacht designed by Joubert/Nivelt and built by Archambault, first launched in 2000. It races in Class C. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 85% of the designs it races against. It comes alive as the breeze builds, and gives time away in the light.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 85% of the boats it races against.
24th of 159 in its class.
Not verified. On planing hulls this score has no match in the race results we hold: designs scoring the same win anywhere from one race in ten to seven in ten. Read it as what the measurements say, not as a ranking.
This design has been found in real race results — 148 starts across 36 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
9.55 m
31′ 4″
Beam
2.96 m
Draft
2.08 m
Displacement
2.8 t
Sail area
55 m²
On the podium
Where a Grand Surprise finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
17%
of 148 starts by 7 boats
Wins
5%
Read from 148 starts by 7 boats between 2018 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Grand Surprise was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Trofeo Regularidad2026
Rodos Cup2026
Yacht Club Domaso Circolo Velico del Lario Asd2026- Coppa Italia Minialtura ORC2026
ORC/X99 Cup2026
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
10%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
14%
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 Surprise actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the Grand Surprise 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
5.22
38°
Beam reach
8.83
90°
Broad reach
11.20
135°
Downwind VMG
8.48
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 needs pressure to show what it can do. On a windy coastal course it is in its element; on a light-air windward-leeward it has to be sailed well to hold on.
Where it gains
Its best ground is off the wind when it blows, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage on the run as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
There is no condition where it falls away badly, which is worth something over a season of mixed weather.
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 broad reach.
How fast is a Grand Surprise
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.48 | 4.75 | 5.09 | 5.22 |
| 52° | 5.29 | 6.81 | 7.16 | 7.35 |
| 60° | 5.56 | 7.00 | 7.42 | 7.66 |
| 75° | 5.72 | 7.13 | 7.78 | 8.25 |
| 90° | 5.78 | 7.25 | 7.97 | 8.83 |
| 110° | 5.91 | 7.62 | 8.51 | 9.48 |
| 120° | 5.76 | 7.56 | 8.82 | 10.18 |
| 135° | 5.13 | 7.19 | 8.50 | 11.20 |
| 150° | 4.30 | 6.45 | 7.69 | 9.78 |
| Run VMG | 3.74 | 5.59 | 6.72 | 8.48 |
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 560 kg.
Rigging
Grand Surprise rig and sail dimensions
A Grand Surprise carries 12.11 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.38 m boom, a forestay 12.29 m above the deck and a 4.85 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 16 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 60 to 113 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.