Sun Odyssey 43
Jeanneau · Daniel Andrieu · 2000
Updated
The Sun Odyssey 43 is a 12.86 m displacement racing yacht designed by Daniel Andrieu and built by Jeanneau, first launched in 2000. It races in Class B. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 1% 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 1% of the boats it races against.
91st of 92 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 5 starts across 5 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
12.86 m
42′ 2″
Beam
4.18 m
Draft
2.06 m
Displacement
9.6 t
Sail area
87 m²
On the podium
Where a Sun Odyssey 43 finishes when she goes racing.
0
Wins
0
Seconds
0
Thirds
5
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 5 starts by 2 boats between 2021 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Sun Odyssey 43 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Regata Brindisi-Corfù2026- REGATA DELLA GALLINARA - Trofeo della Cappelletta2025
- Regata Brindisi-Corfù2023
- Regata Brindisi-Corfù2022
- Regata Brindisi-Corfù2021
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
—
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: 4 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Sun Odyssey 43 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Met too few times for a figure:
Grand Soleil 46 (Jézéquel) (3 meetings), Archambault 40 (3 meetings), Bavaria Holiday 38 (3 meetings), First 40.7 (6 meetings), Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) (2 meetings), Elan S3 (2 meetings), Zuanelli 401 (2 meetings), Sun Odyssey 42 (Lombard) (2 meetings), Sun Odyssey 49 (2 meetings), Sweden Yachts 340 (2 meetings), Oceanis 393 (2 meetings), Bavaria Cruiser 37 (2 meetings), Bavaria 40 (2 meetings), Comet 36 (2 meetings), Bonin 358 (2 meetings), Bavaria Match 38 (2 meetings), First 34.7 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 52 (1 meeting), J/92 (1 meeting), Sun Fast 3200 (1 meeting), Advanced A 44 (1 meeting), Stag 32 (1 meeting), Elan 333 (3 meetings), First 35 (Farr) (1 meeting), Oceanis 400 (1 meeting), First 36.7 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 37 (Design) (1 meeting), J/105 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 40 (Carkeek) (1 meeting), Hanse 411 (1 meeting), Oceanis 46 (Berret) (1 meeting), First 47.7 (1 meeting), Figaro 2 (1 meeting), Millenium 40 (1 meeting), X-35 (1 meeting), M 37 (1 meeting), Hanse 540e (1 meeting), Italia 9.98 (1 meeting), Bavaria Cruiser 39 (1 meeting), Baltic 43 (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
5.53
39°
Beam reach
8.73
90°
Broad reach
9.24
135°
Downwind VMG
7.60
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.
The stronger it blows, the better this design looks. Give it a fresh day and long legs and it delivers more than it promised; in a drifter it is working uphill.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on the beam when it blows, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short upwind when the breeze is soft, giving away time it never gets back.
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 0.6 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a Sun Odyssey 43
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.15 | 4.52 | 5.21 | 5.53 |
| 52° | 4.92 | 6.73 | 7.50 | 7.90 |
| 60° | 5.25 | 6.99 | 7.69 | 8.16 |
| 75° | 5.47 | 7.18 | 7.88 | 8.50 |
| 90° | 5.38 | 7.37 | 8.20 | 8.73 |
| 110° | 5.41 | 7.52 | 8.43 | 9.35 |
| 120° | 5.22 | 7.40 | 8.33 | 9.48 |
| 135° | 4.67 | 6.92 | 8.01 | 9.24 |
| 150° | 3.92 | 6.10 | 7.48 | 8.51 |
| Run VMG | 3.40 | 5.28 | 6.51 | 7.60 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Roughly half carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 800 kg.
Rigging
Sun Odyssey 43 rig and sail dimensions
A Sun Odyssey 43 carries 13.60 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.00 m boom, a forestay 15.77 m above the deck and a 5.00 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 9 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 98 to 120 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.