VENDÉE GLOBE 2020 STARTS IN A WEEK: ALL ABOUT IT

In these pandemic sad times, it is very satisfying to see that nothing will stop the Vendée Globe, that contrary to other recent yacht races, will have the biggest number of racers ever. There will be 33 IMOCA and 33 sailors at the starting line and among them six women a vast improvement over the last edition that did not count any.

Sadly and for understandable reasons the crowd that used to salute the sailors when they leave Sables-d'Ollone will not be there and the Vendée Globe Village was closed and the crowds cannot visit the race boats and talk with the skippers but I bet that this edition will be, by far, the one most audience.

Never so many competitive boats were racing on a Vendée: 13 were built in the last 5 years and 16 boats are between 9 and 13 years old, among them 10 redesigned with foils and only 3 boats with 20 years or more. The victory should come from one of the new boats all sailed by very experienced sailors with the exception of Kojiro Shiraishi who sails a 2019 VPLP.

Also designed by VPLP, Charal (2018) sailed by Jérémie Beyou, Hugo Boss (2019) sailed by Alex Thomson. Verdier designed two, Apivia (2019) sailed by Charlie Dalin and Linkedout (2019) sailed by Thomas Ruyant. JK designed also two, Arkea-Paprec (2019) sailed by Sébastien Simon and Corum (2020) sailed by Nicolas Troussel and finally, Sam Manuard designed the last of the new boats, L'Occitane (2020), sailed by Armel Tripon.

On the last race ( Vendée-Arctique) Samantha Davis showed that she and Initiatives Coeur (2010-VPLP-Verdier), one of the boats that were redesigned with foils could be almost as fast as the new boats, in fact, she was way faster than  Kojiro Shiraishi on a new boat as well as Kevin Escoffier PRB (2009 -VPLP-Verdier) that arrived close to Samantha showing that they can fight, probably not for the victory but for a podium place.

L'Ocittane designed by Sam Manuard and sailed by Armel Tripon, the last to be launched and the most radical of all Imocas, did not prove well, not being very fast at the beginning and soon damaged and forced to retire. The boat was repaired and we will see if it goes faster on the Vendée, even if I have some doubts.

It is said that the two best solo offshore sailors, Armel Le Cléac'h and Francois Gabart will not be racing, having chosen to race multihulls instead of monohulls. In this race the new generation will try to beat the "old-timers", the most experienced and legendary ones, Alex Thompson, Jérémie Beyou and Samantha Davies and the best between the young guns seem to be Thomas Ruyant and Charlie Dalin.

Charlie comes from the Figaro where he was a champion and learned the ropes on the IMOCA class with Yann Eliès one of the best ever on the Figaro, but not very lucky on the bigger boats. Thomas Ruyant has a different formation, first a top mini-racer sailor, then a top 40 class racer and then making the last Vendée on an old boat, sailing fast and refusing to abandon his boat even when it was almost broken in two, managing to bring it to NZ. You can recall that incredible story here:

https://interestingsailboats.blogspot.com/2016/12/more-drama-on-vendee-globe.html

https://interestingsailboats.blogspot.com/2016/12/what-do-you-call-drama-with-happy-end.html

Now, the public attention he got allowed him to have more sponsorship and a new boat. On this Vendée, he is there not only to show what he is capable to do, but to try to win the race.

The Vendée will start at 1.02PM, November 8th and as usual, will be transmitted live on many television channels, on Facebook and Twiter. There's also an App that you can download to follow the race. Here:

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/vend%C3%A9e-globe-2020/id1531491499

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.vendeeglobe.www.twa

As usual, I will follow the race here. After the Ocean Race unexpected postponement, this will be the biggest offshore sailing event of 2020/2021 and I say unexpected because these races are mostly followed on the internet, the crews spend most of the time at sea and in the case of the Ocean Race only minor adaptations and precautions would be needed for the race to take place.

I hope many of you choose to follow it with me enriching the blog with your comments, making it better and more fun.

2020 MIDDLE SEA RACE, TYPE OF HULLS AND PERFORMANCES

The ones that follow the blog know that I follow top races, where the crews generally are competent, to access information regarding different types of hulls in different wind and sea conditions. One that I don't miss is the Middle Sea Race that is raced around Sicily, Stromboli, Pantelleria and Malta.

First 45 Elusive 2

Due to its course, due to the local climate, on this race the conditions are very variable, as they are usually in the Mediterranean. This year we had weak and medium winds with a predominance of low medium winds and a bit of all points of sail, with a lot of upwind sailing and a lot of downwind sailing with weak winds.

I would say these are the conditions most cruisers experience on the Med while cruising because, while cruising, most sailors avoid strong winds, staying on the marina or anchorage. Perfect winds for enjoying sailing, summer winds and not very usual this time of the year on this region where, after weak winds, normally strong winds follow. 

Ker 46

And the type of hulls that shone on this race were the ones that some would call old designed, the ones that we can find on the First but also on Jboats, on Comet, on JPK or even on Swan.

Narrow hulls by modern standards in what regards performance cruisers, hulls with the maximum beam not brought all aft, that perform especially well on light wind or light-medium wind situations, that perform very well upwind but that have not their performance maximized for stronger winds downwind.

Dufour 44R

The reason why there is a modern tendency on offshore racing boats to maximize downwind performance at the cost of a loss on upwind performance and of light wind performance has to do with two factors: 

 First, on most offshore races (out of the Med or Baltic) weak winds are rare and medium-high to strong winds frequent and second, what a maximized downwind boat gains in speed on strong to high medium winds (downwind) is a lot more than what it loses sailing upwind.

In this edition, that due to the Covid had fewer participants, we had two Swans, a 50,  a cruiser-racer more adapted to racing than cruising, with a relatively narrow hull (4.20m) and the new and beamier Swan 48 (4.58m), a heavier boat too. 

Swan50, below Swan 48

If we compare the performances we will see that even in compensate the 50 (6th) was much more at ease in these weather conditions than the 48 (23rd). Almost for sure, the Swan50 crew was better but the fact is that its narrower hull was much more adapted to the conditions and much faster.

The main reason for the bigger beam on the 48, as on most performance cruisers, is to give more volume to the interior, to allow a boat with less ballast and to sail with less heel. The reason has nothing to do with having a faster boat, quite the contrary, it will result in a slower one.

On the racecourse, in real-time, the new Swan 48 made all race fighting with another cruiser-racer, a J109, that finished very close. I bet most would not think that a J109 could be a match for the new Swan 48 or that a J122, a 40ft cruiser-racer, could be way faster. 

J122e

The race was won in compensated by a First 45 (Elusive 2) that was not only very well sailed but showed that had the right type of hull for the race conditions. 

The second was a Ker46, a race boat designed more than 10 years ago, also with a moderate beam and transom, a racer that is fast in different wind and sea conditions. Both boats were very fast not only in compensated but in real-time.

On the first 9, only two were recent designs, all the others were designed more than ten years ago. The two recent ones were the Swan 50 and the JPK 10.80, both great designs and among the few cruiser-racers that are extraordinarily polyvalent in what regards performance in very different wind and sea conditions.

The JPK 10.80 was not only one of the best in compensated (5th) but was very fast in real-time too, finishing ahead of the Swan 48 and not far from the J122 (Buran), that was 4th in compensated. 

JPK 1080

The J122 arrived very near a Dufour 44R (3rd in compensated). Considerably ahead of the JPK10.80 arrived the IRC winner, the First 45, that was all race fighting with a Farr 45 and a very well sailed Class40 (skippered by Kito de Pavan), beating both.

All the three J109 have done well, in real-time and compensated, being Chestress the 8th in IRC and the other two 13th and 14th but with Jubilee (13th) winning the Double-Handed class. 

A reference for the Comet 45s (16th in compensated) but 2nd on the Double-Handed class: the Comet 45S was in real-time almost 11 hours faster than the J109, lost in compensated by about one hour and was faster than the full crewed Swan 48.

JPK 1080

Looking at the disappointing performances, on the Duo-Handed class two boats theoretically very fast, supposedly designed to be Solo or Duo-Handed, a Class 40 (Vaquita) and a Pogo 36, had a very weak performance and I mean performance in real-time although it was even worse in compensated.

The Class 40 was in real-time only 2 hours faster than the J109 that won in compensated and about 9 hours slower than the Comet45s. 

Swan 50

The Pogo 36 retired after finishing, but was way slower than the J109, finishing among the last in real-time. Well, not really a disappointment since I was expecting it on these conditions, but certainly to all that think that cruising Pogos can be fast in all wind and sea circumstances.

A true disappointment was the performance of the single Dehler 30 OD, making here its debut on a big race. The conditions were not ideal for it but I hope that the boat was badly sailed because it was in real-time slower than all IRC6 (the boats with the smaller IRC rating).

If in real-time the Dehler 30 OD was bad, in compensated was incredibly bad. Racing in ORC5, the first in the class below (ORC6), a J109, arrived in real-time 3 hours and a half ahead and the first in its class (ORC5), more than 15 hours ahead in real-time and about the same in compensated.

J109, below J112e

As bad or even worse than the performance of the Dehler 30OD was the performance of a supposedly very fast catamaran, an Outremer 55 light. The crew, probably ashamed with the performance, retired very early, not even passing the Messina strait. On the first control point in Capopassero (Sicily), the boat was on the tail with all boats I have mentioned here well ahead, including the ones with a disappointing performance.

The results in this race, with conditions that are kind of typical to the ones most cruisers meet, show that the talk about some performance cruisers being faster, because they are not designed to perform specifically well in IRC or ORC (very beamy boats), is for the most part just talk, because overall, with mixed conditions, the boats and hulls that excel in ORC or IRC are the same that are faster in real-time.

J112e

Sure, for a limited set of circumstances other types of hulls are faster, even much faster, but the question is if those conditions are the ones that a cruiser will meet more often. 

For a circumnavigation made in the trade winds, yes, those light beamy boats are the right option regarding speed. For coastal sailing with variable winds, that is where most sail, they are not.

Comet 45s

A final point to say that these hulls that performed very well here, designed a decade ago, are not necessarily the faster, even if they remain very competitive. I would say that the faster in overall circumstances will be the last declinations of this type of hulls, like for instance the ones of the J112e,  the Italia 11.98 or the JPK 1030.

There is also a common misconception that this type of yachts only work well if they have a full crew seating on the rail.

The race results on the Double-Handed category on this race and others show that it is not true and the best example was the one of a JPK 1010 that some years ago won not only the Fastnet on the Double-Handed category but overall.

The tracker is still working, you can have a look at the race and you can make your own evaluation.

https://www.rolexmiddlesearace.com/tracker?

SOLARIS 40, A MUCH AWAITED YACHT

Solaris is a brand mostly known for beautiful high-quality big yachts, but it was not always like that, I mean, the high-quality was a constant but their more popular yachts were for many years a 36ft and a 39ft both designed by Frans Mass... but that was 40 years ago.

More recently with the increase of the shipyard production (10 years ago ) besides big units, they returned to the origins and produced a 37ft (2010) and then a 42ft yacht (2012). Both boats were (are) great sailboats and sold relatively well, but it seems that the shipyard makes much more money selling big units than smaller boats, and some years later these were taken out of their offers and not replaced.

At present, the smallest offer is a 44ft boat and this year they have expanded their offer to even bigger units, an 80ft and a 111ft boat, so it comes as a big surprise the announcement of a new 40ft boat designed by the same NA that designs now all their line, Soto Acebal, the one that had already designed  the 37 and the 42, a decade ago.

Soto Acebal is known for designing fast boats, among them two famous very fast one-designs, the Soto 30 and the Soto 40. For more than a decade he worked on German Frers cabinet and since 1998 has his own office, being Solaris his main client.

The new 40ft should be available in 2021 and the drawings show us a beautiful design, as it was to be expected from Soto. But looking better there are some things I really don't like, being the main one the option he took to give the boat the look of a bigger yacht.

Sure it looks very nice and the cockpit looks amazingly big with the two wheels far apart but for managing that Soto has taken away the side deck on the aft part of the cockpit and the only seating place for the helmsman are two small foldable seats that should be very uncomfortable and almost impossible to use with the boat heeled, while sailing close to the wind.

There is also no space to seat forward to the wheel, a position that is used by all that sail solo to reach the winches and the main traveler at the same time they are steering the boat. Really odd all that but maybe they know better than me the target market for this boat, maybe the ones to whom this boat is pointing to are going to sail it most of the time on autopilot and will have fun just for a short time at the wheel and so they don't need to seat because they will not be at the wheel for long.

They say that configuration has the advantage of offering a bigger traveler for the main but that does not make any sense on a boat that comes standard without a main traveller, with a self-tacking jib and only 2 winches, if we can trust the pictures. The information regarding the boat is imprecise, in some places the hull length is 12.36m, while in others 12.36 is the LOA and that is what seems right for a 11.70 LWL.

That means I don't know the length of the boat because the hull length is not provided. I would say that the boat has not 40ft in length, probably between 39 and 40ft. The 4.10m beam makes it a beamy boat, especially if we consider it as a performance boat. An Oceanis 40.1 has 4.18m, a Jeanneau 410 3.90m, a Salona 41 3,84, a XP 44 4.0, a X 4-3 3.95, a First 40 3.89 and the older (and fast) Solaris 42 3.99m beam.

It is not the only one that is beamy, the same happens with the new Grand Soleil 44 with a 4.30m beam. It seems that now, even in what regards performance, yacht designers certainly at shipyards' request, are designing boats not mainly taking into account performance but also taking more and more into account interior space, designing boats that are not as fast as they could be, especially upwind, but boats more oriented for easy downwind performance, the same tendency that we had observed on the last 10 years in what concerns mass production boats.

Cruiser-racers changed the denomination to performance cruisers and little by little the design parameters are coming closer to the ones of mass production boats, even if with a superior B/D, that in the last years has also been diminishing.

Take for example one of the fastest cruiser racers around, the Swan 50 and compare its beam (4.2m) and B/D (40% with a 3.5m draft) with the ones of these new performance cruisers and you will understand what I am talking about.

Even in what concerns racing boats where probably the overall most successful box rule in what regards overall condition is the TP52, the max beam is 4.43m and that max dimension is rarely used with several very successful racers having much less, like Platoon, the winner of the 2019 world TP52 championship ( 4.37m Beam and over 50%B/D).  

The Solaris 40 displacement is surprisingly high, 9850kg, if compared with the old 42 (8800kg) or with the one of the Solaris 44 (9900kg), especially taking into account that the 44 has 3600kg ballast and the 40 has 3050kg. That means that without the keel and ballast the 44 is actually 550kg lighter than de 40! That is really odd!

The 31%B/D on a 2.40m torpedo keel is normal by modern parameters and more than what mass production boats offer but less than the 36% of the 44 (on a 2.60 keel) or the 34% (on a 2.5m keel) offered on the old 42.

Also very strange is the standard 30hp engine that seems clearly underpowered for a 9.9T boat and will make necessary what is an option, the 50 or 60hp engine. In some pictures we see only two winches but on the price list, the boat comes standard with 4 but then they offer two more optional winches over the coaming and two more aft the cockpit and things become confusing in what regards the running rigging set-up.

The main traveler that we see in the images is optional as well as the genoa traveler and the integrated bowsprit. They have two optional masts, one bigger and another one in carbon. Lots of options on this boat as it has become more and more the rule.

The new 40 has no promotional price for anticipated orders (without seeing the boat) and costs standard at the factory without taxes 289 000 euros. The 44 costs 314 000 euros and the extra 25 000 euros seem more than compensate for the extra size, the extra performance and I would say the better design.

https://www.solarisyachts.com/yacht-en-40-1-21.html

https://www.solarisyachts.com/yacht-en-44-1-15.html

A NEW TRIMARAN: NEEL 43

Seven years ago Neel 45 has appeared on the market, a true revolutionary sailboat, a trimaran that contrary to other offers on the market (Corsair and Dragonfly) offered a much bigger interior at a much smaller price, but without the advantage of reducing the beam, folding the amas.

Brand's publicity put a big emphasis on the Neel 45 performance presenting very flattering polar wind speeds but I was a bit disappointed when in Croatia sailed around one of the first Neels with a Salona 41. The Salona was a 2.70m keel version and even without top sails was a fast boat, especially in the very light winds where the meeting took place, but even so, I expected more from the Neel.

Some years later, in an ARC, a lighter Neel 45, a version that they called Race, made a fantastic passage, not race because stupidly the organizers insist on not having a racing category for multihulls, even if some of them are obviously racing. The Neel 45 left the first cat, an Outremer 51, 6 hours behind, making an average speed of 10kts with top speeds of around 20kts.

So, yes, even a normal Neel 45 can be fast on the trade winds and take advantage, in what regards safety, to the more favorable stability curve of a trimaran over the one of a catamaran, being the main difference a less sharp curve in what regards the transition from max rightening moment to abrupt loss of righting moment that (with strong wind) can result in a capsize, or saying in another way, trimarans give more time for recovering the multihull on limit gusty wind situations and give also a better warning when those conditions are reached.

Unfortunately, some Neel 45 suffered poor quality issues that you can find reported on several internet forums (2016). More problems were reported recently on a 51 ft boat, but there are also many clients satisfied with their boats.

The truth is that this boat is a lot lighter than a Lagoon and for building lighter and as strong more expensive building techniques and materials are needed. But the Neel is not more expensive than a Lagoon. Miracles are not to be expected and the boat finish is not comparable with the one of a Lagoon or a Fountain-Pajot, much less similar to the one of an Outremer.

The Neel 43 standard is sold for about 330 000 euros while a standard Lagoon 42 costs 348 000 euros. Of course, these prices are misleading and a normally equipped Neel 43 would cost 450 000 euros plus VAT.

But even with this concept, with the main cabin extending over the three hulls, a trimaran cannot offer the interior space of a catamaran due to the smaller beam of the amas, and on the Nell, this is aggravated by a layout that is not as good as it could be.

On the 43 the layout is better than on the 45, but, both being designed by the shipyard suffer from an amateurish approach that results in a kind of messy space management that is visible in the low quality of the solutions that lack fluidity and design quality. If the interiors were designed by one of the several good interior yacht design cabinets I am sure the difference in design quality would be quite substantial.

The 43 suffers also from what I think is a misunderstanding regarding the target market of this boat: the ones that are looking for space will not buy it, but it would interest the ones that are looking for a performance yacht offering a comfortable interior and on this price range what they are looking for is a yacht with a nice saloon and two good cabins with private toilets.

This boat offers a good cabin, two small ones plus two individual sleeping places on the amas with only a very small toilet, not even with a separated shower. 

I don't see to whom this layout will interest. They should have been focused on offering two cabins, two toilets, and a nice saloon. Probably the answer for more space and a better layout lies in the use of the space of the main hull that is underused. 

Due to the more sportive sailors that will be interested in this yacht, it is also a pity that they have not developed a big central swinging foil to improve upwind sailing. Even so, the boat has 20cm more draft than a Lagoon 42 due to the deeper central small keel. The LOA is only 10cm bigger but displaces 3000kg less and it has more than 10 sqm of sail, so no doubt it will be much faster in all circumstances.

A cruiser that could have been very interesting if the layout and interior design was better but even so a yacht that can be a nice option for a couple that wants a relatively fast multihull and that eventually receives, for a short time visits from the family, especially kids, and don't mind to have a small toilet without a separate shower, a thing that is common today on 43ft monohulls, even on performance ones. 

43/44ft performance monohulls cost slightly less and offer two good cabins and two toilets as well as a better performance upwind and in light winds but not a so good and easy performance downwind with high medium and stronger winds. That makes the Neel 43 a very good boat for the trade winds, not so good for Mediterranean or Baltic sailing.

NEW BAVARIA C38, GOOD LOOKING BUT...

After the C42 the next one from Bavaria will be the C38. As I have said before, the names of mass-produced sailboats are misleading because they generally refer to the overall length instead of hull length, contrary to what most more expensive boats do. So the C42 is a 39.3ft boat and the C38 has 36.1ft.

But before blaming Bavaria let me tell you Oceanis 41.1, Jeanneau 419, Dufour 412, Hanse 418 are also 39.3ft boats as well as the new Oceanis 40.1, that contrary to what the name indicates is not smaller than the Oceanis 41.1, it has the same hull length. 

All this is misleading and RCD should legislate that when a number is the denomination of a boat that number should refer to hull length and not to LOA or any other dimension. But for now, it is arbitrary and at least one of the more expensive brands, X-yachts is using this trick to make believe that the boats are really bigger than what they are.

Back to the Bavaria C38, the design looks nice, kind of a smaller C42 also with the possibility of having 6 winches, a heavier boat than the competition but also with a bigger sail area.

But in what regards weight there is something so odd here that I contacted the designer's cabinet to ask if there was not any mistake regarding the displacement that was given to the press and published on Bavaria's site. I have received a quick reply saying that the weight was correct.

But if we take the keel out of the two boats (with all the ballast) the difference in weight between them will be only 115 kg and that does not make sense because the C42 is a much bigger and more voluminous boat, with 11.98m length for a 4.29m beam while the C38 has a 10.99m length for a 3.98m beam.

The oddity extends itself to the B/D displacement, having the C42  27.9%B/D and the C38 only 24.3% and that is strange because smaller boats normally have a bigger B/D and that's because the formula to calculate the needed AVS to certificate the boat in Class A demands a bigger AVS for boats with smaller displacement (because smaller and less heavy boats need less energy to be capsized).

I don't know the reason for all this. The superior weight of the C38, taking into account its size, suggests it is not built the same way as the C42 even if nothing is said about it. Maybe the C38 has a monolithic hull and not a sandwich one as the C42. I have not yet seen the C38 specification file and maybe it casts some more light on this subject.

But that does not explain why they, on a similar keel with less 5cm draft, chose to put comparatively much less ballast on the C38 than on the C42. In fact to have the same B/D as the C42 the C38 should have 449kg more ballast (adding to the 2205kg) and then the displacement would be 9519 kg, only 159 kg less than the C42, when taking into account the dimensions of both boats, at least a ton should separate their displacement. That is the case on all other mass-production brands.

While the dimensions and the design data of the C42 look good to me I cannot say the same about the C38 even if the boats seem very similar in the way they look and have similar hulls.

https://www.bavariayachts.com/sailing-yachts/c38/equipment

https://www.bavariayachts.com/sailing-yachts/c42/equipment

FIRST PHOTOS: GRAND SOLEIL 44 PERFORMANCE

This was one of the most waited yachts and although I would have preferred a slightly more audacious bow, the yacht design leaves little to be desired and looks even better than on the drawings. To be noted the mast position that is more aft than usually to allow for larger front sails, namely a bigger self-tacking jib on the cruising version.

The designer, that you can see on one of the videos, Matteo Polli, one of the best in what concerns ORC, says that the GS 44 can be used for racing or for cruising and that seems pretty obvious looking at the boat. The GS44 comes in two versions, performance cruising or racing but contrary to the 48 cannot be built all in carbon. 

The good thing is that the components of the several versions are interchangeable and without custom costs you can order your own boat from a huge variety of options using parts from the two basic versions.

The one presented in Genoa boat show is the racing version with carbon spars, 6 winches, traveller for the main, lateral travellers for the jib or small genoa and top quality running rigging. 

On this version, the Yacht has a reduced number of cabinets on the saloon but even so the interior quality stands out and the interior looks bright and cosy looking even better than the one of the GS48.

This is a true 44ft boat (hull length) and a 49ft LOA with the big bowsprit (they have a smaller one) and 4.26m beam. The big standard draft (2.60m) and the very efficient torpedo keel explain why the yacht only needs a 30%B/D. With that keel it displaces 9000kg. The keel has three other options, 2.00m, 2.40m and another one with 3.00m.

I don't understand why, contrary to what happens with the 48, they chose not to offer a carbon version.

It looks a great yacht and the possibility of having a huge number of interchangeable options makes it a boat suitable for many sailors, for racing, for racing and cruising or just for cruising.

319 000 euros is the standard price at the shipyard. A well-equipped boat, including a good discount (if you can manage it), will be about 400 000 euros plus VAT, if it is the case. A good price if we compare it with the competition.

GRAND SOLEIL 42LC, ONE OF THE BEST NEW CRUISERS

I had seen it in the last Dusseldorf boat show, the two-cabin version with a perfect interior. The boat had a huge storage, a huge galley and the interior looked more the one of a 45ft boat than the one of a 42ftboat. I was really impressed with the interior and with the boat in a general way and expressed that very positive impression on a post about the yacht: 

http://interestingsailboats.blogspot.com/2020/02/dusseldorf-2020-grand-soleil-42-lc.html

photo by Mauro Giufreè 

Now that the boat has been tested by test sailors of many nationalities I can say that I was not the only one that has been very impressed with this yacht that the test sailors from the Norwegian sailing magazine Seil called "The ideal cruiser".

The French test-sailor from "Voiles et Voiliers" said about the way it sails: " Very well, indeed, very, very, well." The video is in French but even if you don't understand it wait for the end of the video when the designer, Marco Lostuzzi, in English, talks about the boat design and its characteristics.

The Germans from "Yacht de" said: "As a bluewater yacht, it should offer plenty of living space, plenty of comfort and be able to cope with heavy weather. but the 42 LC want to offer more than that"..."In the test, the 42 LC proved to be pleasantly lively, even in the basic version. The rudder Ballance is precise and with winds from 8 to 10 knots of wind she sails cheerfully - an interesting cross between dynamism and distinction". 

"We were particularly impressed by the version which was shown for the first time at boot Düsseldorf in mid-January, with only two cabins and a galley that was significantly enlarged aft. The Grand Soleil is perfect when it comes to extended cruising over several months."

https://www.yacht.de/yachten_jollen/testberichte/was-kann-die-neue-grand-soleil-42-lc/a124228.html

The Italian test sailors from "Giornale della Vela", sailing on the more sportive version (without the cockpit arch and a taller mast) made a detailed report about wind and speed: 

"We start our test with 7-8 knots of southeast wind and long waves, despite the self-tacking jib the boat goes up to 5.2 knots, we didn't force the upwind angle, we stayed around 40º-43º of true wind... and in the meantime the wind rises: 10, 12, 14 knots. The upwind speed stabilizes above 7 knots, with peaks at 7.6 and an angle below 40 degrees, even up to 36 degrees, we definitely have fun also because the rudder feeling looks like the one of a sportive boat and not the one of a long-range cruiser boat. But who said that on a cruise you shouldn't fully enjoy sailing? ..

We unfurled the Code Zero , with the wind increasing a few more knots, up to 16, we tried the downwind performance. We sailed between 120º and 130º, the most suitable sail would be an asymmetrical with a more pronounced curve while the Code 0 we used had an obviously too flat shape, but the boat does not struggle to exceed 9 knots with averages that stabilized around 9.3, 9.4with some very pleasant Surf. 

We forced the boat and the equipment a bit by tightening up to 90 degrees with the wind that has risen up to 17-18 knots, we would expect the strain but in reality, once again, it is the big blade rudder of the Grand Soleil 42 LC that imposes itself: without becoming necessary to let go too much the mainsail, just a little correction on the wheel and the boat “runs away” on the wave in acceleration, transmitting perfect control to the helmsman.

With the wind rising up to 20 knots we opened the angle even more and had fun: dry boat, easy to steer, speeds that reach peaks of 10 knots without the need to make too many adjustments.

Ultimately, a decidedly positive test even in conditions that were starting to be muscular for the new "small" of the Cantiere Del Pardo, which showed us how important comfort is but also that comfort without true sailing performance is something incomplete. The 42 LC promises to become a new shipyard's best-seller: lean only in appearance, true and reactive under canvas, suitable for long voyages and extremely comfortable and refined inside."

https://www.giornaledellavela.com/2020/06/14/grand-soleil-42-lc-cantiere-del-pardo-2/

The sail testers from "Vela e Motore", sailing on the basic version with the smaller mast and the carbon cockpit arch, reported that with a code 0 and 11/12kt wind the boat sailed at 8/8.5kt and with 13kt wind and the self-tacking jib they 8.3/8.5kt speed at 40º from the true wind.

They also said that the wheel was light, responsive, giving plenty of control over the boat and that with the 50hp engine the boat sailed at 9kt at 2500rpm.

 https://www.velaemotore.it/grand-soleil-42-lc-come-naviga-pregi-difetti-18605

It is difficult for me to understand why last year in this category the boat chosen as Boat of the Year was the Amel 60 and not this one, but that is another story.

After so many nice things said about the performance of this boat maybe I should make a point regarding what we are talking about: we are talking about a boat that the designer qualifies as heavy but that is only so if we compare it with performance cruisers. For instance, the Bavaria C42 is slightly heavier and more even so because its hull has 11.99m while the one of the Grand Soleil has 12.90. To have a better understanding of comparative displacements of several high-quality cruisers look here:

http://interestingsailboats.blogspot.com/2020/02/dusseldorf-2020-grand-soleil-42-lc.html

So what are the differences to be expected between this fast bluewater cruiser and true performance cruisers like the XP-44 or the new Grand Soleil 44 performance? They will be faster in all points of sail and wind conditions but the bigger differences will be in very light winds, on pointing ability, close upwind speed and with strong winds on planing ability where with a good crew high two-digit speeds can be obtained.

The downside regarding cruising is that true performance cruisers will be much more nervous boats, demanding a lot more reefing and work on the wheel and trimming of sails. If sailed solo or duo they demand a more experienced sailor and one that likes to be busy with sails and boat control while cruising. For some cruisers that extra work is just fun and a way to occupy time, for others, it will be too much.

Also, the extra displacement will give the boat a more soft and less brusque motion even if that is partially compensated by the finer entries and smaller beam of the more sportive boats, meaning that if you go upwind with the same angle probably the sportive boats are as comfortable as the medium displacement boats, the problem here is that the sportive boat can go at a better and smaller angle to the wind and most sailors will sail it at the optimal angle for speed.

The smaller wind angle will mean also that you will be getting the waves more forward to the bow and that means a more uncomfortable ride that will be worsened by the bigger upwind speed. Downwind with a cruising charged boat the difference in speed will be there between the two types but sailed solo or with a wife, the high planing speeds will be out of reach and probably the speed difference will be just of one or two knots not the six or seven that are to be expected with a crew in race trim.

So, just choose what goes more with your personality and lifestyle but don't make the mistake of buying a boat like the XP-44 or a full specs GS44p to sail solo with your wife if you are not an experienced sailor and by that, I mean experience with high power sailboats. For starting it will be probably too much while on a GS 42 LC, even if not very experienced, a sailor, even with not a big sailing experience, can take vantage of the boat easiness and soft manners to learn all he needs to sail it properly and fast.