Classic Boat | Exceptional Grand Soleil: 9 models celebrating tradition

Early 1970s, Emilia Romagna. Sailboat -yard proponent of hulls such as the splendid Carter-designed Orca 43-is now ‘gone,’ but under the surface something else is moving. After all, Groupe Finot is designing a particularly modern 34-footer, and that is the destination. Behind it, the hand of the great Raul Gardini. We will have to wait until 1973, however, to understand better, because a brand destined to scale the heights of international shipbuilding is being born. It is, of course, the Cantiere del Pardo and, with Finot itself, launches its first hull that year: the Grand Soleil 34, the birth of a myth…

Classic Boat | Exceptional Grand Soleil: 9 models celebrating tradition

From the iconic Grand Soleil 34 to the present, there is no doubt that Cantiere del Pardo has come a long way (here its history), but what about the classics of that period, the cult classics of the last century? Well, so many are still sailing today-and they certainly know how to get noticed. From the first Finot-branded, and then on to Jezequel and the adventures with Frers and J&J, Grand Soleils have indeed won the hearts of so many, more than enduring to this day, and so, no doubt, they will continue to do. And a clear signal comes from the Classic Boat Club, where so many of these undoubted cults are registered in the Classic Boat Register of Historical Value, thus celebrating a tradition absolutely not to be forgotten. So here are nine great icons of Made in Italy, nine Grand Soleil Classics that are nothing short of exceptional…

• What is the Classic Boat Club? It is the community by GdV dedicated to all fans of the ‘vintage’ world, a platform to enhance and share the design culture and spirit of sailing of the last century. Anyone can be a member: it’s super easy and offers a lot of benefits. Here is all the information about it!

Early classics

Let’s start with a little gem from the Classic Boat Club, Mon Chichi, Grand Soleil 34 of 1976, and an excellent pretext to start from the origins. Signed Finot, the GS34 was precisely an exceptional statement, a hull conceived with a single intent: to demonstrate to the market the intention of the fledgling yard. And this it did, underscoring the brand’s ability to combine hulls suited to the high performance demanded by the race courses of the time with the qualities of safety and comfort required, on the other hand, for cruising use.

After the first experiment with Finot, however, it was another giant that left its mark on the brand’s history, giving birth to hulls that were nothing short of legendary: Jezequel. Among them, in 1983, came a ‘giant,’ the Grand Soleil 39. Inverted stern mirror, narrow, anvil deckhouse, striped in blue, elegance to spare. It took very little for the press to dub her as the “Spaghetti Swan,” partly out of affection, partly precisely because at a glance she looked like the Finns. But the Grand Soleil 39 deserved all the comparison and, to this day, remains an outstanding hull. Isolaria (1984) is its representative at Registry, the 18th example launched. Also signed Jezequel, another Pardo classic joins her in the Club, the Grand Soleil 343 Paluck, born in 1985 and launched in the same year.

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The Frers Trilogy

After the successes signed by Jezequel, the shipyard turned its eye overseas, where it intercepted one of the greatest masters: Frers. Three masterpieces were to be born from these: the Grand Soleil 52, the Grand Soleil 45 and the Grand Soleil 42. Of the former (GS52), with a huge stern -with flared ends- and the strength of two separate cockpits, an exaggerated maximum width (4.75 meters) and a most elegant retractable deckhouse, we find testament in Freedom, a splendid 1990 specimen. As for the later GS45, however, double presence, with Chaman e Be Quiet to be its spokesmen. In turn, two splendid cultists.

Closing, however, this triptych by the Argentine master is the GS42, the smallest of the trio, but certainly not in spirit. Similar to her larger sister, strong with a huge transom, large single wheel and exceptional lines, she was in fact a hugely successful hull, worth no less than 130 units produced. No small numbers given, however, the size. For this, too, double presence, with Elixir e Gilda, both ’90, to serve as its standard-bearers.

Turn-of-the-century masterpieces

With the 1990s, Cantiere del Pardo changes pace again. Farr signs the impressive Grand Soleil 64 Maxi One in 1992, but the next goodies come through the hands of the duo J&J. It is, in short, the turn of the Jacopin brothers, who begin their collaboration with a masterpiece, the Grand Soleil 46.3, an emblematic 1996 hull. This was followed by the GS 37 and, in 1999, another gem, the Grand Soleil 43. For these, two are registered representatives, C’Est La Vie, outstanding GS46.3 from 1996, and Bololombo, a 2003 GS43. Both, gems among Classic Boats, an outstanding testament to the yard’s production since 1973 to that very first masterpiece signed Finot.

Do you have a Grand Soleil Classic? Or a Classic Boat more generally? Join the Classic Boat Club, too ! Doing so is super easy and the benefits are so many!

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