Revival planned for Admiral’s Cup

If you raced under the IOR handicap system, did foredeck with wire guys for symmetrical spinnakers, or remember when ‘N Sync and Madonna topped the charts, then you may recall the demise of the Admiral’s Cup in 2001.

Established in 1957, The Admiral’s Cup was the unofficial world cup for offshore racing, with national teams coming to England with the latest designs for international bragging rights.

Great Britain won the trophy on nine occasions on their home waters, but Germany won four times, USA and Australia three times each, with Australia being the holders of this prized trophy. Victories were also achieved by France, Italy, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.

But with rising stakes, the event burned itself out but a revival is planned for the Admiral’s Cup to be back for 2025 and held biennially thereafter by the Royal Ocean Racing Club.

The 2025 Admiral’s Cup will be organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club from Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. Racing will consist of a combination of inshore and offshore racing. Teams will comprise of two boats representing a Yacht Club or Country.

“Bringing back the Admiral’s Cup is a wonderful way to celebrate the centenary of the Royal Ocean Racing Club,” commented RORC Commodore James Neville. “The chosen format for the 2025 Admiral’s Cup respects the tradition of the regatta, as well as choosing IRC Classes for boats that are competing offshore at the top level internationally.

“By announcing over two years before the start of the Admiral’s Cup, teams will have time to prepare for a fantastic event. The RORC aim is to attract teams from all over the world for the 2025 Admiral’s Cup.”

Admiral’s Cup Class 1 is for bigger boats with a length above 44- up to 56-feet, this range encompasses boats like the Cookson 50 and IRC 52/TP 52 fleet as examples. The modest sized boats in Admiral’s Cup Class 2 ranges in length from 36- up to 44-feet for boat options such as the MAT 1180, J/125, GP42, and Ker 46.

“The Admiral’s Cup Class IRC rating band and length range have been carefully selected to allow as many boat types to be eligible, while maintaining a compact group for each class in terms of performance and also size constraints for racing in the Solent and adjacent waters,” explained Jason Smithwick, Director of the RORC Rating Office.

“The rating bands are purposely aimed to produce close racing so boats experience similar conditions throughout the wide range of races in the Admiral’s Cup.”

“There will be no limitations on professional crew, but in addition, the RORC will continue our drive for inclusivity in yacht racing by amending the IRC crew numbers for the event to allow one additional crew member, if a boat has two women or two under 25-year-old sailors, or a combination,” noted said RORC Racing Manager Steve Cole.

The Royal Ocean Racing Club will be writing to all the major yacht clubs around the globe, inviting them to enter a team for this world-renowned event, as well as inviting expressions of interest from proposed Admiral’s Cup teams before the Pre-Notice of Race. This will be issued on July 19 2023.

For further information: admiralscup@rorc.org