Written by Magnus Wheatley
Rule69 Blog

The Admiral’s Cup, that for decades was the pinnacle of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s calendar, a trophy so revered that it was informally known to racing sailors the world over as the ‘World championship of offshore racing,’ makes a welcome return to Cowes, Isle of Wight, the home of international yacht racing, in 2025.

First introduced in 1957 when four owners got together to support Sir Myles Wyatt in his bid to encourage racing between the UK and the USA, the Admiral’s Cup came into being. Selwyn Slater contacted an antique dealer to source a trophy and the famous ‘Gold Cup,’ formerly a horse racing trophy from the 1830’s and the time of King William IV was secured for the sum of £250. A bit of tinkering from the goldsmiths erased the old inscription to be replaced by complimentary script and the Admiral’s Cup became one of the most recognisable trophies in sailing.

Like many famed regattas, the Admiral’s Cup has had its ups and downs. The regatta last ran in 2003 before arguments over rating rules globally saw owners vote with their feet. But anyone who remembers the heyday regattas of 1985, 1987, 1989 and into the early 1990’s will recall a time of innovation in yacht design aligning with the introduction of ever more exotic materials and a simplification of lay-out. Corinthian owners mixed with professionals taken from the Round the World and America’s Cup spheres. Anyone who was there recalls it all fondly.

The 2025 schedule sees racing underway the Channel Race on Saturday 19th July 2025, followed by a lay day before three intense days of inshore racing from the 22nd to 24th July. A day of preparation on Friday 25th leads into the start of the Rolex Fastnet Race on Saturday 26th July run in a triumvirate between RORC, Yacht Club de Cherbourg and the Royal Yacht Squadron. Bringing the iconic Rolex Fastnet Race back onto the schedule for the Admiral’s Cup has been key to the re-profiling of the regatta and attraction of the world’s very best offshore sailors.

Janet Grosvenor, the new Admiral of the Royal Ocean Racing Club summed it up perfectly saying: “A huge amount of work has gone into bringing back the event and I express on behalf of the club our gratitude to my predecessor Mike Greville, past Commodore James Neville and past Vice Commodore Eric de Turckheim who essentially kick-started the process. Steve Cole has put in place a first-class race team and in Stuart Childerley we have one of the best Principal Race Officers in the world today. I am excited by the format, and the re-inclusion of the Rolex Fastnet Race in conjunction with our friends at the Yacht Club de Cherbourg and the Royal Yacht Squadron is really the icing on the cake for what promises to be a fantastic and challenging regatta.”

The Admiral’s Cup is back and Australia is determined to hold onto the title, but the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron has an awesome team, ready to take them on.

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The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron is represented at the Admirals Cup with Caro (Max Klink) and Callisto (James Murray), with all crew from both yachts members of the club.

Mastercard Youth Training Programme graduate Celia Willison is racing on board Caro.

“I’m super excited to be representing the RNZYS in the Admirals Cup this year, with a stacked international team.  As youth sailors, we all heard stories about the Admirals Cup over and over from the older club members, so to finally compete in this regatta is going to be an amazing experience. This historic regatta hasn’t been held since 2003, and we are all stoked to see so much enthusiasm around the regatta, with new boats being built and 15 teams entered.”