IRC Zero saw a blistering battle at the top of the leaderboard between Karl Kwok’s Botin TP52 Beau Geste and Maximilian Klink’s Botin 52 Caro (representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Club in the Admiral’s Cup).
You could barely get a cigarette paper between the two of them throughout the six-race regatta as they traded the top spot back and forth. In the end, the difference was an uncharacteristic slip up on the final race that saw the Caro crew struggle home in ninth, while Beau Geste took the win.
After a single discard Kwok’s crew were the overall winners by just half a point (Caro had tied for third in the fourth race with Stefan Jentzsch’s Botin 56 Black Pearl – representing the New York Yacht Club in the Admiral’s Cup – to earn 3.5 points). Third overall was Peter Harrison’s TP52 Jolt 3 – just a point behind Caro.
In the Admiral’s Cup Beau Geste will be representing the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club – partnered with another of Kwok’s raceboats, the Botin-designed Fast 40, Beau Ideal. The Hong Kong 40-footer won the opening three races in IRC 1 and went on to top the final leaderboard by three points over another Fast 40 – Pierre Casiraghi’s Carkeek 40, Jolt 6.
However, because Beau Ideal does not yet have a certified IRC certificate, Jolt 6 was awarded the IRC 1 National Championship title, albeit after edging out James Murray’s GP42 42 Callisto into second place on countback. Chris Frost’s Carkeek 40+ AMP-lifi – which will represent RORC White in the Admiral’s Cup – finished fourth.
Meanwhile, in IRC 2 Giovanni Lombardi Stronati’s Django JPK – which will sail for the Italian Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in the Admiral’s Cup – dominated the class with five wins out of six races. Once again, though, the absence of an endorsed IRC certificate meant that Richard Powell’s First 40 Rogan Josh, an amateur team from the Royal Thames YC became the 2025 IRC Two national champions. Tom Kneen’s experienced crew on the JPK 1180, Sunrise – which is part of the Royal Irish Yacht Club Admiral’s Cup team – finished third, but also was not IRC endorsed.
Elsewhere there were a string of lacklustre performances from several other Admiral’s Cup teams.
In the 12-boat IRC 0 class Nicklas Zennstrom’s Carkeek 52 Rán finished sixth, Carl-Peter Forster’s TP52 Red Bandit (Bayerischer Yacht Club in the Admiral’s Cup) finished seventh, the Van Uden Group’s Ker 46 (Dutch Offshore Sailing Team) eighth, Russell Whitworth’s TP52 Final Final (RORC White) ninth, and Ron O'Hanley’s Cookson 50 Privateer eleventh.
In the 12-boat IRC 2 class Dirk Classen’s Humphreys 39 Ginkgo (Bayerischer Yacht Club in the Admiral’s Cup) finished eleventh, the Family De Graafs Ker 43 Baraka GP (Dutch Offshore Sailing Team) seventh, Lars Hueckstaedt’s GP42 X-Day (RVG) twelfth; Taavet Hinrikus’ Matt 1220 (partnered with Rán) sixth.
Notably not making an appearance was Eric de Turckheim’s Carkeek 52 Teasing Machine – which will partner with Philippe Frantz’s Nivelt 43 Albator (also not attending) in the Yacht Club De France Admiral’s Cup team.
The happiest Admiral’s Cup team will no doubt be the Royal Hong Kong YC outfit with Karl Kwok’s Botin-designed Beau Geste and Beau Ideal both dominating their classes on the water. Likewise the Yacht Club De Monaco with its Carkeek pairing of Jolt 6 and Jolt 3 must also have come away feeling good about the regatta.
While the IRC Nationals could be considered a good form indicator, we have to remember that the Admiral’s Cup has a significant offshore component to it – and that could change everything when the 15 international teams converge on Cowes next month.
But, if the post-regatta comment from Beau Geste’s Gavin Brady is anything to go by, the racing at the Admiral’s Cup should be breathtaking.
“It’s one of the toughest regattas I’ve been part of,” Brady said. “The competition was just relentless—every boat in the fleet brought something different, from the high-tech TP52s to larger boats like Black Pearl. There was never a moment to relax because it felt like we were all arriving at the top mark at the same time. That’s how close it was out there.”
Can’t wait.
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