After a two-decade absence, this historic event is being revived in 2025 by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), promising to reestablish its status as one of the sport’s most prestigious and challenging competitions.
First contested in 1957 off Cowes on the Isle of Wight, the Admiral’s Cup quickly became the pinnacle of international team competition in offshore racing. Teams representing different countries, each made up of three yachts, would battle it out over a series of tough inshore and offshore races culminating in the brutal Fastnet Race.
Victories were hard-won and celebrated as national achievements. Legends of the sport, from British prime minister Sir Edward Heath, British Olympic medallist and around the world racer Lawrie Smith, American America's Cup racers Dennis Conner and Ted Turner, as well as New Zealand America's Cup and ocean racing legend Sir Peter Blake, all made their mark amongst the intense rivalries of the Admiral’s Cup. For decades, it was a true test of seamanship, boat design, and teamwork at the highest level.
Over 23 editions, British teams have won the competition on nine occasions – the last being in 1987 with a team made up of Peter de Savary's Victory of Burnham, Brian Saffery Cooper's Dragon, and Robin Aisher's Yeoman XXIII. German teams have been victorious four times, American teams have won three times, as have Australian teams, with teams from the Netherlands, New Zealand, France, and Ireland each winning once.
I first attended the Admiral's Cup in 1991 – the year the French dominated with a three-boat team corporately sponsored by Corum Watches. It was my real first introduction to the professional racing scene and I was immediately captivated by the atmosphere.
