Admiral's Cup

The Admiral's Cup was an international yachting regatta. For many years it was known as the unofficial world championship of offshore racing.[1][2]

The Admiral's Cup regatta was started in 1957 and was normally a biennial event (occurring in odd-numbered years) which was competed for between national teams. However the event was not staged in 2001 and was last held in 2003. It was cancelled at short notice in 2005.

The 2003 event did not follow the normal format and allowed entries from any yacht club affiliated to a national authority, thus allowing the possibility of several teams per country.

The regatta was based at Cowes on the Isle of Wight off southern England and was organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club.

History: 1957–1999

From 1957 to 1999 the cup was competed for between national teams, each having three boats. Initially only Great Britain and the United States took part but, in later years, many other teams also participated. The Fastnet race was part of the Admiral's Cup during this time.

The Australians won for the first time in 1967, the winning boat—Mercedes III—designed by Ted Kaufman and Bob Miller (later Ben Lexcen), who went on to success in the America's Cup.[3]

In 1971 the British Prime Minister, Edward Heath, captained one of the winning boats.[4]

Recent history

The 2003 event, the last held, was planned to be based in Dún Laoghaire in Ireland, but this was changed at short notice for reasons that are still unclear.[5][6] In addition, instead of being a competition between national teams, the event was competed between yacht clubs, each with two boats.[7]

The 2005 event was cancelled only months before the event was to be held,[8] after only two teams had entered.[9]

Although the RORC (Royal Ocean Racing Club) was looking into reviving the event for 2011,[10][11] this did not happen.

RORC has announced the event will run in 2025.

Winners
YearWinnerTop Placed Yacht
1957 United Kingdom
1959 United Kingdom
1961 United States
1963 United KingdomClarion of Wight (GBR)
1965 United Kingdom
1967 AustraliaMercedes III (AUS)
1969 United StatesRed Rooster (USA)
1971 United Kingdom
1973 Germany
1975 United Kingdom
1977 United KingdomImp (USA)
1979 AustraliaEclipse (GBR)
1981 United Kingdom
1983 Germany
1985 Germany
1987 New ZealandPropaganda (NZL)
1989 United KingdomJamarella (GBR)
1991 FranceCorum Saphir (FRA)
1993 Germany
1995 Italy
1997 United States
1999 Netherlands
2001 cancelled
2003 Australia
2005 cancelled
2007 cancelled

References
  1. Independent Newspaper, England, 2003
  2. BBC news on 2001 event
  3. Bob Fisher (2009). "1967: The Aussies' Big Success". Royal Ocean Racing Club Ltd. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  4. "1971: Admiral's Cup triumph for Heath". On This Day - 11 August. BBC. 11 August 1971. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
  5. Southern Daily Echo, November 2002
  6. Scuttlebutt News
  7. US Sailing 2003 Events page Archived May 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  8. "RORC Admiral's Cup page. Checked April 2008". Archived from the original on 26 April 2005. Retrieved 18 July 2005.
  9. "Admiral's Cup cancelled". Yachting World. 7 April 2005. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  10. "RORC Enlist Skandia To Help Revive the Admiral's Cup". Admiral's Cup. Royal Ocean Racing Club. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
  11. Alexander, Stuart (3 June 2009). "Admiral's Cup could be revived". The Independent. Independent News and Media. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
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