The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) has announced a new Corinthian Cup for the 2027 Admiral’s Cup, recognising the best-performing eligible two-boat team competing with a limited number of professional sailors.
The award will celebrate the amateur tradition at the heart of offshore yacht racing, while allowing family crews, experienced amateurs and emerging young sailors to compete for recognition alongside the sport’s leading professional campaigns.
The new trophy comes as the Admiral’s Cup prepares to mark its 70th anniversary in 2027, following the revival of the international team racing championship in 2025.
Royal Maas Yacht Club Provides Corinthian Example
The Royal Maas Yacht Club's 2025 campaign illustrates the spirit behind the new award. The Dutch club combined the experienced De Graaf family campaign aboard the Ker 43 Baraka GP with the youth-focused Rotterdam Offshore Sailing Team aboard the Ker 46 ROST Van Uden.
Family Values: The De Graaf family's Baraka GP brought experienced family sailors together for the 2025 Admiral's Cup, demonstrating the Corinthian tradition that RORC's new trophy will recognise in 2027. Photo: James Tomlinson
Skippered by Gerd-Jan Poortman, ROST Van Uden won the Admiral’s Cup 1 class in the Rolex Fastnet Race on IRC corrected time. Together, the two boats secured sixth place overall in the 2025 Admiral’s Cup.
Youth Triumph: The ROST Van Uden crew celebrate their Admiral's Cup 1 class victory in the 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race, highlighting the emerging offshore talent that the new Corinthian Cup aims to encourage. Photo: Paul Wyeth
The Baraka GP crew included brothers Olivier and Dirk de Graaf and their father, Harmen, while ROST Van Uden provided a platform for young Dutch sailors to develop their offshore racing experience.
Poortman also brought considerable experience to the youth campaign, having been a member of the victorious Dutch Admiral’s Cup team in 1999.
Professional Crew Limits for New Trophy
The Corinthian Cup will be awarded to the eligible two-boat team recording the lowest combined IRC score across the 2027 Admiral’s Cup series.
Under the 2027 Notice of Race, eligible teams may carry no more than four World Sailing Group 3 sailors aboard their Admiral’s Cup 1 boat and no more than three aboard their Admiral’s Cup 2 entry.
World Sailing's categorisation system broadly distinguishes amateur Group 1 sailors from Group 3 competitors whose professional activities meet specified criteria connected with competitive sailing.
The Corinthian Cup is therefore neither an exclusively amateur award nor a youth competition. It will recognise the strongest eligible team regardless of crew age, provided the professional sailor limits are observed.
Individual awards with equivalent Group 3 restrictions will also be available in both Admiral’s Cup classes.
“We want the Admiral’s Cup to remain the pinnacle of international offshore team racing, but it is equally important that there is a place for passionate amateur sailors and emerging talent,” said RORC Sporting Director Ben Willows.
“The Corinthian Cup recognises teams that combine those qualities with the preparation, commitment and skill required to compete at this level.”
Willows emphasised that Corinthian teams will continue racing directly against the professional campaigns.
“This is not about creating a separate level of competition. Teams eligible for the Corinthian Cup will race against the same opposition, on the same courses and with the same opportunities to win the Admiral’s Cup itself.”
Dutch Team Targets 2027 Return
Royal Maas Yacht Club is working towards returning to the Admiral’s Cup in 2027, although a formal entry has yet to be submitted.
Olivier de Graaf believes the combination of an experienced family campaign and a youth development programme gives the Dutch team a distinctive Corinthian identity.
“Baraka GP is an experienced family team competing against the top crews. Van Uden is the youth team,” he said.
De Graaf also highlighted the progression of sailors from the Rotterdam Offshore Sailing Team into the Baraka GP programme, demonstrating how the partnership supports the development of offshore racing talent.
Cup Contenders: The Dutch Ker 43 Baraka GP formed one half of Royal Maas Yacht Club's two-boat Admiral's Cup campaign, combining with the youth-focused ROST Van Uden to finish sixth overall in 2025. Photo: James Tomlinson
Admiral’s Cup Marks 70 Years
First contested in 1957, the Admiral’s Cup has long been regarded as one of offshore sailing's most prestigious international team competitions.
The introduction of the Corinthian Cup adds another dimension to the championship without changing the racing programme or the overall competition for the Admiral’s Cup itself.
The 2027 Admiral’s Cup will take place from 13–28 July, culminating in the Rolex Fastnet Race from Cowes to Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.
