The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) has published the 2025 Admiral’s Cup Notice of Race, setting out the conditions under which the prestigious regatta will be run.

Expressions of interest have been received from 14 different countries (including Ireland), with multiple teams from several nations.

Download the 2025 Admiral’s Cup Notice of Race below.

The 2025 Admiral’s Cup is a fitting event to celebrate the centenary of the Royal Ocean Racing Club. The Club is organising a variety of social events at the RORC Cowes Clubhouse which will be re-opened this year after major construction and refurbishment.

RORC Commodore Deborah Fish commented about the importance and plans for 2025 Admiral’s Cup: "The Admiral's Cup has a long and distinguished history, attracting the leading sailors of its age from America's Cup contenders, such as Dennis Connor, through to British Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath, to legends Eric Tabarly and Lawrie Smith,” commented Deb Fish. “The 2025 edition will respect the history of this incredible event, whilst recognising how our sport has changed since the last Admiral’s Cup in 2003.

The Admiral's Cup Photo: Matthew Dickens

“Professional crews are increasingly multinational and there is a growing acceptance of the need to include talented female and younger sailors in crews to ensure our sport has a bright future. Owners are starting to build new boats for the event and 15 months out the excitement is already building. The RORC Race Team is gearing up to deliver a first-class event, and our redeveloped Cowes Clubhouse will provide a fantastic venue for the social programme which will include a reunion for past Admiral's Cup competitors from around the world. I can't wait to see the boats lining up for the Channel Race that will kick off the event!"

Race Director for the 2025 Admiral’s Cup, Steve Cole has been working with the RORC Race Team, the Admiral’s Cup Advisory Committee, and discussing the event with potential teams to produce the 2025 Admiral’s Cup Notice of Race.

“The document sets out the general structure of racing, containing information to allow potential competitors to make a sensible assessment of whether they wish to compete for the world famous trophy,” commented Steve Cole. “The Admiral’s Cup Notice of Race confirms the dates, the IRC Classes, the procedure and times for entry, and the intended programme of races. In addition, it confirms rules for crew, boats and equipment.”

SCHEDULE:

Admiral's Cup 20525 Schedule

IRC RATING BANDS:

Admirals Cup 2025 IRC rating bands

Teams of two boats may enter representing a club or country. There will be no limitation on professional crew or crew nationality. There will be two classes with teams having one boat in each class.

ADJUSTED SCORING:

The short offshore will have a weighting of 2.

The Rolex Fastnet Race will have a weighting of 3.

Three races (including one offshore race) are required to constitute a series.

There will be one discard for the inshore races, if five or more races are completed.

The offshore races will be non – discardable. The 2025 Admiral’s Cup Notice of Race published today, does have some amendments and additions from the Pre-Notice of Race published on 5th October 2023.

A summary of some of the new information set out in the Official Notice of Race includes:

TEAMS:

The nationality of the team will be determined by the location of the entering club. If multiple teams enter from one country, a colour will be used in the team description. e.g. Australia Red.

The allowed crew number will be as permitted in the IRC Certificate. There is no crew weight limit. Crews shall consist of at least one female crew and one crew of under 27 years old on the 19th July 2025. There is no limit on professional crew or an owner driver requirement.

COURSES:

The intention is to run the short offshore before inshore racing, followed by the Rolex Fastnet Race as the final race of the 2025 Admiral’s Cup.

BOATS & EQUIPMENT:

Autopilots shall not be used. The Admiral’s Cup classes will have a maximum number of sails that can be measured in for the regatta. The number of sails that can be on board will comply as per their IRC Certificate. Sails carried onboard need to remain the same from when the boat leaves the marina berth for the first time for each day, until the boat returns to the marina berth after racing.

From 1 July 2024, entries may be made online using the link on the event website here

The Admiral’s Cup is back for 2025 and will be held biennially thereafter by the Royal Ocean Racing Club. Established in 1957, The Admiral’s Cup is honoured throughout the world of sailing as the "unofficial world cup for offshore racing". Teams from Great Britain have been the most successful, winning the trophy on nine occasions. Germany has won four times, USA and Australia three times each, with Australia being the holders of this prized trophy. Victories have been achieved for France, Italy, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

“Bringing back the Admiral’s Cup is a wonderful way to celebrate the centenary of the Royal Ocean Racing Club,” commented RORC Commodore James Neville. “The chosen format for the 2025 Admiral’s Cup respects the tradition of the regatta, as well as choosing IRC Classes for boats that are competing offshore at the top level internationally. By announcing over two years before the start of the Admiral’s Cup, teams will have time to prepare for a fantastic event. The RORC aim is to attract teams from all over the world for the 2025 Admiral’s Cup.”

The 2025 Admiral’s Cup will be organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club from Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. Racing will consist of a combination of inshore and offshore racing. Teams will comprise of two boats representing a Yacht Club or Country.

2025 Admiral’s Cup – Cowes, Isle of Wight Provisional Dates

2025 Admiral’s Cup – Cowes, Isle of Wight Provisional Dates

The Admiral's Cup fleet racing in 1989 

Director of the RORC Rating Office, Jason Smithwick, commented on the type of boats that will be eligible for the 2025 Admiral’s Cup.

“IRC produces the most exciting and high-performance rating system boats in the world, and the Admiral’s Cup is a great opportunity to showcase our fleet,” commented Smithwick.

“The Admiral’s Cup Class IRC rating band and length range have been carefully selected to allow as many boat types to be eligible while maintaining a compact group for each class in terms of performance and also size constraints for racing in the Solent and adjacent waters. The rating bands are purposely aimed to produce close racing so boats experience similar conditions throughout the wide range of races in the Admiral’s Cup.

“For Admiral’s Cup Class 1 there are the bigger boats with a length above 44ft, (13.41m) up to 56ft (17.20m), this range encompasses boats like the Cookson 50 and ubiquitous highly competitive IRC 52/TP 52 fleet as examples. The modest sized boats in Admiral’s Cup Class 2 ranges in length from 36ft (11.00m) up to 44ft (13.40m) and has many boat options with comparatively high performance, such as the MAT 1180, J/125, GP42, and Ker 46.”

2025 Admiral’s Cup – Cowes, Isle of Wight, IRC Classes

2025 Admiral’s Cup – Cowes, Isle of Wight, IRC Classes

“The RORC Race Team are enthusiastic about organising The Admiral’s Cup and we are looking forward to welcoming competing teams to the Solent and Cowes,” commented RORC Racing Manager Steve Cole. “With a mixture of tight inshore racing and the challenge of offshore racing, culminating in the Rolex Fastnet Race, the Admiral’s Cup will deliver exciting racing. There will be no limitations on professional crew, but in addition, the RORC will continue our drive for inclusivity in yacht racing by amending the IRC crew numbers for the event to allow one additional crew member, if a boat has two women or two under 25 year old sailors, or a combination. As for all RORC races, competitors, friends and families will be made very welcome at the RORC Cowes Clubhouse throughout The Admiral’s Cup.”

The Admiral's Cup at the RORC St James's Place, London Photo: Matthew Dickens

The Royal Ocean Racing Club will be writing to all the major yacht clubs around the globe, inviting them to enter a team for this world-renowned event, as well as inviting expressions of interest from proposed Admiral’s Cup teams before the Pre-Notice of Race. This will be issued on 19th July 2023, which will be two years to the day before the first race starts for the 2025 Admiral’s Cup.