The 2025 Admiral’s Cup is officially underway after the fleet got off to a delayed but dynamic start in the Channel Race on Saturday afternoon. Scheduled to begin at 1000 BST, the start was postponed by over two hours due to strong winds and rough sea conditions in the central Solent. Principal Race Officer Stuart Childerley waited patiently for the breeze to settle before sending the 30-strong fleet off the RYS line at 1210.
Once the race began, crews wasted no time getting into rhythm. A brisk southwesterly breeze set up a tight reach along the south coast of the Isle of Wight, before the course turned west and then south into the English Channel. Early leaders included the German TP52 Imagine, Red Bandit, and Beau Geste from Hong Kong, as well as Monaco’s Jolt 6 — all punching out impressive VMG figures on the fast fetch offshore.
But as always in offshore racing, it was the corrected times that began to tell the real story as the hours ticked by.
Corrected time leaders: Jolt 6 edges ahead
As of 1915 UTC, Jolt 6 (Monaco) holds a narrow lead on corrected time, with an estimated finish just before 0900 Sunday and a corrected elapsed time of 1d 2h 10m. She’s closely followed by Hong Kong’s Beau Ideal and Beau Geste, both less than 10 minutes behind on corrected time.
Italy’s Django JPK and Jolt 3 (also of Monaco) round out the top five, all showing smart boat speed and tactical nous through the mid-race transition zones.
New Zealand’s Callisto also impressed in the opening phase, holding sixth on corrected time despite being one of the smaller boats in the fleet. The race tracker indicated that New Zealand’s other boat, Caro, might have had issues at the start of the race (yet to be confirmed) and currently sits in seventeenth spot.
National Matchups: Monaco and Hong Kong Off to a Flyer
With three boats in the top six, the Monaco and Hong Kong teams are shaping up as serious contenders. The Monegasque duo of Jolt 6 and Jolt 3 appear well matched and tightly optimised — and their corrected times back that up.
Hong Kong’s Beau Geste and Beau Ideal also look dialled in, with both maintaining top-five positions despite their very different design profiles — the former a seasoned offshore TP52 and the latter a lighter all-rounder.
Germany has five entries spread through the midfleet, led by Black Pearl (7th) and Red Bandit (11th). Team GBR, fielding Sunrise, AMP-LiFi, and Ino Noir, sits in mixed territory for now, with AMP-LiFi 13th on corrected time and Sunrise back in 20th.
Full Corrected Time Standings (as of 1915 UTC, 19 July)
| Pos | Boat Name | Nation | Corrected Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jolt 6 | Monaco | 1d 2h 10m |
| 2 | Beau Ideal | Hong Kong | 1d 2h 17m |
| 3 | Beau Geste | Hong Kong | 1d 2h 20m |
| 4 | Django JPK | Italy | 1d 2h 21m |
| 5 | Jolt 3 | Monaco | 1d 2h 34m |
| 6 | Callisto | New Zealand | 1d 2h 38m |
| 7 | Black Pearl | Germany | 1d 2h 41m |
| 8 | Nola | Estonia | 1d 2h 43m |
| 9 | Albator | France | 1d 2h 46m |
| 10 | Baraka GP | Netherlands | 1d 2h 56m |
| 11 | Red Bandit | Germany | 1d 2h 59m |
| 12 | Garm | Sweden | 1d 3h 4m |
| 13 | AMP-LiFi | Great Britain | 1d 3h 5m |
| 14 | Zen | Australia | 1d 3h 7m |
| 15 | Caro | New Zealand (Switzerland) |
1d 3h 11m |
| 16 | Rán | Sweden | 1d 3h 12m |
| 17 | Final Final | USA | 1d 3h 18m |
| 18 | Ginkgo | Germany | 1d 3h 22m |
| 19 | X-Day | Germany | 1d 3h 35m |
| 20 | Sunrise | Great Britain | 1d 3h 37m |
| 21 | Back 2 Black | Australia | 1d 3h 42m |
| 22 | Abracadabra | USA | 1d 3h 44m |
| 23 | Django WR51 | Italy | 1d 3h 51m |
| 24 | Privateer | USA | 1d 3h 51m |
| 25 | Imagine | Germany | 1d 3h 51m |
| 26 | Van Uden | Netherlands | 1d 4h 35m |
| 27 | Teasing Machine | France | 1d 4h 40m |
| 28 | Ino Noir | Great Britain | 1d 4h 42m |
| 29 | Elida | Germany | 1d 4h 49m |
| 30 | Edelweiss | Germany | 1d 6h 53m |
What’s next?
At this stage, there are still 80+ nautical miles to go for most of the fleet, with key transitions expected overnight as the breeze begins to soften. Tidal strategy approaching the Casquets and the final run back toward the Solent will be crucial.
We’ll update standings again later today as finish times become clearer and Admiral’s Cup team points start to shake out.
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📸 Follow live race tracking on YB: https://cf.yb.tl/channel2025
📰 More Admiral’s Cup coverage at https://www.boatingnz.co.nz/category/sport/sailing-sport/admirals-cup/
