The countdown is nearly over. At 9:30 p.m. tomorrow (10:30 BST, 19th July), the 2025 Admiral’s Cup will get underway with a classic: the RORC Channel Race.
For the 30 elite teams entered into this year’s Admiral’s Cup, the Channel Race is no warm-up. It’s the real thing—high-pressure, high-reward, and impossible to discard. In a series where consistency is key, this first race will likely shape the tone, strategy, and standings heading into the week-long battle for offshore sailing’s most prestigious national trophy.
Double jeopardy, double points
Uniquely, the Channel Race offers double points in both the Admiral’s Cup and the RORC Season’s Points Championship, where it sits as the 14th of 15 races. (It is also Round 6 of the Cowes Offshore Racing Series.) That distinction raises the stakes considerably. There’s no discarding a poor result here—every team must commit fully, knowing that an early misstep could prove fatal to their Cup campaign.
If a team doesn’t fire on Day One, they’ll be playing catch-up until the Fastnet.
And with just six races in the Admiral’s Cup series—two offshore, three inshore, and the Fastnet—it’s a short regatta with long consequences.
Sixty-seven boats, three divisions, one storm gate
While the Channel Race is the Admiral’s Cup opener, it is also open to the full RORC fleet. A total of 67 boats are entered for Saturday’s race, split across eight IRC classes, a growing Class40 division, and four multihulls. This includes all 30 Admiral’s Cup boats and 37 additional entrants vying for Cowes Offshore Racing Series points.
Several Admiral’s Cup contenders have already been active in the broader RORC circuit. Notably, James Neville’s Ino Noir (GBR2747R) enters the Channel Race ranked sixth in the overall RORC Offshore Series standings—remarkable for a custom Carkeek 45.
A Pre-Admiral’s Cup regatta held in late June offered a revealing preview. Black Pearl dominated AC1 with a clean sweep of four wins, confirming her threat. Rán placed second, while Ino Noir showed strong consistency to place third. In AC2, AMP-lifi emerged on top, ahead of Abracadabra and Beau Ideal—three very different boats showing early form.
Among the multihulls, the foiling MOD70s—Argo and Zoulou—headline a four-boat fleet. These two will reignite their rivalry from the 2024 Caribbean 600, serving as a prelude to the upcoming Rolex Fastnet Race.
A race without a destination
Unlike most offshore contests, the Channel Race course is not pre-set. Instead, the RORC Race Committee determines the routing just before the start, based on the latest weather forecasts. With tides, wind shifts, and the complex geography of the Channel in play, expect a challenging mix of angles—tight reaching, tactical upwind legs, and fast offwind stretches—all within a single 121-nautical-mile circuit.
Courses traditionally start from the Central Solent and may extend westward into Lyme Bay or turn southeast past Cherbourg and the Casquets, depending on conditions.
Back to the future: The Channel Race reclaims its Cup credentials
This year’s edition of the Channel Race marks a full-circle moment for offshore sailing historians. First sailed in 1928 as the ‘Junior Ocean Race’—a shorter challenge for boats not competing in the punishing Fastnet—it was won by future RORC Commodore Robert Somerset aboard Penboch.
Then, in 1957, the Channel Race became the inaugural scoring event in what would soon be called the Admiral’s Cup. That year, it was John Illingworth’s iconic Myth of Malham that led Britain to victory in the first-ever ‘Gold Cup’ series.
Now, nearly 70 years later, the Channel Race returns to its original role as the opening act in the Admiral’s Cup—restoring history and honour to a demanding race that tests navigators, tacticians, and crews alike.
Names to watch
From an Antipodean perspective, these are the teams to watch as racing begins:
- Caro (CAY52): The Fastnet-winning (AC1) Botin 52 features an all-star Kiwi lineup including Ryan Godfrey, Justin Ferris, and Scott Beavis. Adrian Stead and Johno Swain round out a crew that screams pedigree.
- Callisto (NZL42): James Murray’s GP42 (AC2) features Dean Barker, Mike Sanderson, and Ian Moore—a combination of America’s Cup, Whitbread, and Fastnet experience few teams can match.
- Zen (AUS52001): Gordon Ketelbey’s TP52 (AC1) campaign brings deep Sydney Hobart experience, with navigator Tom Addis—three-time round-the-world sailor—and offshore ace Chris Nicholson, who has six circumnavigations to his name. With Shane Guanaria managing the programme, Zen is a serious contender from the south.
- Back to Black (AUS1): Sean Langman’s modified GP42 (AC2) is crewed by a heavyweight team including offshore legend Gordon Maguire—winner of the Admiral’s Cup in 1989—and Matt Humphries, a veteran of four round-the-world races. Maguire’s son Charlie, just 18, is believed to be the youngest sailor in the 2025 Admiral’s Cup.
These entries carry not just national pride but deep offshore expertise—most having contested Fastnet, Middle Sea, Sydney Hobart, or Caribbean 600 campaigns in recent years.
Beyond Antipodean shores, entries among the frontrunners this weekend are:
- Black Pearl (GER8765): Stefan Jentzsch’s Botin 56 is the form boat in AC1, having won all four Pre-Admiral’s Cup races. With Volvo veteran Guy Salter and five-time circumnavigator Abby Ehler on board, the New York Yacht Club entry has both speed and depth.
- Beau Geste (IVB1997): Karl Kwok’s Botin 52 is helmed by Gavin Brady, with a crew including Simon Daubney and Nic Rogers. Their long history with the Cup adds an emotional layer to this 2025 campaign.
- Rán (SWE520): Bouwe Bekking, Justin Slattery, and Steve Hayles bring decades of offshore expertise to Niklas Zennstrom’s Carkeek CF520.
- Jolt 3 (MON52): Ed Baird, Robbie Naismith, Stacey Jackson, and a host of Volvo veterans make Peter Harrison’s TP52 a potent inshore threat and offshore wildcard.
- Django WR51 (51001): With Vasco Vascotto and Guillermo Parada on board, the Wally Rocket brings Italian firepower and TP52 finesse to the start line.
- Privateer (USA50009): Featuring Ian Walker and offshore stalwart Juggy Clougher, this Cookson 50 is as experienced as they come.
- AMP-lifi (GBR2X): Swan World Champion Chris Frost helms a Carkeek 40+ stacked with Solent tacticians, match-race winners, and round-the-world sailors. Pre-regatta winner in AC2.
One of the dark horses of the fleet:
Beau Ideal (IVB2047): Karl Kwok’s new Botin 40 may not turn heads at the dock—but its simplicity could be its secret weapon. Built for versatility over flash, Beau Ideal is a stripped-back, dual-purpose racer designed to excel both offshore and inshore without gimmicks. “Good old-fashioned sailing,” says programme manager Gavin Brady, who opted for a single rudder, minimal electronics, and a no-fuss water ballast system. Backed by a sharp young crew including Dave Swete, Suzy Peters, and Ryan Houston, Beau Ideal won its only race in the pre-Admiral’s Cup regatta and could well emerge as the surprise package of AC2.
The road ahead
From here, the Admiral’s Cup will flow through two days of short offshore racing (20–21 July), followed by three days of inshore competition (22–24 July), before the grand finale: the Rolex Fastnet Race, starting 25 July.
But for now, all eyes are on the Solent—and the 121-mile chessboard stretching beyond it.
Follow Boating New Zealand for full coverage of the Admiral’s Cup, including race updates, Kiwi performance highlights, and in-depth team analysis.
