The Royal Thames Yacht Club is to host a new international two-boat team racing event at London Docklands Royal Victoria Dock.

The Cumberland Cup will run from 20-25 May and using Berkeley Marine’s fleet of Beneteau First Class 8s competitors will be able to enjoy short, sharp (10-20 minute), racing in the heart London’s Dockland adjacent to ExCel exhibition centre.

The Royal Thames have confirmed that there are currently seven entries including Real Club del Mar (Palma de Mallorca), Seattle YC, Royal Perth YC, Royal Vancouver YC and Southern YC (New Orleans) and the host club.

The event will run in addition to the popular National Two-boat Keelboat Championship for the Carmela Cup which runs during the London Boat Show in January, and the BMW City Challenge, a weekday evening series that runs in the dock throughout the summer.

John Stork, Vice-Commodore of the host club said: “The Royal Thames Yacht Club is convinced that this high profile sporting event in the London Borough of Newham and so close to the important venues for the 2012 Olympics will introduce the world of sport to the advantages of East London as a sports destination. Although the yachting in 2012 will be at Portland in Dorset, the fact that Newham can attract world-class competitors to East London because it already has a top-quality venue for certain types of international competition is bound to raise the profile of the area and encourage the people of Newham and adjoining boroughs to enjoy the event.”

The Royal Thames Yacht Club hopes that this event will serve to strengthen its ties with the London Borough of Newham, the LDA and RoDMA and that we can develop the Cumberland Cup competition year on year to encourage the whole area to take advantage of this unique sports facility and, by example, to expand the opportunities for the local youth to take up sailing as a serious and competitive sport.

More information about the competition and competing teams and updates as the racing progresses can be found on the Cumberland Cup website: www.thecumberlandcup.com before and during the event.