The 2005 Admiral’s Cup will be held at Cowes, Isle of Wight from 9-17 July 2005. The event will comprise a series of both inshore and offshore races, which will be sailed in and around the Solent area and the English Channel. The event format has been compressed to attract the world’s top sailors without sacrificing the quality of the event.

First competed for in 1957 the Admiral’s Cup is generally considered to be the unofficial world championship of offshore sailing. Member National Authorities are invited to send up to two national teams, with each team consisting of three boats.

Each team competing for the Admiral’s Cup in 2005 shall comprise the following three boats:

One IRC (endorsed) boat with provisionally a TCC between 1.300 and 1.550 and appropriate limiting DLR and Hull Factors. Precise rating and other limitations will be confirmed in the Notice of Race.

One Swan 45

One Mumm 30

The Mumm 30 was chosen as it is well known and widely available internationally, and is sailed by some of the world’s top sailors.

The Swan 45 in the three-boat line up for Admiral’s Cup teams will be welcomed by countries planning to take part in next year’s event as this class is growing in popularity internationally and offers very competitive racing.

The inclusion of a large IRC rated boat in each team will bring some of the most modern and exciting offshore racing boats and their professional crews to the event.

The principal offshore race in the Admiral’s Cup, the 400 mile Wolf Rock Race will be for the Swan 45s and large IRC boats, with the smaller Mumm 30s sailing a suitably tailored shorter offshore course.

Commenting on the choice of boats for the 2005 Admiral’s Cup, Chris Little, Commodore of RORC said: “We have selected these boats in order to provide an exciting fleet, with the smaller Mumm 30 bringing a fresh element to the event. Whilst we had hoped that the new Grand Prix Rule would have provided boats for the event, it was unrealistic to expect designs to be developed and boats built in time. The boats chosen are representative of some of the best racing fleets in the world.”

Bob Oatley, owner of Wild Oats, the large boat in the winning team from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club in Australia in the 2003 Admiral’s Cup, welcomed the announcement of the boats chosen for the 2005 event.

He has recently launched a new Wild Oats which he will be bringing to Cowes to defend the Admiral’s Cup for Australia, along with two other owners who have already committed to the defence of the Cup.

Commenting on the inclusion of the Swan 45 Class for the first time in the Admiral’s Cup, Enrico Chieffi, Marketing Director of Nautor’s Swan, said: “I welcome the choice of the RORC to include the Swan 45 as one of the three boats to be used in the 2005 Admiral’s Cup. The Swan 45 Class Association is honoured to compete in such a prestigious regatta. We look forward to working with the RORC to make the event a success.”

A Notice of Race in should be available in November.