Admiral's Cup given makeover

Changes to the format of one of yacht racing's best known event's have been announced in the hope that renewed international interest may reverse a decline in entries. The biennial Admiral's Cup has undergone major surgery by its guardians, the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), before the next event in July 1999.

The event involves national teams of three boats competing over a series of courses. These include inshore and offshore tests with weighted points for the tougher overnight passages. Since its inception in 1957 the event has evolved from being amateur-based, and the focus of most sailors ambitions, to its current `grand-prix' style format completely dominated by professional crews.

However, as the professionals have gradually taken over entries have plummeted. From a high in 1985 of more than 20 teams, recent events have struggled to attract eight nations. From a time when teams could `arrive' at the event with a real chance of victory, serious contenders must now campaign on a worldwide and costly `circuit' to be on form for the main event.

Ireland's Tom Roche continued his campaign on Mumm 36-footer Jameson from the last Irish team in 1995, to compete successfully with the United States team this year. But, despite the high calibre of entries, seven teams still excludes many who would otherwise compete given adequate resources. It is to this constituency, in addition to the existing frustrated owners, the RORC have catered for.

The RORC have announced a complete `re-vamp' of the event which will now have a more distinct identity. The Admiral's Cup will be severed completely from Cowes Week with which it has always overlapped in the first week of August. Instead, the entire event will be held over two weeks from about July 12th onwards.

From a cost perspective, the Mumm 36 will be retained as the small boat class while similar `one-design' principles have finally been brought to bear on the mid-sized boats. This year, the lack of competitive ILC40-footers acted as a deterrent to some potential teams. The third class will be IMS-handicapped in the big boat range and all three divisions appear structured to deliver the appeal and alternative racing outside Admiral's Cup.

However, trouble can be expected at the event as professionals will be limited to 50 per cent of any one crew. The final element of the restructuring contains the most surprising change. While six inshore races form the basis of the series together with a short 36-hour offshore race, the Fastnet Race has been dropped entirely, replaced by the 400-mile `Wolf Rock Race' which will finish near the Solent.