The superboats to beat at the 2025 Admiral’s Cup (and which Italian team will be)

Once upon a time there was a legendary regatta: the Admiral’s Cup. From 1957 to 2003 it was the unofficial World Championship of offshore sailing, attracting the best boats and greatest sailors from every nation. After more than two decades of absence, this historic competition will return in 2025, celebrating the centennial of the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), the event’s organizer. The start is less than eight months away, but the first crews are already preparing for the challenge. Although racing will not begin until July 19, some crews will be in the Solent, a mythical channel separating Cowes Island from Britain, as early as April 2025. A true world competition that to date already has 19 entries from 11 nations.

Admiral’s Cup: the rebirth of a sailing icon

The Admiral’s Cup, formerly held every two years, has always been a mixture of tradition and innovation. The two-boat teams will compete in a format that combines coastal and offshore racing, culminating in the famous Rolex Fastnet Race.

There will be no limitation regarding professionals on board, but in keeping with the RORC’s commitment to inclusivity, the IRC crew member limit will be revised by allowing those boats that have a woman or two under-25s on board, or a combination of both, to add a member to the crew.

Among the yacht clubs already confirmed are such names as the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (America’s Cup defender), the New York Yacht Club, the Yacht Club de France, and of course the Royal Ocean Racing Club.

Early enrollees

The boats participating in the upcoming edition represent the elite of offshore sailing. Among the very early entrants are boats such as Caro, Swiss Max Klink’s Botin 52, overall winner of the Rolex Fastnet Race 2023, and James Murray’s GP42 Callisto (formerly known as Dark ‘N’ Stormy), representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.

Serving as hosts will be the two teams RORC Red and RORC White. RORC Red will consist of In Noir, James Neville’s Carkeek 45, and Garm, Per Roman’s JPK 1180. A duo that will likely have one of the lowest IRC ratings in both IRC classes of the Admiral’s Cup, no small advantage in some weather conditions. RORC White, on the other hand will consist of Final Final, Jon Desmond’s PAC52 (RORC Transatlantic Race champion as Warrior Won), and Amp-Lifi, Chris Frost’s Carkeek 42 (FAST40+ champion as Girls on Film). For the Yacht Club de France there will be Teasing Machine, Eric de Turckheim’s NM54, the “mattress” boat of the long races, and Albator, Philippe Frantz’s NM43. Teasing Machine has won the RORC Transatlantic Race twice in the overall IRC standings, as well as the Rolex Middle Sea Race.

The Americans aren’t messing around either Black Pearl, a Botin 56 skippered by Stefan Jentzsch, and Abracadabra, the Ker 43 skippered by father-son duo Donald Thinschmidt Jr and Sr, will have crews that include a mix of sailors experienced in ocean racing, America’s Cup and Olympic competitions. Black Pearl’s project manager and navigator is Marc Lagesse, former winner of the Rolex Middle Sea Race 2023 with Bullit, the boat of Andrea Recordati, new commodore of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. Finally racing for the Germans of the Bayerischer Yacht Club will be Red Bandit, the TP52 owned by Carl-Peter Forster, already winner of the Rolex Middle Sea Race 2024 in the overall IRC ranking, and Ginkgo, Dirk Clasen’s Humphreys 39.

What will the Italian team be?

Italy, which already won in 1995 with a legendary team consisting of Tommaso Chieffi, at the helm of the Mumm 36 Mumm a Mia!, Francesco De Angelis, at the helm of the ILC 40 Brava Q8, and Flavio Favini, at the helm of the ILC 46 Capricorno, returns in 2025 with two ultracompetitive boats owned by Giovanni Lombardi Stronati, a member of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.

The team will consist of Django JPK, a JPK 11.80 – French cruiser-racer designed for offshore racing and very sporty cruising (model already winner of the Fastnet and Middle Sea Race). Dockside rumors confirm that the Italian team’s second boat will most likely be the brand new Wally Rocket, whose name has not yet been made official. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQfjAM91jN0

If confirmed, his Admiral’s Cup debut promises sparks. Leggermente più corto di un TP52 e con uno scafo ultraleggero, WallyRocket aims to become the world’s fastest boat in compensated time. Behind this project is the signature of such excellence as the Botin Partners firm, while advising on the project are sailors of the highest caliber such as Vasco Vascotto and Guillermo Parada. Vascotto in fact is Django’s team manager, and it will be the legendary waters around Cowes Island that, in 2025, will be the perfect theater for Luca Bassani’s new “rocket.”

James Barbaro