17/07/2025
Update 20th June 2025
By Jesse Fielding - Navigator, Privateer
As the other half of the Royal Irish Yacht Club’s entry into the 2025 Admiral’s Cup, we have been preparing the boat and crew since September of 2024. We have the majority of a new IRC optimized sail inventory on the boat for this Summer.
Main, J2, J5, Genoa Staysail, Offshore Staysail, A1.5, and A2 spinnakers. We have endeavoured to engineer these sails specifically for racing under IRC in the Solent and then the grander Fastnet race track. Along with sail optimization we have added a spinnaker drop system, another mast control system, new deck paint, and optimized the position of the dagger board in the boat. All of this work took the majority of last winter before shipping directly to Cowes.
From a personal aspect we endeavoured to bring on talent and experience from the racing area. We secured Ian Walker last fall to be our strategist and guru in the area as well as valuable offshore helm. From there our established crew was excited to join the ranks of the prestigious Royal Irish Yacht Club and be joined by two Irish sailors. Royal Irish Member Lauren Donaghy and Royal Cork Member Cliodhna Conolly who have proven fantastic additions to our team and bring a fresh energy and tenacity to our seasoned group.
We will continue to improve our manoeuvres in shore and refine our new equipment as we look ahead to the Admiral’s Cup start on July 17th, 2025.
We are proud to represent the Royal Irish YC alongside Team Sunrise on this Grand Prix International stage.
image: Privateer returns to Cowes last Sunday after the UK IRC championship.
Update 19th May 2025
Our Admirals Cup campaign is coming together under the direction of our Chef d’Equipe Michael Boyd.
RORC has launched its event guide and you can download it here https://admiralscup.rorc.org/admirals-cup-event-guide-2025
Our small boat, Sunrise, went into the water on May 10th and has been christened! Sunrise is a JPK 1180 and incorporates a number of tweaks learnt by Skipper Tom Kneen’s previous campaigns in an earlier JPK1180. The latest Sunrise is lighter and has a taller rig. Initial impressions from early test sailing are that the boat will sail well to its IRC Time Correction Factor (TCF). Sunrise’s first race will be the RORC Myth of Malham race. Starting in Cowes on May 21st, the race fleet heads West along the first part of the Fastnet race course, rounding the Eddystone Lighthouse and back to Cowes.
Privateer has completed it programme of optimisation over the winter and has undergone sea trials in the US. She is currently aboard the ship Stadion Cracht. She departed Port Everglades, just north of Miami, on May 14th and is heading for St Thomas and Guadaloupe before crossing the Atlantic and arriving in Southampton in early June. She is expected to be launched on June 8th.
We are currently finalising the design of event related clothing and will be launching this in the next few weeks. This will be available for members to pre-order in due course.
RORC Press Release - 19th March 2025
Royal Hong Kong & Royal Irish Yacht Clubs Set Sail for the Admiral’s Cup
The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) is delighted to announce that 15 teams from around
the world have entered the 2025 Admiral’s Cup prior to the 28thFebruary deadline. The Royal
Irish & Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club entries add to the impressive lineup. Late entries are
still available, if approved by the RORC, to join the 30 international boats that will be
competing for the Admiral’s Cup.
2025 Admiral’s Cup Entry List
Among the latest competitors to officially enter the 2025 Admiral’s Cup are the Royal Irish
Yacht Club (RIYC) which has assembled a team of proven winners from blue riband races.
The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC) has an equally impressive line-up, including a
brand new boat built for the 2025 Admiral’s Cup.
Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC):
Irish teams have a rich history competing in the Admiral's Cup dating back 13 editions since
1965. Although an Irish team has never won the golden trophy, Ireland came very close in
1979. Leading the regatta going into the tragic Fastnet Race, two of the Irish boats broke
their rudders, ending their challenge for victory.
The Royal Irish YC has committed to the 2025 Admiral’s Cup, fielding two distinguished
yachts. Ron O’Hanley’s Cookson 50 Privateer will race in the big boat class. Privateer won
the 2013 RORC Caribbean 600 overall under IRC and was second overall in the 2017 Rolex
Fastnet Race. Privateer is currently the only boat in the Admiral’s Cup that has a canting
keel; the last was Bob Oatley's Wild Oats, scoring an emphatic win in the big boat class, to
win the 2003 Admiral’s Cup for Australia.
Royal Irish team Chef D’Equipe Michael Boyd commented: “Royal Irish Commodore Tim
Carpenter has a vision that this Admiral’s Cup should help to lead an increase in interest for
offshore racing in the club. It’s a longer-term plan and this is a key part of this campaign. A
number of the Admiral’s Cup sailors are joining the club; people like Ian Walker who has
offered to come and talk to our younger sailors.”
Ian Walker hails from Great Britain but his passion for Irish sailing was ignited when he was
skipper of Green Dragon, the Irish flagged entry in the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race. Walker
has raced in several editions of the Admiral’s Cup.
“I come from a generation that had the chance to sail in the Admiral’s Cup and it was always
the stepping stone into big projects,” commented Walker. “I think it's especially important for
the younger guys and girls to get the same opportunity that we had. The RORC have
obviously come up with a formula that's attractive and it's going to be great to have so many
teams wanting to be part of it.”
Tom Kneen’s new JPK 1180 is Sunrise IV. Kneen and his crew have been one of the most
successful combinations in offshore racing over the past five years, taking Sunrise III to
overall victory in the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race, a controversial second overall in the 2021
Rolex Middle Sea Race, and more recently overall winner for the 2024 Cowes Dinard St
Malo Race. The new Sunrise IV will be racing in class against another two JPK 1180s; Per
Roman’s Garm (RORC Red) and Giovanni Stronati’s JPK Django (YCCS).
Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC):
Hong Kong has raced five times in the Admiral’s Cup, consecutively from 1975 to 1981.
Their last appearance was in 1995 in which Karl Kwok’s ICL 40 Beau Geste was part of the
team. Kwok’s TP52 Beau Geste is the big boat for Hong Kong for the 2025 regatta and is
now based in Cowes. Kwok’s teams have won three offshore world championships and the
RORC Caribbean 600.
Notable victories around the world for Kwok’s TP52 Beau Geste include IRC Zero in the
2024 IRC European Championships, IRC Zero in the 2021 52 Super Series in Puerto
Portals, Spain and IRC A for the 2015 Hamilton Island Race Week, Australia.
Hong Kong YC member Karl Kwok has commissioned a new boat for Admiral’s Cup IRC
Class Two. Beau Ideal is a Botin 40 which is undergoing final construction at Carrington
Boats in Hythe, Hampshire.
Royal Hong Kong YC team Programme Manager is Gavin Brady who has been a seasoned
campaigner for Karl Kwok for 30 years, including the 1995 Admiral’s Cup. Brady has
competed in six America’s Cup campaigns, the Whitbread and Volvo Ocean Races. His
involvement with the Beau Geste team and their preparations for the upcoming competition
underscore the Admiral’s Cup’s active role in the evolving offshore yacht racing.
“The vision for the Botin 40 Beau Ideal was to build a PAC40, so to speak, but there is no
such thing as a free lunch,” commented Brady. “If you are building a boat that can race
inshore and offshore, there has to be compromises, but the overall philosophy was to keep
things as simple as possible. In many ways, Beau Ideal is more normal than some of the
other designs racing. You are not going to walk down the dock and say ‘wow’ but it will be a
boat that is capable of racing all the 600-milers, transatlantic, and also be just as competitive
inshore.”
Brady commented that there are no penetrations in the cockpit and proper water-sealed
hatches, all with the goal of keeping Beau Ideal dry down below, but the simplicity of the boat
goes further than just water-proofing.
“Beau Ideal will have only one instrument display on the mast and we will have just a single
rudder. The water-ballast is a simple three button system – in, transfer and out. The mast will
not be a fancy design, the sails will be simple and we will not have any complex take-down
lines or sheet rollers. So, it's good old-fashioned sailing - how many years has it been since
we've done that?”
The Royal Hong Kong squad will be a mixture of the regular Beau Geste team, blended with
younger sailors, many of which Brady has got to know through the World Match Racing Tour.
“We are investing in younger sailors and the Royal Hong Kong YC is very supportive and
excited that we will be competing. Well done to the RORC for scheduling the Admiral’s Cup
well in advance – it makes logistics far more economic and manageable, especially when
you are building a new boat. We plan to be training and racing both Beau Geste and Beau
Ideal in May,” concluded Brady.
The 2025 Admiral’s Cup is set to be a landmark event, marking the centenary of the Royal
Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and it will also be held biennially. The 2025 regatta has
attracted 15 teams from prominent yacht clubs around the world. After a break of 22 years
the Admiral’s Cup returns to Cowes this summer and promises to be a breathtaking display
of hi-tech racing.
For more information about the Admiral’s Cup: www.admiralscup.rorc.org
Ends/.. Louay Habib/RORC
First Release - 21st February 2025
The Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC), is proud to announce its participation in the 2025 Admiral's Cup. The Admiral’s Cup, often dubbed the ‘unofficial world cup’ of offshore racing, was first established in 1957, and is one of the most prestigious and cherished competitions in the sailing community. 2025 is the first year the Admiral’s Cup is being held in twenty-two years. The event will take place at the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) at Cowes, Isle of Wight from July 19th to August 1st.
Since the Admiral’s Cup event was first held in 1957, thirteen Irish teams have competed, coming closest to victory in 1979. For the 2025 Cup, the Royal Irish Yacht Club is determined to bring the prestigious trophy to Ireland for the first time, assembling a solid and competitive team to do so.
Under Chef d’Equipe Michael Boyd, a past Commodore RORC, the RIYC team for the 2025 Admiral’s Cup will comprise of Ron O’Hanley’s Privateer, a Cookson 50 and Tom Kneen’s Sunrise IV, a JPK 1180.
Privateer, skippered by Ron O’Hanley has an impressive record, including winning the overall prize at the RORC Caribbean 600. This is a major 11-island 600 mile race around the Caribbean islands with some of the world's top sailors and crews competing from all over the world. As well as coming second overall in the 2017 Fastnet Race they currently hold the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle course record at 19 hours and 19 minutes.
Tom Kneen is renowned as an offshore racing skipper. He and his crew have been one of the most successful combinations in offshore racing over the past five years taking Sunrise III to victory in the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race. The Fastnet Race is a biennial offshore yacht race, named after the Fastnet Rock off southern Ireland which the racecourse rounds. They also placed second in the Middle Sea race in 2021, and more recently won the Cowes Dinard St Malo Race, in 2024.
The RIYC's participation underscores the Club’s commitment to achieving excellence in offshore sailing and honours its rich maritime heritage. With a formidable team, the RIYC is ready to compete at the highest level at the Cup this summer.