An iconic international event, the Admiral’s Cup returned this year after a two-decade absence with a format combining offshore and inshore races. The event kicked off with the offshore co-efficient-2 (double points) Channel Race, followed by six inshore races this week on the famous Solent.
At the end of these seven races the Yacht Club de Monaco is in second place in the provisional team ranking, behind the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. A very promising result for YCM ahead of the Rolex Fastnet Race that starts on Saturday 26 July and earns triple points. Flying the Monaco flag are two teams: Jolt 6, skippered by YCM’s vice-president Pierre Casiraghi, and Jolt 3 led by YCM member Peter Harrison.
It all started with the Channel Race, 160 nail-biting nautical miles in conditions that swung from a light breeze on the start building to 25 knots that kicked up a challenging confused sea. Jolt 6 skippered by Pierre Casiraghi pulled off a superb 2nd place in AC Class 2, just behind Callisto skippered by the Kiwis Dean Barker and Mike Sanderson. Jolt 3 kept up the pace to clinch 4th in AC Class 1. As the Channel Race earns double points and there’s no discard, these results laid a solid foundation for the rest of the event.
In the six inshore races over three days that followed, the Monaco teams proved resilient and consistent. Jolt 3 won twice and now lies second in the provisional AC Class 1 ranking, just behind Giovanni Lombardi Stronati’s Django WR51. In the AC Class 2 ranking, Jolt 6 is in the provisional third place. As a result, on the eve of the Rolex Fastnet Race, YCM is second in the teams’ overall ranking, just behind the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club.
“The Admiral’s Cup is a long and very demanding event where every stage counts. I’m very proud of our team and the progress we’ve made so far. Nothing is decided yet, as the Rolex Fastnet Race determines the final ranking. The forecast for the start is for light conditions which will make managing the current and transitions even more strategic. Fortunately, I can count on the experience and in-depth knowledge of the race course of crewmates like Ben Saxton and Will Harris,” says Pierre Casiraghi.
After a more than two-decade absence, the Admiral’s Cup is making its grand return in 2025, attracting 15 international teams to tackle its unique format of inshore and offshore races. The highlight is the Rolex Fastnet Race, which starts Saturday 26 July from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line in Cowes. On a 695nm course from the Channel to the Atlantic via the dreaded Fastnet Rock, some 4,000 sailors, pros and amateurs, will be on the start aboard 451 boats from 34 countries, smashing the participation record. The race will determine the final ranking of the Admiral’s Cup. A reminder that Pierre Casiraghi knows the Fastnet having finished 3rd in 2017 sailing with Boris Herrmann.
The two Monaco crews competing on Jolt 6 (Carkeek 42) and Jolt 3 (TP52) have brought together exceptional sailors:
– Pierre Casiraghi (Jolt 6) is supported by Ben Saxton, Will Harris and Cole Brauer, both from Team Malizia, and Joey Newton, big names in Olympic, offshore and America’s Cup competition.
– Peter Harrison’s (Jolt 3) crew includes Ed Baird, Robbie Naismith and Rodney Ardern, all former America’s Cup winners and renowned sailors.
For its first Admiral’s Cup, Yacht Club de Monaco knows what it wants to achieve: to compete in the vanguard with two competitive boats, with a fully committed crew, and to fly the flag for the Principality at a world class event.
