Admiral's Cup: Casiraghi crew shines in Fastnet - historic Monaco victory

It was a thrilling three-way battle for victory in the 24th Admiral's Cup right to the end. Before the Fastnet final, Karl Kwok's TP52 "Beau Geste" and the smaller boat 41 "Beau Ideal" from the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club led the team ranking after seven races with an eight-point lead over the two "Jolt" boats from the Yacht Club de Monaco. After the Fastnet final, it was the other way round.

Admiral's Cup revival: proud victory for Monaco

The Carkeek 40 "Jolt 6" with co-skipper Pierre Casiraghi and Team Malizia's navigator Will Harris were the main contributors to the victory on the home straight, winning the final, triple-rated Rolex Fastnet Race in the small AC 2 class. Both the large TP52 "Jolt 3", skippered by America's Cup winner Ed Baird, and "Jolt 6" won the Admiral's Cup individual classification in their divisions. The Azzurri from the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda took third place in the team ranking at the Cup Revival. Click here for the results of the 24th Admiral's Cup.

The Italian crews on the Wally Rocket 51 "Django WR51" and on the JPK 11.80 "Django JPK" made it exciting once again with third and fourth place in the Fastnet showdown. In the end, the Djangos were only five points behind the Hong Kong team ahead of them.

The Yacht Club de Monaco has mastered its first Admiral's Cup challenge with the double scored Channel Race at the start, six short races and the Rolex Fastnet Race with triple factor at the end. The Monegasques won the first Cup race. "Honestly, I can hardly believe what we've achieved. To win the Admiral's Cup in its revival year and in Monaco's first participation is beyond words," said Pierre Casiraghi.

I'm not a professional sailor and this was the most exhausting race I've ever done." Pierre Casiraghi

Pierre Casiraghi continued after the Fastnet race: "This is a historic moment for Monaco. We may be a small place, but we have just shown that we can do great things. I hope this will inspire the next generation of young sailors at the Yacht Club de Monaco - they have followed our every move. At the moment I'm exhausted and can't imagine racing offshore again on a 42ft yacht any time soon, but it's been a magical journey."

Admiral's Cup: "Brilliantly organised and fiercely competitive"

Commenting on the Admiral's Cup experience, Pierre Casiraghi said in the Fastnet finish port of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin: "The Admiral's Cup is an exceptional event, brilliantly organised and fiercely competitive. I am indescribably proud to have been a part of it."

"Jolt 6" co-skipper Pierre Casiraghi also praised the "phenomenal job" of navigator Will Harris, who will start the Ocean Race Europe off Kiel with Boris Herrmann's Team Malizia from 10 August. Harris has "not put a foot wrong".

The well-trained and intensively prepared team, formed by YCM member Peter Harrison and YCM Vice President Pierre Casiraghi, won the Admiral's Cup with 68 points. The two-boat teams from the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (87 points) and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (92 points) sailed to second and third place. Black-Red-Gold had no chance in the battle for the podium places with three teams in the first Admiral's Cup in 22 years.

A conciliatory finale: "Elida" wins Fastnet silver

The results in the small Admiral's Cup class AC 2 showed just how close the three-way Fastnet Race was: the first eight boats - from the victorious "Jolt 6" to the eighth-placed "Beau Ideal" - were separated by less than an hour at the finish. Right in the middle was Walter Watermann's Farr 42 "X-Day". In fifth place at the finish, skipper Lars Hückstädt and his crew led by navigator and Fastnet expert Nick Cherry were only 22 calculated minutes behind the winner "Jolt 6".

After a challenging series, things went steeply uphill for Daniel Baum's crew on "Elida", who made the Fastnet Race their gala. With second place, the only wooden boat in the Cup fleet achieved an outstanding success in the highest-rated Admiral's Cup race. After sailing for 3 days, 11 hours, 1 minute and 27 seconds, "Elida" was only beaten by the Dutch "Rost - Van Uden" in the large AC 1 Cup class, around an hour behind on the water. The other highly potent cuppers in the AC1 fleet left the Hamburg boat behind.

The crew on the Streckenbach family's TP52 "Imagine" from Greifswald also showed their skills in the Rolex Fastnet Race with fifth place out of 15 Admiral's Cup boats, in which tough "tidal gates" made the difference between top or bottom for many a crew and team. With fifth place in the Fastnet, "Imagine" moved up to tenth place in the Admiral's Cup class AC 1. The Greifswald team also climbed in the team ranking towards the end.

The Admiral's Cup: an unforgettable event

In the small AC 2 class, Walter Watermann's Farr 42 "X-Day" with skipper Lars Hückstädt as team partner of the "Imagine" contributed to this with an equally impressive fifth fastnet place. 180 points were enough for the duo to finish twelfth in the final Admiral's Cup standings. "That's almost a bit hard, because both of our boats finished tenth in the individual rankings. It was that close..." said Felix Streckenbach with a smile.

The Imagine skipper was happy with his team's Admiral's Cup performance: "We exceeded our expectations as a crew and as a team. We may not be sailing at the level of the top teams, but we were able to compete well."

We experienced an Admiral's Cup that we will never forget. It was great fun." Felix Streckenbach

"X-Day" skipper Lars Hückstädt agrees: "It was a super event, super professional, an incredibly great experience, an absolute sailing highlight for us. We met the best on the scene, sailed a lot together and also had a beer together. We're going home happy."

When Tidentore closes the door

Dirk Clasen's crew on the Humphreys 39 "Ginkgo" had to be satisfied with 14th place in the Rolex Fastnet Race after better results previously. One of the nasty tide gates had closed at the wrong time for "Ginkgo" and other AC-2 boats. After that, it was difficult to catch up with the rest of the fleet, even with the crew's valiant efforts.

Despite "full" points for team mate "Red Bandit", who retired early after breaking her mast in races two to eight, the team from the Bavarian Yacht Club finished the Admiral's Cup with "Ginkgos" Solo in 14th place with 249 points, leaving the red tail light to the Hamburg Sailing Team (291 points).

"We knew that in the end it would come down to marginal differences," said "Jolt 6" helmsman Ed Baird. Click here for the first interviews with the winners and losers. Everyone agrees that they have shared an outstanding regatta experience. The host Royal Ocean Racing Club should soon be announcing the key dates for a repeat event in two years' time: