The Admiral's Cup, held regularly every two years from 1957 to 1999, then again in 2003 after a four-year break, was cancelled by the organising Royal Ocean Racing Club for 2005. Reason: too few entries.
The closing date for entries was not until 3 May, but the RORC was forced to cancel the Cup today. This was to prevent the few potential participants from incurring unnecessary costs. Interest in taking part had been signalled from 13 nations and the organisers had expected ten entries. At the beginning of April, however, there were only two firm commitments, with two to three other teams trying to join forces.
The reason for the low number of participants was insufficient funding and problems with the boats. The RORC had re-advertised the Cup, with three boats per team, a Mumm 30, a Swan 45 and a large boat according to IRC (TCC between 1.300 and 1.550, length over 15.15 metres).
The RORC is now hoping for a breakthrough with the new Grand Prix Rule boats. A new start date has not been announced.
Germany has won the Admiral's Cup four times.
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
