Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron prepare for the 2025 Admiral's Cup
by Louay Habib / RORC 29 May 2025 05:05 PDT
17 July - 1 August 2025
Giovanni Lombardi Stronati's new Wallyrocket 51 - Django WR51 © Gilles Martin-Raget /
www.martin-raget.com
Django unleashed: YCCS launches assault for the Admiral's Cup
Giovanni Lombardi Stronati has entered two boats for the 2025 Admiral's Cup that will be competing under the burgee of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS). The YCCS team will consist of a brand new design, the Wallyrocket 51 for the big boat. The small boat will be a JPK 1180. Both boats are called Django.
Italy has a long and sometimes torrid love affair with the Admiral's Cup. Italian teams competed in every Admiral's Cup from 1969 to 1999, marking a strong and consistent presence. The nation's sole victory came in 1995 when the Italian team claimed the prestigious trophy with a powerful trio: Ranaldo Del Bono's Capricorno in the Big Boat class, Pasquale Landolfi's Brava Q8 in the ILC40s, and Paolo Gaia's Mumm a'Mia in the Mumm 36 class. Italy came close to winning in 1991, finishing a narrow second to France - just under a single point behind.
Giovanni Lombardi Stronati's Django WR51 epitomises cutting-edge yacht design tailored for high-performance racing. Designed by Botin Partners, renowned for their America's Cup victories and IRC-winning designs, the Wallyrocket 51 is one of six Botin entries in this year's Cup.
Weighing a mere 6.3 tonnes, Django WR51 boasts an ultra-light displacement achieved through the use of advanced materials like pre-preg carbon, Nomex, and Corecell. Its design includes a 550-litre water ballast system, enhancing stability and allowing for rapid adjustments - taking just 80 seconds to fill and 60 seconds to empty. An innovative keel trim tab further optimises upwind performance by generating additional lift and reducing leeway.
Starts are always important, but even more so in the elite world of the Admiral's Cup. There is no doubt that Django WR51's trim tab will give an edge upwind off a start line, but even as fast as the water-ballast movement is, it will impede the tacking-speed of Django's against other non-water ballast competitors.
Django's sail plan is equally impressive, featuring 167 square meters upwind and 363 square meters downwind; the full inventory is aimed at maximising speed across various wind conditions. Designed for a crew of 11, the Wallyrocket 51 emphasises ease of handling without compromising on performance.
With its sleek aesthetics and state-of-the-art engineering, the Wallyrocket 51 is poised to make a significant impact at the Admiral's Cup, showcasing the pinnacle of modern yacht racing design for dual-purpose offshore and inshore performance. The crew is yet to be formally announced but is believed to be led by Vasco Vascotto, with Bruno Zirilli as navigator and Michele Paoletti, plus Guillermo Parada as principal drivers.
Racing for the YCCS in Admiral's Cup IRC 2 will be the JPK 1180 Django JPK. The YCCS team raced the boat for the first time in the RORC Myth of Malham Race. With the wind speed gusting over 30 knots and at times over two metre waves, the 235-mile race was a big test for the boat. On top of the challenging conditions, Django JPK had a terrific battle with Per Roman's JPK 1180 Garm, which will be racing for the RORC in the Admiral's Cup. On board Django JPK was a top crew led by Alberto Bolzan, including Dirk de Ridder, Mickie Mueller, Ross Halcrow and Juan Vila as navigator.
"The Myth of Malham was our first UK race with Django JPK, and it was a fantastic offshore test, especially battling boat-for-boat with Garm the entire way," commented Juan Vila. "We've been preparing the boat in Valencia and building steadily toward the Admiral's Cup. It's a big shift for me coming from supermaxis to a 39-footer in tough conditions, but that's part of the challenge. On smaller boats, every tide and every shift matters even more. We're learning fast, working with an incredible crew, and focused on getting every detail right as we build up to what promises to be a very competitive Admiral's Cup."
Back with a bang: RNZYS charge for the Admiral's Cup
Teams from New Zealand have competed in seven editions of the Admiral's Cup since 1971. However, it was not until 1987 that New Zealand recorded their one and only win with Propaganda, Goldcorp and Kiwi taking victory.
For this year's edition, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (RNZYS) will be represented by Max Klink's Caro, the Botin 52 that won the 2023 Rolex Fastnet Race. Alongside James Murray's Callisto - a modified GP42. Both boats have undergone cutting-edge upgrades and a top-tier sail programme under the watchful eye of Mike Sanderson and Ian Moore. Caro and Callisto forms a formidable two-boat team representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.
Adrian Stead will be tactician on Max Klink's Caro. At the 2025 IMA Maxi European Championship in late May, Adrian Stead spoke about the Admiral's Cup. Stead has competed at least four times for the Admiral's Cup. In 1999, he was on board Mumm 36 Barlow Plastics, the highest scoring boat with four race wins. In 2003, Stead was part of the Royal Price Alfred YC team, winning the Admiral's Cup under the Australian flag.
With deep admiration for the Cup's heritage, Adrian Stead says that the RNZYS team are relishing the chance to take on some of the world's best in this prestigious event:
"After a 22-year hiatus it is great to see the Admiral's Cup back with a bang," commented Stead. "I grew up in the UK with the Admiral's Cup as the premier offshore event and it was always dubbed the unofficial world championship of offshore sailing. I hope we get back to that and that title gets given back to it. I think the enthusiasm at the moment, where we see there's 15 teams is amazing. With 30 top boats it's going to be a really good regatta, which is fantastic. As a professional sailor there's a lot of pride that an event like this can come back. If we can make the event work, then even better. Hopefully there'll be events like the Sardinia Cup reappearing as well. The format of the Admiral's Cup is great for owners to focus on, because it is not just purely windward leeward racing, it's a balance of inshore and offshore racing."
Adrian Stead focuses on the team aspect of the Admiral's Cup and what it will take to lift the trophy:
"There are some very strong teams competing. However, a team's results are only going to be as good as the best and worst of your races; and you've just got to be consistent. The Channel Race has double points and the Fastnet triple points, neither can be discarded, so they are very important, but if you are finishing 14th or so for the inshore races it is very unlikely that you will win the Admiral's Cup. Also, you have to be good across all the weather conditions that are thrown out and the regatta is going to be raced over 10 days, so who knows what we will get? So, consistency will be the key."
The RORC IRC Nationals will take place in the Solent from 13-15 June and two thirds of the Admiral's Cup fleet are expected to be racing. The championship does not count towards the Admiral's Cup but it will be the first big inshore test for the Admiral's Cup contenders.
For more information: admiralscup.rorc.org