Admirals Cup: Day 6 - Monaco on course to win the Cup by a narrow margin.
by Richard Gladwell in Cowes 27 Jul 05:36 PDT
Carol (NZL) and Jolt 3 (MON) sail up the Isle of Wight shore after the start of the Rolex Fastnet Rasce - July 26, 2025 © Richard Gladwell - Sail-World.com/nz
After 24 hours sailing in the Rolex Fastnet Race, the triple scoring event in the 2025 Admirals' Cup, the race fleet has encountered the forecast light winds as they battle upwind across the Irish Sea.
In the AC1 fleet which includes several top TP52s and others around 50ft in overall length, the two top boats Jolt 3 (Monaco) and Beau Geste (Hong Kong) are having a match race in a breeze estimated to be 5-8kts.
The race area to the west of Lands End is dominated by a large exclusion zone, with most competitors electing to pass to the south of it before making their way to the Fastnet Rock, the first major turning point of the race. Australian competitor Back 2 Black (Sean Langman) is one of the few who have sailed up the inside of the Exclusion Zone.
The bulk of Admirals' Cup fleet are staying much closer to the direct route to Fastnet, than was the case with the Ultims, multihulls and 100ft Supermaxis that started before them. The pre-race routing showed that there were good course options going well to the NW and further up th Irish Sea before tacking back for the Fastnet Rock, however like all such deviations they are high risk if there is an unforseen windshift.
The bad news is that the light winds appear to be going to get lighter. Upwind of the Admirals' Cup race fleet the race leader, the SVR Lazartigue skippered by Tom Laperche, with rockstars Peter Burling and Franck Cammas about is dawdling at less than 5kts. The windstrength at the nearest observation point to the Rock is show average winds of 3-5kts. So there will be tough decisions for all competitors to make on their Final approach to Fastnet Rock.
More relevant is the position of the first monohulls, the three supermaxis, who are all staying in the same patch of water, and 24 hrs from the race start were crossing over the direct route to the Rock, and happily for the Admirals' Cup fleet were sailing at 10-11kts. The point of interest in the next few hours will be whether they also cross over the direct route, and look for more wind in the South. SPK Scallywag (HKG) had a handy lead and boat speed advantage over Black Jack 100, and the Farr100 Leopard.
The biggest boat in the AC1 fleet, the 56ft Black Pearl (NYYC - USA) is leading the Admirals' Cup fleet on the water, with Beau Geste and Jolt3 to leeward and slightly astern. Black Pearl is to the south of the AC25 group, but still to north of the direct route to Fastnet Rock. Astern of her and on the same line, is the RNZYS AC1 entry Caro (Botin 52), which could get past the two series leaders when their courses cross.
Because of the Exclusion Zone there are not a lot of options, with most staying on starboard tack from Lands End to round the southern tip of the Exclusion zone, and then hardening up onto a windward course to avoid the Scilly Isles, or tacking to sail up the side of the Exclusion Zone. They appear to have kept the same breeze in which they started, although obviously in some areas, there will have been significant local shifts and changes in pressure.
On corrected time in AC1 (50fters) Jolt 3 (MON) is 13mins ahead of Beau Geste (HKG) with Caro (NZL) in 5th.
In AC2 the other Monaco yacht Jolt 6 (MON) is third on rating, with Hong Kong's Beau Ideal back in 6th place. On Team Points in the triple scoring race, Monaco would seem to be on track to win the Admirals' Cup. New Zealand's Callisto which had been the top performer in the Inshore racing is lying 7th on corrected time.
On points if the placings remain the same Monaco should emerge with 56pts compared to Hong Kongs 60pts - meaning there is only two places in it for the provisional lead to change.
All the Admirals' Cup boats are sailing at speeds that are faster than the leading Ultim trimaran, and the key point of interest will be if the breeze does fade as the Admirals' Cup competitors near the Irish coast and make their approach to the Fastnet Rock.
Tracking: Track the fleet via Yellow Brick Tracker to use the YB Tracker which you can download as an App on your phone or mobile device. To use the Tracker deselect the yachts you do not wish to view. The default view is for the whole fleet to be shown.
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