What’s the difference, How do they work and Meet the CYCA Team
The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) is proud to be competing in two prestigious interclub competitions — the revived Admiral’s Cup and the Martin Illingworth Trophy — as part of the 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race.
What’s the Difference
While both are interclub team trophies, they follow distinct formats
- Admiral’s Cup: revived for 2025, brings together leading yacht clubs from around the world in a multi-race format. Teams of two yachts compete in both inshore races, offshore races and the Rolex Fastnet Race, with points accumulated across all events. It’s a showcase of consistency, versatility and team cohesion, and returns as one of sailing’s most revered international titles.
- Martin Illingworth Trophy: focuses solely on the Rolex Fastnet Race and teams consist of three boats, elected by a yacht club. The trophy is awarded to the club team with the lowest combined corrected time under IRC, it’s a pure test of offshore performance. All three yachts must finish and remain free of scoring penalties (excluding one- and two-turn penalties).
Meet the CYCA Team
The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia has nominated formidable offshore yachts for both the Admiral’s Cup & the Martin Illingworth Trophy. Back 2 Black and Zen will represent both the CYCA and Australia in the Admiral’s Cup, while they are joined by Whisper to complete the Club’s three-boat team contesting the Martin Illingworth Trophy.
- Back 2 Black: Owned and Skippered by Sean Langman, this GP42 is undergoing modifications and structural improvements for the challenge ahead.
- Zen: Gordon Ketelbey’s well-campaigned TP52, is a consistent contender on the IRC circuit. The yacht recently received a large amount of TLC, refinishing the bottom of the boat.
- Whisper: David Griffith’s high-performance Reichel/Pugh 62 is a proven offshore IRC champion. The yacht is bolstered by a crew of capable offshore sailors, including several graduates of the CYCA Youth Sailing Academy.
https://cyca.com.au/
@CruisingYachtClubOfAustralia
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