The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) has decided to cancel this year’s Admiral’s Cup which was due to take place at Cowes from 9th to 17th July.

Despite initial expressions of interest from no less than 13 countries and realistic hopes for at least 10 teams from 7 different countries, by early April only 2 countries had confirmed their entries, with another 2 or 3 teams struggling to put together competitive entries.

The RORC’s Admiral’s Cup Management Committee considered that the uncertainty surrounding potential teams was such that the chances of staging a strong international event worthy of the Admiral’s Cup were sufficiently in doubt and therefore reluctantly decided that they must cancel the 2005 event.

Initially there was good support for the new format of the event and the boats chosen for the 2005 Admiral’s Cup (a Mumm 30, a Swan 45 and a big IRC boat).

This decision on boats was made after considerable discussion and represented a modern, professional approach to the type of boats that should compete for the Admiral’s Cup.

However, this support has ebbed away for a number of reasons, ranging from some teams having trouble in securing sponsorship, to persuading the owners of eligible boats to take the plunge and finally enter the competition. .