Image: ROST Van Uden © James Tomlinson/RORC
The Royal Ocean Racing Club will introduce the Corinthian Cup for the 2027 Admiral’s Cup, recognising the best-scoring eligible team competing within defined limits on professional sailors. The new trophy celebrates the Corinthian tradition, whether a team brings together family sailors, experienced amateurs, emerging talent or all three.
At the 2025 Admiral’s Cup, Royal Maas Yacht Club brought together two very different but complementary campaigns: the De Graaf family’s Baraka GP and the youth-focused ROST Van Uden. The partnership made a striking impression, not least when Van Uden won its class in the Rolex Fastnet Race.
Representing the Royal Maas Yacht Club, the Ker 46 ROST Van Uden, was the Rotterdam Offshore Sailing Team, skippered by Gerd-Jan Poortman, won Admiral’s Cup 1 in the Fastnet. Together with the De Graaf family’s Ker 43 Baraka GP, the Dutch team finished sixth overall in a world-class line up for the 2025 Admiral’s Cup.
Baraka GP was an experienced family campaign, with Olivier de Graaf his brother Dirk and their father Harmen, taking on some of the strongest teams in international yacht racing. Van Uden, meanwhile, was an all-Dutch youth team, providing a platform for developing offshore sailors. The strength of the Royal Maas entry was in bringing both approaches together as a two-boat team.
For 2027, the Corinthian Cup will recognise the best-performing eligible team racing with a limited number of professional sailors, regardless of the age of its crew.
Recognising the Corinthian Spirit
Corinthian sailing has a long association with RORC racing, representing the tradition of sailors competing for the challenge, enjoyment and achievement of the sport rather than financial reward.
The modern Admiral’s Cup attracts some of the world’s leading professional sailors, tacticians, navigators and yacht designers. But the competition also provides opportunities for amateur sailors, owner-drivers, family teams and younger competitors developing their offshore racing careers. The Corinthian Cup recognises that breadth of participation.
“We want the Admiral’s Cup to remain the pinnacle of international offshore team racing, but it is equally important that there is a place for passionate amateur sailors and emerging talent,” commented RORC Sporting Director Ben Willows. “The Corinthian Cup recognises teams that combine those qualities with the preparation, commitment and skill required to compete at this level.”
The Corinthian Cup will be awarded to the eligible two-boat team achieving the lowest combined score under IRC across the Admiral’s Cup series. Under the 2027 Notice of Race, an eligible team may have no more than four sailors holding World Sailing Group 3 categorisation on its Admiral’s Cup 1 boat and no more than three on its Admiral’s Cup 2 boat.
World Sailing’s categorisation system distinguishes between Group 1 sailors, who broadly compete as a pastime, and Group 3 sailors, whose professional activities fall within specified categories connected with racing and the marine industry.
The award is therefore not restricted to entirely amateur crews, nor is it a youth trophy. It recognises the best-scoring team meeting the crew limits, whether its strength comes from an experienced family programme, dedicated amateur sailors or emerging talent. Individual awards with equivalent Group 3 crew limits are also provided for in both Admiral’s Cup classes.
“This is not about creating a separate level of competition,” continued Willows. “Teams eligible for the Corinthian Cup will race against the same opposition, on the same courses and with the same opportunities to win the Admiral’s Cup itself. We want to recognise the achievement of teams that perform at this level with fewer professional sailors.”
Family and youth: the two sides of Royal Maas Yacht Club
Royal Maas Yacht Club’s 2025 campaign shows why the Corinthian concept extends beyond youth sailing. On Baraka GP, Olivier de Graaf raced as part of an experienced family team alongside his brother and their father. On ROST Van Uden, the emphasis was on young sailors gaining experience at the highest level.
ROST Van Uden’s crew was predominantly in its twenties or younger, while the broader Royal Maas campaign drew on substantial experience. That included one veteran, Van Uden skipper Gerd-Jan Poortman, a member of the victorious Dutch Admiral’s Cup team in 1999.
Their success in the Rolex Fastnet Race was particularly significant. Racing against leading international competitors, ROST Van Uden delivered an outstanding performance to win AC1 on IRC corrected time.
Royal Maas Yacht Club is now working towards returning to the Admiral’s Cup in 2027
Olivier de Graaf has emphasised that the Baraka GP story is first and foremost one of family members competing together at the highest level. He sees Van Uden as the youth element of the partnership, with the combination strengthening the Royal Maas team’s Corinthian identity. The club intends to return with two boats in 2027, although preparations are ongoing and a formal entry has not yet been submitted.
“Baraka GP is an experienced family team competing against the top crews. Van Uden is the youth team. From a Corinthian point of view, the combination is even stronger because our two-boat team brings family and youth together, many sailors that have graduate from ROST come to sail on Baraka GP.”
The Dutch club is building on the foundations of its 2025 campaign. Olivier has said that returning to the 2027 Admiral’s Cup with two boats is the goal, while developing the programme remains the immediate priority.
A Tradition with a Future
First contested in 1957, the Admiral’s Cup has always represented more than individual yacht performance. It is a competition built on the strength of teams, the commitment of yacht clubs and the ability of sailors to perform together across demanding inshore and offshore races.
The 2027 edition, marking 70 years since the first Admiral’s Cup, will continue that tradition, with the added recognition of the Corinthian Cup.
For teams competing for the new award, the Corinthian Cup, the challenge will be every bit as demanding as it is for the professional campaigns. The racecourse will make no distinction.
The 2027 Admiral’s Cup takes place from 13–28 July, with racing culminating in the Rolex Fastnet Race from Cowes to Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.
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