In 1999 there was no Irish involvement in the biennial Admiral's Cup and only seven nations competed compared to more than 20 at the height of its popularity in the early 1980s. This week, radical changes to the event's format by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) may now halt its decline. In response to the news, Donal McClement of the Royal Cork YC has called for interested sailors to prepare a team for the 2001 event. According to him, the RORC has finally made the event attainable for more countries than ever before and Ireland should get in on the new format early.
From 2001 on, the Admiral's Cup effectively becomes a one-design regatta for three different classes. Dropped from the line-up is the IMS-handicapped 50 footer which will be replaced by the Corel 45. The other two classes are the Sydney 40 footers and the owner-driven Farr 40 fleet, both one-design.
Dropping the IMS-handicap system recognises its less-than-enthusiastic support while 50 footers are too rare to offer enough teams a real chance of securing a competitive boat. This is good news for Irish and British owners who have not taken up the IMS system, instead opting for the Channel Handicap System (CHS) which was recently replaced by the IR-C version.
