For the first time in more than twenty years, the Admiral's Cup is back on the global racing calendar, and the 2025 edition already promises to be among the most intensely competitive offshore contests of the modern era. Fifteen nations, thirty boats, and a format calibrated to push crews to their absolute limits have combined to create something extraordinary. Somewhere in that fleet, flying the colours of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, are two boats that many believe could be the ones to beat.
New Zealand's relationship with the Admiral's Cup stretches back to 1971, and over the decades Kiwi teams have repeatedly outperformed expectations on the offshore stage. The high point came in 1987, when Goldcorp, Propaganda, and Kiwi combined to deliver an outright win that still resonates in the country's sailing consciousness. Now, nearly four decades on, New Zealand is mounting another serious campaign, and the two-boat RNZYS entry has the credentials to back up the ambition.
The first of those boats needs little introduction in international offshore circles. Caro, a Botin 52 Custom measuring 15.85 metres, has spent recent seasons accumulating a record that would make any programme director envious. Her overall victory at the 2023 Rolex Fastnet Race announced her as a genuine force at the top level, and results in the Rolex Middle Sea Race and elsewhere have confirmed that the performance was no fluke. A sixth-place line honours result at the 2024 Sydney to Hobart, competing against vessels significantly larger, underlined what her campaign team already knew: this boat is not just quick, she is tactically devastating when the conditions get difficult.
At the helm is Swiss-based Kiwi Max Klink, with Adrian Stead filling the tactician's role. The core crew includes Christian Kamo and Justin Ferris, a group that blends international experience with genuine Kiwi offshore pedigree.
The second boat in the RNZYS pairing is Callisto, a modified GP42 contesting Class 2 under the helm of James Murray. Substantially refitted ahead of the 2025 campaign, she arrives lighter, sharper, and more responsive than before. What truly sets Callisto apart, though, is the calibre of the people aboard. Mike Sanderson, Dean Barker, Ian Moore, and Nic Asher form a core that reads less like a crew list and more like a highlight reel of Kiwi yachting achievement. Rebecca Coles and Jared Henderson add under-27 energy and ability to the mix, while a seasoned group of tacticians and trimmers drawn from the country's best offshore talent rounds out the roster. Callisto is not a development exercise. She is built to win.
Picking a single favourite across a fleet this deep is a task few would envy. The 2025 Admiral's Cup has attracted teams loaded with ambition and experience in equal measure, and dark horses lurk throughout the divisions. New Zealand has consistently found ways to perform when offshore conditions are at their most demanding, and both Caro and Callisto carry that tradition aboard alongside their sails and instruments.
Whether the RNZYS can add a second Admiral's Cup to the one claimed in 1987 remains an open question. No one in this fleet will be taking the Kiwi entry lightly.
