[1][2] The Admiral's Cup regatta was started in 1957 and was normally a biennial event (occurring in odd-numbered years) which was competed for between national teams.
The regatta was based at Cowes on the Isle of Wight off southern England and was organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club.
The Australians won for the first time in 1967, the winning boat—Mercedes III—designed by Ted Kaufman and Bob Miller (later Ben Lexcen), who went on to success in the America's Cup.
[4] The 2003 event, the last held, was planned to be based in Dún Laoghaire in Ireland, but this was changed at short notice for reasons that are still unclear.
[5][6] In addition, instead of being a competition between national teams, the event was competed between yacht clubs, each with two boats.