Cardiff Bay Yacht Club, in partnership with Portishead Cruising Club, are proud to announce the dates for the Shanghai Cup – Bristol Channel IRC Championships 2026 and the Nimrod Cup 2026.
The Shanghai Cup, as the Bristol Channel IRC Championships, will use IRC ratings and will consist of racing over two weekends, with the first weekend taking place in Portishead on 9/10 May 2026 and the second weekend taking place in Cardiff on 23/24 May 2026.
The Nimrod Cup will use Cardiff Bay Ratings and will consist of racing on the Saturdays of both event weekends, but in Cardiff only.
There will be social events planned in both Portishead and in Cardiff on the racing weekends.
As the sponsor of RORC events, the Bristol Channel IRC Championships is sponsored by North Sails this year, who have been providing us with amazing prize packages.
Ctrl-J retained the Shanghai Cup in 2025, with Silverback V and Gweilo coming second and third places, and Glad Rags winning the Nimrod Cup, with Pele and koco gaining second & third. Also to mention is Mercenary who took the win the the standalone Passage Race from Portishead to Cardiff, along with Joyride and Amazon who took second and third.
Information, race documents and the entry form is available on this site, as well as some history of the cup, previous results and some photos/videos. Discussion and a large collection of photos from previous regattas can be found on our Facebook Group.
Please distribute this information and website link, and display our poster in as many places as you can to advertise this event, and make it a great Shanghai Cup