TURKEY'S MOST PRESTIGIOUS YACHT RACE - THE NAVAL FORCES CUP TURNS 53
Run for 52 years by the Turkiye Offshore Racing Sports Club, Turkiye’s most prestigious and longest offshore yacht race, the Naval Forces Cup (3SEASRACE as the racers call it) has become a symbol of Turkish yachting. Every year, around 40 yachts and more than 600 competitors take part in the Navy Cup, which starts in Istanbul.
HAS A LONG AND RICH HISTORY
The race started in 1968 with the desire of yachts racing on the open sea to sail routes further away from the Kalamış and Fenerbahçe frontiers with the adventure of “going further than Sivriada”. Founded in 1971, the Offshore Racing Club, in partnership with the Turkish Naval Forces Foundation (TDKGV), took its racing fleet to the ports of Erdek, Çeşme, Kuşadası and Bodrum, most of them with Gallipoli legs.
In 1988, as a result of a new agreement with the Naval Forces Command, the name of the race was changed to “Naval Forces Cup”. In order to further develop offshore racing, the race routes were extended to different ports such as Bozcaada, Bodrum, Neos Marmaras (Greece), Ayvalık, Foça, Güllük, Didim, Sığacık and Turgutreis.
In the early years, the number of participating yachts fluctuated between 7 and 10. By the mid-2000s, the number had increased to over 90.
TAYK represents offshore yachting in Turkey with the same determination and spirit from the past to the present. It will continue to inspire future generations to keep this legacy alive.
With the decision of the Council of Ministers in 1993, AYK added Turkiye to its name and became the Turkish Offshore Racing Club (TAYK/TORC), and in 2023 it was transformed into a sports club.