Poland's Jakub "Kuba" Surowiec and Jacek Noetzel walked off the sand at Milford Cruising Club as newly crowned world champions, their victories spanning both the Open and Classic divisions as the PredictWind A-Class Cat Worlds 2025 concluded off Milford. Six days of competition on Castor Bay had offered the complete range, from light-air tactical chess to full-bore survival sailing, and both Polish sailors handled every shift the Gulf threw at them better than anyone else in their respective fleets.
*Polish armada takes charge*
Friday proved the regatta's pivot point. A hard westerly swept across both courses, reshaping the contest entirely. Ravi Parent (USA 76) had carried the Open fleet lead into that day, his disciplined work in the lighter early races having built a useful points buffer. As the breeze climbed into the high teens and the chop stacked up, Surowiec seized control. He won all three Open races sailed in those conditions, keeping his Exploder / BRYT upright and moving while capsizes, broken equipment and long swims accumulated across the fleet.
On the Classic course, Jacek Noetzel (POL 1) was equally clinical. He had not dropped a race win before Friday, and he showed no sign of changing that. Three more bullets in metre-high swell and 25-knot gusts stretched a lead that was already commanding, and by Thursday evening it was apparent Noetzel would claim the Classic title. Immediately behind him, Jamie Jochhiem (AUS 956), competing in his first major A-Cat regatta, and Andrew Landenberger (AUS 308) were the only sailors consistently close enough to profit from any error. Mike Drummond (NZL 287) sat fourth, carrying the Kiwi flag in a sharply competitive field.
*Saturday: titles within reach*
Saturday opened with early rain before clearing into a clean 8 to 12 knot breeze over an improved sea state once the front moved through. After Friday's battering, the reset was welcome.
The Open division returned to its central contest. Parent was a fraction off the pace in Race 7, allowing Surowiec to take that race and Race 8, before Parent bounced back to win Race 9. Those three races kept the points at the top extremely tight and confirmed how evenly the pair are matched when conditions suit them both. Darren Bundock (AUS 88) moved ahead of Adam Beattie (AUS 14) across Saturday's racing to claim third for the day, with Beattie now fourth. Dave Shaw (NZL 270) and Lamberto Cesari (ITA 13) each showed front-of-fleet speed at various points but could not string enough top results together to threaten the podium.
The Classic fleet enjoyed what many described as the most satisfying sailing of the entire championship. In 7 to 13 knots, the non-foiling boats could stretch hard upwind and power downwind in full-trap mode. Noetzel, sailing a blisteringly quick Exploder AD3 hull fitted with the latest Classic foils, calmly added two further wins to bank the title with a full day of racing still to come. Jochhiem and Landenberger swapped positions throughout, each finishing with a second and a third between them, while Drummond did enough to confirm fourth overall and give the home crowd something to celebrate.
By Saturday night the picture had sharpened considerably. Noetzel held the Classic crown with certainty. In the Open fleet, Surowiec carried a narrow lead into the final day over Parent, while Bundock and Beattie were still arguing over the last step of the podium.
*Final day: light airs and tight margins*
Sunday brought a very different race course. Readings of 6 to 8 knots, broken by soft patches drifting across both courses, meant foiling was achievable but never guaranteed, and every pressure line carried real consequence.
For the local contingent there was some consolation. Shaw (NZL 270) placed inside the top three in two of the closing races, showing the pace that had made him a consistent presence at the marks all week. Bundock pressed Surowiec and Parent hard, taking two race wins and a second to complete exactly the kind of final day he needed to secure a podium as the breeze faded.
Race by race the arithmetic tightened until, ahead of the last Open start, Surowiec knew he could not give Parent more than a single place between them. Parent attacked without hesitation and won that final race, but Surowiec stayed close enough that the overall margin at the close was just two points.
Both classes completed 12 races apiece, with two discards applied. It is hard to argue that anyone was short of opportunities to make their case.
*Final standings: Polish double confirmed*
Surowiec's Open title was his third consecutive world championship, built on heavy-air dominance combined with reliable scoring through the lighter days. Two points over Parent at the finish kept both sailors in doubt right through the final gun. Parent's second place confirmed his standing as the benchmark American A-Cat competitor, while Bundock edged Beattie for third after a week in which his scores climbed steadily from mid-fleet to the rostrum.
Shaw finished sixth overall as the leading New Zealander, regularly appearing first at the marks and showing winning pace across a range of conditions throughout the week.
The Classic division result is more emphatic. Noetzel's final scorecard shows ten race wins from ten counting scores. Jochhiem's second place overall represented a breakout Worlds, while Landenberger's third reflected the consistent scoring that defines his sailing. Drummond's fourth gave the home crowd a strong local result and showed that the veteran designer-sailor remains a serious force aboard a small, quick catamaran.
*Milford's week to remember*
For Milford Cruising Club and the New Zealand A-Class Catamaran Association, the regatta was a significant undertaking and a clear success. PredictWind's tracking and mark-setting technology turned Castor Bay into a live race course for spectators onshore and online, while a substantial volunteer team kept launches, mark-boats and beach operations running through every weather window the week produced.
Two Polish flags sit at the top of the results poles as the PredictWind A-Class Cat Worlds 2025 closes. Milford has earned its place on the A-Cat map, and Surowiec and Noetzel head home with world titles claimed the hard way, across the full spread of what Auckland's gulf can deliver to a small, fast catamaran.
