Milford Cruising Club provided a fine setting for the opening of the PredictWind A-Class Catamaran World Championships 2025, with the Pre-Worlds warm-up regatta bringing the planet's quickest single-handed cats to Castor Bay on Auckland's northern coastline. Racing ran across 8 and 9 November, laying down an early marker for the world-class competition to follow.
The fleet had spent the preceding week training in variable northeasterlies of 6 to 10 knots, with PredictWind's forecasting proving spot-on throughout. Around 50 boats were on the water by Saturday morning, crews fine-tuning foil angles and sail trim before the first official races got underway. The breeze filled to a settled 8 to 11 knots through the afternoon, generating a short wind-against-tide chop that rewarded composure and technical precision over sheer speed.
The relaxed pre-championship atmosphere did nothing to dampen the competitive edge on display, and the racing quickly revealed who had arrived in form.
Dave Shaw (NZL 270) made his intentions clear from the outset in the Open foiling division. The Auckland sailor, a past A-Class national champion and runner-up at the 2019 Worlds, swept all three races to post a flawless 1-1-1 scoreline for 3 net points. Italy's Lamberto Cesari (ITA 13) demonstrated crisp boathandling and genuine pace in the moderate conditions to take second overall on 3-1-3 (7 net points). France's Emmanuel Dode (FRA 2) settled into third on 2-4-4 (10 net points), with Bailey White (USA 320) and Michal Korneszczuk (POL 111) completing the top five.
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The Classic non-foiling division produced its own compelling story, with the top five split between Australian and New Zealand competitors. Jamie Jochhiem (AUS 956) announced himself as a standout newcomer with a commanding 1-1-2 (4 points) to claim overall victory, edging out three-time World Champion Andrew Landenberger (AUS 308), who finished on 3-2-6 (11 points). Kiwi Steve Ashley (NZL 246) matched that points tally with 2-5-4 (11 points) to secure third place, while Andy Landenberger (AUS 300) and Mike Drummond (NZL 287) rounded out the quintet. Several fleets finished tightly bunched, and the championship leaderboard is likely to look quite different once the main event gets underway.
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Conditions settled to a consistent 7 to 9 knots by Sunday afternoon as the final races took shape. The steady breeze gave competitors the chance to dial in their setups and grow familiar with Castor Bay's particular character, a combination of gentle swells, light current, and shifting coastal winds that demand constant attention. From the shore, club members, volunteers, and local spectators gathered to watch the Open fleet's dark sails carving across turquoise water, the world's leading A-Class sailors clearly relishing every moment.
Pre-Worlds results carry no championship points, but the regatta confirmed strong early form from both Shaw and Jochhiem, each finishing with clean sweeps atop their respective divisions. With more than 50 boats measured in and the main Worlds already underway from 11 November, the scene is set for stronger breezes, closer battles, and a full display of what makes these lightweight cats among the most captivating boats on the planet.
