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There are times when foiling in 12 knots of breeze, doing 18 or 19 knots upwind, Dave Shaw realises there is no better boat to sail than an A Class catamaran.
Then there are the other times, when the wind rises and speeds climb beyond 25 knots, that the challenge feels far less enjoyable.
"That''s usually when I look around and think to myself: 'Crickey, I'm way too old for this!'"
The Nelsonian fitter-and-turner is hoping for more of the former than the latter by the time the PredictWind A Class world championships wrap up at Milford Cruising Club next Sunday, where he will be competing against many of the best foiling catamaran sailors on the planet - many of them quite a bit younger than his 49 years.
For the past week, Shaw has been putting the finishing touches on his preparation for the long-awaited event, the first world championships to be held in New Zealand since the 2024 Moths worlds at Manly Sailing Club.
He's about to head out for a training run on a beautiful day at the club as it starts to come alive with the buzz of international sailors setting up for the pre-worlds starting tomorrow.
"It's been a bit frantic," Shaw said. "It usually is before a big competition. I've had three sails here since I arrived. My speed is looking OK. I am always looking to find a bit more, but I've done as much as I can with what I have."
The international fleet is as strong as he's seen.
"Apart from maybe two guys, all of the top 15 in the world are here," Shaw said. "It's going to be tough. These guys are quick and their boat-handling is incredible."
Sailors from Australia, Poland, Argentina, the United States, Britain, France, the Netherlands, and Italy will line up in the 22-boat foiling fleet. Among them are seven Kiwis - Aucklanders David Haylock, Hamish Hall-Smith, Nick Gardiner, Derek Scott, and Andrew Johnson. Shaw and Daniel Philpott are the only South Islanders in the fleet.
Defending world champion Kuba Surowiec from Poland, who won a second consecutive title in Punta Ala, Italy, last September, is the early favourite.
Shaw finished 12th at the same event last year, which was derailed by an early crash and equipment trouble. "I had a shocker," he said. "A guy crashed right in front of me at the top mark in the first race, and then the next day I didn't realise I had an issue with my foils. Before I knew it, I was too far behind and just kind of lost my mojo."
He hopes to regain that mojo at Milford, where he won the A Class national championships in commanding fashion in February. Shaw took out all but one of the 11 races and finished nine points clear of Hall-Smith.
"I went to Italy last year to see how I measure up against the rest of the international fleet and to see what I needed to work on," he said. Foiling at target speed is one of the things he's spent a lot of time on in preparation for this week.
"For me to have a chance this week small things are going to have to go my way from the start," he explained. "Whenever I've done well internationally, my speed has been right up there."
Shaw won silver at the A Class worlds in Weymouth in 2019, his best finish at the top of the sport to date.
"I'm sailing a lot better now than I was back then," Shaw said, "but so are the others. The class is always developing and the game has changed a lot since then. It's incredible how much their boat-handling has improved and how competitive everyone is."
National champion Dave Shaw is one of seven Kiwis competing in the foiling division of the 2025 PredictWind A Class world championships, hosted by Milford Cruising Club.
The ever-evolving nature of the A Class is a big part of why he is so passionate about the boat.
"I love making things, and being able to do pretty much anything with the boat is really cool," Shaw said. "You can experiment and try different things. Sometimes it works. More often than not it doesn't, but that's all part of the fun."
A self-proclaimed career catamaran sailor, Shaw only got into the sport at 18. "I started sailing the Tornado and later got into Paper Tigers and then the A Class," he said.
Domestically, he has been a dominant force in all these classes, a success he credits to his focus on catamarans and international experience.
"It helps that I haven't sailed anything but catamarans. Competing overseas and learning from the sailors there has made a huge difference."
Other Kiwis have the potential to challenge this week - "Hamish and David have a decent shot in the open class, and Mike Drummond is one to watch in the classic fleet" - and returning to Milford provides a small edge, Shaw said.
"It definitely gives you a bit of confidence coming into the worlds, knowing the venue and not having to deal with the jet lag some of the overseas guys have to. But once we're out on the water, it won't make a big difference."
Still, his ambitions remain clear.
"My goal is to get on the podium. Obviously I'd like to win it, but for that to happen a few things really need to go my way," Shaw said.
"That's the thing with this class, though. Little wee things can mean big gains or big losses, and anything can happen."
Volunteers, sponsors key to bringing event to life - Robertson
Auckland's North Shore is set to welcome the world as the PredictWind A Class world championships get underway tomorrow (Friday, 8 November) - one of the biggest recent events hosted by the Milford Cruising Club.
With 55 sailors competing, around 70 daily volunteers and officials, and up to 4000 spectators expected, the atmosphere is set to be lively.
MCC commodore Andrew Robertson said the club's volunteer committee had been "critical" to making the event happen. "It wouldn't have happened without them putting in countless hours. A lot of preparation has gone into this, not just around the racing but the engagement with locals, promotion of the event and treating it as a community rather than a club or sailing event," he said.
That community focus includes a special licence to allow the public to enjoy a temporary garden bar in the park as well as at the clubhouse. "It was fantastic having PredictWind come on board as lead sponsor, and I have never seen a sponsor work so hard to build broad behind-the-scenes support," Robertson said. "We also had great support from local businesses in Milford and surrounds, and we worked with New Zealand Retail Property Group (NZRPG) and Mercedes to put a fully rigged A Class in the centre court at Milford Mall, along with street flags, posters and promotional articles."
The championship has already made an impact on the local economy. "We didn’t expect competitors to turn up as early as they did. Milford has seen them shopping and staying here since mid-October. The shops are busier and it’s been a great economic lift for the area," Robertson said.
"We estimated to have over 200 bed nights for the local area but that was back in August and we think this has easily been exceeded. Many of the sailors have also holidayed a week or so before they arrived, and a number are staying longer."
Robertson and his team have been encouraged by the praise they've received for the organisation of the event so far.
"We're loving the feedback so far - now we just need great sailing weather," he said. "Though with sailors spending five-plus hours training a day, they may never come back to shore if it keeps getting better!"
The club will host several special events throughout the week - from celebrating women in sailing on 11 November and an International Trivia Night (13 November), to a special screening of One Outstanding, the documentary about the 1989/90 Whitbread Round the World Race detailing the battle between Steinlager II and Fisher & Paykel.
"I'd like to encourage everyone to come along to enjoy our food trucks, live music, our A Class Anchorage Bar on the reserve, gala dinners and food available from 7.30am to 8pm, and the chance to get up close to some of the world's best sailors," Robertson said.
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