Tytus Butowski and Adam Głogowski, Aleksandra Melzacka and Sandra Jankowiak win Polish skiff titles in Gdynia

The four-day regatta produced sharply contrasting conditions. On the first day the wind exceeded 20 knots and was gusty, giving very dynamic racing. On the second day the crews waited ashore for hours and in the end no race was sailed at all. The final two days were dominated by light winds. In those conditions the result depended not only on boat speed but above all on the ability to adapt to a shifting situation on the water.

Tied before the finals, settled in the last race

After Saturday's racing in the 49er the leaders were Mikołaj Staniul and Jakub Sztorch, this year's European silver medallists and seventh at the World Championship. They went into the medal series level on points with Tytus Butowski and Adam Głogowski. Mikołaj Staniul and Jakub Sztorch won the first final race and took a one-point lead into the last start.

The decisive race turned the situation around. Tytus Butowski and Adam Głogowski overtook their rivals, won the final race of the regatta and secured the Polish title.

– After the qualifying series we went into the finals tied with Mikołaj and Kuba. We sailed the first race flat out. We led for most of it, but the guys got past us. We finished second, so they went into the last final race with a one-point lead. In the second race the situation reversed and it was us who took the win. That is how we won the Polish championship – said Adam Głogowski.

A crew that has sailed together since May

For the new champions the result is a special one. Tytus Butowski and Adam Głogowski have only been sailing together since May this year and were not selected for the Polish Yachting Association national squad this season. They have known each other since childhood, however, and raced together in the Optimist class. They represent Nauticus 49er Team Olsztyn.

– I could not have dreamt it any other way than to sail on one boat with my friend. We get on brilliantly and we really sail very well together – added Tytus Butowski.

Melzacka and Jankowiak complete the set

The 49erFX also saw the lead change in the final part of the regatta. Aleksandra Melzacka and Sandra Jankowiak, this year's bronze medallists at both the World and European Championships, were second going into Sunday's racing. In the finals they sailed better than their main rivals, Gabriela Czapska and Hanna Rajchert, and took another Polish title.

– We are happy to be defending the Polish title once again. This season has been very fruitful for us. We won bronze at the European and World Championships, and now the Polish championship completes the set – said Aleksandra Melzacka and Sandra Jankowiak, ambassadors of PGE Sailing Team Poland.

The line-up was exceptionally strong. The Polish Yachting Association skiff squad was on the start line, along with this year's European medallists and Dominik Buksak and Mateusz Gwóźdź, who finished fifth at the World Championship despite forming their partnership only six weeks before the event. In the 49erFX, Ewa Lewandowska and Anna Zwara, this year's youth world champions, also competed. The U23 classifications were won by Igor Kawałko and Fabian Kocięda in the 49er and by Ewa Lewandowska and Anna Zwara in the 49erFX.

Gdynia a year before the Worlds and the road to Los Angeles

The venue was no accident. Next year Gdynia will host the World Sailing World Championships in the two-person Olympic classes, an event that will be one of the key stages of qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. In four Olympic events, 40 per cent of the places in the national quota will be allocated in Gdynia.

– This year's Polish championships are special. It is no coincidence that they are being held in Gdynia, because next year the World Sailing World Championships in the two-person Olympic classes will be sailed right here. That makes these championships an excellent opportunity for sailors and coaches, as well as the race committee and the jury, to prepare on this stretch of water. The very strong international entry is also pleasing. Most important of all, our medallists raced in Gdynia, in both the senior and youth classes – said Dominik Życki, Sports Director of the Polish Yachting Association.

For crews from five countries, competing in Gdynia was a chance to learn the waters of next year's Worlds. The Polish champions also welcomed the size of the fleet, which allowed them to race as they would at a major international event.

– It was great to have more foreign crews here. We know them from the World Cups and the World and European Championships, but with more boats on the water you could simply sail your own race, as at a normal big regatta, and concentrate less on covering each other – said Aleksandra Melzacka and Sandra Jankowiak.

More titles to be decided in Puck

The fight for Polish titles now moves to the Bay of Puck. From Friday, sailors in the men's ILCA 6, Finn, OK Dinghy, Omega, Micro, Nautica 450, 505 and Korsarz classes will race in Puck.

The Polish Sailing Championships are organised by the Polish Yachting Association, with the Pomeranian Voivodeship Self-Government and Yacht Klub Polski Gdynia as co-organisers.

Medallists of the Polish Open Championships in Gdynia

49er, overall: 1. Tytus Butowski and Adam Głogowski (KS AZS AWFiS Gdańsk / Nauticus Olsztyn), 2. Mikołaj Staniul and Jakub Sztorch (KS AZS AWFiS Gdańsk), 3. Dominik Buksak and Mateusz Gwóźdź (Polski Klub Regatowy / KS AZS AWFiS Gdańsk).

49er, U23: 1. Igor Kawałko and Fabian Kocięda (Fundacja Olsztyński Klub Żeglarski), 2. August Sobczak and Wiktor Mielnik (Chojnicki Klub Żeglarski / Fundacja Olsztyński Klub Żeglarski), 3. Krzysztof Królik and Krzysztof Ołowiak (Chojnicki Klub Żeglarski / Yacht Club Gdańsk).

49erFX, overall: 1. Aleksandra Melzacka and Sandra Jankowiak (Yacht Klub Polski Gdynia / OŚ AZS Poznań), 2. Gabriela Czapska and Hanna Rajchert (KS Spójnia Warszawa), 3. Jena Mai Seaton and Christina Andersen (Denmark); in the Polish championship classification, bronze went to Ewa Lewandowska and Anna Zwara (KS AZS AWFiS Gdańsk / MKŻ Arka Gdynia).

49erFX, U23: 1. Ewa Lewandowska and Anna Zwara, 2. Antonina Puchowska and Klara Sobczak (Yacht Klub Polski Gdynia / Chojnicki Klub Żeglarski), 3. Boroka Feher and Szonja Feher (Hungary); in the Polish championship classification, bronze went to Alicja Dampc and Magdalena Skórnóg (Chojnicki Klub Żeglarski / Nauticus Olsztyn).