Master of the Ocean 2025
Competition featuring five surfing disciplines
This year’s edition of the Master of the Ocean did not take place directly in Cabarete, but at the neighboring surf spot Encuentro - a place that truly lives up to its name: “Encounter.” For 20 years now, this event in the Dominican Republic has brought together water sports athletes from all over the world to compete in multiple disciplines.
The competition spanned five days, from Wednesday, September 17, to Sunday, September 21, and concluded, as is tradition, with the grand awards ceremony under the palm trees.
What makes this format unique: In the Overall Division, athletes must compete in all five sports - surfing, stand-up paddleboarding (SUP), windsurfing, kitesurfing, and wing foiling - all in the waves. Whoever wins here can rightfully call themselves the Master of the Ocean.
In the Team Division, on the other hand, teams of five compete, and each team must include at least one woman. Each team member takes on one discipline, ensuring that strengths and weaknesses are optimally distributed. This results in exciting and often surprising heats that are never predictable.
The surfing events took place at a break called Destroier, which connects to a second peak known as the Left. Windsurfing, kitesurfing, and wing foiling took place at the wave called the Right.
The reef there is littered with sea urchins, and pretty much every member of the German team has had a close encounter with them - especially kiter Nils Niebaum. He had so many spines in his foot that you could almost joke: The bay is now free of sea urchins because they all ended up in him.
The water was as warm as a bathtub; wetsuits were unnecessary. From the sea, you could see almond trees, palm trees with fresh coconuts, and colorful birds in the sky. Turtles, vultures, and mango trees rounded out the tropical atmosphere. Although it was the off-season for tourism, the wind and waves offered perfect conditions - not least thanks to the hurricanes over the Atlantic, which brought groundswell.
The first two days of competition were windy, promising perfect conditions, especially for the wind sports. However, not all wind sports finals could be held, as the wind died down in the following days. This made the wave disciplines all the more exciting, as they featured consistent sets.
Athletes from Peru, Brazil, Hawaii, Germany, France, Mexico, Argentina, and the Dominican Republic competed. Mexico’s Maxime Lhuillier, the 2024 defending champion, proved once again that he is the true Master of the Ocean, securing another victory in the Overall Division.
From a German perspective, Yannick Mittas made quite a splash. He qualified for the finals in both wing foil and surfing - a strong testament to his versatility. Unfortunately, the wing foil final was not held.
In the surfing final, he faced the strongest riders in the field and delivered a powerful performance, but ultimately had to settle for 4th place. In the overall standings, this meant he narrowly missed out on a top-three finish, settling for 5th place - still an impressive result in such a high-caliber field.
Jan Malte Claus finished in 7th place and impressively demonstrated that he belongs among the international elite in wing foil.
The performance by Brazilian SUP world champion Aline Adisaka was particularly spectacular. In the SUP team final, she received a perfect score of 10 and demonstrated how to keep a wave completely under control from start to finish. The team competition was won by the Dream Team, a group of locals who were virtually unbeatable on their home wave.
There was also a kids’ division, in which the under-18s competed exclusively in surfing. Their skill level was impressive - many of them could soon be making waves on the international stage.
Organizer Marcus, with the support of Patricia, once again poured his heart and soul into the event. In addition to the contest, they run the Happy Dolphins project, which teaches children from the region how to swim and trains them to become lifeguards - valuable work that opens up new opportunities and introduces the next generation to water sports.
The German Embassy and the airline Edelweiss generously supported the German team. Flights, accommodations, daily lunches, massages, physical therapy, and even ice cream were all part of the riders’ package - we felt like real professional athletes.
The atmosphere in the lineup was also something special. In Encuentro, “localism” doesn’t mean exclusivity, but rather a willingness to help. The locals show you where to position yourself to paddle up to the wave in the best way possible.
For us Europeans, this was a new experience - compared to Portugal or Spain, where the lineup is often more reserved, the atmosphere here is loud, spirited, but extremely warm.
The Master of the Ocean 2025 was a celebration of water sports. Exciting heats, top international athletes, fantastic conditions, and a community that truly embodies the spirit of the ocean. For us as the German team, it was an unforgettable experience - both in terms of the competition and on a personal level.
Overall top 8 out of 16 competitors
1. Maxime Lhuillier (Mexico)
2. Juan Silvestre Lena (Argentina)
3. Samuel Pérez (Dominican Republic)
4. Francis Gonzales (Dominican Republic)
5. Yannick Mittas (Germany)
6. Brian Talma (Barbados)
7. Jan Malte Claus (Germany)
8. Makani Andrews (USA)
September 25, 2025 © WING DAILY | text: Yannick Mittas | photos/graphics: Frithjof Blaasch / bulgenslag.de | translation: DE
