As this is being written media have been bombing you with news talking about how horrible 2016 was because David Bowie, Prince, Princess Leia, Princess Leia’s mother and George Michael died. Not to mention all the sick acts of terror, Brexit and the fact that Trump won.

2016 was an intense year for a variety of reasons. It’s the year that our attention reached full saturation causing every smallish piece of news to feel like it’s both the end of the world and not a big deal and perhaps not even true. All at the same time. We now live in a world in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief. And in our small world of sailing we’ve seen everything from regatta formats being unilaterally changed to sailors with coaches (although they are not allowed) being granted redress despite racing with a fully functional replacement boat.

But hey, let’s not whine or talk more about politics here. Let’s get personal. Because personally 2016 was likely the most important year in Sophie Racing’s history. We had a great season and were never outside the top eight in any big event, crowning our fantastic journey with a Grand Prix win, a Swedish National title, and the most prestigious of them all; a Gold Cup win.

And a couple of weeks ago we got some extraordinary recognition to start off 2017 with. We, as in Hugo Stenbeck, Bernardo Freitas and Martin Westerdahl, were awarded with The Royal Swedish Yacht Club’s Honorary Gold Medal and Jan Stenbeck Memorial for outstanding sailing achievements. This really was the icing on the cake and for this we are deeply thankful. It’s an honour and a privilege to promote this club and what they do for their members.

This year-end-round-up plus some odd days is coming to an end and tomorrow it’s the Chinese New Year and it’s supposed to be the year of the rooster, so we’re gonna follow this little creature’s example and get up early in the morning and get stuff done. Until next time, cockadoodledoo amigos!