The most beautiful day of 2020?
Without a doubt, it was the moment I stepped aboard a 69F foiler (third from the left in the photo). A high-tech sailing boat that, lifted by wings beneath the water, almost breaks free from the physical surface. Gliding at 29.8 knots, nearly 60 km per hour.
An experience that still resonates through my body: effortless, light, magical.
At the time, together with Cor van Aanholt, I was hosting sponsors on the Lemsteraak Beluga, supporting the Youth America’s Cup campaign in Australia for Kingdom Team Netherlands, represented by Odile van Aanholt, Bart Lambriex, Emma Savelon, and Jorden van Rooijen.
It was sailing in pure flow: intuitive, supported, guided by the heart. Something entirely different from the tactical mental game of traditional sailing races, though I still enjoy that world immensely.
The most beautiful day of 2025 doesn’t exist. This entire year has been a magical journey. Where I started out navigating through mud, the waters gradually became clearer. I dove deep beneath the surface, faced what I found, cleaned, released, and made space. The waters you navigate determine how connected you are to the greater whole. Your boat, a metaphor for your body and mind, shapes the course you take through life. And there too, I had to clear the deck.
With deep gratitude, I look to my mentor, Robert Bridgeman, who guided me this year on my inner journey toward becoming the captain of my own life. Listening to what the elements wanted to tell me. Transforming what no longer serves. Navigating through intuitive signals that appear like stars in the night sky. My internal compass has been recalibrated, and I am now fully sailing my own course. I’ve learned to read the resistance in the water without losing my flow. Life once again feels like the adventure it has always been. Open. Spacious. And full of surprises.
As this year comes to a close, I invite you to pause and reflect on your own vessel and your own direction.
Are you the captain of your life, or are you still following someone else’s navigation?
Do you still feel resistance, is your view still cloudy?
Or is the water beginning to carry you, open for you, reveal its magic?
And… do you dare to trust the flow of where life is asking you to go?
My intention for 2026:
That everyone may become the captain of their own happiness.
Freely sailing an infinite ocean, charting a course guided by the wisdom life offers.
With flow, gratitude, and trust,
Cas
Photo: Karen Kaper