City Sailing on October 23rd was a lot of fun! It was another group of kids from City of Miami’s Jose Marti Park. It was a bit too windy for the previous group and they did not get to sail. This day had perfect conditions for what we wanted to accomplish, a nice mellow breeze of 4-6 Kt from the east.
I recruited Charles Nethersole to drive one of the RS Ventures, while I drove the other (RS Venture). The four girls plus another staff member went sailing with Charles and the three boys came sailing with me. The safety boat was ready to go, sitting at the dock.
We sailed upwind towards Key Biscayne, making several tacks, moving our human ballast from side-to-side, roll-tacking and working the jib. Then, we turned around and set the gennaker. One of the boys steered most of the way and did a great job. These boys were special, they had a touch for water and wind and they learned very quickly. I asked if they wanted to come back sail with Team Paradise? They all said YES!
Everyone wanted to swim, so we stopped by paradiseisland305 on our way back to port. Most of us hopped into the water, holding on to the boats instead of anchoring. Everyone had their life jackets on. The kids performed a swim-test, swimming around the boat. They all seemed to thrive in the water and they sure looked like swimmers to me.
Thank You!
Our community Youth Sailing Program (City Sailing) is 100% free for the kids. Team Paradise raises funds to cover the expenses. We could not offer this type of program without your help. No amount is too small, or too large. Please click button below for payment options, thank you so much!