Youth Sailing, STEM
Magnus Liljedahl
SYSTEM S7-E2

The more we do it, the better we get! Today was the second of eight lessons in our fall session of Youth Sailing. Each Saturday will look the same. We are divided into two groups: the beginner sailors, ages 9-12, who attend our STEM class, the SYSTEM, and the intermediate sailors, ages 12-17, who attend our NEXT LEVEL program. Both groups began at 10 AM and finished at 3 PM. The SYSTEM classroom is indoors, and the NEXT LEVEL meets in the second-floor breezeway. The SYSTEM is based on REACH (US Sailing's STEM education series), while the NEXT LEVEL is based on US Sailing's Intermediate curriculum.

SYSTEM S7-E2
Youth Sailing
Magnus Liljedahl
Saturday Youth Sailing S6-E7

The weather in Miami, and many other places, follows a pattern: one day looks like the next. The weatherman calls for southeasterly winds of 5-10 knots, but it's calm in the morning. Then, as it gets warmer throughout the day, the land heats up, and the sea breeze kicks in. The wind on the water is affected by local topography, where land, buildings, and other structures block the wind and create turbulence. Also, there is usually a big difference between the highest and lowest wind speeds. We refer to this as puff and lull. Today, the puffs (gusts) were much stronger than 10 knots. In reality, after the fact, when we all know what happened,….

Saturday Youth Sailing S6-E7
Veterans Sailing
Magnus Liljedahl
Veterans Sailing S2-E10

Miami Fleet week

Today was a big Fleet Week celebration next door at the Coral Reef Yacht Club (CRYC). Hundreds of young sailors were invited for fishing, sailing, and boating. The first busload showed up at 0645 hours for a lovely breakfast buffet. As luck has it, the day coincided with our regular Thursday Veterans Sailing. Two uniquely named veterans, who had never sailed with us, arrived at about 1000 hours. The weather and wind were perfect for sailing across the Bay and joining the festivities at Stiltsviille. We tied the boat next to an anchored sailboat in what can best be described as a small lagoon behind the building. The CRYC dockmaster was on hand to ferry us to the lapidated building. We mingled with the sailors for a while and had some snacks and refreshments before heading back to the US Sailing Center. We had to leave before the current started ripping. The sail home was smooth and very relaxing. It was …

Veterans Sailing S2-E10
Veterans Sailing
Magnus Liljedahl
Veterans Sailing S2-E9

PERFECT DAY ON THE BAY!

Perhaps I might be getting forgetful, but today felt like the best Veterans Sail ever! We had two boats, six veterans, one veteran family member, plus me. Two of the veterans had never sailed with us before. Today was a perfect day on the Bay. The weather conditions were ideal, with just the "right" amount of wind speed. We aimed for the Biscayne Bay channel as we left the Seaplane channel behind, spotting some Dolphins along the way, then tacking through Stiltsville, we turned around and headed back home with the flooding tide pushing us along Bill Baggs State Park, Nixons Beach,..,

Veterans Sailing S2-E9
Veterans Sailing
Magnus Liljedahl
Veterans Sailing S2-E8

Home, sweet home!

Old friends meet new friends. Today, a young man who had just returned from active duty in Syria was visiting. It was super rewarding to offer him and his significant other a soothing and relaxing experience sailing on Biscayne Bay. As always, thank you guys for serving our country.

Veterans Sailing S2-E8

SYSTEM

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SYSTEM S7-E5

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SYSTEM S7-E5

Sailing can be compared to a simple machine in several ways. Like a simple machine, sailing utilizes fundamental principles to accomplish work. For example, the sail on a boat can be likened to an inclined plane or a wing, using the force of the wind to propel the boat forward. The rudder can be likened to a lever, changing the boat's direction by applying force at a certain point. In this way, sailing shares similarities with simple machines by utilizing fundamental principles to achieve a specific purpose.

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SYSTEM S7-E4

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SYSTEM S7-E4

What is remarkable is when teaching moments appear out of nowhere in real-time, like turning something that most people would experience as unfavorable into a positive experience. It's not always easy because, as always, the timing has to be correct.

The weather forecast was a bit "iffy " this morning. One parent contacted us, saying, "The weather is bad now. Are we still on for today?"  I responded, "We will have a morning briefing and a chalk talk, and then hopefully go sailing."

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SYSTEM S7-E3

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SYSTEM S7-E3

Today was special. It felt like the first day of the fall season. The air temperature was perfect, with low humidity and the perfect breeze for what we wanted to accomplish. It was a beautiful day. The next-level sailors took off into the bay with coach Josh. Our SYSTEM sailors stayed closer to shore. We followed them until we had the perfect picture of the two RS Ventures. Then, we sought more shallow waters for the water comfort test three of the new kids had to perform. It was all good. We moved even closer to the port and dropped the anchor again. This is where all of the boats eventually would meet up. The foam mattress was rolled out, and everyone seemed to enjoy it themselves. The pictures and video below will tell you more about our day...

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SYSTEM S7-E2

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SYSTEM S7-E2

The more we do it, the better we get! Today was the second of eight lessons in our fall session of Youth Sailing. Each Saturday will look the same. We are divided into two groups: the beginner sailors, ages 9-12, who attend our STEM class, the SYSTEM, and the intermediate sailors, ages 12-17, who attend our NEXT LEVEL program. Both groups began at 10 AM and finished at 3 PM. The SYSTEM classroom is indoors, and the NEXT LEVEL meets in the second-floor breezeway. The SYSTEM is based on REACH (US Sailing's STEM education series), while the NEXT LEVEL is based on US Sailing's Intermediate curriculum.

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SYSTEM S7-E1

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SYSTEM S7-E1

The Team Paradise “SYSTEM” (Sailing + Youth + STEM) program has launched! We will measure the wind, test water quality, analyze marine debris, observe marine life, learn geometry and how to sail, and have so much fun! Biscayne Bay is the perfect classroom for our sailors to take their STEM experiments out on the water.

For our first class we learned about and observed the wind, then took what we learned out on the water and took a little time to splash around and get to know each other better!