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.
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,….
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 …
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,..,
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.
Nice to have our regular Veterans Sailing Program back up and running again! Nine Veterans, two Veteran’s family members, and three fantastic volunteers participated. One of the volunteers is a ret. Coastguard Captain and also our senior sailing instructor. Do you know who that is? Anyway, he was busy giving the final on-the-water test for the sailing instructor certification course. The student is one of our local Veterans!
The Crew consisted of Duane Smith, Lanita Soleil, and Nehemiah Cook, all disabled Veterans. Also onboard was Charles Nethersole, a veteran of the British Navy and a world-class sailor. Duane has been sailing with us for several years and he has come a long way. Duane is a certified Basic Keelboat instructor. He helps Team Paradise by teaching sailing, not only to Veterans but to all students. He also heads up our Thursday Veterans Sailing, which has solid attendance.
Team Paradise located at the US Sailing Center invited my husband, an Operation Iraqi Freedom, myself, an Operation Enduring Freedom veteran and another disabled combat veteran to participate in the Columbus Day Regatta in Coconut Grove, Florida. As a former Navy Sailor there is nothing more joyful than the sound and feel of ocean water. The lovely sound of thundering waves puts me into a deeply relaxed mindset. Although we had some weather building on the horizon the sun came out and it made me feel so incredibly good. While we were racing at high rates of speed, working as a four-person team to control the sailboat I found myself awestruck and incessantly looking at nature in its purest form and its most profound and beautiful forms, being at sea and in nature always seems like it enhances my mindfulness and boosts my physical well-being. Team Paradise allowed me a day away from my regular activities and daily struggles and it created a positive impact on my happiness. Thank-you Team Paradise! Lanita Oceanne Soleil
We are so thankful for the support we receive each year. Your generous donations help us build on our existing infrastructure of diversity, equity and inclusion in the sport of sailing. We recognize that part of our role as a community sailing organization is to lift up all voices in the sport and provide a welcome and inclusive environment for all.
We couldn’t be more excited about the challenges ahead and the increasing opportunities to help others and do better. With the support of our community, Team Paradise has managed to deliver on its mission for the past 15 years, having proven itself many times over. “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.”
During a practice session a few days before the race, our senior sailing instructor and retired Coast Guard Captain, Bob Hurst, trained with the team of Duane Smith and Julio Gonzalez.
Duane has been sailing with Team Paradise for several years. It took him a while to assume the responsibilities of becoming a helmsman, but he did. Duane is floating to the top, so to speak. He became Basic Keelboat certified, then sailing with us weekly before passing the Performance Sailing and Spinnaker endorsement certification. He raced with a team of Veterans in the Columbus Day Regatta last year and did very well…..
The holiday season is here and it’s a welcomed break for us. We performed 137 program days for 1,115 people this year. We sailed in a variety of conditions, sometimes with winds above 30 knots and we drifted when it was completely calm. New for the year was that swimming and getting soaked was encouraged. Kids love the water and I venture to say that 80% of all the youth loved their sail with us and they would love to return for more fun and bay play.
Breakthrough Miami returned to sail with us on Saturday 12/14. This time it was a group of 5th-grade Scholars from Gulliver we had the pleasure to serve. It was a beautiful morning! I began launching boats at 5:23 AM and it was dead calm and dark. As the sun rose, the cloud formations were awesome. There was a red sky in the morning and we all know what that means!
The bus transporting the kids arrived promptly at 10 AM. We gathered on the 2nd-floor breezeway for introductions, briefings and team assignments. The conditions were still calm and there was no rush to head out early. There were sixteen kids total, with four kids per team for our two Sonar and two RS Venture sailboats.
The breeze began to fill in as we fitted the life jackets. Sails were up and boats ready for the departure. There was an onboard briefing by each captain before leaving the dock and with the US Sailing Center being as busy as it is this time of the year, the runway for departure can change pretty quickly. It’s important to have enough volunteers to help fend off, hold the boat and assist with safe boarding. This particular morning had ideal conditions with the wind out of SW, but when there is a strong easterly flow, boats can get pushed into the dock pretty hard.
The breeze picked up very quickly so jibs were not hoisted on our keelboats. We had a couple of safety boats following us wherever we sailed. The wind increased as the day progressed and it was comforting to have two safety boats following us wherever we sailed. The clouds were growing darker and the wind stronger. We decided to return to port a bit earlier than planned. Better safe than sorry.
Special thanks to our volunteers for making this day happen. They are very special people, Jonah, Bob, David, John, Richard, Peter and Moises. Also, a BIG thank you to Pat and his brother for helping out at the dock and for lending us the USSC coach boat.
Our Veterans (and me) are lucky to have Bob Hurst as a friend. His background as a Coast Guard Captain and certified Sailing Instructor Trainer make him very valuable for our program.
Veterans Sailing on Thursday 12/12 started out in the classroom with Bob teaching Julio a Basic Keelboat certification lesson. Duane and Ericka joined in and they all went sailing.
The normal pizza order which delivers at 2.30 PM was replaced with a take-out order from the Coral Reef Yacht Club. It was about time to try something new:)
Wednesday 12/13 was the last day of City Sailing. Again, it was Little Haiti Soccer who came to visit. It wasn’t the same kids as last time, but they were just as nice and entertaining. Thanks to having a safety boat on hand, we were towed out and back. In between that, we sailed a little bit, just enough to get the kids excited. We hung at #Paradiseisland305 for a while. The air was a bit cold to go swimming even if I did to take a picture. That was a special moment!
Sunday 12/15 was the time to bring some new friends out sailing. It was Charles, a veteran that we met during the recent Veterans event at Opa Locka Airport. Then there was Erbil who had just moved down from Connecticut and Brother Moises who has volunteered with us a couple of times. I gave them a sneak preview of what our sailing school is like. They all had a go at the helm, taking and gybing, moving from side-to-side. Sailing different points of sail, learning how to control the boat. They did very well and I hope that they all stick to sailing and become certified!
On Monday 12/16 I took Cliff and Ann from Chicago out sailing on a Biscayne Bay Excursion. We took the scenic route, clockwise around the Bay. We sailed close to shore, passed Grove Isle and Mercy Hospital, through the Viscaya harbor, then across to Key Biscayne West Point, Nixon’s Beach and around Marker “B” and then back to port. The trip took about 2-1/2 hours to complete.
As we passed Mercy Hospital, we hit an object in the water that made a lot of noise and caused a fair amount of damages to the boat. I will describe the incident in more detail in my next Blog.
Let’s Go Sailing Soon,
Magnus Liljedahl | Team Paradise SailingExecutive Director
Veterans Sailing on Thursday 11/21 had one new Veteran and his wife come sailing with us. Charles and Cindy discovered us at the 2019 Community Salute to our Military at the Coast Guard Air Base in Opa Locka. The couple had never sailed before! They loved it so much that they will be coming back for sailing lessons on 12/15. We are definitely making a difference changing lives through sailing!
This was a special day because more and more of our Veterans are now able to independently helm (steer) our Sonar, so that we can have Veterans teaching Veterans. How about that? Actually, this is nothing new. Bob Hurst who is a retired Coast Guard Captain is also a disabled Veteran and a certified US Sailing Instructor. Bob has been teaching sailing at Team Paradise for several years.
Team Paradise welcomed kids from City of Miami’s Legion Park on Wednesday (11/20). Two RS Venture were launched for the occasion, but only three students plus one counselor showed up. I was sad for the kids who didn’t make it, but this was a great opportunity to work with our new volunteers. Liv sailed with the kids in one boat while Bob gave sailing lessons to Pam in the other. Yours truly went in the safety boat with Rick and Raul. We took pictures and cheered them on. We anchored up at @Paradiseisland305 in order for the kids to have a short swim before sunset. The kids were back on the bus promptly at 5.30PM
Team Paradise was invited to the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary 2019 Community Salute to our Military – A resource event honoring our veterans. The event took place on Saturday 11/16 at the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station in Opa Locka.
We had an early morning start, towing one of the RS Venture with adaptive seating for display. It was too windy to set any sails, but was otherwise a clear and beautiful day. Our display was right next to Miami-Dade Parks & Rec, which is our partner in Veterans sailing.
Susan came up with the brilliant idea of giving out raffle tickets in exchange for name, phone and email address. The prize was a sailing excursion on Biscayne Bay for up to 4 people.
We collected the contact info for 27 veterans during this event. Not bad for a days work!
We were just starting to de-rig the boat and load up as a couple of officials came to us. They gave us a stern warning not to post any pictures of military equipment on our website or on social media. That was disappointing because we had taken some cool pictures of vintage airplanes, U.S Coast Guard helicopters and other cool equipment.
Let’s go sailing soon,
Magnus | Team Paradise Executive Director
Have you ever heard our local weather forecast talk about small craft advisory, scattered showers, a chance of thunderstorms and that the bay water will be choppy? For us living in South Florida, we know how local and scattered the weather conditions usually are. It may rain in one block while it’s dry in the next. It’s very local. Inland towards the Everglades usually gets more rain and storms while further east, like Key Biscayne stays dry and sunny more often. Just because there is bad weather in one neighborhood it doesn’t mean that it will be bad where we sail on Biscayne Bay.
The wind direction is never constant. It may oscillate 5-15 degrees throughout the day, or have persistent shifts of any seize at any time. Be prepared for windspeed that far exceed what was expected when leaving the dock.
Most sailors usually have favorite wind and wave conditions until they realize the need to be prepared for anything and everything that nature has to offer. The weather is fascinating and it’s amazing in how it all works and how much info there is available for us to absorb.
It’s common knowledge that it is better to keep a positive attitude because it is easier to succeed when doing something that you really like. Sailing is no different. To do well, you have to be able do it all, at least when it comes to racing. I have learned not to look at the weather forecast too far in advance and get excited about what I might see. Instead, I monitor the forecast days in advance and note how the predictions for my specific date of interest likely will change.
Despite a pretty windy period over the last couple of weeks, we have managed to run our program as normal. Canceling program when conditions are not safe could sometimes be the right move, especially when there is thunder and lighting. But to cancel just because it’s windy is not good. To me, that’s an indication that either staff is not skilled enough, or the equipment is not good enough, or that there is not enough of a safety plan established. Canceling is an easy way out and if that is put in place as a go-to option, something is very wrong.
On Wednesday of last week, the wind was “honking” all day. I was thinking about cancelling the day first thing in the morning, but the information I had called for the wind to drop around the time kids would arrive and then pick back up around sunset. We had a breezy sail and everyone got soaked, but we made it back safe, just in time before the breeze picked back up to 30 kts.
The following day was Veterans Sailing and again, it was pretty windy. I asked myself, should I cancel, or not? Most program would have, but not us. Again, the forecast was for the wind to drop around Noon and it did. We went sailing and had a great time!
My favorite wind app is Sailflow, which I find to be spot on accurate 5-days a week. It has great detail, especially when subscribing to the PRO version. My favorite weather app is NBC 6 Local First Alert weather, which has the most awesome radar.
Let’s go sailing soon,
Magnus | Team Paradise Executive Director
The Island Race used to be called “Around the Island Race.” That was back in the day when we used to race around Key Biscayne, Virginia Key and Fisher Island. The course went around Cape Florida, through Government Cut, then turning near the mouth of the Miami River before heading south through Rickenbacker Causeway to finish just east of Key Biscayne Yacht Club. Nowadays the racecourse has a turning marker just east of Bear Cut. The race then returns back into the Bay, rounding the same marks as on the way out.
The Island Race has become an annual, reoccurring event for Team Paradise. It’s a lot of fun because we sail on the ocean side of Key Biscayne, a bit different than sailing around in the Bay. The big trick is to observe the current and wind, and try not to run aground. Anyone who would like to join us and start preparing for next year, please let me know.
It was a windy day for sure! It was so windy that that racing was cancelled even for the much bigger boats. We knew that there was a great potential for strong wind, but we decided to sail and made the starting line on time. The race was postponed and boats started to sail back in. Then came the announcement that the race was cancelled! This is when we said, “Let’s go reaching instead!” Given the time stamp of the video and the computerized anemometer reading from nearby Biscayne Bay Light ’20’, we had gusts hovering around 40 Kt. That’s a lot of wind and I’m so proud of my team for being able to handle such tough conditions. Let’s hope that there is a re-sail of the event, but knowing how busy everything is, we might have to wait for September 2020.
Thursday’s weekly Veterans Sailing turned into spinnaker practice for our Veterans who were planning on racing in the Island Race. It turned out to be the nicest day with comfortable temperatures and a perfect breeze for what we wanted to accomplish. We had enough people to make it a two-boat practice, which is always more fun and more worthwhile from a training perspective. Bob Hurst, our retired Coastguard Captain had just returned for the season and we are so fortunate to have him working with us.
Yours truly was the onboard coach on the other Sonar with Duane on the helm and Julio on mainsheet/spinnaker trim. Duane has come a long way! He graduated Basic Keelboat and Performance Sailing & Spinnaker Endorsement and is now well underway with competitive racing. The Island Race would have been his 3rd regatta in less than a month. We did a bunch of spinnaker gybes with me on the foredeck. Julio showed good talent for flying the spinnaker and crewing in general. I felt encouraged going into the Island Race on Saturday. Unfortunately the race was cancelled, but we had some major fun and we learned a lot.
Let’s go sailing soon,
Magnus | Executive Director, Team Paradise Sailing
We are pleased to announce that our partnership with Miami-Dade Parks & Recreation Open Spaces Department of Disability Services continues for the next grant cycle. Team Paradise is a County vendor, providing sailing the V.I.C.T.O.R. Adapted Sports Program (Veterans Integrated into the Community Through Outdoor Recreation). This translates into free sailing for disabled veterans and disabled members of the armed forces. All you have to do is to pre-register and sign-up at https://teamup.com/ksvfiym4wm3c3vpxri.
Trust your sailing to us! Sailing is what we do and we have done so for a long time. I have spend my life around sailing, crossing oceans, winning Olympic and World Championship gold medals and awards like “Rolex Yachtsman of the Year” and “World Sailor of the Year”. I’m also a certified sailing instructor for Basic Keelboat and Performance and Spinnaker Endorsement. When Team Paradise Sailing became an accredited sailing school a few years back, I realized that if you want to learn sailing, you should have a plan on what to sail after graduating from class. I welcome you to sail with us as a passenger at any time, but if you like the idea of continued education and you want to keep sailing, we have a plan for you! It’s the Veterans pathway to sailing.
The Columbus Day Regatta traditionally marks the beginning of the regatta season in Miami. It’s a relaxed Cruising Regatta, but it can get competitive as well. It used to be the biggest party on Biscayne Bay and eventually became so wild and dangerous that rules had to change and restrictions applied. The power boaters where just “crazy” back in the day. Racers no longer stay out over night. Instead, we start and finish in the same place (just east of the Dinner Key Channel). The Race Committee has several courses to choose from, using government markers for the most part.
Team Paradise has competed in the Columbus Day Regatta for many years. It’s a great opportunity for anyone who likes to try a hand in sailboat racing and for those working on sharpening their sailing and racing skills. For the last few years, our focus has been on providing this opportunity for Disabled Veterans. Our goal is to give everyone a fun and safe learning experience where the individual can excel quickly. Team Paradise offers a pathway to become an expert sailor. From our Discovery Sailing through the Development stage, which seamlessly connects to Sailboat Racing.
The really good news was that five (5) Sonars had entered the regatta which meant separate starts for our fleet. Also, we would be racing for the nicest looking trophy of the event. www.teamparadise.org
We entered the regatta with our three (3) Sonar and appropriately named them: team RED, team WHITE and team BLUE. The team members came to us through wonderful collaboration with Warrior Sailing and Veterans Ocean Adventure. The veterans arrived from near and far: San Antonio, TX, Riverview, FL, Saint Petersburg, FL, Homestead, FL, Seminole, FL, Miramar Beach, FL and Miami, FL.
The job that I signed up for was to prepare the boats, make necessary adaption, divide up the teams and otherwise help where help was needed.
Years ago, I was offered the advice that I should sail with people better than myself, as often as I can. What monkey sees, monkey does, sort of. I did just that and I can honestly say, I have learned, pretty much everything that I know, from others. The learning experience becomes so much better and students will learn more and at a much quicker rate. Having said that, In order to keep the racing fun, competitive and safe, each team was assigned an on-board coach.
Once again, I had to turn to our super-skilled volunteers. My dear buddy Fritz Mueller was coaching onboard the White Team. Fritz and yours truly first me sailing the OK Worlds in Falmouth, UK back in 1973. B.T.W (I personally hold him responsible for me leaving Sweden to move here:)
My good friend Charles Nethersole, a professional sailboat captain with a life time of blue-water sailing experience, skippered for team BLUE. The crew had minimal sailing experience and for the most part no racing, or spinnaker experience. The only way for them to be competitive, was for Charles to helm the boat.
Yours truly sailed with Team RED skippered by Laura Root. F.Y.I. Laura won this regatta last year as a jib trimmer onboard the very same boat we were in (with Daniel Evans at the helm and Sam Lugo as a jib trimmer). I did not touch the helm, but I did fly the kite.
The racing was pretty tight for a 20NM course, at least for the three Team Paradise entries. It was anyones race to win. It made total sense to have at least one experienced sailor to lead the way on each boat. Our boats were very even in speed and racing were tight. Team RED won both days, but it could easily have gone differently. Team WHITE was ahead of us in both races, but we managed to prevail. Team BLUE finished with a second and third. Team WHITE missed a marker on Saturday and were disqualified. They did great on Sunday with a solid second place finish to earn the final podium finish.
“I have learned more about sailing during these 2-days than I have in my 5-year sailing career”
Other than being lucky, the reason for success onboard Team RED can be credited to focusing on the big picture and being a lot less concern about the little things!
The starts had to be good, but under no circumstance could we afford to be premature i.e. over-early.
We changed side when lowering the spinnaker after the first run to set us up correctly for the long second run.
Early take downs so that we would be ready to sail upwind as soon as arrived to the leeward marks.
The winning move on the last day was to be the first boat to tack after the run. The reason being is that we were laying the next mark from there.
Our helms-lady Laura focusing on steering the boat, looking at the tell tales and keeping the boat flat.
Having the waypoints pre programmed and the routes plugged in made a big difference. Our 4th crew, Tommy Chase has talent for navigation and how to operate his GPS.
Our job trimmer, David Caras stayed focused on the jib and did a nice job trimming. Like everyone onboard, he was positive and enthusiastic about the day.
The awards ceremony at Coral Reef Yacht Club the following weekend was a lot of fun. It marked the first time that we used the new “Boathaus” building at the club. We were all happy that Laura, David and Karen returned to Miami for the BIG night. Rudy and Charles also attended and it was a blast. Laura pretty much cleaned up, winning a couple of the really BIG trophies.
Impressive awards!
Laura Root Best Female Trophy
Team RED - First Place
Team Blue - Runner Up
Laura with First Overall Trophy
David Bannister and Janice Bartleson
Team RED 07 1+1 = 2p
Laura Root, Riverview, FL
Thomas Chase, San Antonio, TX
David Caras, Saint Petersburg, FL
Magnus Liljedahl, Miami, FL
Team BLUE 10 2+3=5p
Charles Nethersole, Miami Beach, FL
Karen Atkinson, Seminole, FL
Rudy Watt, Miami, FL
Jason Phillips, Miramar Beach, FL (Saturday only) Guy Siegel, Coral Springs, FL (Sunday only)
TEAM WHITE: 810 6+2 = 8p
Duane Smith, Homestead, FL
Michael Stevens, Miami, FL
Fritz Muller, Miami Shores, FL
Volunteers, Donors and Supporters of our Veterans sailing program. Also, special thanks to Miami-Dade Parks Disability Services for their continued support to make our Veterans Sailing extra special. Let’s not forget the Veterans that came to sail. They paid their own way and booked their own rooms. You are awesome!
Sometimes the risk outweighs the reward. When it’s too windy for sailing, when do we cancel? What is our plan B? Thanks to the latest boat donation to Team Paradise, our community sailing program now has another option on what to do!
The 21’ Jet Tender is what every community sailing program should have. It’s made by Castoldi, an Italian boat builder specializing in mega yacht tender boats powered by inboard diesel jet engines and papered by the Castoldi water jet drive. It’s a boat like no other.
It had been a very windy week with gusts up to 30 knots for days in a row. By the time the kids from Shenandoah Park arrived the US Sailing Center it had dropped a bit. But why take the risk of potentially scaring these kids when time is very limited (about 1.5 hours) and they are not prepared for a windy sailing experience? Nothing good will likely come out of that!
Instead, all twelve of us boarded the Castoldi for a shore line excursion, visiting land marks such as Viscaya and the Marine Stadium. It’s amazing how much distance that can be covered in a power boat compared to a sail boat. On our way back, we stopped at the Viscaya Sand Bar, where we anchored and most of everyone got in the water.
These kids where back in the bus promptly at 5.30PM. They had a BLAST!
Unplug from electronics and tune in to nature! Team Paradise Sailing offers youth from Miami-Dade County access to the sport of sailing on Biscayne Bay. Read more about our community sailing.
