Boaters Beware!

Something very unusual happened to me last week while on a Sailing Excursion with my new friends from Chicago. We were sailing along the shore between markers Red 4 and Green 3 just NE of Mercy Hospital. It was high tide and we were on familiar waters when all of a sudden we hit something very hard. I was stunned at first thinking, “What the heck was that?” Then we hit a second time! At first I thought that I had veered off course, but no, we were in the middle of the channel. It must have been a sunken boat but how could that be? This is where boats from Grove Isle come and go and someone else would likely have run into it before us. It was mind-boggling! We quickly checked the bilge and verified that no water was coming in then continued our sail, eventually making it back to port.  I couldn’t wait to lift the boat and check out the damage.

Whatever we hit caused damage to the bow at the water line and the leading edge of the keel about 2′ up from the bottom.

This is when the Canadian coach, Larry Lemieux, offered to take me back to where the incident took place to see what we could find. We hopped in his coach boat and off we went. It was about sunset and it was cloudy, which are bad conditions for finding something submerged. We looked and looked, but there was nothing that we could find. What could it have been?

We had just about given up when I decided to show my friend the Viscaya Harbor. He’s been sailing in Miami since the seventies but has never been to this part of the Bay. The harbor can best be described as a driveway with an island in the middle.

I immediately spotted a black concrete piling floating in the water, hung up on a couple of wood pilings by the island. The piling was about 16″ in diameter and 20′ long, covered with a black rubber-like material that had barnacles growing on it. The damage to the boat was consistent with hitting an object of this configuration, which lead me to conclude that this was without a doubt what we had run into earlier in the day.

The incident was reported to the US Coast Guard and I sure hope they located and removed it. If a power boat would have hit this piling at high speed, it could have been fatal.

The lesson learned for me is to be more aware of what might be in front of my vessel as I navigate the Bay, especially when on a powerboat. I sure hope that you do the same.

Let’s go sailing again soon!

Magnus | Team Paradise Executive Director

All Sailing Programs Completed!

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.

Sailing with Breakthrough Miami

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.

Veterans Sailing

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:)

City Sailing

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!

Sailing School

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!

Sailing Excursion

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

Sailing with the Siebel Sailors

Pictured above: Blair Overman, John Pearce, Chris Childers, Janel Zarkowsky, Meredith Dart, flanked by Magnus Liljedahl (selfie) and Bob Hurst on the left and Steve Schwartz on the far right.

South Florida is becoming increasingly busy as winter solstice nears. This is when sailboat racers from around the world come to visit and have another season of training and competing on Biscayne Bay. No wonder it’s so popular! It’s the warmest metropolitan area within the continental United States.

US Sailing just had a bunch of meetings down here, one of which was the National Coaching Symposium. Among those in attendance were the coaching staff from the new Siebel Sailors Program, which is a new initiative from US Sailing. I realized what great opportunity this was for Team Paradise when the Siebel Sailors Program Manager, Blair Overman, asked if they could test sail our RS Venture.

The following day was Thursday, when we usually have Veterans Sailing, which means that our senior sailing instructor and retired Coast Guard Captain, Bob Hurst, was present. The 4Helm-360 adaptive steering station was installed in one of the boats and we were ready to go when Blair and her team showed up. After a rather short land demonstration we launched the boats and off they went. Bob, Steve Schwartz and I followed in our Castoldi Water Jet safety boat. (BTW Steve is an awesome volunteer who also sails a Laser).

I sure hope that everyone had a good time. It should be noted that had they worn the trapeze harness it would have enabled them to keep the boat flatter and also would have made sitting in the test seat more comfortable. The RS Venture with the weighted center board is great boat for a sailing center. It’s utility friendly and easy to adapt. Come and experience it for yourself!

City Sailing with Little Haiti Soccer

City Sailing continued on Wednesday with 7 kids from Little Haiti Soccersailing with us. Captain Bob Hurst brought the boys out and Liv Keefe, our fabulous U of M student volunteer, had the girls in her boat. It was light, almost calm and the bay was flat. We could follow both boats from shore, so we didn’t find it necessary to use the safety boat. Luckily, they had just enough breeze to return to port.

I always ask the kids if they would like to come back and sail more. If we had the resources needed, we could get the majority of the kids to return. There is a huge supply of kids in Miami-Dade County and we know how to reach them. Keeping them happy is easy! Who wouldn’t want to play on the Bay?

Let’s go sailing soon,

Magnus| Executive Director Team Paradise Sailing

Youth Sailing with Breakthrough Miami

Team Paradise Community Youth Sailing planned on taking 28 precious 5th graders from Break Through Miami sailing on Saturday 11/23. The 4-hour visit was carefully mapped out. There would be two departures using two Sonar and two RS Venture. The group left on shore would attend a S.T.E.M. class and then swap out with the other group and go sailing. 

Team Paradise was stacked with talented sailing volunteers for the occasion. We usually have excellent help, but this time was extra special. The level of help that we had was second to none! All amazing friends with extensive sailing experience, stacked with knowledge, certifications and licenses. How about Nikki Barnes, Team USA 470 sailor and Olympic hopeful? From Ransom Everglades sailing program came Capt. Joseph Joe Logan III (physical education teacher and sailing coach) and Marc Buller (Waterfront Coordinator, USCG  OUPV licensed). Then there was Captain Jennifer Wirth, an ASA instructor with Blue Water Sailing School and also a USCG 100 ton Master Captain’s license holder. There was Cathy Buller,  a PRO Race Committee person and a heck of a sailor. There was David Moore, our own Basic Keelboat instructor (ASA Basic Keelboat certified and US Keelboat Certified). Others were: John de Olazarra, driving the safety boat; Steve Schwartz, Laser sailor; Raul Figueroa, a Blue-water sailor) and last but not least, educator David Furer teaching the S.T.E.M. class (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).

The S.T.E.M. Lesson

Only 12 of the expected 28 kids came to play. Disappointing yes, but as it turned out it was our lucky day. There was no wind in the morning, so we were not able to go sailing as scheduled. Instead, we brought everyone in to the class room for a short presentation by yours truly, followed by the S.T.E.M. lesson by David Furer. Everyone agreed that David did an awesome job. You can tell by the pictures he had everyone engaged!  He performed a series of experiments with air pressure, blowing up plastic bottles and aluminum cans. He even fired of rockets powered by pressurized air. I was concerned that the loud noise of the explosions would draw attention from our neighbors. But as it turned out, the laughter that followed the experiments was enough for them to understand that we were just having fun while learning.

The Sailing

By the time we were done with the experiments, the wind had picked up enough for us all to go sailing. It took a while for everyone to line up, mostly because the students were helming for more of a hands on experience. I’m not sure who had more fun, the girls on-board with Nikki, or one of the other teams? The volunteers certainly had fun and so did yours truly.

Our youth sailing experience was delivered in 3-1/2 hours, as planned. Everyone was back on the bus in time for their departure. I give our performance high marks, much because of the outstanding people involved, both volunteers and students. 

BTW Our next event with Breakthrough Miami is on December 14th.

Let’s go sailing soon,

Magnus | Executive Director Team Paradise Sailing

Miami is for me!

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.

Youth Sailing with Legion Park

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

Outreach

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

About our local weather

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.

Let’s not cancel unless we really have to!

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 weather apps

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

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.

Too much wind

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. 

Weekly Veterans Sailing

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

Veterans Sailing Information

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.

Sailing Is What We Do

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.

Veterans Pathway To Sailing

City Sailing with Jose Marti Park

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!

Columbus Day Regatta LXIV

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

Teams RED, WHITE and BLUE

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

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”

— David Caras | Disabled Veteran and Jib Trimmer onboard Team RED

Onboard Team RED

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

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

FIRST

Team RED 07 1+1 = 2p
Laura Root, Riverview, FL
Thomas Chase, San Antonio, TX
David Caras, Saint Petersburg, FL
Magnus Liljedahl, Miami, FL

SECOND

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)

THIRD

TEAM WHITE: 810 6+2 = 8p
Duane Smith, Homestead, FL
Michael Stevens, Miami, FL
Fritz Muller, Miami Shores, FL

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We say: Thank you!

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!

Too windy for sailing

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.

After school sailing with City of Miami Parks & Rec

The days are getting shorter and the record high temperatures are giving in to more pleasant conditions. Summer is turning into Fall and before we know it, the Holiday season will be upon us.

Another sign of Fall is when kids from City of Miami Parks & Rec’s after school program come and sail with us on Wednesdays. The program spans ten weeks and the kids come from ten different parks located within the City of Miami. It’s the sixth year that Team Paradise has the honor of serving this very precious population.

Wednesday was particularly fun because the weather was super nice and the kids were exceptional. The experience that we have gained through our Summer Camp with the Bay-Play curriculum makes us very confident taking kids out sailing.

On this particular day, I asked the kids as usual: how many of you can swim if you can’t touch bottom? All seven kids said that they were swimmers. Five kids teamed up with me in the RS Venture while the remaining two kids went Sonar sailing with our ace volunteer skipper, Charles Nethersole and two counselors from the Park.

We sailed across the Bay to the west point of Key Biscayne, my favorite spot in Biscayne Bay. I’m not sure who had more fun, the kids or me. The journey was documented along the way and the video that was made gives you an idea of the fun we had. The sail back to port was fantastic. A prefect reach with gennaker and plenty of apparent wind made us all smile.

Out of the seven kids, all of them would like to come back and sail with us again. How can we make it possible? Please know that we receive no income from this program. There is no fee charged for providing this transformative and awesome experience. It’s only made possible through your generosity.

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.