Several classes were scheduled to race this weekend, including the J-24, Snipe, Ilca, Sunfish, and Finn. The US Sailing Center was very busy. The weather forecast for today called for sustained winds above 20kt. It was predicted earlier in the week, so it was no surprise. 

When planning a successful day, it's often best to figure out what can go wrong first! My risk assessment was easy to make. Boats would capsize, sails could rip, and masts could brake, but we would survive. There was no significant, solid benefit to going sailing today…

Several classes were scheduled to race this weekend, including the J-24, Snipe, Ilca, Sunfish, and Finn. The US Sailing Center was very busy. The weather forecast for today called for sustained winds above 20kt. It was predicted earlier in the week, so it was no surprise. 

When planning a successful day, it's often best to figure out what can go wrong first! My risk assessment was easy to make. Boats would capsize, sails could rip, and masts could brake, but we would survive. There was no significant, solid benefit to going sailing today…

Today was a beautiful day for sailing on Biscayne Bay. The warm temperatures and moderate winds made it a pleasant experience. Although the kids from the Camillus House Verde Gardens housing project couldn't make it due to transportation issues, we had good attendance from both coaches and our regular students. 

Coach Josh led the intermediate group, sailing the RS Fevas as usual. The rest of us stayed with the beginners in the RS Ventures. It's interesting to observe how the beginners are improving and catching up to the intermediates and how some intermediates are becoming skilled enough to belong to a more…..

Today was great in Paradise! The kids returned their homework and began the day with a written test on parts of the boat and sails. While we were sailing, Ms Susan reviewed their work, and at the end of the day, she gave everyone small rewards. Weather conditions were ideal: sunny with blue skies and breezy. Despite the small craft warning, none capsized, and everyone stayed upright. Sailing skills have come a long way. The new RS Venture sails look good and are a significant upgrade. Our new compact VHF radios, so generously donated, provide for much better safety. Ten units with private channels enable us to communicate between the Ventures, coach boat, and propeller-less safety boat without anyone listening in or interrupting our messages. Despite a few kids not attending, we had a sizeable group. Camillus House added one new student to the program. As such, she is required to perform our water-comfort test. At first, she hesitated to jump in despite the shallow clear water and sandy….

The first Saturday of the SYS Spring session was postponed for a week due to "nuking" wind conditions a week ago, The first Saturday of the SYS Spring session was postponed for a week due to "nuking" wind conditions a week ago, but it happened today. We had a smaller group of kids because of spring break and the Easter holiday. Our students from Vera Gardens could not attend due to transportation issues. Nevertheless, today was an extra special day for us. The RS Fest is going on in Regatta Park. It's the first-ever multi-class RS event in North America. Team Paradise entered the regatta with one RS Feva, but they could only compete for one day. The rest of our team used our RS Ventures to sail around and watch the racing. ..

In progress….….

In progress….….

Today, we had 17 kids and seven coaches on the water. The wind was southerly, 10-15kts. We rigged both RS Ventures and four Fevas. Mo and John coached the intermediates using the Boston Whaler. They set a windward-leeward course, and the kids had a blast. They kept going around and around. They seemed to do better with each lap, and there was no quitting. Joe, Leo, and I followed the beginners aboard our propeller-less safety boat. Also aboard was Shuntae, a program director for Cammilus House Vera Gardens. Each of the RS Venture had 470 sailors skippering. Anna and Liam are their names. We are super stoked to have them come and volunteer….

At Team Paradise, we are one happy bunch of people! Every weekend brings challenges in one form or another. But no worries, everything worked out by day's end, and everyone was smiling. Today, we were shorthanded in the coaching staff. If there is a will, there is a way; Jian stepped up as usual, Mo returned, and Joe has not missed a day. Yours truly was assigned to an RS Venture, and so was Jian...

Today, we marked half-time for our Saturday Youth Sailing winter session. Four events are completed, and there are four more to come. Sailing today was completely different from last week. We had light air and a fair bit warmer temperatures. Sixteen students came to sail and have fun in the sun. Jian and Marite skippered the RS Ventures; we also had two Fevas sailing, one with Adrian and Gabriel and the other with Ale and Noah. It was a super busy day with racing in several classes….

Yesterday was another breezy day in paradise! The forecast was for 10 to 15 kt SE winds with gusts to around 20 kt. Bay waters a moderate chop. We had twenty-six people on the water, including twenty kids, five coaches, and one assistant coach. Susan remained land-based as usual, heading up our central command….

The past week proves that the weather forecast is often incorrect. Some people ask me what the weather will do on a given day. I usually say, “I can tell you tonight accurately.” It hurts when we cancel and later realize we could have sailed. Team Paradise canceled events on Wednesday due to windy and chilly weather predictions. We probably could have sailed. Our corporate regatta on Thursday had ideal wind….

Today was our season premiere for Saturday Youth Sailing. We have three sessions scheduled for 2024: winter, spring, and fall. Each session has eight lessons on Saturdays between 11 AM and 3 PM. Our motto is Safe, Fun, and Learning.

Following professional sports in the media teaches a lot about attitude, effort, and what it takes to win. We are not competing, but internally we aim to improve and do better each and every time we sail. It amazes me how professional sports teams often do not have their top players healthy, but they must play, and they still win. How is that possible? The answer is that they have an identity imprinted; it’s about the next man up, adjusting the game plan, and never giving up. At Team Paradise, we have copied tour his attitude. Today wasn’t easy; we were short of coaches, it was pretty windy, and we expected a record number of participants. No problem……

About 800 kids came to race in the Orange Bowl Youth Regatta this year. The Coral Reef Yacht Club did an excellent job hosting the event. The Opti was by far the largest class. They were divided into two circles: The Opti Green (beginners) sailed closer to home, while the Opti Red, Opti White, and Opti Blue sailed further east. Also competing were the Club 420 on a circle a bit further south and then the ILCA class on the southernmost circle. The ILCA was divided into ILCA 4, ILCA 6, and ILCA 7……

Today was our final lesson of Saturday Youth Sailing in 2023. It was a make-up day for the event we had to cancel in October. The Verde Gardens kids did not attend, so we only had eight students.

The day began with coach Josh teaching in the classroom and reviewing pictures and videos. They proceeded to rig four RS Fevas and headed out sailing. We had many coaches for the day, so Marite, Mo, Joe, and I took this rare opportunity to check out some of the ongoing sailboat racing. First, we passed by the Melges 20 fleet, then the Star boat regatta. That’s the boat type that yours truly sailed for many years (four decades, to be exact). We had so much fun! On our way back to port, we checked in with Josh and the students, taking more pictures and cheering them on…

Today was another great day for sailing! The Camillus kids returned from Vera Gardens, but sadly, most of our intermediate sailors were absent. No worries, we adjusted our float plan accordingly and used both our RS Ventures and one RS Feva. Josh and Mo were coaching the RS Feva while coach Joe and I observed from the safety boat. Coach Marite and Sarajane (our guest coach for the day) taught aboard the RS Ventures. The offshore breeze was shifty and puffy….

Today, we began class with student voice. We checked in with every student on their desires for the day. The good news is that everyone wanted to sail. None wanted to make a stop at a sandbar. We rigged three Feavas and one RS Venture. Our goal became sailing to the Westpoint of Key Biscayne and back. The NE wind made it a long sail tacking upwind. By the time we got there, we turned around and sailed back.

Today was extra special! Bill Johns, the University of Miami sailing coach, sent us a couple of members of the UM Sailing Team to come and tutor our sailors. How about that? It has been a dream of mine for a long time. Like all of our relationships, it’s a win-win situation. Our students get to sail one-on-one with these incredible athletes and learn from them. For the UM students, it creates an opportunity to give back to the community and gain valuable real-life experience. Let’s hope we can keep this going because it makes perfect sense!

It was pretty windy today! How about 16-26 Knots from N-E? That is what we had. Perhaps it was a good thing that our sailors from Vera Gardens did not attend. We would have managed either way. Similar to the previous session, everyone sailed, and none rode in the safety boat. To my surprise, only one boat capsized. That is remarkable……