Youth Sailing, STEM
Magnus Liljedahl
SYSTEM S12-E1

Today was the first lesson of the Spring session. Except for a couple of the kids, none had sailed since the end of the Winter session on February 21 st. That is way too long. We all become “rusty” if we don’t sail on a regular basis. Once a week is not enough, but that is all we have, so we make the most of it. A small craft advisory was in effect, and we estimated the wind at about 15-20 mph. Coach Ella was prepared with various land drills, but we decided to go sailing instead and headed out through the Seaplane Channel.

SYSTEM S12-E1
Youth Sailing, STEM
Magnus Liljedahl
SYSTEM S11-E6

With the Olympic opréning ceremony taking place in Italy last night, hosting our own Olympic Day was a great idea. The classroom was decorated with Olympic memorabilia. Olympian Nikki Barnes and her crew, Ryan, and coach Pat Downey were in attendance. giving motivational speeches to all of us.

SYSTEM S11-E6
Youth Sailing, STEM
Magnus Liljedahl
SYSTEM S11-E5

Another cold front was supposed to descend on us today. It would bring rain, thunderstoms and windy conditions. It was suggested that we may need to cancel the day before. Looking at the weather radar this morning, it didn’t look good. The SYSTEM sailors stayed inside the classroom doing lab work, while our Next Level sailors did chalk talks and some land drills.

SYSTEM S11-E5
Youth Sailing, STEM
Magnus Liljedahl
SYSTEM S11-E4

What a Day!

Today was a very good day, perhaps the best day we ever had in our youth sailing program. I know, it's a big statement. We have had many good days before, and I can't remember ever having a really bad day. What made today so extra special was, in no particular order: watching kids who had never skippered a boat before now wanting to sail singlehanded or with any number of crew; and the camaraderie between the kids and the coaches: By now, the coaches are basically our best friends. Susan, our Executive Director, called for a debrief at the end of the day. We all need to stay on top of our certifications, such as Red Cross, SafeSport, and US Sailing; Team Paradise is the only Accredited Community Sailing Program on Biscayne Bay. We are honored to be in the position we are in, and we care about protecting….

SYSTEM S11-E4
Youth Sailing, STEM
Magnus Liljedahl
SYSTEM S11-E3

Despite the lack of wind and cooler temperatures both in the air and water, Team Paradise delivered on a safe and fun-filled day, both on land and on the water. While waiting for the wind to pick up, Coach Ella and Coach Justine had the Next Level sailors teach the SYSTEM kids about the Thin Ice Challenge while the volunteers prepared and launched the sailboats. Eventually, we towed out behind our Boston Whaler and our propeller-less safety boat….

SYSTEM S11-E3
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THE MURAL AT USSC

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THE MURAL AT USSC

The final week of Summer camp belonged to the US Sailing Center - City of Miami Parks Sailing Program. Coach Lauren was new on our volunteer staff, but no stranger to our community. She grew up sailing on Biscayne Bay and fell in love with our sport. It was no wonder that I jumped on her offer to help us for the final week of Summer Camp before heading back to college in Main.

As normal when kids arrive at the US Sailing Center (USSC), we gather on the second-floor breeze-way for an introduction and a float plan of the day. Yours truly prepared a whiteboard and handed it to Lauren saying “if you can improve on this, please go ahead”……

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USSC - City of Miami Parks Sailing

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USSC - City of Miami Parks Sailing

These are exciting times! The US Sailing Center (USSC) chose Team Paradise as their vendor to take the children of Miami out sailing for a Summer Camp experience on the beautiful Biscayne! This week, the USSC hosts 75+ kids from five different parks within the City of Miami. Each day brings 15 unique named kids out for adventure sailing. Only a few of them have any prior boating experience. They love it! Check out the pictures below and see for yourselves:

Summer Camp

Summer Camp

Our Summer Camp is all about having fun while learning how to sail. It begins with water safety and comfort, then moves on towards sailing more and more. The campers spend as little time in the classroom as possible. We follow US Sailing’s small boat beginner student-level skill evaluation and use the scope and sequence parts to build our curriculum. It works really well.

Veterans Sailing

Veterans Sailing

As a program director, the most challenging decision might be when to cancel an event because of inclement weather, or not. The weather forecast is posted by 7 AM daily. Today it looked like very light wind and a big chance of thunder and lightning. Not good! I usually go to the US Sailing Center between 7 AM - 8 AM for a morning workout. It gives me an opportunity to check the skyline and read the wind. It didn’t look good. I send out an email message saying “The weather conditions are iffy at best, today. We may go sailing, or we may not. It will be a last-minute call. Ed and I are here so if you are coming you are most welcome. There is always something to do”. Yet by 10 AM four of the five Veterans who had signed up, showed up. We hangout out together for a while, then the wind picked up a bit, and the radar did not show any approaching weather cells. We decided to launch two Sonar sailboats and go for a sail. The wind was light, but we did get to sail. It’s the worse feeling when I cancel an event when we actually could have gone sailing. It’s like losing a day and it’s disappointing.

The Siebel Sailors Program #19

The Siebel Sailors Program #19

This was the final Siebel Sailors Program for the 2021-2022 school year. We did not waste any time. The kids rigged five RS Fevas, three with main only and two with both main and jib, for double-handed sailing. It was slow sailing out but with the technique they have learned, it was all possible. Coach Ed and I dropped a couple of markers for a windward-leeward course. Everyone looked good and they sailed well. Their progress has been tracked in the Skill-Up App and all passed the test!

Veterans Sailing

Veterans Sailing

There is a lot of good stuff to report from yet another fabulous Veterans sail today: We had the pleasure of adding another unique named Veteran (Paul) to our attendance record; Ed and Mark are continuing to learn how to sail, and they are super stoked about it; We sailed for 3.47-hours today, covering 18.9 Nautical Miles. When Ed was asked about his helming skills he summed it up by saying “I was focused on staying in the groove today”. How about that?

Well done guys. Let’s do it again!

The Siebel Sailors Program #18

The Siebel Sailors Program #18

SIx kids came to sail this morning. An even number of students works great. We used three RS Fevas and sailed double-handed. Everyone did great! The teams stayed close together, sailing up and down, having a blast. We sailed hard for about 1-1/2 hours and then headed back in. A coaching friend of mine was observing us from his apartment. He said: “I can’t believe that you guys were out there this morning, it was pretty windy. Your kids are fast learners!”

The Siebel Sailors Program #16

The Siebel Sailors Program #16

The wind conditions were perfect for continued learning. Not so windy so that everyone would capsize, but windy enough where some do. We had nine students and two coaches, so we decided on double-handed sailing using Four RS Fevas. Teams were established and then send off to prepare the boats. We had a short skippers meeting just before leaving the dock.

The Siebel Sailors Program #14

The Siebel Sailors Program #14

Our regional Siebel Sailors Program coach McKenzie MacGuggin joined our session today. She brought Palm Beach Siebel Coach Jenny with her. It was the perfect timing because we were a bit short-handed. We divided up the teams for two RS Ventures, the Castildo Safety Boat and the Boston Whaler coach boat. The plan was to sail around for a while and then stop at the sandbar. While on our way there, coach McKenzie came on the radio and strongly suggested that we skip the sandbar and head back for a penalty meeting in the classroom.

The Siebel Sailors Program #13

The Siebel Sailors Program #13

Intermediate Sailors - Morning Session

We had 6-sailors participate in the morning session, so we rigged three RS Fevas with main and jib. Today’s drill was to sail Beam-Reach between two markers, clockwise around. The trick is to stay on a straight line between the marks, keeping the spacing between the boats at 2-3 boat lengths. On a whistle, all boats are to trim in and begin sailing a Close-Hauled course. Does this sound like the beginning of racing? (The pictures below have a frame describing the drill).

The Siebel Sailors Program #12

The Siebel Sailors Program #12

Looking at the wind and weather forecast too far in advance can sometimes be intimidating, especially when we know that our coaching staff will be short-handed. I may take a peek at the forecast a few days out, but other than that, my final plan comes about the morning of the event. Coaching sailing is not much different than coaching any other team sport. Who is available to play and who are the coaches to assist me?