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

blew-byou

Sailing excursion with Kerry Gruson

It was great to be out sailing with Kerry Gruson again. It’s been too long, Kerry used to own a Sonar named Blew Byou, and we sailed a lot together on Biscayne Bay. For the most part, it was aboard our competing boats…….

More about Kerry Gruson

Kerry is the co-founder of ThumbsUp International.org

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/vitality/202109/near-death-thriving-case-history-hope

Orange Bowl 2022

Orange Bowl 2022

Eleanor was nominated for her perseverance and toughness in her first regatta since suffering an injury at the Atlantic Coast Championship in October. Lara Dallman-Weiss selected Eleanor and presented her with the award during the Tuuci OBIYR award ceremony on December 30th.

During the award ceremony, Lara remarked, "It was an absolute honor to announce the 2022 Magnus Liljedahl Sportsmanship Award recipient. Eleanor Moore exemplified courage in many ways: after breaking her arm while helping a parent at the boat ramp, she gave her boat to another competitor with a damaged boat. Thinking of others while injured shows sacrifice, inclusiveness, and bravery. The sport of sailing must encourage our community to be happy for others'’ success; it is completely possible to teach and lift each other up and still be the fastest boat on the race course!" Congratulations Eleanor!

Give Miami Day 2022

Give Miami Day 2022

Team Paradise did well at the Give Miami Day this year! When bonus pools are added, we will likely exceed our expectations by an estimated 7%. This is not the only good news, we had 56 unique donations, which puts us in 8th place in the Health & Wellness category for ‘Small Business’. All numbers are new highs for Team Paradise.

The Siebel Sailors Program S3-Ep5

Intermediate Sailors

Beginner Sailors

Speed-up Learning!

For both beginners and intermediates, please visit our online classroom and learn more. Our time together is so limited together. Parents, please encourage your kid(s) to visit our classroom.

The Siebel Sailors Program S3-Ep4

Intermediate Sailors

Beginner Sailors

Speed-up Learning!

For both beginners and intermediates, please visit our online classroom and learn more. Our time together is so limited together. Parents, please encourage your kid(s) to visit our classroom.

The Siebel Sailors Program S3-Ep3

Intermediate Sailors

Beginner Sailors

Speed-up Learning!

For both beginners and intermediates, please visit our online classroom and learn more. Our time together is so limited together. Parents, please encourage your kid(s) to visit our classroom.

The Siebel Sailors Program S3-Ep2

The Siebel Sailors Program S3-Ep2

What’s different this fall session is that our sailors are the same kids each and every Saturday Afternoon. It’s nice to get to know one other better and build comradery. Today we made sure to learn everyone’s nickname (as you can see in the picture). Thirteen kids came sailing with us. Our coaching staff consisted of Marite, Mo, Aryan, Natasha, and yours truly. We used two RS Ventures, and 1 RS Feva, The Castoldi safety boat, and the Boston Whaler coach boat.

The Siebel Sailors Program: S3-Ep1

The Siebel Sailors Program: S3-Ep1

Welcome to another school year of the Siebel Sailors Program! It marks our third year in the program. Eight Saturdays are scheduled between now and mid-November. Our focus on teaching kids how to sail is the main goal. In order to continue, we expect each and every one who joined to be present every Saturday. During the afternoon beginner class, we will be following US Sailing’s Small Boat Beginner Curriculum, and during the morning intermediate class, we will adhere to US Sailing’s Small Boat Intermediate Curriculum. We will be tracking each sailor’s skills development accordingly. It is not expected that everyone will pass the skill requirements in eight weeks, but we do hope that all skills will be introduced, in progress, and about 30% completed.

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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!”