Update from Team Paradise September 1, 2010

Winning the Blind Nationals!

Greetings!

It is with great excitement that I share this Newsletter with you. I just made it back to Miami after winning the Blind Nationals in Newport, RI. It was a great regatta and we learned a lot. You can read more about it below.

We are gearing up for a busy season in Florida. As a "sneak" preview, I can tell you that we are starting a Sailing Academy this Fall in Miami. In a partnership with Shake-A-Leg, Team Paradise will operate an advanced sailing school using our Sonars and 2.4mR to teach anyone willing to learn, disabled or not. The programs are designed to generate additional income to help cover some of our expenses and help to support our mission. Our fleet will also be available for Bareboat Charter to anyone certified to take them out. Pricing will be very attractive so why own a boat if you can rent one? Read more about our latest development below and stay tuned for a press-release in the beginning of October.

Thanks for Your Support,

Magnus Liljedahl

Head Coach/Founder

Content

Winning the Blind Nationals

Fleet Report

Jen French Update

Coach Boat Needed!

Winning the Blind Nationals

Florida Team wins with 8 "bullets"
Florida Blind Sailing Team

Being part of the winning team at the 2010 Blind National Sailing Championship in Newport, R.I. was very special. I t was about as fulfilled and rewarding as it gets. These blind men and women are awesome and very inspirational to be around. It is a growing sports and I'm blessed to be a part of the development. Blind Sailing is like a college football game, awesome moves and fabulous plays are being traded with obvious errors. No lead is big enough and anything can happen and it happens quickly. The intensity and competitiveness is fierce and like any other sailing event, the most prepared teams usually does the best.
Read full report

Fleet Report

A couple of our Sonars and our entire 2.4mR fleet had indoor storage for the Summer. They are soon ready to be brought back to our water front facility in Miami. Sonar #711 is still being campaigned by Team Ricky Doerr in New England. The remaining Sonars have been stored on site at Shake-A-Leg. Our SKUD18s are based in Tampa where JP Creignou, Jen French and Phil Smithies head up the activities. Hull #004 is soon to be converted to meet the new class rules. We are developing new state-of-the-art adaptive equipment for the Sonar program. I have located a shop to build it all and the drawing will be finalized soon.

Jen French

Follow the journey of Jen French, Cleveland FES Center research participant, in her "Stand by Me" journal. Jen participates in the Stand & Transfer Program for Spinal Cord Injury and will receive an upgraded FES system for trunk control and stand/transfer.

Help!

Coach Boat Needed

The Zodiac 650PRO coach boat that Team Paradise has had access to for the past couple of years is no longer available to us. The owners wanted the boat back since their situation has changed. We are now in dire need of a substitute. It needs to be a soft sided boat so that we can safely get people on and off other boats. Any ideas?

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Please consider us for a 501 (c)(3) tax deductible donation before. I's a worthy cause. No donation is too small or too large. We could not operate without you.
Team Paradise Sailing, Inc. is a a Florida Nonprofit Corporation with 501(c)(3) IRS Designation

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