Sander Block remembers feeling frustrated. He can still recall the tears.<\/p>\n
Block, a Coconut Grove resident, was just 10 when he competed in his first Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta.<\/p>\n
On a windy day, Block\u2019s boat capsized, and he wasn\u2019t strong enough to get the vessel righted. When his coach jumped in to help, Block\u2019s race was over.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was sobbing,\u201d Block said. \u201cI was upset. I was inexperienced at the time, and I spent most of that day getting flipped over. It wasn\u2019t fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Credit Block with perseverance, however, as he came back the next day, finishing a race in seventh place.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat meant the world to me,\u201d Block said. \u201cSomewhere there\u2019s a picture of me smiling with my parents right after that race.\u201d<\/p>\n
There have been a lot of smiles since then for Block \u2013 now a 16-year-old sophomore at Ransom Everglades School in Coconut Grove \u2013 as well as for his contemporaries in the vibrant Coconut Grove youth-sailing scene.<\/p>\n
In fact, two local members of the Grove\u2019s Coral Reef Yacht Club have qualified for the 2025 Youth Sailing World Championships, set for Dec. 15-19 in Vilamoura, Portugal.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Xydas and Alexandra \u2018Coco\u2019 Kolaya, both 16 and students at Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, won a national championship last month in the 420 class at the Lauderdale Yacht Club in Fort Lauderdale, qualifying for Portugal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really exciting to qualify,\u201d said Xydas, a Coconut Grove resident who is also on the U.S. Youth National Windsurfing Team. \u201cCoco and I weren\u2019t the favorites, but we had a strong and competitive boat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe probably won\u2019t be the favorites in Portugal, either, but we want to sail our best because anything can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Xydas and Kolaya have been sailing together for about 18 months.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve built a special bond,\u201d Xydas said. \u201cOur communication is super important.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to Xydas and Kolaya, Coral Reef Yacht Club members Harrison Gandy and J.P. Panebianco finished second in the 420, qualifying for Portugal.<\/p>\n
Other top youth sailors from Coral Reef Yacht Club who competed in last month\u2019s national championships include Beck Brill, who finished second (ILCA7 class); Connor Karr and Ella Valentina Agnese (fourth place, 420); Block (seventh place, ILCA6); Brayden Zawyer (11th, ILCA6); and Brody Wood (13th, ILCA6).<\/p>\n
So, why is there so much sailing talent in the Grove?<\/p>\n
Xydas believes she knows at least part of the answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can sail year-round here,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are so many places to get on the water \u2013 the Coconut Grove Sailing Club, the Coral Reef Yacht Club, the U.S. Sailing Center\u2026 and I also windsurf at the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maykel Alonso, the head coach for the Coral Reef Yacht Club\u2019s Green Fleet team, has served as an instructor for all the young sailors mentioned above.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, these kids have talent,\u201d Alonso said. \u201cCombined with hard work, they become sailing machines.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond the club programs, there\u2019s the local high-school scene, where sailing has grown immensely over the past decade.<\/p>\n
Ransom Everglades, Gulliver Prep and Westminster Christian have had high school sailing \u2013 to varying degrees \u2013 for years. But, in 2017, LaSalle joined the fray. The next year, Carrollton did the same. MAST added sailing in 2019, and then it was Palmer Trinity in 2021 and Coral Gables this year.<\/p>\n
The growth of school-based sailing in Coconut Grove has created a sort of buzz on the bay, say parents, with formal and informal competitions taking place throughout the year. Indeed, Thursdays on Biscayne Bay \u2013 with weekly racing between area schools \u2014 have become Miami\u2019s maritime version of Friday night high school football.<\/p>\n
But Mike Brill, the father of the aforementioned Beck Brill, said no Florida colleges offer scholarships for males to compete in varsity intercollegiate sailing. The University of Miami, for instance, has sailing only at the less formal \u201cclub\u201d level.<\/p>\n
And yet Beck Brill still hopes to sail in college \u2013 continuing what he started eight years ago \u2013 at one of the out-of-state schools that increasingly view Coconut Grove as an athletic-recruiting hotbed. Among the colleges Brill is considering are Boston College, Tulane and the College of Charleston.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we have the best youth sailors in the country, there\u2019s not a single sailing scholarship available for Beck in the entire state,\u201d Mike Brill said. \u201cOur club sailing programs are so strong that we have families moving down here from New York just so they can sail for the Coral Reef Yacht Club.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just ask John Schoendorf, who is the treasurer of the board of directors for U.S. Sailing, which is the national governing body for the Olympic Sailing team. U.S. Sailing helps to manage and train more than 42,000 members.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t emphasize enough how important sailing is for young people,\u201d said Schoendorf, a Grove resident since 1957. \u201cThe sport teaches these kids how to make decisions on the water without mom and dad around. It develops independence in young people, showing them that they can do things on their own.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing how focused they get while sailing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mike Brill agrees, stating that sailing has been \u201clife changing\u201d for his son.<\/p>\n
As a young kid, Beck Brill was painfully shy. He tried a bunch of sports, but nothing clicked. Even sailing was not an immediate hit with Beck as he would hide in the bathroom when it came time to get on a boat.<\/p>\n
However, once sailing got a hold of him, it never let go.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the past eight years, he hasn\u2019t been to a classmate\u2019s birthday party because he\u2019s always off sailing,\u201d Mike Brill said of Beck, 16.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t go out to parties. He doesn\u2019t get in trouble. Youth sailors generally go to bed early because if they don\u2019t they are going to be exhausted the next day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you sail, you\u2019re in the sun for five or more hours, and you can\u2019t do that if you are tired and hung over. It\u2019s hard to be a partier and a competitive sailor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Christopher Block, the father of the aforementioned Sander Block, calls sailing \u201ca giant metaphor for life\u201d because it combines physical and mental challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about preparation off the water and then quick decision-making while on the boat,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s about perseverance and figuring out how to fix things when conditions are difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cSailing is a complex sport; because you have to adapt to the constantly changing winds. The sport teaches kids how to focus and fend for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Block, who never cared much for sailing as a kid growing up in Coral Gables, said he was surprised when Sander returned from summer camp in Maine one year and announced a newfound love of sailing. The passion grew even deeper after attending sailing camps at Coral Reef Yacht Club.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd here we are six years later, and Sander has gone sailing all over the U.S. and also in countries such as Germany, Italy and the Bahamas,\u201d Christopher said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen my son first told me he wanted to sail, I said: \u2018That\u2019s going to take a lot of time and cost a lot of money.\u2019 That opinion hasn\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the truth is that it has been worth every penny. Sander has had a lot of fun. He has built relationships for life. Sailing has given him structure. It has led to a lot of personal growth. He is now focused on sailing in college.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never saw this coming, but sailing is a great sport.\u201d<\/p>\n