Shake-A-Leg Miami
Shake-A-Leg Miami is a nonprofit adaptive watersports center on Biscayne Bay in Coconut Grove, at 2620 S Bayshore Drive near the northern end of Dinner Key. Since 1990 it has used sailing, kayaking and other time on the water to serve children and adults with physical, developmental and emotional challenges, along with military veterans and families from underserved communities.
The organization was founded by Harry Horgan, who was paralyzed in a car crash as a young man in Rhode Island. A ski trip in Colorado, where he said he “forgot I was disabled,” convinced him that recreation could offer the same freedom to others. He conceived Shake-A-Leg in Rhode Island and established it in Miami in 1990.
Programs are split by audience. Young people can attend the Marine Academy summer camp, Adventure Island camp and the We Can Sail program. Adults and veterans have the Seaworthy program, a dedicated veterans program, vocational training and a Sunday social. The center also runs regattas, fishing tournaments, family sailing days, American Sailing Association courses and corporate team-building events that help fund its work. All programs are designed to be accessible to people with any type of challenge, and most are free.
The base itself has history. Shake-A-Leg operates from a 1932 Coast Guard seaplane hangar once used for coastal patrols and search-and-rescue missions. A three-story watersports building with classrooms, offices and an accessible rooftop deck was completed in 2002. The fleet includes about 20 sailboats, 60 kayaks and safety boats, and in 2014 the 60-foot catamaran Impossible Dream became part of the operation.
The organization reports serving more than 8,800 people a year, and summer camp attendance can top 200 children a day, compared with about 25 when it started. It hosted the World Blind Sailing Championships in 1999 and rebuilt after Hurricane Irma damaged the site in 2017. According to Coconut Grove Spotlight, its annual budget of about $2 million comes mostly from private donations. Shake-A-Leg is a 501(c)(3) charity, and volunteers and donors can get involved through its website.
Address: 2620 S Bayshore Dr, Coconut Grove (Miami), FL 33133
Phone: 305-858-5550
Website: shakealegmiami.org
Social: Instagram · Facebook · X