A Coconut Grove nonprofit that puts children with autism, veterans and families on sailboats and kayaks regardless of physical ability serves more than 8,800 people a year, and Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay families can sign up for programs that run seven days a week.

Shake-A-Leg Miami operates from a restored 1932 Coast Guard seaplane hangar at 2620 S. Bayshore Drive, about 15 miles north of Palmetto Bay. Its campus is fully wheelchair accessible, from the parking lot to the dock, with removable ramps for boarding and a fleet of stabilized kayaks, ergonomic paddles and sailboats fitted with adaptive chairs.

Founder's own injury inspired accessible sailing program in 1990

President and co-founder Harry Horgan suffered a spinal cord injury in a car accident in Newport, Rhode Island, in the early 1980s. He launched the organization in 1990 alongside his wife, Susie, and neurosurgeon Dr. Barth Green, according to a Caplin News report from the nonprofit's April Autism Bay Day event.

"Sailing programs existed, but they weren't accessible or inclusive, so I wanted to create a space where people of all abilities could participate and feel part of it," Horgan said at that April event.

Weekly sailing, summer camps and Autism Bay Day serve hundreds

The organization now runs more than 14 inclusive programs. For families with school-age children, the We Can Sail program pairs kids with disabilities with trained high school mentors every Saturday during the school year for half-day sessions of sailing, kayaking and fishing. Parents are invited on the water alongside their children.

Summer camps serve more than 300 youth each summer through the Marine Academy and Adventure Island programs. The Autism Bay Day program, held Sundays, draws about 60 people per event, with a boat captain dressed as Jack Sparrow guiding families around Biscayne Bay on a 40-foot Pearson pontoon boat.

Volunteer Cynthya Lopez, who has two autistic sons, began bringing her children to Shake-A-Leg three years ago and started volunteering last year. She told student journalists at the April event that after seeing firsthand how inclusive the program is, "I knew we had found the right place."

Grants fund adaptive equipment, vocational training expansion

Shake-A-Leg secured a $193,000 grant from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation in November 2024 for adaptive equipment and a $50,000 grant from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation in March 2025 to expand its vocational training program for people with paralysis. In 2022, the city of Miami renewed the nonprofit's waterfront license for 25 more years.

The interview with Horgan, published Thursday, Aug. 13, by disability-community advocate Victor Antunez on his Miami Autism Dad platform, is also available on YouTube.

Families can reach Shake-A-Leg at 305-858-5550 or shakealegmiami.org. The We Can Sail program resumes Saturdays when the school year begins.