Meet Our Coaches

For more than 50 years, The Key Biscayne Yacht Club’s youth sailing program has been dedicated to coaching and empowering the next generation of competitors and sailing enthusiasts. We offer a spectrum of individual and team training programs for kids from grade school through high school. We are proud of our "alumni" who have gone on to compete and win at national, international, and Olympic levels. That being said, we are thrilled to announce our new adult sailing program!

The Key Biscayne Yacht Club also sponsors several races and regattas throughout the year, including the Southeast Dinghy Championship, the Key Biscayne Yacht Club Annual Regatta, and the Commodore Ed Wilman Memorial Round the Island Regatta.

Pedro Mascarenhas

Sailing Program Manager / ILCA Head Coach

Pedro Mascarengas is an experienced Brazilian sailor and sailing coach. With over 34 years of experience in the sport, Pedro has an extensive track record of success as both an athlete and a coach, excelling in various national and international competitions. In addition to his passion for sailing, he has a strong academic background, holding an Executive MBA in Finance and an Executive MBA in Business Management, as well as a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration.

Pedro began his coaching career in 1996 and has since gained extensive experience training young sailors and high-performance teams. His key roles have included positions as Head Coach at the Rio Yacht Club in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and as a coach at the Coral Reef Yacht Club, Palmer Trinity High School and USODA. Pedro is currently the Sailing Manager and ILCA Head Coach at Key Biscayne Yacht Club in Miami. His work involves preparing teams for major championships, such as the ILCA World Championships and continental Optimist championships, where he has achieved impressive results with athletes across various categories.

As a sailor, Pedro has also achieved remarkable accomplishments, competing in classes such as Optimist, Snipe, ILCA, and J70, with titles that include Brazilian Championships and participation in World and continental championships. His expertise has led him to coach international competitions, representing U.S. teams in events such as the Optimist South American and North American Championships and the ILCA World Championships.
In addition to his work in sailing, Pedro has gained corporate experience, holding positions in finance and business development at several companies. This combination of sports and corporate skills makes him a versatile and dedicated professional, committed to developing young sailing talents and pursuing continuous improvement in the sport.

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Caio Gerassi

ILCA Coach

Caio is from Ilhabela - Brazil. He has been sailing professionally and competing for 25 years. In his career in racing he has accumulated more than 40 podiums. Counting nationals and internationals regattas sailing laser, holder, snipe and Finn. He recently was top 3 in Finn north american and top 19 on finn worlds 2023. He also sailed professionally keel boats, where he accumulated around 40 podiums. He sailed boats such as j70, hpe25, ilc40, farr40 and tp52. The tp52 he was part of the Brazilian team in the gran prix 2018 sailing with big names such as Robert Scheidt, Jorge Zarif, Andre Fonseca and others. Caio has also coached in Brazil for 5 years on Laser, snipe and optimist. Some top results as coach were 4th in snipe youth worlds and Optmist world champion where Caio was one of the coaches that Alex (the champion) had.

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Bernart Gali Bou

ILCA Coach

Coach Bernat Gali Bou hails from Barcelona, Spain, where he competed in Optis and ILCA’s at the highest level of sailing. An avid competitor since he was 8yrs old, Bernat has an impressive track record in both fleets, although it was in the ILCA class where Bernat excelled the most with two National Championships titles, several top 20 finish at Worlds and Europeans, and an intense but brief pre Olympic career with the Spanish Olympic Development Program.

When he switched to coaching full time, Bernat developed an even stronger passion for the sport. After capping off his coaching career in Spain with many of his sailor’s achieving podiums in Optis and ILCA’s, both at National and International level, Bernat started his international career coaching the Myanmar ILCA National Team, followed by a year tenure in New Zealand coaching a number of fleets, a short collaboration with the Icelandic National Sailing Team and quick Summer gig in Connecticut before landing in Houston to take over the nationally recognized Lakewood Youth Sailing Program as the Head Opti Coach in 2015.

Since then, fast forward to this day, Bernat is the Performance Optimist Coach at Coral Reef Yacht Club, a position he’s had for the last three years. Over the past 9 years, Bernat has an impressive coaching record that includes podiums at many IODA events, National Championships, many USODA events won and an incredible number of sailors qualified for the USNT. He’s coached in several International competitions in Holland, Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Spain, Argentina, USVI, Mexico, Canada and Antigua, to name a few, and has attended 5 IODA events in the past three years, including 3 IODA Worlds.

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Valentina Serigos

Green Fleet Coach

Valentina Serigos is an agricultural engineer with extensive experience in both small boats and keelboats, and specialized on high-performance sailing data analysis using tools like SailNjord and Sail Cloud. She represented Argentina at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games (6th place, Bic Techno 293) and competed in multiple ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships with top finishes. Valentina began her sailing career in the Optimist class, later competing in the 29er class as a helm, and excelling in windsurfing with numerous podium finishes in South American and international championships. In keelboat racing, she has participated in prestigious events such as the Rolex South Atlantic Circuit (1st place, Classic Boats Week), Bacardi Invitational Cup, and has been a crew member in IC37, J70, Melges24, Etchells, and 12 Meter classes.

Valentina is certified as Small Boat Level 1 Instructor (US Sailing) and Kitesurf Instructor (International Kitesurfing Organization).

Combining her technical background in engineering with her passion for sailing, Valentina brings a unique and multifaceted perspective to KBYC.

Salvatore Casciola

Lime Green LTS

Salvatore Casciola was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, before moving to the United States in 2012. Currently a senior in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program at Coral Gables Senior High School, he is set to graduate with the class of 2025.

Salvatore’s passion for sailing began upon his arrival in Miami, where he spent nearly 12 years at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club (CGSC). Coming from a family deeply rooted in the sport, his father coached the Argentina Olympic Youth Team for the 2010 Singapore Games, and his sister is a Green Fleet coach at CGSC. Salvatore competed in the Optimist class at a national level, particularly during the COVID-19 period.

After transitioning from Optimist sailing, he pursued his other passion—youth soccer—playing at the first-division level and representing the state of Florida in regional and national competitions. Unfortunately, a knee injury forced him to step away from soccer, leading him back to sailing in a new capacity.
Salvatore began coaching C420s at CGSC, serving as both a development coach and an assistant racing coach. In this role, he applies his extensive knowledge of sailing fundamentals and competitive racing to develop young sailors. Dedicated to fostering a love for the sport, he looks forward to seeing the next generation thrive on the water.

Carlos Beckmann

Windsurfing & Foiling Head Coach

Carlos Beckmann has been passionate about sailing since the age of five and has been windsurfing for the past four years. With over a year of experience coaching windsurfing at BBYC, he is dedicated to sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm for the sport with others.