Sailing staff

  Tom Sitzmann, Sailing Director

Tom Sitzmann is returning for his 4th season leading our program. A lifelong sailor, educator, and coach, Tom Sitzmann has amassed a diverse range of sailing and professional experience. In addition to excelling in one-design racing and professional sailing, he has extensive coastal and blue-water experience, ranging from cruising and racing along the East Coast to completing a transatlantic crossing. A graduate of Tufts University, where he was a member of the ice hockey team, he served as an assistant sailing coach at both Tufts and Dartmouth College. He later coached both offshore and dinghy sailing at the US Naval Academy and served as the Head Intercollegiate Coach at Bowdoin College. Currently the Head Sailing Coach at Severn School, Tom has led his teams to 17 National Championship podium finishes, earning six National Championship titles, including the 2023 Baker Team Race and 2008, 2024 Mallory Fleet Racing titles. In 2023 and based on their record, Severn School was named the US High School Sailing Team of the Year.

       Tomas Guaragna, Opti Race Coach

Tomas is an Argentinian sailing coach with almost 10 years of coaching experience. In addition to founding and running his own sailing school to the point of developing a competitive optimist race team, an ILCA and windsurfing program, he is a Argentinian Optimist National Coach, with great experience at IODA and international events. He has trained sailors who qualified for IODA events, and privately coaches high performance Optimist and ILCA. He was a top Opti sailor himself before transitioning to the ILCA, where he has podium finishes in the ILCA South American Championships. In 2024 Tommy was part of PYC as the Head Opti Coach, building a strong race team who achieved good results and podiums in regional events such as Opti Maine States and participated in National level championships too, with one sailor qualifying for Team Trials. 

      Facundo Olezza, 420 Race Team Coach

Portland Yacht Club is proud to welcome Facundo Olezza, a two-time Olympian and internationally respected performance coach, as our new Head 420 Race Coach. Facundo brings more than a decade of elite coaching and racing experience across multiple Olympic and youth classes, including extensive work developing top-level i420 teams.

A native of Argentina, now based in Valencia, Spain, Facundo has coached high-performance 420 sailors at the national and international level. His work includes leading advanced tactical and technical clinics, serving as a private coach at Real Club Náutico de Valencia, and helping guide Carlos & Nacho Balaguer to the 420 European Championship title. He also coached Argentina’s top youth 420 teams to multiple top-10 finishes on the world stage, including 3rd, 5th, and 8th place internationally from 2015–2017.

As an athlete, Facundo has competed at the highest levels of the sport, representing Argentina in the Finn class at both the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, finishing 9th and 6th respectively. His racing résumé also includes podium finishes at youth world championships, European championships, and top-tier events across the 420, Finn, ILCA, Star, RC44, and Etchells classes. We are thrilled to have him leading our expanding 420 race program and shaping the next generation of PYC athletes.

      Renzo DiClerico, Opti Green Fleet Coach

Welcome back Renzo! From the age of seven to fifteen, I sailed at the Club Regatas de San Nicolás, participating in every national championship available and in the International Sailing Weeks in Mar del Plata. During my peak in Optimist, I competed in the South American qualifiers and achieved strong results. After completing my Optimist stage, I continued sailing in Laser for a few months only for fun, as well as practicing windsurfing, wakeboarding, and briefly venturing into the 29er class. In 2017, an opportunity arose at my club to train beginner-level sailors. I started on a trial basis, but I was soon confirmed as a coach due to my ability to connect with both the children and their families, clearly explaining the basics and fundamentals of Optimist. Currently, I am excited to gain new experiences in different cultures. My goal is to continue developing young sailors and growing professionally. I am ready to give my 100% and truly grateful for the opportunity that Tom Sitzmann and the Portland Yacht Club are providing me this year.

       Martin Reutemann, Head Adventure Coach

Martin is a passionate and accomplished sailing coach with a strong background in competitive windsurfing, wingfoiling, and youth development. He also has a strong background teaching basic sailing, often in J/24's. Originally from Argentina, Martin brings over four years of experience coaching beginner and intermediate sailors at his own sailing school, where he also introduced and leads wingfoiling instruction. A Level 1 Certified Coach by World Sailing, he has worked closely with national coaches, helping train Argentina’s Youth Olympic Team in the IQ Foil class. As a competitor, Martin is a multi-time Argentine and South American Champion in the Bic Techno 293 class, and continues to compete at the highest levels in Formula Foil and IQ Foil. In 2023 and 2024, he coached athletes to top results at the South American Championships and helped Team Argentina qualify for the World Sailing Youth Championships. Currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration, Martin is excited to join the coaching staff at Portland Yacht Club this summer and share his love of sailing with the next generation.

     Isabela Kidric, Adventure Coach

PYC Youth Sailing is hiring!

Portland Yacht Club, Falmouth, Maine, continues it's path toward sailing excellence, and seeks motivated, experienced, and enthusiastic SAILING COACHES Summer 2026 and beyond. We are working hard to create a next-level competitive program, along with a first-rate basic sail training program and have plans to support it going forward. Last summer, we added 6 NEW Simmons c420's, 20 NEW McLaughlin Optmists, and 2 Ribcraft RIBS to our existing fleet of 30 Optis, 2 Colgate 26's 15 420's, 3 i420's,nd 8 Prams.

Please contact us to learn more   junior.director@pycme.net