Coaches

The Annapolis Yacht Club's Junior Fleet Program fields an unprecedented world-class lineup of permanent and adjunct coaching talent who are fully able to leverage the Club's impressive array of facilities and amenities.

The program's permanent coaching staff provides consistency to our Junior Sailors. Our coaches routinely invite guest coaches whose coaching styles help forestall the onset of learning plateaus and help us deliver what we believe to be the most complete and experiential racing program in the country.

Each member of our permanent and adjunct coaching staff has excellent and varied credentials ensuring a uniquely valuable experience for every Junior Sailor.

Coaches
- Brianna "Bri" Grenier
  Junior Fleet Director
  Growing up in Beverly, MA, Bri learned to sail at Jubilee Yacht Club going through their Junior Program and weeknight races on her family’s J/24. Until moving to Annapolis, she served on the Regatta Committee and Junior Sailing Committee at Jubilee Yacht Club.
  
  Bri holds a degree in Early Childhood Education as well as numerous education and sailing focused certifications. She has eight years of sailing program management experience, ranging from grassroots non-profit organizations to private yacht clubs. As the past Program Director at Sail Salem, a local non-profit sailing center, she grew the program from free half-day sailing programs to include full-day youth and evening adult programming. Because of its growing reputation, Sail Salem was chosen to host the USODA Opti New England Championships in 2015.
  
  As a seasoned sailing coach from the New England area who has coached college, high school, and private sailing teams, she is a great addition to the professional coaching staff. She has coached at Beverly High School and Pingree High School, taking Pingree to three divisional championships, placing first in her last season of coaching in B Division North. Outside of coaching, she regularly competes in both local and offshore events on J/80s, Rhodes 19s, J/70’s, Lasers and a Columbia 30-2 Sport.
  
  As Junior Fleet Director, Bri is the main point of contact for the Junior Program, managing AYC’s Summer Program, working with our c420/High School Program Manager and Opti Program Manager to manage the spring, fall and winter programs. She can be reached at bgrenier@annapolisyc.org.
  
  Robert “Bobby” Lippincott
  Optimist Program Manager
  Bobby grew up sailing Optis and Penguins at the Tred Avon Yacht Club in Oxford, Maryland. For two years, he was on the Chesapeake Bay Optimist Team (CBOT), and then was asked to join the U.S. Optimist National Team (USNT). In 2006, at the age of 14, he traveled to Lake Garda, Italy, with Team U.S.A. and finished 196th out of 558 Optis.
  
  Bobby attended boarding school at Christchurch School in Christchurch, VA, where his sailing success ramped up in 420s and FJs. In the spring of his junior year, Bobby’s team qualified for two ISSA National Championships. His team sailed its way to a 9th place finish at the National Fleet Racing Championship, the Mallory Cup, in St. Petersburg, FL. In late May, the team finished 7th at the National Team Racing Championship, the Baker Cup, in Redwood City, CA.
  
  Bobby attended Salve Regina University from 2010-2014 and competed as a full-time skipper all four years in the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NEISA), which is one of the most competitive districts in all of college sailing. He sailed a wide variety of boats while living in Newport, RI, from double-handed dinghies such as 420s, FJs, Tech Dinghies, Larks, and Fire-Flies; to keelboats such as Colgate 26s, Ynglings, and Stars; and finally to single-handed dinghies.
  
  Having sailed star boats competitively since 2009, Bobby has attended many prestigious events such as the 2009 Junior ISCYRA’s Western Hemispheres, 8 Sir Thomas Lipton Cup Regattas, 2014 Star North Americans and 2018 Star Worlds in Oxford, MD, and 2016 Star Worlds in Miami, FL. Bobby currently continues his training in the star boat and enjoys sharing his experiences and knowledge with the next generation of youth sailors, starting with the Annapolis Yacht Club’s Opti Racing Program, and reaching out to our high school programs as well.
  
  Having coached Optis for the past 10 years with multiple clubs around the Chesapeake Bay area, including Fishing Bay Yacht Club, Tred Avon Yacht Club, and Severn Sailing Association, Bobby brings experience, Corinthian spirit, and leadership to the AYC Opti Program, continuing to build on a nationally recognized Junior Program for its excellence in sailing instruction and training. He can be reached at rlippincott@annapolisyc.org.
  
  Keenan Hilsinger
  Waterfront Administrator & Interim 420 Program Manager
  Keenan was born and raised in the classic yacht and wooden boat environment of Brooklin, ME. He grew up working in boatyards and sail lofts in the area, and after a successful high school racing career, he enrolled at College of Charleston studying Political Science.
  
  There he joined the Offshore sailing team, becoming a staple sailor in the whole Charleston area. Keenan is our Waterfront Administrator, and is also currently running our top-notch 420 and High School Programs. He is also a very skilled powerboat instructor, and will be running powerboat courses throughout summer in addition to assisting the Jr. Fleet Program. He can be reached at khilsinger@annapolisyc.org.

Summer Coaches

Annapolis Yacht Club maintains an adjunct staff of professional sailing instructors. Each instructor employed by the Club is certified by the United States Sailing Association (US SAILING) for either Level 1 or Level 2 dinghy instruction.

Level 1 Instructors are taught techniques for teaching basic sailing including safe boat operation, instructional sailing drills, and lecture topics. Level 2 Instructors are taught similar skills but with an emphasis on racing. In order to be eligible for certification by US Sailing, instructor candidates must be certified by the American Red Cross in First Aid and CPR.

Adam Werblow Adam has been the Head Coach at St. Mary’s College of Maryland since 1988. During his tenure, the team has amassed 15 national titles, while Seahawk sailors have earned over 150 individual All-America honors. Adam has been the head coach for U.S. Youth Worlds Team eight times and led the team to two gold and two silver medals in 1991, the best record ever at those world championships. In 1999, he was named the Developmental Coach of the Year by the U.S. Sailing's Olympic Sailing Committee. In 2015, Adam was awarded the Graham Hall Award for Outstanding Service by a College Sailing Professional. Adam will be coaching the 420 Race Team.
Ainsley Parramore Ainsley is a rising senior at Eckerd College. She is the women’s A skipper for their sailing team and has been coaching sailing for the past 5 years. This will be her second year at AYC and she’s very excited to return!
Aidan Morgan Aidan is currently at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, where he is majoring in Writing and Rhetoric with a concentration in Journalism. He is also a part of the schools' sailing team, sailing in many events for the colleges over the past two years. He attended Severn School in Severna Park, MD, for high school, where he was a part of the sailing team as well. Aidan sailed on AYC's Club 420 Race Team for four summers. This is his third summer coaching at AYC, and he looks forward to another great summer in Annapolis.
Sarah Alexander Sarah is a member of the University of Southern California's class of 2019. Sarah is from Annapolis, and started sailing at age 5 at the Severn Sailing Association and Annapolis Yacht Club, where she learned to race Optis and Laser Radials at the international level. Sarah has raced Lasers, 420s, and FJs for USC's women's and coed teams, where she served as team captain. She has previously coached at SSA and the California Yacht Club, and is very happy to be coaching lasers for a second summer at AYC!
Nick Salvesen Nick Salvesen is a rising sophomore at the University of Vermont, where he is studying civil engineering and is currently the Freshman Captain of their sailing team. Nick graduated from Annapolis High School in 2018, where he was captain of the sailing team. Nick began sailing at AYC in Optis and continued to sail for AYC in the C420. In high school, Nick and his team won the Keel Boat Nationals in St. Petersburg, Florida. He looks forward to coaching at AYC (his home club) this summer and helping others enjoy the sport he's so passionate about.
KC Galloway KC is a rising senior at Severna Park High School. She has been sailing with AYC for four years on the high school team, and has been coaching for one! She is excited to be back with the sea squirts, and looks forward to a fantastic summer!
Patrick Penwell Patrick grew up in St. Michaels, Maryland, and has been sailing since the age of 7 years old, starting in the optimist class and making his way into the club 420 class, J22, J24, Stars, Chesapeake Bay Log Canoes, and many other keelboats sailing locally on the bay and at the national level. He graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a degree in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics. During his time at URI, Patrick was a member of the sailing team for all 4 years, where he sailed many dinghy and offshore events. He has been coaching for 9 years now from beginner to advanced race team skill level. Patrick is currently an assistant coach for Annapolis Yacht Club's high school sailing program, and will be coaching the Chesapeake 420 race team this summer.
Caroline Bayless Caroline has been sailing for 10 years. She started at AYC and sailed in the Opti for 5 years – locally, nationally and internationally. She then advanced to the Club 420 class, where she sailed competitively on the AYC Race Team. She skippered and crewed gaining various skills. She has also been on the Severn School Varsity Sailing Team for 4 years, and served as the team captain. She enjoys fleet and team racing, and occasionally sails in the Laser class and Keelboats. Caroline served on the Severn School Mock Trial Team for 4 years and the Varsity Swim team for 3 years. She was President of the Red Cross Club and Vice President of her senior class. She is a member of the National Honor Society, as well as the Math and Spanish Honor Societies. Caroline will be continuing her academic and athletic career at Brown University next year.
Carolina Cassedy Growing up in Tampa, Florida, Carolina has spent her summers learning to sail in Ireland and trained on her local optimist and 420 race team. She started sailing optimists across the southeast and internationally at the age of ten. She loves working with kids of all ages and has been instructing at Kinsale Yacht Club and Davis Island Yacht club for four years. She is currently a rising sophomore at Duke University and competes on their club sailing team. She is super excited to join the Annapolis Yacht Club team this summer.
Mitch Powell Mitch will be coaching Chessy 420s this summer. He is currently a student at Florida State University where he is studying Economics. He grew up sailing Optis and Lasers around the southeastern United States. He is a member of the FSU Sailing Team, and he helped take his team to Nationals the past two years in a row. Apart from college sailing, he is also an active member in the Lightning class, and most recently placed 6th overall in the 2019 Lightning Southern Circuit. He has been coaching sailing the past 5 years, and spent the past two summers here at Annapolis Yacht Club. He is looking forward to another great summer here at this amazing program!

Caroline Hugo Caroline is a junior at Severna Park High School. She started sailing Optis at Annapolis Yacht Club when she was 5 years old and has been sailing ever since. This past spring, she joined the Severna Park High School sailing team and had an amazing time. She is very excited for the summer and can’t wait to meet all the sailors!
Stanley Galloway Stanley Galloway is a sophomore engineering student at the University of Pittsburgh and an active member of the Club Sailing Team. After sailing in his community during his childhood, Stanley pursued sailing in Annapolis through AYC's high school and summer programs. Apart from sailing, he spends most of his time with his friends, enjoying the Severn River, and posing next to flowers. Stan is very excited to spend the summer working at AYC doing something he loves and sharing that passion with others.
Delaney Brown Delaney is a rising senior at the University of South Florida studying journalism and history. As the captain of the team for the past three years, Delaney has traveled across the country to compete in intercollegiate events as both a skipper and crew. When not sailing for the bulls, you can probably find her racing J/70's, or writing for the local newspaper. She is excited to return to Annapolis to share her love of the sport and expertise with a new group of sailors this summer as the Green Fleet Coach.
Brady Stagg Brady has been sailing out of Annapolis Yacht Club since he was a junior sailor, first in optimists, and then club and i420's. In the optimist he represented the US at multiple international regattas and was a regular on the US National Team. In the 420 he skippered and crewed, and his junior sailing career ended when he represented the US at a 420 World Championship. In college he was a starter for Old Dominion University and competed at multiple national championships. Since college he has sailed on many keel boats, including GP26s, Farr 40s, Fast 40s, C&C 30s, and J/70s. He has recently gone back to school and is looking forward to a great summer at AYC.