Welcome Aboard, New Lofts & Team Members - August 2022

Quantum Sails Marina Coruña

La Coruña, Spain

ROBERTO BERMUDEZ DE CASTRO MUÑOZ

Sail Consultant
P: +34629615976 
E: chuny@marinacoruna.es

Roberto “Chuny” Bermudez de Castro Muñoz learned to sail with his family at a very young age while growing up in La Coruña, Spain. He enjoyed living by the sea and sailing Optimists. Chuny earned a degree in industrial engineering at the Universidad de Vigo.

Although he wasn’t trained as a sailmaker, Chuny always jumped in to help with repairs. He has fond memories of the hours he helped at his local loft and of repairing sails during his time as an Olympic sailor, around-the-world sailor, and America's Cup competitor. Chuny has been connected with Quantum for years as a customer and learned more about the Star Class from Quantum’s George Szabo and Mark Reynolds and with other expert sailors through the TP52 Super Series.

Now Chuny has settled again in La Coruna with his wife and three children and is excited by his new relationship with Quantum at the A Coruña loft. “I can offer customers in and around our boatyard expertise with many different boats through my experiences, and now I can offer them the technology and experience Quantum has as well. I can be another Quantum waypoint to sailors on their journeys. I love being part of such a great team.”

Carlos Fernandez de Landa

Loft Manager
P: +34 608796120
E: clanda@marinacoruna.es

Carlos Fernandez de Landa grew up in La Coruña, Spain. He learned to sail when he was 10 years old through La Coruña’s Real Club Nautico where he met 15-year-old Roberto “Chuny” Bermudez, who was his sailing instructor. Carlos enjoyed racing Optimists, Snipes, and other dinghies and went on to win a few races. Now Carlos is a fan of cruising around the Galician Rias whenever possible with his wife, three children, and their small dog.

Educated as a civil engineer, Carlos is now focused on his and Chuny’s company, Marina Coruña and giving the best experience and service to a wide range of boats, from dinghies to VOR65s. “We are always improving and looking for the best service and products for our customers. The opportunity to work for Quantum is a personal achievement. Since I was a Snipe sailor, Quantum was at the top for sail performance and quality.”

Christian Fornes

Sail Consultant

Quantum Sails Alaro
P: +34649493354
E: cfornes@quantumsails.com

Christian Fornes started sailing at 11 and joined the youth program at Calanova National Sailing School, where he raced International Cadets, became a sailing instructor at 16, and later progressed to coaching.
He joined the Real Club Náutico de Palma sailing team and had a lot of rides helming and crewing 420s, combining that with sailing three-quarter tonners and IMS yachts. When Christian was 25, he built his own boat in a garage and successfully raced on the Spanish circuit the following years.

After a break for work and family, Christian came back to competitive racing with the Platú 25s and J/80s when one-designs became popular in Spain. He was again hooked with racing and eager to learn more every day. He also has plenty of cruising experience, skippering J/160 Truelove for 10 years all over the Mediterranean, Caribbean and United States coasts.

For the last 10 years, Christian has run his own sail brand in Palma and sails with clients on a wide range of boats, from club racers and classics to superyachts and one-designs. Christian has helped many boat owners implement the best sails and systems for easier and safer handling as well as performance. His mission is to help boat owners and crews step up a level by refining sail handling and tuning rigs and improving performance as well as learning about rating rules advantages.

Leanne Fox

Office Manager

Quantum Sails Alaro
P: +0034 648 677 366
E: lfox@quantumsails.com

Leanne Fox grew up in Northamptonshire County in the South Midlands, UK. Her childhood was spent rambling the countryside, camping, fishing, agility dog training competitions with her mom and dog, and getting greasy under classic cars with her dad. Leanne moved to London when she was 18 years old and started working in sales. After eight years in the city, Leanne decided to take a year off for travel and adventure. It was during her time in the Whitsunday Islands of Australia that Leanne fell in love with sailing and marine life. There was no going back to London.

Leanne then went to Antibes, France, where she secured a delivery crew position on a Wally superyacht built by Concordia, traveling to Norway. She returned to Antibes for day work and training courses.

Leanne’s next position was on a Swan 65/1 based in Saint Tropez. She went on to enjoy eight years within the superyacht industry working on both sail and motor yachts and in such diverse roles as "chief stewardess/crew cook " across the Atlantic on a Perini Navi to "deck hand/tender driver."

Life on the water changed direction when Leanne was offered a land-based opportunity to work in Mallorca for a business that colleagues from her superyacht days were starting. She jumped ashore and started working as a sales specialist for Nauticrew Yachtwear.

Leanne had two children during this time and was living in the village of Alaro on the island of Mallorca, also home to the Quantum Sails Alaro loft. In 2014, Leanne and her partner started a family business renting classic cars and vintage camper vans. It was a great success with the people visiting the island.

In 2020, they sold their business inventory but kept a few vintage VW vans for their personal use. During the Covid quarantine, Leanne concentrated on her family, ultimately homeschooling and sewing. It was during that time that Maela LeCrom, previous office manager of the Quantum Sails Alaro loft, put Leanne in contact with Quantum sailmaker Martin Winter.

“I am thrilled to have this opportunity to re-enter the world of sailing. The support I am receiving is fantastic and learning about the Quantum brand is exciting. I am very happy to be moving out of the driver’s seat, so to speak, and go sailing again!”

Lynsi Gibbons

Sail Consultant

Quantum Sails San Diego
P: 858-525-5081
E: lgibbons@quantumsails.com

From learning to sail at eight years of age to winning the Junior Women’s National Championship (Leiter Cup) at 15, Lynsi Gibbons realized early on that racing was her passion. She fell in love with the sport when sailing as a girl on the Maumee River in Ohio. She started on Optimists, FJs, and Lasers while venturing out with local pros to Interlake, Flying Scot, and Lightning regattas throughout the Midwest. She participated in the Junior sailing programs at Jolly Roger and North Cape Yacht Club throughout her younger days. All the sailing took a toll, and Lynsi decided to take a few years off. After her hiatus, Lynsi taught at multiple yacht clubs, eventually landing in California to teach at San Diego Yacht Club. After a perfect summer of sailing on the San Diego Bay, she decided to move there permanently and has since created a wonderful life with her husband and two kids.

Lynsi has raced competitively in many inshore, offshore, and one-design programs in San Diego. Since 2017, she has volunteered her time in the local racing community as the Cortez Racing Associations' Membership Director. She also keeps busy racing a Beneteau First 40 and her Snipe out of Mission Bay Yacht Club.

Lynsi has over 30 years racing experience as well as extensive knowledge of the sailmaking industry after working for 10 years at North Sails. Now as a Sail Consultant at the San Diego loft, she aims to build stellar customer experiences from the very first engagement. “Quantum customers can expect my very best, most attentive service while I work closely with cloth manufacturers, sail designers, and long-time salespeople to build the right product for any sailing style and sailor,” says Lynsi.

Billy Martin

Sail Consultant

Quantum Sails Annapolis
P: 8563046895
E: bmartin@quantumsails.com

Billy Martin grew up in Riverton, NJ, where, at the young age of four, his family taught him to sail Optimists. After competing at the national level in the Laser Radial during high school, Billy attended Boston University where he studied business administration with a focus in entrepreneurship. Billy competed as skipper on the Boston University Coed Sailing Team for four years and led the sailing team to two top-ten national finishes. After completing his undergraduate studies, Billy coached numerous nationally ranked college teams for 10 years, including as assistant coach at Boston University, assistant coach at University of Pennsylvania, and, most recently, head coach at George Washington University. During his coaching years, Billy mentored over a dozen College Sailing All-American recipients.

Billy loves a variety of sailing disciplines, from one-design fleet racing and team racing to match racing and offshore racing. At Quantum Sails Annapolis, Billy is a client care representative, where his well-rounded sailing career and familiarity with many types of boats and roles will help both new and seasoned sailors to reach their goals. He looks forward to meeting sailors in the Annapolis area and racing on Chesapeake Bay.

Jessy Nees

Service Technician

Quantum Sails Newport
P: 5165894425
E: jnees@quantumsails.com

Jessica “Jessy” Nees grew up in Port Washington, NY. Her family sailed their Frers 33 around Western Long Island Sound or other harbors further along the Sound for overnight trips. As she got older, Jessy joined the Port Washington Yacht Club junior sailing program and began racing Optimists at eight years of age. When she was12, Jessy’s coach, who was from New Zealand, showed her how open the world can become within the realm of sailing. Inspired, Jessy continued to race Club 420s. In her early 20s, Jessy moved to the eastern end of Long Island where she taught yoga and paddleboarding, even mixing the two together. It was when she was teaching junior sailing at Devon Yacht Club in Amagansett that Jessy was able to fuel her passion for the sport to the next generation of sailors.

Jessy has always been drawn to the community aspect of sailing. Many tight-knit relationships and growth and supportive competition are formed and fostered on the water. When she moved to Eastern Long Island, Jessy joined a group of J/70 sailors racing out of Breakwater Yacht Club, where she found not only a fun fleet but also a group that was always up for a chat to discuss events on the water, making sure everyone felt supported to do even better next time around.

Quantum has been part of Jessy’s life since she was a child. Her father was good friends with the local sailmaker, who often raced on his boat and had dinner at the Nees home. Jessy’s first job during high school was at the Quantum loft in Port Washington, where she punched grommets and ripped seams or delivered a finished sail to a client. And 13 years later, she’s joining Quantum again as a service and production technician. “The Newport team has been so supportive in fostering my education and development and giving me the tools to tackle work effectively and efficiently. I admire the technical artistry that sailmakers display and am excited to continue to learn at Quantum.”

Lara PoljŠak

Director of Sustainability

Palma, Spain
E: lpoljsak@quantumsails.com

Lara Poljšak grew up in a family of sailors in Slovenia. She was on a sailing boat before she could even walk and spent all of her childhood weekends and holidays on the water, learning everything about sailing from her brother, dad, and mom. Every summer the family would take a two- to four-week cruise in Croatia. Lara started racing when she was 10 and has not stopped since. During her second year at the University of Primorska, located on the coast of Slovenia, she had the opportunity to become part of the Quantum Racing team, and sailing became her profession.

Lara received a bachelor's degree in tourism studies and then a master’s degree in sustainability management, which is a passion of hers. She felt she could connect the practice of sustainability management with her other passion – sailing.

Lara is currently sailing with Quantum Racing in the TP52 Class and with Aleph in the RC44 Class. She is also the Director of Sustainability for Quantum Sails and looks forward to beginning this new role with the company, working to reduce its negative effect on the environment.