The Captain
Michael LaMaina
Founder & Director · Red Sky Sailing Barcelona
Michael grew up on the water on Eastern Long Island, sailing from the age of eight. It was less a hobby than a way of life — one that would quietly shape everything that followed. He went on to captain the Dinghy Sailing Team at the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, competing at the national collegiate level, before stepping into a professional maritime career that would take him to every ocean on earth.
He holds an Unlimited Tonnage Master’s License from the United States Coast Guard — the highest maritime credential the US issues — and has served as Captain of vessels up to 300 metres, including large commercial ships operating internationally. It is a qualification that puts him in a very small category of people on the planet, and it is the foundation on which Red Sky Sailing is built.
In 2010, Michael made Barcelona home. He learned the Mediterranean the way he learns everything — by being on it. The passages, the seasonal winds, the character of each stretch of coast from the Costa Brava to the Delta de l’Ebre — all of it became familiar over years of sailing these waters. He also holds a Spanish Patrón de Yate, adding local maritime licensing to an already exceptional international record.
Red Sky Sailing is what happens when twenty-five years of professional seamanship meets a genuine love of teaching. Michael founded the school to give students — whether they are chasing an ASA certification, planning a charter holiday, or simply curious what it feels like to handle a boat offshore — access to instruction grounded in real seafaring, not just sheltered-water routine. The Mediterranean is the classroom. The standard is high. The welcome is warm.
The Instructor
Captain Ricardo
Instructor · Red Sky Sailing Barcelona
Ricardo brings a lifetime on the water to Red Sky Sailing. He first stepped aboard a sailing dinghy at six years old, racing Optimists, 420s, and 470s through his teens, and has never really come ashore since. Over the decades that followed he has crossed oceans, owned and skippered a series of cruising yachts, and raced in some of the Mediterranean’s most prestigious regattas — the Copa del Rey, the Trofeo Conde de Godó, and the Ruta de la Sal among them.
His offshore experience runs deep: transatlantic passages from Málaga to Miami and from Cádiz to Puerto Rico, cruising programmes between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom aboard his own Dragonfly 28, and years of Mediterranean passage-making between mainland Spain and the Balearics. Today he sails out of Barcelona aboard his Beneteau 37, Surus.
Professionally, Ricardo has charted an equally accomplished course. Trained as a physician-scientist and seasoned in international leadership roles, he has spent more than twenty years navigating complex projects in neuroscience, digital health, and real-world evidence. Whether running research programs or steering innovation teams across Europe and the US, he brings the same qualities he relies on at sea — clear judgment, steady hands, and a calm, crew-first approach that makes learning aboard Surus feel both safe and deeply rewarding.
With more than 25,000 nautical miles in his wake, Ricardo teaches the way experienced sailors learn best — calm, practical, and safety-focused, with an emphasis on real seamanship over rote drills. He’s fluent in Spanish, English, and Catalan, and gets by in Portuguese, French, and Italian, so students from anywhere feel at home aboard.
Cert. ASA Instructor – certified to teach ASA 101, 102, 103, and 104
Sea Transatlantic & Mediterranean passages – Málaga–Miami, Cádiz–Puerto Rico, Spain–Balearics, Netherlands–UK
Race Copa del Rey · Trofeo Conde de Godó · Ruta de la Sal
+ Physician & scientist (MD, MSc, FRCPsych, PhD, EDTX) – two decades in psychiatry, neuroscience, and digital health
Patrón de Yate — Spanish title
Patrón de Yate — Spanish title
The Instructor
Captain Ricardo
Instructor · Red Sky Sailing Barcelona
Ricardo brings a lifetime on the water to Red Sky Sailing. He first stepped aboard a sailing dinghy at six years old, racing Optimists, 420s, and 470s through his teens, and has never really come ashore since. Over the decades that followed he has crossed oceans, owned and skippered a series of cruising yachts, and raced in some of the Mediterranean’s most prestigious regattas — the Copa del Rey, the Trofeo Conde de Godó, and the Ruta de la Sal among them.
His offshore experience runs deep: transatlantic passages from Málaga to Miami and from Cádiz to Puerto Rico, cruising programmes between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom aboard his own Dragonfly 28, and years of Mediterranean passage-making between mainland Spain and the Balearics. Today he sails out of Barcelona aboard his Beneteau 37, Surus.
Professionally, Ricardo has charted an equally accomplished course. Trained as a physician-scientist and seasoned in international leadership roles, he has spent more than twenty years navigating complex projects in neuroscience, digital health, and real-world evidence. Whether running research programmes or steering innovation teams across Europe and the US, he brings the same qualities he relies on at sea — clear judgment, steady hands, and a calm, crew-first approach that makes learning aboard Surus feel both safe and deeply rewarding.
With more than 25,000 nautical miles in his wake, Ricardo teaches the way experienced sailors learn best — calm, practical, and safety-focused, with an emphasis on real seamanship over rote drills. He’s fluent in Spanish, English, and Catalan, and gets by in Portuguese, French, and Italian, so students from anywhere feel at home aboard.
Cert. ASA Instructor – certified to teach ASA 101, 102, 103, and 104
Sea Transatlantic & Mediterranean passages – Málaga–Miami, Cádiz–Puerto Rico, Spain–Balearics, Netherlands–UK
Race Copa del Rey · Trofeo Conde de Godó · Ruta de la Sal
+ Physician & scientist (MD, MSc, FRCPsych, PhD, EDTX) – two decades in psychiatry, neuroscience, and digital health
RYA Yachtmaster Offshore
ASA Instructor & Examiner · 101–104
ASA 114 Certified
Greek Offshore Skipper Licence
Mediterranean Archaeologist
Astronomer
The Instructor
Captain Belen
Lead Instructor & ASA Examiner · Red Sky Sailing Barcelona
Belen is a professional skipper, ASA instructor and examiner, and lifelong student of the sea. Originally from Spain and now based in Greece, she has spent years sailing the waters of the Mediterranean and beyond, developing a deep connection with the sea and the cultures that have navigated it for thousands of years.
An RYA Yachtmaster with extensive teaching experience, Belen has trained sailors of all levels — from first-time students discovering sailing for the first time to experienced sailors preparing for offshore passages. She has skippered charters, flotillas, and yacht deliveries across the Mediterranean, as well as longer passages to the Canary Islands, the United Kingdom, and Northern Europe.
In addition to her maritime career, Belen is an archaeologist of the Mediterranean and an astronomer — passions that naturally connect with the traditions of navigation and exploration. Her courses combine strong seamanship, practical navigation, and a broader understanding of the sea, helping students gain confidence while discovering the deeper story of sailing, history, and the night sky.
For Belen, sailing is more than a skill — it is an invitation to explore the world, guided by wind, sea, and stars.
Cert. RYA Yachtmaster Offshore – UK certification; internationally recognised professional qualification
Cert. ASA Instructor & Examiner – certified to teach and examine ASA 101 through 104 and ASA 114 Cruising Catamaran
Cert. Greek Offshore Skipper Licence – EU-issued professional endorsement · Powerboat licence
Cert. STCW Basic Safety Training – international commercial maritime safety standard
Sea Mediterranean, Atlantic & North Sea passages – charters, flotillas, deliveries; Canary Islands, UK, Northern Europe
+ Mediterranean Archaeologist & Astronomer – bringing history, celestial navigation, and the night sky into every voyage