Nan Nawrocki Thrives in Her Second Career at Sail Baltimore
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By DERON SNYDER (as published by Port of Baltimore Magazine)
Unlike sailing enthusiasts who grew up in nautical families, Nan Nawrocki was a young adult when she discovered the joy of watercraft powered by the wind. She learned to sail in the ’80s and eventually became a boat owner, tying the knot in a love affair that’s still going strong.
Nawrocki transitioned from navigating small boats to sailing aboard bigger vessels and competing in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race. Now, as Executive Director of Sail Baltimore, she helps approximately 50,000 annual visitors meet the crew and climb aboard these amazing vessels. “Having the opportunity to actually sail on a tall ship is awesome,” she said. “It’s one of those things that’s indescribable unless you get a chance to do it.”
Sail Baltimore brings tall ships, Navy and sea service vessels from around the globe to the Port of Baltimore, part of the organization’s educational programming that covers maritime history, world culture, economic development and more. Along the way to leading the nonprofit, Nawrocki spent over 30 years at the U.S. Naval Academy, where she did some offshore sail training with the midshipmen.
She also made sure that boating was a way of life for her family. “My two girls also learned to sail,” she said.
Nawrocki continued sailing after no longer owning a sailboat. “I’ve had some amazing opportunities to sail on tall ships both in the Chesapeake and abroad,” she said, including trips on the Statsraad Lehmkuhl from Norway to Scotland and Amsterdam to Norway, and more recently a cruise on the Stad Amsterdam in the Caribbean. Locally, it’s easy to go sailing without owning a boat, she noted. “There are all kinds of opportunities to sail or learn to sail if you are interested.”
