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.”
A Window to the World
Sailing wasn’t a big part of her job description during nearly 40 years of service with the federal government. Nawrocki spent the bulk of that time as an information technology specialist at the Naval Academy, where she worked with various departments on campus and elsewhere.
“My last eight years were exceptionally interesting,” she said. “I was an instructor of practical applications in the School of Engineering and Weapons, Robotics and Controls. It was a wonderful opportunity to work firsthand with midshipmen on projects and alongside talented professors in the classrooms and labs.”
She used sailing to balance her life and provide a nice diversion. She started volunteering with the ships when she joined the Fells Point Yacht Club, which led to involvement with the schooner races, which then led to joining Sail Baltimore as a volunteer board member in 1995.
“Sailing wasn’t something that I ever anticipated getting involved in,” she said. “But once I did it, it became a huge passion in my life to give that opportunity to other folks.”
Nawrocki eventually served as Vice President and President of Sail Baltimore’s all-volunteer board before accepting the job as Executive Director in 2021. She’s invested much of her adult life in Sail Baltimore.
“We couldn’t always travel,” she said. “So, I always thought it was like bringing the world to our doorstep when ships came from various countries. It was a great opportunity for us to meet folks from other parts of the world to learn about their culture and experience something really unique.”
The job includes collaborating with a range of people in organizations like Waterfront Partnership, Downtown Partnership, Living Classrooms Foundation and Visit Baltimore, while working on big events like Maryland Fleet Week and Airshow Baltimore.
“I always say the waterfront in Baltimore is a little incestuous,” Nawrocki said. “Everybody knows what everybody else is doing and works together. We don’t have a direct impact on the Port of Baltimore, but we’re impacted by everything that happens there.”
The Best of Both Worlds
As Sail Baltimore’s only paid employee, Nawrocki said her job can be “a little overwhelming at times.”
Tasks include everything from administration, fundraising, planning and programming to handling logistics for ships’ arrivals and departures. She works closely with embassies and naval attaches to bring the ships in, and also partners with the city, state and local communities around the waterfront.
“It’s really a jack-of-all-trades job, not any one thing,” she said. “The payoff is the wonderful opportunity when the ships arrive and people are so excited.”
She provides concierge service to the visiting sailors, too. Some are interested in seeing sights, going shopping, and connecting with friends and relatives. Some requests are more interesting than others. For example, The BAP Unión — a four-masted training vessel for the Peruvian Navy and among the world’s tallest ships — visited in March last year with a grand idea.
“They wanted to put on a full production on the promenade, with horses and dancers and everything,” Nawrocki said. “It was an amazing event. But you can imagine jumping through the kinds of hoops to get those things to happen.”
Sail Baltimore celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, which is quite an accomplishment for a small nonprofit. It is also laser-focused on its role next year, when America celebrates its 250th birthday. As part of a five-city, national semi-quincentennial event, Baltimore will host international tall ships, U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels and an airshow featuring the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.
Nawrocki might be a staff of one, but she hardly feels alone, which makes the job easier.
“We have a great group of volunteer board members and volunteers. I feel very honored to be part of the organization,” she said. “It’s one of the things I‘ve really enjoyed in life. It’s a challenge as well, having to stay on top of things. But being retired and having this as a second career is a big bonus. It’s kind of the best of both worlds for me.”
