Meet Barak and Naomi, a Coupld Making Their Sailing Dreams Come True
After discovering their mutual dream of sailing, Barak and Naomi Banta, with persistence, patience, commitment, and a little serendipity, are making their dreams come true, even relocating twice to have better water access. Here they share their story in their own words.
Pursuing the dream
Naomi: In my late 20s and early 30s I began dreaming about the sailing lifestyle. I read about sailing adventures and wished to learn to sail, but at that time such adventures did not fit into my lifestyle, which included raising kids and traveling for work. After Barak and I married, I revisited the dream at the age of 43.
Barak: I learned to sail on small boats with my family while growing up in the Chicago suburbs, and since my early 20s have dreamed of living on a boat, sailing, and exploring extensively. In my dreams I would sell everything and sail away, figuring it out on the way, but the realities of cost, life changes, kids, and geography put this on hold for years.
When Naomi and I met, we talked about learning to sail together and following our dreams. Even with the two of us aligned, it has taken a while to make the lifestyle changes to get to the point where we can pursue this endeavor.
To get started, we decided the best approach would be to take classes. At that time, we lived in Colorado, and Victoria Sailing School out of Denver gave us our first taste of sailing together. We completed American Sailing Association (ASA) courses 101 and 103 on J/22s in the lakes and reservoirs around the Front Range.
We loved learning together, and I gained a huge appreciation for formal training and learning proper nautical terminology. Despite years of playing on boats, I needed to learn a lot in order to communicate effectively and share my experience with Naomi.
From Colorado to the Chesapeake
Barak: We loved sailing so much that we decided to make a concerted effort to shift from a Colorado lifestyle to a coastal one. A couple of years ago we moved to Annapolis and took a refresher course to get acquainted with sailing on the Bay.
One of the best moments of serendipity in our journey was when we were at a boat show and discovered Sail Solomons. The school was a great fit for us, and we enrolled.
Naomi: We loved the instructors and all the people at Sail Solomons, and the courses and sailing club fit our budget. We very much appreciated sailing where there was not too much boat traffic, especially in the early days as we bumbled through figuring it all out.
I had assumed that it would take a long time for me to learn to sail and that if it took me too long, my teachers would get frustrated. This was the farthest thing from the truth! We’ve been so very fortunate to have excellent teachers with a passion for sailing and a bagful of strategies for helping new sailors feel competent on the water. All this made the drive from Annapolis well worth our time and effort.
Barak: We sailed Catalina 22s and a Bennetau 323. We did a refresher of ASA 101 and 103 and took the Docking Endorsement, ASA 118. Also, with Sail Solomons, we took a flotilla trip to the BVI and sailed for a week on a large Discovery 50-foot catamaran. There we completed ASA 104 (Bareboat Cruising) and 114 (Cruising Catamaran). Last year I also completed ASA 105 (Coastal Navigation).
Our Sail Solomons club membership has allowed us to have the fun and enjoyment of sailing without all the associated complications of direct ownership (insurance, boat slips, maintenance). We even have access to larger boats with cabins and amenities for overnight trips, and we joined some of the local races.
Following serendipity
Naomi: We found that we loved the region, the sailing community, and sailing on the Patuxent, so we made the leap and moved to the area from Annapolis. We found an amazing waterfront property with a dock. We love our new home on the creek, and although it will take a lot of elbow grease and patience to fix it up the way we want, in the meantime we have easy access to sailing and our Sail Solomons friends. We couldn’t be more excited.
Hopefully, next year we will buy our own boat and put it at our dock!
Advice for someone interested in learning to sail
Naomi: For us, sailing is not just about the boat, but the experience of shared moments and adventures with people who have the same passions as we do.
The biggest thing has been to keep our eyes on the goal, even if we were meandering toward it in a zig zagging line. There are lots of things to consider when getting started: cost, proximity to water, community, kids, parents, jobs, and more. It has taken us a while and a huge commitment to start feeling like we are successfully dialing it in.
Barak: One challenge has been managing our time to get on the water and continue gaining experience. Cost is an obvious consideration, but if you make sailing a priority and find a community of supportive people who you enjoy sailing with, you will find that your focus and finances shift towards sailing.
If you want to get started and know someone with a boat, ask if you can join as crew and just get out on the water. Jump in and ask questions, help with repairs, and see if the idea meets the initial expectations. If you really want to know what it is like to interact with a sailing community, take classes. Look for a school with memberships that allow you access to boats. It is important to find a school that fits your personality and style, so if you don’t have the best experience with your first class, find another instructor for your next course. There are plenty of options in this region.
