About | Oranteach

My Journey

I didn't like sailing.
I didn't.

Growing up, my dad used to take me out on his friends' boats, and I hated it.
I was always seasick, and there was this constant smell of diesel, cigarettes, and old dudes. Yuck.
On top of that, I was far away from my computer games. So yeah, not fun.

Only later, during my mandatory service, did I join the Israeli Navy. They didn’t give a shit about my seasickness, and you know what? I got used to it. After spending so much time at sea, sunset after sunset I fell in love with it.

I became a boat commander and started to understand crew management and team building—the delicate art of leading a crew with core fundamentals of teamwork, enjoying the moment, and safety. As you can probably imagine, we found ourselves in a lot of stressful and dangerous environments, so safety and morale were super important.

After my service, I went to England to learn how to sail, completing my RYA YachtMaster Training. I started working as a skipper for various flotillas, mainly for The Yacht Week. That’s where I discovered a whole new side to sailing: the fun-party-chill aspect. It wasn’t just cold weather and fast, stressful maneuvers.

Though I have to admit, even with all the stressful shit I experienced in the army, nothing prepared me for the first few charters—I was more stressed than I’d ever been (and for the wrong reasons).

I did three seasons with The Yacht Week in Croatia, Greece, Turkey, and Brazil, and eventually decided it was time to go home and fulfill my destiny as a computer geek. I enrolled in a B.S.C. in computer science, and after three years of school and three years working for IBM, something unexpected happened.

Master Sailor and Instructor James Kell, founder of Sailing Virgins, hit me up with a proposition: come work for Sailing Virgins in the BVI. My first week there was my ASA Instructor training with James himself, and I instantly fell in love with the BVI, Sailing Virgins, and James' approach to life and sailing instruction.

I haven't mentioned this, but I've always been a teacher. I’ve always loved explaining things, teaching my friends, and I even taught math and physics in high school. When I was 15, I had some C-Walk tuts on YouTube! That’s how I understand things better—by teaching them. It just clicked in my head. Teaching on a boat is the most intimate a teacher can be with their students. We eat together, live together, shit together, struggle together, and enjoy the fruits of our labor together, and the learning never stops. I could bust out a 1 AM “how to spot Polaris” lesson after a full moon party. I was hooked from the start, and I decided to chase this adventure a little bit more.

Now, after 50+ weeks of instructing, I’ve decided it’s time to open my own sailing school and develop the areas I’m passionate about.

So, where to now?

My Motivation

Now my eyes are set on a few things:

1. Sail Therapy – In the many weeks I’ve taught, I’ve noticed that people come to learn how to sail, but they leave the week with more than just sailing skills. Whether it’s stepping out of their comfort zones, incorporating breathwork and morning routines, embracing the sense of adventure, or improving their communication, they came for sailing and left with self-help tools. What’s going on here? I started documenting, analyzing, and trying to figure it out. Here’s what I’ve come to understand:

a. The environment – Nature is beautiful. Argue all you want, but when you’re out at sea or on a remote island, you feel better. Maybe it’s some ancient instinct, I don’t know, but it feels real.
b. Disconnection – You’re cut off from the fast pace of the world, your problems back home, your phone, and work. You’re focused on learning something new, immersing yourself fully in the experience of leaning something new for a week.
c. Daily improvements – Every day brings a new challenge. You’re working hard, learning, pushing out of your comfort zone, arriving at a new destination, and enjoying the fruits of your labor.
d. Group settings – You’re not alone. You’re part of a group with like-minded people, sharing highs and lows, pushing each other to succeed. It’s a reminder that we all struggle and we all can improve together.
e. Physical work – Yes, plenty of it. Pulling lines, dropping anchors, swimming, cooking, cleaning, carrying groceries, and rewarding yourself with good food afterward.
f. Easy mornings – There’s nothing like a slow morning with some breathwork and light physical tasks like cleaning or prepping the boat to set the right tone for the day.

All of this, and more, will help you whether you realize it or not. Sail therapy is something I’m excited to explore and develop. I do know that I need more experience, and I have to do some therapy work on myself before I can handle serious cases, like army PTSD, but that’s the goal. That’s where I believe I can truly make a difference. Until I get there, I’ll continue sharing my ideas. If you think you can help me with this mission, please reach out using the details below.

2. Providing free education – I’ve learned so much from YouTube. Pretty much everything I know, I picked up online—YouTube, Instagram, blog posts. It’s time to give back. Free videos, free tutorials, free tips. That’s been my mission on my Instagram channel, and I’m going to keep that going. If you like what I do and want to support me, any contribution will go toward better equipment and giving me more time to focus on creating videos, instead of chasing other work, and providing free education for all.

3. Continuing to develop as an instructor – To be a better instructor, I need to be a better student. I never want to stop learning. Whether it’s freediving, surfing, movement, skating, breathwork, guitar, DJing, juggling, or whatever I get into next, I’m constantly learning. Each new skill makes me better in other areas—movement helped me surf, surfing made me a better sailor, sailing improved my breathwork, and breathwork made me a better freediver and a captain. And it keeps going. I also aim to learn from other instructors, so if you want to teach me something in exchange for learning how to sail or creating content, let’s trade! Hit me up—I want to keep growing so I can teach and share more with you!