This summer, join us in the Channel Islands and France for an epic coming-of-age sailing adventure aboard our signature pilot cutters!
Expert Gaff-Rig Sailing Instruction | Jet Fuel for Teenage Self-Confidence | Spectacular Fun
The QBE* European Leadership School uses traditional gaff-rig sailboats to serve up one of the most magical coming-of-age adventures available anywhere. Directed by a former expeditions master at a renowned Swiss international school, every QBE maritime expedition sends its teenage crew members home pumped and eager to succeed wherever life takes them. Plus, expeditioners find all the inspiration they need to crush their university application essays.
Apply Now! (We were on waitlist last year.)
“As a parent l can say that my daughter’s three weeks with QBE in August 2023 has been the single most remarkable experience of her life. She was lucky to have this opportunity as a teenager. To say that it was a sailing trip does not do justice to her ‘growing up’ experiences.”
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The Four Stages of Coming of Age
• Realization—growth, change, emotional preparation
• Removal—separation, setting out from a familiar environment to test one’s mettle in an unfamiliar one
• Challenge—impressive personal accomplishment and the self-confidence that flows from it
• Reintegration—”rebirth” and return to the original environment with new insights, maturity, and status
*PARENTS: QBE (Qualified By Experience) is an unsurpassed expeditionary learning initiative supported by a group of like-minded adventure enthusiasts who, years ago, met at a leading Swiss international school known for its emphasis on physically demanding challenges.
Outdoor and cultural expeditions were mandatory for all students, and through the years, skiing, mountaineering, cycling, and sailing were the outdoor activities of choice. So when one of the school’s most popular expedition masters came across two eye-popping pilot cutters on the market several years back, a few of his former pupils immediately stepped forward to help raise funds to purchase them. The idea was to make one of the most transformative of all coming-of-age experiences available to a larger market.
When it comes to boosting self-esteem, challenging outdoor adventures (like small-yacht open-water sailing) can be pixie dust, especially when participants are given the autonomy to make many of their own expedition decisions—when they’re allowed to take charge. Former crew members will tell you there are few things in this world as satisfying as the triumphant exhilaration that overcomes you when you cut through open water with a strong breeze in your sails, unless maybe it’s the pride you feel when pulling into port after a long day on the water.
Parents and educators are constantly amazed at the difference a great adventure can make in a teenager’s academic and life trajectory. And what’s more, youngsters love it. In fact, many of our crew members are so taken with their experience that they come back and do it again—sometimes working part time during the school year to pay some or all of the fees!
Hear what a few of our recent expeditioners had to say about their QBE sailing adventure. One of the comments we hear most often at the end of an expedition—“I really had no idea what I was signing up for, but WOW!…”
NEW skills • NEW perspectives • NEW confidence
Help with transportation logistics available | No sailing experience necessary | Safety record: impeccable