This festive season, give your teen the gift of an extraordinary sailing adventure along the magical French Atlantic coast.

QBE Adventure Sailing, based in St-Malo, France, offers singular live-aboard sailing expeditions for teens on spectacular gaff-rig yachts you don’t normally find at a sailing school or summer camp. And rarely anyplace else. So it’s real holiday excitement in June, July, and August for a handful of lucky crew members from around the world.

Part European “worldschool” course, part epic adventure, QBE’s European Leadership School (ELS) bypasses tourist-packed cultural capitals to take its crews to off-the-beaten-path ports and anchorages along the postcard coastlines of western France and the Channel Islands—places where young adults can discover authentic Europe.

Things that come wrapped in a box often wind up in the closet after a few months. A great adventure comes with the benefit of life-long memories and a surprising boost in self confidence.

So this year, why not give your teenager something truly extraordinary (not to mention an experience that will add impressive texture to any high-school résumé)? Put a once-in-a-lifetime maritime adventure under the tree!

ABOUT US: QBE (Qualified By Experience) is a top-shelf experiential-learning initiative supported by a group of adventure sport enthusiasts who all attended the same Swiss international school. Outdoor and cultural expeditions were mandatory, and through the years, skiing, mountaineering, cycling, and sailing were the preferred outdoor options.

So when one of the school’s former expedition masters came across two rare pilot cutters on the market some years ago, he hatched the idea of making one of the school’s most transformative teen experiences available to young adults from a broad range of backgrounds.

When it comes to boosting self-esteem, challenging outdoor adventures (like small-yacht blue-water sailing) can be fairy dust, especially when participants are given the reins to make many of their own expedition decisions. That’s why so many top schools have adopted, and now swear by, expeditionary learning activities.

As for QBE sailing, there’s nothing quite like the exhilaration of cutting through the water on a traditional boat, unless it’s the pride when pulling into port after a busy day on the water. And unlike, say, a wilderness trek, there are also the daily revelations that come from discovering our sailing area’s vibrant ports, cultural sites, and regional cuisine.

Participants go home feeling they’ve taken their lives to a new level… because they have.

It’s simply a fact that self-esteem is a powerful catalyst for academic and career success. You’ll be amazed at the difference a great adventure can make in a young adult’s life trajectory.

And what’s more, teens love it; many of our crew members ask to come back and do it again. Several of our students this past season have already announced they plan to join us again next summer.

Expeditions set sail in June (two weeks), July (three weeks), and August (three weeks).

You may never have even considered sending your teen on a summer sailing expedition, much less one along the French coast. But no matter where you live, you should. It’s a teen adventure like no other.

Contact us. Or drop in to see us. Let’s talk. We’d love the opportunity to discuss our unique expeditions and explain what makes QBE’s European Leadership School (ELS) special. References on request.

new skills • new perspectives • New adrenaline rushes • new confidence

No sailing experience necessary | The language of instruction is English | Safety record: Impeccable