A small crew. Two traditional gaff-rigged pilot cutters.
A remarkable amount of responsibility.

Based in Saint-Malo, France, the QBE European Leadership School offers two- and three-week sailing expeditions for teenagers aboard two classic working sailboats along the coasts of Brittany and the Channel Islands. QBE runs both boats together, with six or seven crew members aboard each—twelve to fourteen students in total per expedition. With a staff-to-student ratio of 1:3, every crew member is personally known and individually mentored throughout.

But this isn't simply a sailing course with a European itinerary.

After an initial period of instruction and orientation, crewmates begin taking real ownership of life aboard: helming, navigating, cooking, planning, solving problems and helping determine where the boat goes next. With experienced adults there to supervise and keep things safe, the young crew increasingly learns to operate independently—as a cohesive crew.

Team-building that’s real—because the team actually matters.

On a small sailing boat, teamwork isn’t an exercise devised by an instructor. It is how things get done.

Someone takes the helm. Someone handles a line. Someone navigates. Someone prepares dinner. Plans change with the wind, weather and tide. People get tired, hungry, exhilarated, occasionally frustrated—and gradually very good at depending upon one another.

Few environments give teenagers such an immediate experience of responsibility, competence, interdependence, and earned confidence.

We think small-crew sailing may be one of the best team-building experiences available to young people. And unlike a conventional leadership course, the rewards are tangible: the boat sails, the crew gets somewhere, and tomorrow brings an entirely new challenge.

The classroom, in this case, is the Atlantic coast of France or the Channel Isles.

Along the way, our crews discover extraordinary harbors, islands and seaside towns—from the medieval walled city of Saint-Malo and the Vauban fortifications of Camaret, to the Celtic music of the Interceltic Festival and the charming fishing ports of the Channel Islands. They learn to sail a traditional gaff-rigged vessel, encounter other cultures at close quarters, make friends from different countries, and experience a kind of independence that’s increasingly difficult for teenagers to find.

The sailing matters. The destinations matter.

But years later, we suspect what matters most will be the memory of what our youngsters discovered they could do… together.

Why not come discover what a few weeks of real sailing can do?

Join us next summer in Brittany. We’ll provide the boats and experiences. You bring the deck shoes.

QBE was founded (and still run) by Will Sutherland, a former Expeditions Master at Aiglon College, Switzerland—itself founded by a colleague of Kurt Hahn, the educator whose ideas gave the world Outward Bound®.