If you want to learn how to sail, why not do it on an extraordinary classic boat?
Give your confidence and high-school CV some love. Learn gaff-rig sailing on a unique maritime expedition along scenic European coastlines.
Explore heritage sites like this…
And postcard ports like this…
You can gaze at millions of stars, away from urban light pollution
…and make new friends: some on your boat, and if you’re lucky, some alongside your boat.
And why wouldn’t you seize the opportunity to load up your fork with some of this: a Breton dessert crêpe!
Next summer, go all in. Join us in Saint-Malo for a small-yacht expedition where crew members make most of the decisions and do practically all of the sailing. You and your new friends decide (with some oversight and a few suggestions) where you want to go, how to navigate to get there, and how to get the cutters to take you there—the Socratic teaching method applied to yachting instruction. In fact, we’ve actually learned a thing or two from students applying their own ingenious solutions. So it’s fair to say we won’t take you sailing; you’ll take us sailing.
At the end of the day, a QBE expedition actually delivers one amazing experience after another. It’s an outstanding sailing course, a life-elevating summer enrichment opportunity, and a treasure trove of university application essay ideas. The language of instruction is English. No previous sailing experience necessary.
—Don’t wait! Book now for next season. in 2022, we welcomed crew members from the UK, The United States, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, and Croatia.
PARENTS: QBE (Qualified By Experience) is a top-shelf expeditionary learning initiative supported by a group of like-minded outdoor enthusiasts who taught at or attended the same Swiss international school. Outdoor and cultural expeditions were always mandatory for us, and through the years, skiing, mountaineering, cycling, and sailing were the outdoor activities of choice. So when one of our former expedition masters came across two rare pilot cutters on the market a number of years ago, he immediately started working the phone to raise funds to purchase them. His idea was to make one the school’s most transformative teen experiences available to a new generation of young adults.
When it comes to boosting self-esteem, challenging outdoor adventures (like small-yacht open-water sailing) can be the secret sauce, especially when participants are given the reins to make many of their own expedition decisions. There’s nothing quite like the exhilaration of cutting through the water with a strong breeze in your sails, unless it’s the pride you feel when pulling into port after a challenging day on the water. (And of course there are the daily revelations that come from discovering the area’s vibrant ports, cultural sites, and regional cuisine.) Participants go home feeling they’ve taken their lives to a new level.
It’s simply a fact that self-esteem is a powerful catalyst for academic and career success. Parents and educators are constantly amazed at the difference a great adventure can make in a teenager’s life trajectory. And what’s more, teens love it. In fact, many of our crew members ask to come back and do it again.
“Everything has been better than I could imagine…”
Meet Violet, a 2022 crew member from Scotland.
Trusted by parents since 1992