Experiential Learning

Leadership & Teamwork

Sail Caribbean’s own True Course curriculum builds leadership and teamwork skills, fosters self-reliance, and instills the confidence to face any challenge with a ‘can do’ attitude.

Skills and Activities: True Course promotes important life skills such as listening, goal-setting, giving feedback and problem-solving. Our staff members are experienced mentors who present tasks and activities each day that test and develop individual and group skills in a safe and encouraging learning environment. Daily boat meetings are a chance to analyze, reflect, and plan for the next day’s tasks.

Group Development: Students arrive as individuals and leave as a team of confident young adults—but not without some challenges along the way! The True Course curriculum provides specific activities to facilitate each step of the group development process. As you become comfortable with your surroundings, we challenge you to take more “ownership” of the boat with less input from the staff. By the time you return home, you’ll be amazed how the skills you developed in your mastery of sailing set you on a course for future success.

Leadership Roles: On all voyages, a duty roster involves everyone’s contribution to tasks, both large and small. Each day, you’ll rotate through various positions of responsibility critical to your team’s success. Crew members become skippers, mates, and navigators. You’ll learn how to be an effective communicator, make sound decisions and become a valuable member of your team.

Challenge Series: Over the course of your adventure, you’ll be presented with a series of challenges where creative problem-solving by your team is the only way to achieve a common goal. We won’t ruin the surprise with specifics, but be ready! You’ll apply your leadership, communication, and other team skills to the challenge, and come away with a huge boost in confidence and a real sense of accomplishment.

Learn It, Do It

Our goal is to provide a “living classroom” that stimulates you to learn, accept responsibilities, and live successfully with others in a cooperative environment. Unleash your hidden talents or discover a new passion trying lots of new experiences like these:

• Seamanship training will have you talking like a sailor, and grinding and tailing like a pro.
• While scuba diving, you’ll find out the best way to explore a sunken wreck and use your hand signals to communicate.
• Study the most invasive species threatening our Caribbean waters, and learn to free dive to catch and tag a sea turtle during marine biology lessons.
• Make a delicious meal for the entire crew using our Sail Caribbean Cookbook.
• Learn to think and work like a scientist as you develop and conduct a research project.
• Give back by teaching local students water safety and snorkeling, and perform trail maintenance as you hike the mountainous island of Saba.
• Drink in the talent and culture in the Caribbean as you discover local artists.
• Get the lay of the land from Tortola’s highest vantage point, and use Leave No Trace principles wherever you go.
• Find your balance on a stand up paddleboard or buddy up and explore the coastline in a kayak.

Read more about Learning at our Blog
Read more about Leadership at a collegiate level, through a special student crew from the Wharton School of Business.