The best one yet!
Our Corporate Regatta on May 22nd had fourteen corporate team members visiting the North East. The group had leaned about us through our favorite corporate events planner, BoomPop.
The weather conditions were challenging with easterly winds blowing between10-16mph. The equipment of choice were our three Sonar plus one J-70. The teams were made up in advance, taking body seize and previous sailing experience into account. The team members where eager to go sailing, the vast majority had never sailed before. The boats sailed very close to one another from time-to-time, and there was lots of maneuvering. They were easy to engage and very likable.
Big thanks to BoomPop for sending such a fine group of people to us. Also, a great big thank you to our staff and volunteers. The event stands out as one of our most successful yet!
Corporate Sailing, an immersive experience
“Mastery takes years, but unity happens in a moment of necessity. By placing your team in an alien environment with immediate physical stakes, we compress months of workplace 'getting to know you' into a single afternoon of radical accountability." Consider the "10,000-hour rule" below.
Welcome J-70
Today marks our first corporate regatta, with J-70s participating. It was a hit! We had three Sonars and three J-70s on the starting line. They are very similar in speed, and they should be. Both have displacement hulls (keel boats), and their length overall is almost identical, seven meters. The J-70 has more draught and runs aground sooner than the Sonar, which has a draught of 3’-11". The adjustment we made was to stay in the channel, sailing out and back, and our racecourse was moved further away from shore, where the water depth is anywhere from 6’-12’.
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Consider the distinction between mastery and the value of immersive experiences. The "10,000-hour rule" applies to deep expertise, but our corporate sailing experience isn't about making expert sailors; it's about putting people in an unfamiliar environment where they must adapt, communicate, and work together under real, immediate pressure.
That's what makes it a powerful team-building exercise. Participants aren't expected to sail like pros in just four hours, but they are expected to engage, problem-solve, and collaborate in ways they wouldn't in an office or conference room. The unpredictability of sailing, where conditions constantly change, mirrors the unpredictability of business, making it a great way to reveal leadership, teamwork, and resilience.