Looking back on the year 2025 – Leadership Sailing Experiences

Robert Kovar
6 days ago
3 min read

2025 was an intense, exciting and fast-growing year for Leadership Sailing Experiences – here is a summary review of key experiences, developments and lessons learned that we shared with our participants at sea.

1. Core experiences & milestones

Our ‘experiences’ on the water – i.e. sailing trips combined with leadership and team development, as well as a networking platform – continued to be realised in 2025: participants became crew members, took on responsibility on the boat and experienced leadership first-hand.
The format once again proved to be powerful: the interplay of adventure, nature, team dynamics and leadership provided an effective framework for strengthening skills such as agility, decisiveness, self-organisation and trust.
Feedback and experience reports in the logbook show that participants reported on the ‘transfer on board to everyday life,’ such as how they learned at sea to make decisions more quickly and communicate more clearly within the team.

2. Growth & further development

Expansion of services: In addition to classic day and multi-day sailing trips, the ‘on sea’ coaching programme has been expanded to include training for the FB2/FB3 sailing licence. Various skills associated with leadership, particularly in relation to responsibility, teamwork, communication and decision-making, are not only important in sailing, but also in many other areas of life and professions.
Branding & visibility: The website clearly presents the story: ‘We believe in the power of adventure to unleash human potential.’ In 2025, we further refined this message – in communication, images and client reviews.
Process and method optimisation: Building on previous years, the debriefings after the trip were further professionalised – i.e. more systematic reflection phases, clearer links between experience and transfer to everyday working life, and a stronger focus on measurable learning goals.

3. Key learnings & insights

Leadership & sailing = perfect analogy: As articles outside our company show, sailing provides a powerful model for leadership: role reversal, unpredictability, responsibility, trust and communication. Our experience confirms this: participants clearly recognise parallels between manoeuvres, exercises or trimming the sails and their own leadership tasks.
Teams thrive on dynamics – not just on plans: At sea, it quickly becomes apparent what happens when a rudder encounters unexpected gusts. This forces quick action and clear communication – and can be transferred to the office, projects and leadership teams.
Safety and trust enable growth: one of the core experiences was that participants learn most when they feel safe – both physically (sailing under supervision) and emotionally (feedback, reflection) – and are challenged at the same time.
Transfer determines impact: A sailing trip alone remains an experience. Impact occurs when the experience becomes visible ‘on land,’ when participants consciously reflect: What does this mean for my role? For my team? For my organisation? In 2025, we worked harder to build this transfer bridge.

4. Challenges & Outlook

Weather, logistics, safety: As always in the maritime environment, weather conditions, safety and weather changes are factors that we have to manage on an ongoing basis. In 2025, we have further strengthened our safety and preparation processes in particular.
Sustainability & impact measurement: In the future, we want to measure even more clearly what concrete changes our experiences trigger in organisations – not just subjective feedback, but also organisational metrics (e.g. team dynamics, decision-making speed).
Digital enhancements: While the on-site experience remains central, we are looking at how digital elements (e.g. pre- and post-coaching, reflection tools) can increase added value.

5. Conclusion: What remains and where are we headed?

For Leadership Sailing Experiences, 2025 was a year of clear identity, increased growth and deeper learning processes. We have demonstrated that leadership development does not only take place in the seminar room – but effectively in motion, in a team, under real conditions.

For 2026, we are taking with us: