Team Building Aboard The Kalmar Nyckel

We’ve developed an exciting, immersive program aboard the Kalmar Nyckel for organizations to come together for a hands-on experience designed to strengthen teamwork and explore leadership concepts.

Format & Fees

This program is designed for 20-30 participants with a 2- to 2.5-hour program that includes a private sail plus briefings to implement the experience.

• Wilmington, DE:  $2,700 for a 2-hour program on a private sail
• Historic New Castle, DE:  $3,900 for a 2.5-hour program on a private sail
  
• Four experiential stations are introduced and guided by the Captain and crew.
  
• A debriefing is held at the culmination of the program.

Fundamentals Of Team Building

Sail Handling

Once your team is assembled on board the ship and briefed by our crew, the first major challenge is to learn to set and douse the sails. This activity requires a group of people to work together simultaneously from different locations across the ship.

When the ship or the wind changes direction, the next step is to take up the sails. Timing and coordination are critical aspects of successful sail handling. It takes a team to set sail.

Steering The Ship

Steering the Kalmar Nyckel requires teamwork and impeccable communication skills. On our ship, the person who is steering cannot see where the ship is headed. The helmsman relies on the captain (or designated “mate”) who is calling the orders from the quarter deck, overhead.

The Kalmar Nyckel was built about 80 years before the ship’s wheel was invented. We use a whipstaff (steering lever) which moves the tiller and ultimately turns the rudder. A specific “call and response” process is required to steer the ship. The crew will model this concept for participants.

Mutual trust and confidence are required to steer this ship. The direction of the ship must be coordinated also with the proper complement of sails and sail trimming to make the ship move through the water.

Leadership Skills

Emergency Management

Structuring a well-functioning team should always be a priority. In emergencies, it’s a necessity. The ship uses a Station Bill to identity the roles and responsibilities of each crew member and the specific chain of command. The safety and effective operation of the ship depends on the crew operating cohesively as a team.

Topics to be covered include:

• Defining the roles for each teammate (chiefs, officers, deckhands, etc.)
  
• Structuring your team: reviewing abilities and responsibilities.
  
• Setting up each teammate to be optimally successful. 

Emergency Drills

Emergencies happen at sea! Participants will take their Station Bill and put their plans into practice. Allowing the process to unfold, the team will be given the chance to experience a simulated emergency. Leaders and participants can take a closer look at how to function in an emergency.

• The team will start with an unknown situation.
  
• They will experience the value of cross training and leadership skills.
  
• A debriefing will be held after each station is completed. 

Please contact us  or call 302.429.7447 for more information.