to terms with
working in a team, and invariably with people they
don't know. Rae is keen to flag up the potential benefits of such excursions to businesses, as they search for more unusual and
effective ways of developing their employees' skills. "We can take people away for five days," explains Rae, "and make sure that what they learn is
taken back to the
workplace. It's very effective, because it's all real stuff, not playing games. On most of our excursions people often don't know each other at all at the start, but by the end they are-and have to
be-totally integrated as a team." Of course people don't sign up with Westward Quest in order to improve their team skills.
The Company Ethos is distinctly christian. There is an emphassis on making sailing available to
the disadvantaged, youth groups
and church groups. But all are made to
feel at home.
You will find appreciative comments in arabic as well as european languages in the ships log . The
ages of participants ranged last year from four to eighty, and they
included a high proportion
of complete novices. One first-time participant was suitably
impressed:
"We were sailing up the west
coast, so the scenery was stunning and the weather, for half the time, was perfect. We were also very well taken care of-we received instruction in
sailing, but it never seemed like
we were being 'taught.'"
For Rae fun is the key, and he's
anxious
that the "colour" of the trips be emphasised.
"The sort of pleasure is in the remote
places people can go to-to islands that are uninhabited. We also do quite a lot of fishing and lifting prawns off the bed of the sea, so food can be free. Some people like the contact with the wildlife and some like to
