Seven Great Team Building Activities That Fit on a Yacht

Team-building events have a proven, research-backed track record of increasing engagement and productivity. The best team-building events are designed with concrete goals that vary depending on the team’s weaknesses that the event aims to improve. We have written in the past about the value of taking your team-based activity on a bay cruise, and the next natural question is “which team building activities work best on your yachts?” Our answer: Plenty!

What Team Building Events Work Well on Yachts?

Here are just a few that have fit quite well into our meeting spaces.

The “Use What You Have” Challenge

Give teams a specific project and the same supplies to use to complete it. Using only what is available, they compete to build a catapult —a device designed to drop an egg without breaking it. The final reveal is a fun event, and the exercise promotes creative problem-solving as a team.

“Bring a Problem to Solve”

Before the event, pre-assigned groups of people select a problem that they consider worth a burst of creativity to solve. During the team-building event, all the issues are placed in a hat, and each team takes one. No team can work on the problem that it contributed to the exercise.

Teams have thirty minutes to devise solutions to their problem using teamwork, creativity, and effective communication. Each team then has ten minutes to present their ideas. Working on these problems off-site often fosters better solutions.

“What Makes You Tick”

Individual team members take a personality test before the meeting. Aboard ship, the group works with a facilitator who is familiar with the test you choose (DISC, Myers-Briggs, True Colors, et al.) and runs activities that deepen understanding of each person’s assessment results. The goal is to gain a deeper understanding of what motivates (or demotivates) team members, thereby improving interpersonal relationships.

“Show And Tell”

Most people are eager to share interesting hobbies or causes that fill their lives outside of work. This activity alerts all participants to come prepared to introduce one personal hobby or activity, including hands-on demonstrations where appropriate. This is an ice-breaker even for long-tenured teams!

The “What’s My Name?” Game

On name tags or similar labels, write down the name of a famous person or a profession. Place these nametags on a team member’s back so that they cannot see what they are, but the rest of the group can. The entire group mingles, quizzing each other as they try to figure out who they are.

Mental Scavenger Hunt

You can’t hide items in many places on a yacht, with the engine room, galley, and bridge out of bounds. But you can “hide” brain teasers or puzzles at a series of stations. Teams of two or three would move from table to table trying to solve the problems. The team with the most solved puzzlers wins the round after a time limit. Have the challenges focus on the themes of your meeting or the difficulties the team has identified during your planning and preparation meetings in advance of the event.

Building Challenges

There are multiple ways to challenge teams to build something in an allotted time. Lego challenges are popular. Similarly, the Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower activities are also practical. The purpose is not so much to complete the project as it is to learn how to collaborate, with everyone having an equal say, and introverts being given the space to participate at a high level.

The Ultimate Team-Building Meeting Venue

Yachts in our SF Wine Fleet can accommodate all of these activities and many more besides.  We can work with your group to craft exactly the type of exercises you need to achieve the meeting’s goals.

Plus, during breaks and after the formal meeting, what better way to relax and bond than to have a cup of coffee or soda with co-workers leaning on the boat r,ail watching the San Francisco and East Bay skylines go by?

Come aboard! Make your meeting memorable by approaching it from a fresh perspective. Contact our event planning team about our extensive options for corporate meeting services.