Navigating Conflict on the Water and Beyond
- Katie Kolon
- 1 minute ago
- 2 min read
What Sailing Teaches Us About Conflict Resolution
At a buoy rounding in a regatta, everything gets chaotic. Boats crowd together, rules get bent, sometimes there’s yelling or even a collision. Skippers call protests, raise flags, and argue their interpretation of the rules. Yet most of the time, conflicts never make it to a protest hearing. They get handled informally: a penalty turn on the water or a conversation back at the dock.
That’s what fascinates me. In a high-adrenaline, competitive environment, conflict often gets resolved faster and with less damage than in many workplaces or family businesses.
Why Sailing Conflict Feels Different
The reason is not that sailors are calmer or better communicators. It is that the stakes are lower. Winning or losing matters, but careers, family legacies, and reputations are not on the line. What does matter is the community. Sailing is self-governed and close-knit, and skippers know they will see each other on the dock, in the yacht club, or on a committee. Preserving those relationships often outweighs the satisfaction of “being right.”
Contrast that with the workplace or a family business. When money, survival, and reputation are at stake, fear often drives people to escalate quickly. Instead of talking it out, they go to HR, bring in lawyers, or let resentment fester. Those processes exist for good reason, but they are slow, adversarial, and often damage relationships that still need to function afterward.
Lessons to Carry Over
Even if the stakes for navigating conflict are higher off the water, the sailing world uses the same conflict resolution best practices where relationships and community are involved.
Pause the adrenaline – In the moment, perspective is nearly impossible. Waiting until tempers cool makes better outcomes possible.
Acknowledge fault – A penalty turn at sea is a small but visible concession. In work or family disputes, even a partial acknowledgment of your role in the conflict can defuse anger.
Talk face-to-face – At the dock, a conversation restores connection that shouting never will. In business, the same holds true.
Protect the community – Skippers know they will race again next week. Leaders and families need to remember they will still need each other after this conflict too.
T-10s race downwind in the Verve Cup Offshore, Chicago 2025, phot by Anna Suslova
Final Thought on Navigating Conflict
The difference is not in the rules or the personalities, but in the perspective. In sailing, preserving the community is the hidden rule everyone plays by. In business and family life, the stakes are higher and fear can take over, but the same principle still applies. The real win is not proving you are right, it is protecting the relationships you rely on long after the heat of the moment has passed.